“Ukraine said its drones hit two oil refineries in the Russian city of Ufa, the latest in a wave of strikes on its foe’s energy infrastructure that have led to fuel shortages. The drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft Novoil refineries, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Telegram statement on Thursday. The attacks caused a fire at the two facilities’ primary processing units, SBU said in a separate statement. The plants in question are owned by Rosneft, Russia’s top oil producer and refiner. … Ukraine’s refinery strikes set a record in May, forcing Russia’s oil-processing rates runs to drop to a 20-year low at the start of June. Damage to the plants, including an attack on a facility in Moscow last week, has triggered panic buying of petrol, driving up pump prices and disrupting supplies across many parts of the country.” (06/25/26)
“Rescue teams are racing to find survivors trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings after two major, back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela. The country’s health minister says at least 235 people have been killed and 4,300 others wounded, with most casualties recorded in the northern coastal region of La Guaira. … More than 4,300 people are wounded, with hospitals ‘full of patients,’ according to Venezuela’s Health Minister Carlos Alvarado.” (06/25/26)
“A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule that would impose lower federal student loan limits for people pursuing graduate degrees in nursing and other healthcare-related fields. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., late on Wednesday sided with eight trade organizations including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the PA Education Association who sought to block the rule from taking effect on July 1. … That law scaled back a federal loan program for students pursuing graduate degrees, eliminating one type of loan that allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance and imposing new caps on another type of loan.” (06/25/26)
“A far-right Catholic sect’s plan to ordain its own bishops on the first day of July has placed it on a collision course with the Vatican – posing a possible crisis for Pope Leo a little over a year into his papacy, and straining the Roman Catholic church’s already fraught relationship with rightwing and traditionalist Catholics in the US and elsewhere. Founded in Switzerland in 1970 to oppose liberalizing reforms in the Catholic church, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) has gained significant followings in the US, France, Argentina and other countries. … Under Catholic canon law, ordaining bishops without the Vatican’s authorization is grounds for immediate excommunication. So far, both sides in the game of brinkmanship are refusing to blink. The Guardian contacted the Holy See and the SSPX for comment but neither responded.” (06/25/26)
“The Federal Reserve’s primary price gauge rose at its highest level since 2023, reinforcing the central bank’s recent tough talk on inflation. Excluding food and energy, the personal consumption expenditures price index showed a 3.4% annual rate after rising 0.3% for the month, both in line with Dow Jones consensus. The core reading was the highest since October 2023. … Even with the elevated inflation levels, consumer spending for the month came in stronger than expected.” (06/25/26)
“India and Iran on Thursday discussed strengthening energy cooperation and bilateral trade during a meeting on the sidelines of a BRICS energy ministers’ gathering in New Delhi. Iranian oil ministry news outlet Shana first reported the development after a meeting between the oil ministers of both countries. India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, met with Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector. … Historically, India has been a crucial buyer of Iranian crude oil, but suspended imports in 2019 after Washington reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Reuters reported. Since then, oil-sector cooperation between the two sides has declined significantly.” (06/25/26)
“The Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated Hawaii’s gun restrictions on private property in a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, ruling it violates the constitutional right to bear arms. Justice Samuel Alito agreed with gun rights advocates that the state can’t block handgun possession on private property by default unless someone receives the owner’s express consent. ‘This regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives. We hold that the law is unconstitutional,’ Alito wrote. It’s the latest gun measure to fall under the conservative [sic] majority’s expanded Second Amendment test, which requires firearm restrictions to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition [but not, obviously, with the US Constitution].” (06/25/26)
“The NYPD and the FBI executed search warrants at the homes of several former and current high-ranking NYPD officers early Wednesday as part of an ongoing bribery probe …. Former NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard were among those visited by a joint FBI and NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau task force. Investigators also hit the home of NYPD Assistant Chief Jimmy McCarthy, the head of Patrol Borough Manhattan South. The NYPD said Wednesday McCarthy has been stripped of his gun and shield and transferred as the probe continues. Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the head of Patrol Borough Staten Island, was transferred to Manhattan to replace McCarthy. The bribery allegations could be tied to promotions in the department, a source with knowledge of the case said. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is heading the probe, declined to comment.” (06/25/26)
“The leader of a secretive South Korean church was arrested on suspicion of election influence Wednesday as authorities widened an investigation into allegations that he illegally recruited thousands of followers into the conservative People Power Party. The Shincheonji Church has denied the accusations against Lee Man-hee, 95, a self-proclaimed messenger of Jesus who founded the congregation in the 1980s. The church says it has about 200,000 followers. Since January, a special team of prosecutors and police has been investigating alleged ties between religious groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church and politicians. … Lee has been suspected of using the church’s regional branches to pressure more than 50,000 followers to join the People Power Party, or PPP, from 2021 to 2024 in hopes of influencing the party’s presidential and legislative primaries.” (06/25/26)
“The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes. Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23. Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments. The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.” (06/25/26)
