“A Denver judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction blocking Colorado Gov. Jared Polis from ordering certain state employees to comply with an ICE subpoena for personal information about undocumented children and their sponsors. The ruling delivers a legal setback to Polis and a win for whistleblower Scott Moss, a top labor official in the governor’s administration, who sued to block the disclosures. … ICE’s administrative subpoena, issued in April, sought names, home addresses, wages and more for 35 Colorado-based sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant children. The purpose, it claimed, was ensuring minors released to sponsors were safe. Polis initially resisted complying but reversed course weeks later, ordering staff to turn over documents or risk ‘immediate discipline or termination,’ court records allege.” (06/26/25)
“Israeli opposition politicians have rejected Donald Trump’s call for the cancellation of the long-running corruption trial of his ally Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the US president of interfering in Israel’s judicial system. The US president posted a lengthy diatribe against the trial, describing a ‘ridiculous witch hunt’ that was an ‘unheard of … horror show’ and showering praise on Netanyahu for his leadership of Israel during the short war with Iran that was ended by a ceasefire on Tuesday. Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid party, said Israel was grateful to Trump for support in the recent conflict, during which US planes dropped massive bombs on two Iranian nuclear facilities, but criticised ‘interference in the legal process’ and suggested that Trump was offering support to Netanyahu before pressuring the Israeli leader to make concessions to reach a new ceasefire in the 20-month war in Gaza.” (06/26/25)
“A Senate Republican wants to see the Senate parliamentarian fired and plans to introduce a resolution that would require the position to be term-limited. Fury erupted among conservatives Thursday morning following the news that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled several key reforms and tweaks to Medicaid in the Senate GOP’s version of President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ did not pass muster with Senate rules. That means that the current provisions that do not comply with the Byrd Rule must be stripped, but Republicans can still scramble to rewrite and resubmit the policy to the parliamentarian. However, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., wants immediate action taken against the parliamentarian. ‘In 2001, Majority Leader Trent Lott fired the Senate parliamentarian during reconciliation,’ Marshall told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s 2025 during reconciliation, and we need to again fire the Senate parliamentarian.'” (06/26/25)
“A Canadian citizen in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida died while awaiting removal from the U.S., the agency announced Thursday. Johnny Noviello, 49, was found unresponsive Monday afternoon in Miami’s Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center. In a press release, ICE said medical staff ‘responded immediately and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911.’ But Noviello was pronounced dead within the hour. The cause of death remains under investigation. … According to ICE records, at least seven other individuals have died in their custody since Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump was inaugurated.” (06/26/25)
“The Supreme Court on Thursday said South Carolina was legally allowed to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Court sided with the state, which was backed by the Trump administration. However, the lawsuit was not about abortion access, but whether a Medicaid beneficiary has the ‘right’ to pick their preferred health provider and sue if they can’t. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority that Medicaid recipients do not have the right to sue to enforce the Medicaid Act’s provision that enables recipients to receive services from any ‘qualified’ provider. The law says that ‘any individual’ insured through Medicaid ‘may obtain’ care from any qualified and willing provider. South Carolina restricted Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid because the organization provides abortions.” (06/26/25)
“Ex-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who helped devise President Trump’s alternate electors strategy in 2020, has been disbarred in New York. A panel of judges on the Appellate Division — New York’s midlevel appeals court — ruled Thursday that Chesebro’s guilty plea in Georgia’s probe of efforts to subvert the state’s 2020 election results qualifies as a ‘serious crime,’ a finding that begets disciplinary action. … Chesebro helped craft the so-called fake electors scheme that pushed to certify slates of Trump-supporting electors in battleground states instead of the true electoral votes for former President Biden.” (06/26/25)
“A Super Bowl halftime show performer has been arrested, according to NOLA.com, four months after he made headlines by raising a flag that combined the colors of Sudan and Palestine. Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a 41-year-old artist in New Orleans, reportedly faces charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly. The incident in question saw Nantambu, part of a 400-person cast, hold up the flag while standing on a car during Kendrick Lamar’s performance, then jump off the stage and run across the field before getting tackled by security. … New Orleans police initially said they wouldn’t file charges against Nantambu. However, Louisiana State Police, a different agency, reportedly began an investigation in collaboration with the NFL and found that Nantambu allegedly ‘deviated from his assigned role’ and ‘disrupted’ the halftime show.” (06/26/25)
“The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a six-week low, underscoring the reluctance of businesses to lay off workers even amid the tumult of ongoing trade wars. Initial jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 227,000 in the seven days ended June 21, based on seasonally adjusted data, the government said Thursday. The raw or unadjusted number of new jobless claims, what’s more, was virtually identical to the same week one year earlier. New claims fell in 38 of the 53 U.S. states and territories. The biggest declines came in states that saw a surge in filings last month after school was over. The number of jobless workers collecting unemployment benefits rose by 37,000 to 1.97 million, marking the highest level since November 2021.” (06/256/25)
“Torched buildings were smouldering and shop owners were cleaning up the charred wreckage in central Nairobi on Thursday, after a night of looting and arson followed youth demonstrations in which rights group Amnesty Kenya said 16 people were killed. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets on June 25 to mark the anniversary of deadly demonstrations a year ago and to protest against the death this month of a blogger held in police custody over a complaint by a senior police official. … Amnesty Kenya’s executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters the 16 who were killed on Wednesday had all died of gunshot wounds, suspected to have been inflicted by police officers.” (06/26/25)
“Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores released a statement Saturday, condemning what he called ‘masked abductions’ amid immigration raids across Los Angeles County, and directing police to intervene in unlawful or unauthorized operations. ‘These are not lawful arrests. These are abductions,’ said Mayor Flores. … ‘Men dressed in tactical gear, operating unmarked vehicles without displaying credentials or agency affiliation, have infiltrated our neighborhoods in direct violation of our community’s values, civil rights, and the basic principles of due process.’ … the mayor formally directed the police department to enforce laws concerning unmarked vehicles, visible license plates and required agency identification.” (06/26/25)
