“Gunmen attacked the main airport in Niger’s capital of Niamey early Thursday morning, leading to an exchange of fire and explosions, witnesses and a local security official said. Security forces were deployed to repel the attack after the gunmen breached the airport security, said the official …. It was the second attack at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey this year, after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a similar attack in January.” (06/18/26)
“Renters may be able to significantly lower their monthly energy bills under a new piece of legislation that could let Californians power homes on their own with an abundant resource: solar. Senate Bill 868, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, would allow consumers to buy solar panels at no extra cost to their utility, and it would also allow large retailers or your local hardware store to sell plug-in solar panels to power your home on your own — and ideally reduce your monthly utility bills. The idea was inspired by a bill passed in Utah last year, and plug-in solar is also popularly used in Europe.” (06/18/26)
“A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state’s ban on concealed carry by adults ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment, finding that young adults are entitled to the same constitutional protections as law-abiding adults over the age of 20. In a sweeping opinion, the court said 18-year-olds can serve in the military and defend the nation but face restrictions on their ability to exercise the same self-defense rights available to older adults. … The ruling comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier declined to defend the law earlier this year.” [editor’s note: Rights don’t come into existence or disappear based on whatever number politicians happen to draw out of a hat. “18” is no more special than “21” – TLK] (06/18/26)
“The U.S. national average gas price has dropped back below $4 a gallon, per AAA, a sign of Americans’ pain at the pump easing after months of war in Iran. Iran’s squeeze on oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz battered the global economy. But crude prices in June fell to their lowest levels in over three months on news of an extended ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. … The national average is now $3.9990 a gallon, per AAA. A year ago, the average was $3.1880.” (06/18/26)
“Russia faced one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war so far from Ukraine overnight, saying its air defences downed as many as 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. Moscow has ordered the suspension of flights at all its major airports, while traffic was halted on Moscow’s ring road near an oil refinery after multiple drone strikes. Photos and videos shared online purported to show massive explosions at the refinery, including one that blew an oil container lid hundreds of feet into the air. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said around 180 drones heading for the capital alone had been downed.” (06/18/26)
“President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday digitally signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing a permanent peace deal to end the war between their two nations, officials said. … Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France, with French President Emmanuel Macron, France’s first lady Brigitte Macron, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others, according to a video posted online by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.” (06/17/26)
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that all immigrant [abductees] have been transferred out of a Florida [concentration camp] known as Alligator Alcatraz, effectively shuttering the controversial facility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday that everyone being held in the state-run facility had been transferred out, citing concerns about the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. … reports of its impending closure had intensified for months. Several anonymous officials told The New York Times in May that the isolated facility, located inside Florida’s Big Cypress Natural Preserve, was too costly to maintain.” (06/18/26)
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid resurgent inflation, but nearly half of its policymakers said they would support a rate hike later this year. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate, which affects borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Economists had widely expected the central bank to keep rates steady. … The central bank’s previous forecast, issued in March, forecast that the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, would end the year at an annual rate of 2.7%. But in today’s forecast, the FOMC members are penciling in inflation rising to an annualized 3.6% by year-end.” (06/17/26)
“Finland’s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, approving a major defense policy shift aimed at aligning the country more closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence strategy. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said a strong majority backed the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, calling it a ‘historic reform’ that strengthens Finland’s security and that of the alliance. … The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives. If enacted, the legislation would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, supplied or possessed in Finland where the country’s military defense requires it. … The bill now moves to the president for final approval.” (06/17/26)
“South Africa’s biggest labour unions on Wednesday urged workers not to participate in anti-immigrant protests that have seized the country, and said they could face consequences if they skip work to attend. South Africa is on edge ahead of a June 30 deadline which anti-immigrant groups have given for all undocumented foreigners to leave the country. Protests and potential civil unrest are expected, after weeks of sometimes violent xenophobic attacks. Four major unions including the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which represents around 2 million people, said in a statement that workers would not be protected if they do not go to work on June 30. … ‘Removing foreign nationals from workplaces, communities or public spaces will not reopen factories, repair municipalities, strengthen public healthcare or create sustainable jobs,’ said the unions COSATU, FEDUSA, SAFTU and NACTU.” (06/17/26)
