“The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday the government can’t criminally prosecute a man for possessing a firearm simply because he regularly smoked marijuana, rejecting the government’s comparison to the disarmament [of] habitual drunkards in the founding era. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that it violates his right to keep arms under the conservative justices’ expanded Second Amendment test. It requires gun control measures be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. … At issue was the federal law making it a crime for someone ‘who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance’ to possess a firearm.” [editor’s note: Any supposed “historical tradition” is irrelevant. The court’s job is to enforce the Constitution, which says “shall not be infringed,” with a period immediately after – TLK] (06/18/26)
“A new kind of flu vaccine moved a step closer to the U.S. market Thursday as federal health advisers recommended approval of the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending [sic] the coronavirus pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating Moderna’s new shot, dubbed mFlusiva, for older Americans ahead of the winter flu season. Moderna is seeking full approval for the vaccine’s use in people ages 50 to 64 — along with authorization for use in those 65 and older while it conducts additional testing.” [editor’s note: The mRNA COVID-19 “vaccines” didn’t “end” the pandemic. They reduced some symptoms, but didn’t reduce transmission, actually INCREASING spread of the virus – TLK] (06/19/26)
“German engineering and technology firm Bosch has agreed to pay a $36 million [bribe] to resolve federal allegations that it exported restricted products and software to China’s Huawei. Federal prosecutors announced the agreement Wednesday, saying the Bosch resolution was the National Security Division’s first declination under the Justice Department’s new corporate self-disclosure policy. The company has agreed to forfeit the $11.4 million in profits it made in the alleged transactions, with a portion being credited against the [bribe]. As a result, the NSD has declined to prosecute the company.” (06/18/26)
“The Bank of England held U.K. interest rates at 3.75% on Thursday, as policymakers continue to balance the need to address above-target inflation with lackluster economic output. The hold, which was in-line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, was backed by seven of the nine monetary policy committee members in the BOE’s May meeting. BoE chief economist Huw Pill and Megan Greene, an external member of the rates-setting Monetary Policy Committee, were the two dissenting voices. Pill and Greene both cast votes to hike the BOE’s ‘base rate’ by 25 basis points to 4%.” (06/18/26)
“An Ecuadorean man, who police accuse of leading a faction of one of the country’s most feared criminal gangs, has been shot dead as he was leaving the airport in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil. Security footage shows two young men waiting outside the arrivals terminal holding stuffed toys and flowers before one of them approaches the victim, pulls his gun from behind a teddy and shoots him point-blank. Police have detained two teenagers in connection with the crime, the latest in a widespread wave of gang violence. … Ecuador’s interior minister, John Reimberg, identified the victim of Wednesday’s attack as 39-year-old Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, who he said was the leader of the Los Águilas gang in El Triunfo, a region east of Guayaquil.” (06/18/26)
“Three Saudi-flagged supertankers with six million barrels of crude onboard sailed through the Strait of Hormuz hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran over an end to their war, ship tracking data showed on Thursday. Other tankers showed their positions sailing through the strait on public ship tracking on Thursday after weeks of ships concealing their voyages when crossing through the waterway. The sailings from Saudi ports were the biggest departures through the strait in weeks, according to Reuters analysis of shipping movements. Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal of Yanbu to ship out oil due to the conflict which started on February 28 and which has stopped hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from leaving from Gulf producer ports through the Strait of Hormuz.” (06/18/26)
“Two high-stakes Supreme Court battles over President Donald Trump’s authority to remove federal officials could reshape the balance of power in Washington, but legal experts say the justices may draw a sharp line between the cases. At the center of the debate are Slaughter v. Trump, involving the firing of Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Trump v. Cook, involving Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. While both cases touch on presidential removal power, legal scholars say the disputes present fundamentally different legal questions. In Slaughter, the administration is directly challenging statutory restrictions on the president’s ability to remove FTC commissioners, arguing that limits on the president’s authority to fire commissioners violate his Article II executive powers. But in Cook, the central question is whether Trump met the Federal Reserve Act’s ‘for cause’ removal requirement.” (06/18/26)
“Waymo is recalling over 3,800 of its self-driving taxis due to a software issue that could cause them to enter closed freeway construction zones at speed, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Admininstration (NHTSA) bulletin seen by Reuters. The company is reportedly working on a fix and has ‘restricted freeway driving,’ the NHTSA safety notice states. It’s not known if Waymo had an incident that prompted the recall. … This is the second recall for the Alphabet-owned robotaxi company in a bit more than a month. Back in May, Waymo recalled 3,791 robotaxis after a vehicle drove onto a flood road in San Antonio. Fortunately, no one was injured as the taxi was unoccupied, but the vehicle was swept away by the flood. Prior to that, the fleet was recalled for a particularly dangerous situation when some of its robotaxis were seen failing to stop for school buses that had their stop signs and flashing lights deployed.” (06/18/26)
“The San Francisco arts community is mourning the loss of Judith and Wylie Sheldon, longtime patrons of film and performances in the city. On Monday evening, a California Highway Patrol officer discovered the couple’s bodies inside their car on the side of Interstate 5 north of Redding. Judy was 84, and Wylie was 86. … Lieutenant Josh Smith with the CHP told SFGATE that the couple was traveling to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival when, on June 15 around 5:46 p.m., a CHP officer checked on their Jeep Compass parked along the highway approaching Lake Shasta. The car’s engine was still running, and the couple was found unresponsive inside. … Smith said they do not suspect foul play.” (06/18/26)
“Bitcoin steadied near $64,100 on Thursday, down about 1% over the past 24 hours, as traders weighed a hawkish debut from new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh against early signs the market may be carving out a bottom. The leading cryptocurrency held a market cap near $1.29 trillion and — despite the post-Fed pullback — remained up 2% over the past week. Ethereum and Solana also eased, trading near $1,740 and $72, respectively.” (06/18/26)
