“Tens of thousands of far-left [sic] protesters flooded the streets and clashed with police in the Germany city of Erfurt on Saturday as they protested the conservative [sic] Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country’s conservative [sic] Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally. Police said over 30,000 people attended the demonstrations, according to the Associated Press (AP), and people could be seen carrying signs reading ‘Stop AfD Nazis’ and ‘For Diversity, Against Nazis.'” (07/04/26)
“Pope Leo XIV on Saturday visited Italy’s Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants risking the perilous crossing from Africa, in a stark message to US and EU leaders. The Catholic Church’s first US pope, who has clashed with the administration of President Donald Trump over its treatment of migrants, is marking July 4, the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence, on a migration frontline. … After praying at the unmarked graves of shipwreck victims, the 70-year-old stood alone on the island’s rocky shoreline, buffeted by the wind as he looked out to sea, where countless migrant boats have been lost to the waves. He spoke to a migrant family before taking the children by the hand and standing along with their pregnant mother at the ‘Door of Europe’, a monument dedicated to people who risk everything in search of a better life.” (07/04/26)
“The Trump administration officially launched ‘Trump Accounts’ on July 4, which have been set up for parents to save money for their children. The accounts, which include $1,000 for each child who is born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028 — President Donald Trump’s current term in office — can now be set up by parents after their authorization in last year’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ The federal savings program is available for any child under 18, and can accept up to $5,000 in contributions per year, although the $1,000 seed funds for the accounts are only available to children born during Trump’s current term.” (07/04/26)
“Turkey has reportedly blocked an American LGBTQ+ cruise from docking at two of its ports, citing ‘moral values’ in the latest sign of the Islamist-run government’s increasingly hardline stance toward the LGBTQ+ community. The ‘Athens to Venice’ voyage organized by Los Angeles-based Atlantis Events was scheduled to stop in the western Turkish port of Kuşadası on July 7 before continuing to Istanbul. Instead, the cruise will now visit Cairo, Egypt, and the Greek island of Crete, according to CNN, which first reported the ban.” (07/04/26)
“Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is suspected of crashing into a parked car and leaving the scene over the Fourth of July weekend, law enforcement officials said Saturday. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said that on Friday in Yountville, California, a witness reported a brown convertible striking a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle, stopping briefly and driving away. The parked car sustained major rear damage.” (07/04/26)
“Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has been declared the winner of Peru’s tight presidential election, nearly a month after the vote took place. The 51-year-old won 50.135% of voters’ support in the runoff, held on 7 June, to 49.865% for left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez – a margin of less than 50,000 votes, figures certified by Peru’s electoral court show. It is the fourth time the daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori has sought the South American nation’s presidency, promising this time to oversee a crackdown on organised crime.” (07/04/26)
“The founder of a prominent underground church in China has been released after months in detention, his family and a Christian rights group said. ChinaAid said Pastor Jin Mingri, also known by his English name Ezra Jin, landed in Los Angeles on July 4 after being held in detention centres in the southern Chinese city of Beihai since October. … Jin founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007 and became one of the most recognisable figures in China’s underground Christian movement. The Zion Church is among the largest underground or house churches in China that are unregistered with authorities. They defy a requirement that believers worship only in registered congregations.” (07/05/26)
“House Republicans revisited long-standing questions last week about possible links between the CIA’s infamous MKUltra program and Charles Manson’s murderous cult, as lawmakers revealed newly discovered agency records are being prepared for declassification. Tuesday’s hearing before the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets quickly delved into allegations that the CIA concealed the true scope of its Cold War-era mind-control program, with witnesses reviving claims involving Manson, Jack Ruby and decades of alleged government secrecy. Task Force Chair Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., opened the hearing by accusing the CIA of carrying out illegal human experimentation on unwitting Americans before destroying evidence to hide the program.” (07/05/26)
“Two members of Congress — Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., and Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif. — have disclosed that they or their family members bought SpaceX stock in the days after the company’s historic initial public offering, according to publicly accessible House financial documents. Meuser recently disclosed that his dependent child made a June 15 purchase of between $15,001 and $50,000 of stock in the company. According to financial disclosures, it was the first time in several years Meuser or one of his family members has bought stock in an individual company. Cisneros disclosed a June 18 purchase of between $1,001 and $15,000 in SpaceX stock. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace and satellite company, went public on June 12 with a $2 trillion-plus market cap.” (07/03/26)
“The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian doctor who was [abducted] by Israeli forces 18 months ago said his client has been abused in captivity and is in critical condition, according to the human rights group representing him. Hussam Abu Safiya who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became the face of health workers struggling to treat patients throughout the Israel-Hamas war. He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help before he was [abducted] in December 2024. He has not been charged.” (07/05/26)
