Cryptocurrencies Jump as Wall Street Sees Soft US Nonfarm Payrolls Data

Source: Yahoo! Finance

“Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and other major crypto surged over the past 24 hours. This comes as investors responded to Wall Street’s forecasts on slowing nonfarm payrolls, indicating a cooling labor market and Fed rate cut odds. Bitcoin climbed more than 4% to hit a 24-hour high of $61,223 after weaker-than-expected ADP private payroll data and lower oil prices eased inflation concerns. The moves came amid broader market optimism, the US-Iran peace talks, and a sharp fall in ISM Manufacturing PMI prices.” (07/02/26)

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/bitcoin-eth-xrp-jump-wall-082052358.html

Challengers score victories in lawsuit against Arkansas’s restrictions on citizen ballot initiatives

Source: Associated Press

“A federal judge in Arkansas has thrown out a handful of state laws that put extra restrictions on citizen efforts to gather signatures for ballot initiatives, agreeing with challengers that they violated the constitutional free speech rights of voters. The decision handed several victories to the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and other plaintiffs, which sued last year amid efforts in various states to make it harder for regular citizens to make laws or amend their states’ constitution through ballot initiatives. One such measure required someone signing a petition to show photo ID. That and other additional ballot-initiative restrictions were imposed by Arkansas’ GOP-controlled state government after election officials cited a legal technicality to reject petitions submitted by abortion rights supporters in a 2024 effort to legalize abortion in the conservative state.” (07/01/26)

https://apnews.com/article/ballot-measures-arkansas-lawsuit-petitions-2219ea055b52a7759682368da9950e9c

IDF Hostage Chief Says Gaza Hostages Could Have “Returned Alive,” but Netanyahu Regime Refused Truce Deals

Source: Haaretz [Israel]

“The former head of the IDF’s Hostages and Missing Persons Command said on Wednesday that after October 7, Israel ‘conducted a long war that could have ended at least a year earlier,’ adding that there were hostages held in Gaza that could have ‘been returned alive.’ According to the former chief of the unit, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon, Israel ‘could have achieved the same results or avoided failing to achieve those we did not achieve, such as disarming Hamas, and so on.’ … The Likud party responded to Alon, saying that he ‘asked to surrender to Hamas’s conditions, withdraw from Gaza and end the war, while simultaneously leaking briefings from the most sensitive discussions and harming the negotiations.'” (07/01/26)

https://archive.is/c8e0h

ADP: US private payrolls rose by 98,000 in June, less than expected

Source: CNBC

“Private sector employment grew by a seasonally adjusted 98,000 for the month, down from 122,000 in May and a bit below the forecast for 110,000, ADP reported Wednesday. Nearly half the job creation in June — 48,000 — came from the education and health services sector, a consistent leader for payroll growth. All but 2,000 of the new jobs came from services. Annual pay gains for those staying in their jobs held steady at 4.4% while edging higher to 6.6% for job switchers.” (07/01/26)

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/01/private-payrolls-rose-by-98000-in-june-less-than-expected-adp-reports.html

Judge orders Pentagon to lift policy that New York Times journalists be accompanied by an escort

Source: Seattle Times

“A federal judge has ordered the Defense Department to temporarily halt its requirement that New York Times journalists be accompanied by an official escort, in another setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict media access at the Pentagon. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington said that policy violated the First Amendment and he issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday barring the requirement while The New York Times continues its legal battle against the department’s restrictions. The order did not specify whether journalists from other organizations would also get relief from that policy.” (07/01/26)

https://archive.is/5Cyx2

Germany: Prosecutors Arrest Man Accused of Ordering Killings During Rwanda Genocide

Source: US News & World Report

“German prosecutors ⁠arrested ⁠a German-Rwandan national ⁠on suspicion of being an accomplice ​to genocide and 25 counts of murder during the ‌1994 genocide against the ‌Tutsis in Rwanda, they said in a ⁠statement ⁠on Wednesday. The suspect, identified only as Innocent S under ​German privacy rules, is accused of ordering the deaths of 25 Tutsis on five separate occasions while ​serving as an assistant to the mayor of ⁠Kayove in ⁠northwestern Rwanda. In one ⁠instance, ​the suspect is accused of personally taking part in the ​killing by ⁠stabbing a victim in the chest with a knife, the prosecutors said.” (07/01/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-01/german-prosecutors-arrest-man-accused-of-ordering-killings-during-rwanda-genocide

Russia: Regime shuts railway border crossings with Finland, Estonia and Latvia

Source: Politico

“Russia on Wednesday shut down traffic through some of its last remaining railway border crossings with the European Union. The move, announced in a government order on Tuesday evening, suspends all movement of persons, vehicles, goods, and cargo by rail with Finland, Estonia and Latvia from July 1. The Foreign Ministry has formally notified the Baltic nations of the decision, but offered no explanation for the ‘temporary’ closures, nor any indication of when they might be lifted.” (07/01/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-suspends-railway-border-crossings-finland-baltic-neighbors

Trump says first-ever GOP midterm convention to be held in Texas

Source: United Press International

“President Donald Trump has announced that the Republican Party will hold a midterm convention, an unprecedented development seemingly aimed at mobilizing the GOP base ahead of November’s midterm elections. The convention highlights the importance Trump has placed on the midterms, framing Republican control as necessary to protecting his presidency and the implementation of his America First agenda. He has warned Republicans that if they lose the House, Democrats would seek to impeach him and use their investigative powers to probe him, his family and other GOP officials. Trump announced the convention Tuesday on his Truth Social media platform, saying it will be held Sept. 9-10 in Dallas, Texas.” (07/01/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/01/Trump-midterm-convention-texas/6961782891664/

Trump takes inaugural flight on plane “donated” by Qatari regime as bribe

Source: Fox News

“President Donald Trump is taking his first presidential flight aboard a newly retrofitted Boeing 747 serving as Air Force One on Wednesday, traveling to Medora, North Dakota, to mark the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and promote a conservation push tied to America’s 250th birthday. … Trump is traveling aboard a $400 million Boeing 747-8i donated by the government of Qatar and refurbished for presidential use [and will magically become his “presidential library’s” property later]. (07/01/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-takes-inaugural-flight-aboard-new-air-force-one-ahead-library-debut-honoring-famed-outdoorsman

Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations

Source: ABC News

“A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics on Wednesday directly defied Pope Leo XIV by celebrating an ancient Latin Mass to consecrate four bishops without his consent, dismissing the threat of schism and excommunication and justifying their actions as a ‘sacred duty’ to defend the Catholic faith. … According to church law, the mere act of consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church: automatic excommunication for the four new bishops and the bishop administering the rite. It also amounts to a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church.” (07/01/26)

https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/defying-pope-leo-xiv-risking-schism-traditionalists-ahead-134364654