“The People’s Liberation Army’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian Type 003, transited the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, a day after Taipei launched a combat readiness exercise. Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor, said the Fujian could be heading back to its home port in the southern island province of Hainan for a break before it headed out to the South China Sea for more training. … The transit came a day after Taiwan kicked off a five-day military drill called the Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise, an effort meant to boost the island’s ability to quickly move to a wartime footing.” (06/24/26)
“Camp Mystic, the Christian all-girls sleepaway camp, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, according to court records. The Chapter 11 filing comes nearly a year after a deadly flood killed 25 girls and two teen counselors at the camp’s Guadalupe River location, which is located in the Texas Hill Country. According to the Wednesday filing, Camp Mystic has a debt exceeding $10 million. Paul Yetter, an attorney representing seven victims’ families, said in a statement Wednesday, ‘Bankruptcy will not stop all responsible parties from being held accountable.'” (06/24/26)
“The Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday allowing President Petr Pavel to attend the July NATO summit in Ankara. The court’s ruling partially resolves the ongoing dispute between Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who announced on Monday that Pavel could not be part of the country’s delegation. Pavel filed a competency lawsuit the following day, seeking clarity on who has the authority to decide whether the head of state may attend the NATO summit. While the court will take up the ultimate question in an expedited manner in the coming weeks, it cited precedent from past presidents’ summit attendance, as well as Friday’s accreditation deadline, as grounds for the immediate injunction.” (06/24/26)
“U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jerrold Nadler, two of the top Democrats in Congress, are retiring when their terms expire in January, but they will continue to make their imprints on Washington. The pair passed the torch Tuesday night to former aides who won the Democratic primaries to replace them on Capitol Hill, and because both districts are overwhelmingly blue, they are all but certain to win in November and get sworn in to replace their former bosses. Hoyer and Nadler are the latest lawmakers to successfully anoint their successors after spending decades in Congress. Among 68 members of Congress not seeking reelection this year, at least five have endorsed former staffers to replace them and more than a dozen others have, to varying degrees, worked to smooth the path to Capitol Hill for their favored replacements.” (06/24/26)
“Following a similar lawsuit earlier this year, Google has settled with a minor known as ‘R.K.C.’ who claimed that social media platforms harmed them, Reuters reported. Terms of the settlement were confidential, the lawyers said yesterday. The same plaintiff also sued Meta, Snap and TikTok, with those trials set to proceed next month. YouTube has thousands of similar lawsuits pending, so this second case represents a test run for the many to follow. … More than 3,300 [frivolous/vexatious] lawsuits involving social media addiction [sic] are pending in California state courts, and another 2,600 were brought by people, school districts, municipalities and states in California federal court.” (06/24/26)
“Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda on Wednesday conceded Colombia’s presidential election to Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative outsider who was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Election results showed de la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never run for office, defeated Cepeda, a lawmaker, by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes. ‘We assume with serenity, responsibility, and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us,’ Cepeda said in an address to the nation. ‘We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.’ The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups under a plan known as ‘total peace’. Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday.” (06/24/26)
“North Korea has commissioned a 5,000-ton destroyer that leader Kim Jong Un touts as a symbol of the country’s growing naval and nuclear capabilities, state media reported on Wednesday, as Pyongyang seeks to expand its ability to project military power at sea. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim told a commissioning ceremony on Tuesday at the western port of Nampo that warships such as the Choe Hyon show that the nuclear armament of his navy is progressing as planned. … After years of spurring ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted his focus more towards naval capabilities, including the ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his five-year military goals at February’s Workers’ Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches.” (06/24/26)
“President Donald Trump ratcheted up tensions with Senate Republicans on Wednesday by abruptly canceling his signing of a bipartisan measure to make housing more affordable. Republicans had hoped to show voters they care about affordability ahead of the November elections. But the president blindsided them by insisting that Congress first pass a bill imposing federal rules on state-run elections. Trump had already planned to lunch Wednesday with GOP senators increasingly frustrated by his diversions from the party’s agenda and his unclear Iran war strategy. Trump also has a face-to-face Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, two weeks ahead of the annual summit of the military alliance, as the Pentagon reviews the U.S. military footprint in Europe.” (06/24/26)
“State Attorney General Alan Wilson has won the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina, NBC News projected Tuesday, after a closely watched runoff that featured President Donald Trump’s unusual double endorsement of two candidates. Wilson is now heavily favored heading into the general election in South Carolina’s first open governor’s race since 2010. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Democratic candidate Jermaine Johnson won his primary this month.” (06/23/26)
“France has confirmed its first case of Ebola – a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The doctor was ‘immediately admitted to a specialised facility’ and is in a stable condition, the French health ministry said on Wednesday. DR Congo announced an Ebola outbreak last month, but experts believe the virus had been circulating for weeks previously. More than 260 people are confirmed to have died from the virus in the central African country, while 1,000 people have been infected. This is the first Ebola case to have been confirmed in Europe, although an American doctor who tested positive in DR Congo was treated at a German hospital last month. DR Congo’s neighbour, Uganda, has also confirmed Ebola cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) says 20 people are known to have been infected there and two deaths have been confirmed.” (06/24/26)
