“Italian police on Tuesday arrested four people suspected of carrying out an October bomb attack targeting a prominent journalist who had been threatened by the mafia. The blast in a residential neighborhood of Pomezia, about 12 miles south of Rome, destroyed two cars belonging to Sigfrido Ranucci, known for investigations into corruption and the mafia. Ranucci had just returned home at the time, and his daughter had walked by a half-hour before, his employer said at the time. … The explosion targeting Ranucci occurred on the eighth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles. Like Ranucci, she had faced dozens of libel suits intended to silence her reporting.” (06/30/26)
“Tom Kean Jr, a Republican congressman who disappeared from the Capitol for nearly four months with little explanation, re-emerged on Tuesday and said that he was absent while dealing with depression. ‘Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression,’ Kean said in a speech on the floor of the House Tuesday morning. Kean, who represents a swing district in New Jersey, had last voted on 5 March before disappearing, with his office in late April saying only that he was dealing with a ‘personal health matter’ and would be back ‘soon.'” (06/30/26)
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, in another setback for transgender people. The court’s six-justice conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution. The court unanimously agreed that barring transgender girls and women also doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. … Left unresolved by the outcome are lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that permit transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity.” [editor’s note: Unclear whether the ruling applies to private, or just government, institutions – TLK] (06/30/26)
“Inflation is at risk of remaining above target despite the U.S. and Iran agreeing to end their war in the Middle East, a top European central banker warned on Tuesday. Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on the sidelines of the European Central Bank’s Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said there is a probability inflation ‘will stay at an elevated level.’ … Earlier this month, the ECB raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2023, citing inflationary pressures arising from the U.S.-Iran war. Nagel said on Tuesday that the hike was the right decision, but it is too soon to make a call on the trajectory of monetary policy, with much uncertainty still lingering around the situation in the Middle East.” (06/30/26)
“White House officials last year secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in an unusual arrangement that sidestepped typical contracting procedures designed to control costs, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Washington Post. The White House routed the contract through the Executive Residence, the document shows, an office that is exempt from rules that require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public. … The confidential contract with Clark Construction, along with related correspondence and records obtained by The Post, reveal for the first time how the Trump administration bypassed norms last summer as it set the ballroom project in motion. … Trump has repeatedly claimed that the ballroom would be paid for by private donors and once said that Clark executives offered to build it for free.” (06/30/26)
“Scientists have stumbled on a rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, tucked away for decades in a drawer. The bone comes from the tail of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. Scientists haven’t yet identified the species it belongs to. It was discovered in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica’s James Ross Island and collected by geologist Mike Thomson. Working with the British Antarctic Survey, Thomson was mapping the area’s rock layers and collected marine reptile fossils to help with future dating efforts. He recorded the find as a large reptile. Decades later, paleontologist Mark Evans spotted the bone in the British Antarctic Survey’s collections and wondered whether it might be a dinosaur. He and other researchers analyzed the shape of the bone and compared it to other more complete dinosaur remains, confirming their discovery. The findings were published on Monday in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.” (06/30/26)
“New Caledonia’s non-independence coalition emerged as the largest bloc in the legislature after the French Pacific territory’s provincial elections, but fell short of an outright majority, leaving a small centrist Pacific party in the role of kingmaker, final results showed. The elections, held on June 28 after repeated delays, were the first provincial vote since 2019 and followed deadly unrest in 2024 over proposed changes to the local electoral roll, exposing the deep strains in France’s relationship with New Caledonia and its Indigenous Kanak population. The French Pacific territory, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, has around 270,000 inhabitants, including roughly 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French, and has long been split between pro-independence and pro-France camps.” (06/29/26)
“Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday issued a plea to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, describing the move as a schismatic act and a ‘sin of extreme gravity’. ‘I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!’ Leo wrote in a letter to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X. Leo issued the last-ditch appeal a day before the society plans to consecrate four new bishops at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. Under church law, the consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church, and incur automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration. Pagliarani responded by writing a formal letter to Leo asking him to take time before deciding any penalty.” (06/30/26)
“The FBI in Connecticut said it arrested four men accused of stealing tens of thousands at a time from ATMs at rest stops along I-95 from Darien to New Haven. … Law enforcement officials alleged they used hardware and malware to get the machines to churn out endless streams of cash. At a northbound rest stop in Fairfield, prosecutors said, the men made off with $136,000 in one haul.” (06/29/26)
“Thousands of people have marched in South Africa’s main cities to demand that all undocumented migrants leave the country. Police officers – backed by private security guards – have been deployed because of fears that protests could turn violent. Anti-migrant groups had set Tuesday as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. Many foreigners have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries. One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was ‘happy to be going back’ but ‘heartbroken’ to be leaving behind four young children. The Ministry of Police said the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting. In Johannesburg, the financial capital, shops in the city centre were closed, while police visibility is high on major streets.” (06/30/26)
