“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)
“Conservative Keiko Fujimori gained an insurmountable lead in Peru’s presidential runoff late on Tuesday, setting her on track to assume the presidency. Fujimori, a four-time presidential hopeful and the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, now has 50.11% of the votes, putting her ahead of leftist rival Roberto Sanchez by 43,386 votes. There remain only 40,213 potential votes to be counted, according to data from Peru’s ONPE electoral authority. The electoral authority has yet to officially declare a winner and plans to do so in mid-July. Fujimori’s expected victory deepens Latin America’s rightward shift, following outsider Abelardo De La Espriella’s election in Colombia on Sunday. Voters concerned about crime have flocked to hardline candidates. Earlier on Tuesday, Sanchez alleged that ‘fraud was underway,’ without providing evidence, and said he would refuse to recognize the results of the election, raising the prospect of a prolonged political crisis in Peru.” (06/24/26)
“California state workers are challenging a new mandate requiring them to return to the office four days a week starting July 1, as lawmakers advance a bill to ensure telework options. A billboard off a Sacramento highway warns of future traffic jams caused by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order. State workers argue they have been working efficiently under hybrid schedules since the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Since COVID we have been working and doing the jobs and being efficient and doing the jobs to keep California running,’ said Anica Walls, the president of SEIU Local 1000, which represents state workers in Sacramento. ‘This mandate as overarching as it does not give departments the space to bring back our workers as needed.’ It’s not clear which departments exactly are struggling with space and how the Newsom administration is handling it. A spokesman with California’s Government Operations Agency declined an interview request with California Politics 360.” (06/21/26)
“A former U.S. Marine reservist and seven others were sentenced Tuesday to decades in prison over a shooting last year that wounded a police officer during a demonstration at a Texas immigration [concentration camp]. Prosecutors called the crime an act of terrorism and said the eight were linked to the leftist militant group antifa. The defendants’ attorneys denied any antifa ties and family members expressed shock and anger over the stiff sentences. Benjamin Song, the Marine reservist who was convicted of opening fire during the July 4 demonstration outside the Prairieland [concentration camp] near Dallas, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, the maximum punishment. The seven others sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.” (06/23/26)
“The Senate on Tuesday approved a House-passed resolution directing President Trump to withdraw U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran after four GOP senators broke ranks and voted to undercut Trump’s authority as commander in chief. The Senate voted 50 to 48 to approve the resolution, which passed the House 215-208 earlier this month. The measure came straight to the Senate floor Tuesday for an up-or-down vote on final passage. It does not need Trump’s signature because it is a concurrent resolution.” [editor’s note: Many media outlets claim that this is “symbolic” or “does not have the force of law.” The War Powers Act says it is non-symbolic, does have the force of law, and is non-optional for Trump. It’s likely to end up in court – TLK] (06/23/26)
“Zohran Mamdani’s growing influence over the Democratic party was on show in New York City on Tuesday as three congressional candidates endorsed by New York’s democratic socialist mayor won closely watched primaries …. Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last year before endorsing Mamdani, won his race comfortably, defeating the Democratic representative Dan Goldman. Another Mamdani ally, Claire Valdez, a state lawmaker and former union organizer, defeated Antonio Reynoso, the preferred successor of retiring Democratic Representative Nydia Velázquez in New York’s seventh district, encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens. And in a stunning upset, the public defense investigator Darializa Avila Chevalier toppled Representative Adriano Espaillat, the powerful five-term incumbent who chairs the Congressional Hispanic caucus, in the state’s diverse 13th congressional district, which covers Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.” (06/24/26)
