“A court in Albania’s capital Tirana has freed 19 protesters detained during a violent protest against a resort linked to US President Donald Trump’s family. The protesters released on Sunday were held on suspicion of ‘refusing to obey police orders, organising illegal demonstrations and disturbing public order’, one of their lawyers told reporters. … There have been nightly demonstrations in Albania since May, initially over a luxury coastal resort project which is linked to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in a protected natural area.” (07/05/26)
“At least 11 people have been killed in Kyiv following a second night of Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital in a week, the city’s top military administrator has said. Some 46 people have been injured, including five children, Timur Tkachenko added. Three more people were killed in the wider Kyiv region, emergency officials said. Rescue efforts are continuing at more than 20 locations, Tkachenko posted on Telegram, adding that residential high-rise buildings were hit in two districts. The strikes come on the eve of the Nato summit in Turkey, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to hold talks with President Trump.” (07/06/26)
“Bitcoin touched $63,882 overnight before retreating to around $62,900, per CoinDesk data. The 24-hour high of $63,900 held briefly before sellers pushed it back down. Thursday’s U.S. jobs report came in weaker than expected, giving liquidity-sensitive assets a lift heading into the weekend.” (07/06/26)
“China test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the first such launch in two years. The missile was launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine and sent a ‘mock warhead’ into the Pacific Ocean, according to a report from Xinhua, China’s official news agency. … The launch came as the leaders of Australia and Fiji announced a mutual defense treaty and a regional security alliance, the latest in a string of agreements Canberra has been striking in with Pacific Island nations widely viewed as efforts to push back against China’s encroachment in the region. Governments in the region were warned of the launch shortly beforehand.” (07/06/26)
“Iran has announced plans to introduce new service fees for commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while indicating that countries which supported Tehran during the recent conflict could receive preferential treatment. The announcement was made by Iran’s Ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, during the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday. He said Iran was working with Oman on a new framework to manage traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime routes. The proposal comes after a temporary arrangement between Iran and the US under which commercial vessels were allowed to use the Hormuz without charge for 60 days following a ceasefire. It remains unclear when the new system will take effect.” (07/05/26)
“Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow suspended her Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate on Sunday, turning a three-way primary race in a key battleground state into a head-to-head between a moderate and a progressive. McMorrow’s exit leaves centrist U.S. Representative Haley Stevens and progressive public health advocate Abdul El-Sayed as the remaining candidates vying to face Republican former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers.” (07/05/26)
“Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Saturday filed a 12-point proposal to amend the constitution aimed at ousting President Tamás Sulyok and to reduce the influence of the previous administration of Viktor Orbán. One of the key points in the proposal that Magyar announced on social media is the ‘termination of the current president’s term of office.’ Other points include a three-term limit for members of the national parliament, the introduction of a more independent Constitutional Court, and a 70-year age limit for judges to serve, as well as the establishment of a National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office, to recover funds misappropriated during Orban’s rule. The current president of the court, Péter Polt, is 70, so the change would effectively end his term.” (07/05/26)
“The FBI says it has [stolen] more than 600 drones near FIFA World Cup sites after authorities determined the devices violated restricted airspace since the tournament began on June 11. The total number of [stolen] drones nationwide has doubled in less than two weeks. The FBI, along with accredited operators from local and state law enforcement around the country, is monitoring drone activity near World Cup competitions and related fan fest events.” (07/04/26)
“U.S. power grid operator PJM, the nation’s largest covering much of the East Coast and Midwest, on Friday ordered customers in emergency electricity-reduction programs to curb their use, as it battled generator outages, overloaded transmission lines and surging air-conditioning demand during a prolonged heat wave. In an emergency alert, activated in line with utilities’ conservation programs, PJM said the order applied to industrial and residential electricity users with contracts that pay them in return for mandatory consumption cuts during emergencies. … The power grid operator serves 67 million people in the Mid-Atlantic, South and Washington, D.C., areas. Even before this week’s heat wave, it had been straining to overhaul a system pushed to the brink by surging energy demand from data centers and electric vehicles.” (06/03/26)
“After months of speculation and predictions, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were married as they celebrated their wedding with hundreds of guests Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A representative for Swift confirmed in a statement provided to CBS News that the two were married in a ceremony officiated by comedian Adam Sandler. He was described by the representative as a ‘friend’ of the couple. … The duo announced their engagement last August in a joint Instagram post captioned: ‘Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.'” (07/04/26)
