NY business group campaigns to end “Prohibition-era” alcohol restrictions statewide

Source: Fox News
by Lindsay Kornick

“The Business Council of New York State is seeking to repeal ‘Prohibition-era’ alcohol laws. The New York Post reported that the organization launched its ‘New Yorkers Cheers for Change’ campaign on Sunday, pushing a proposal that would counter the state’s restrictions on alcohol sales. ‘New York has some of the most restrictive Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) laws the entire nation because they were created during the Prohibition-era. Current ABC laws impede economic growth, job opportunities, consumer choice, and New York’s own wine and distilled spirits industry,’ the organization’s website read. The ‘Cheers for Change’ campaign followed the 2023 Commission to Study Reform of the Alcohol Beverage Control Law, launched under New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, to recommend ways to update state laws, such as relaxing its 200 Foot Law and 500 Foot Law.” (07/13/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-business-group-campaigns-end-prohibition-era-alcohol-restrictions-statewide

South Africa: Blow to corruption case as key suspect pulls out of plea deal

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala, a key figure in a ongoing police corruption inquiry in South Africa, has withdrawn from a controversial plea deal, serving a blow to prosecutors. The business tycoon pulled out of the agreement after a South African court recommended a higher jail sentence – 12 years instead of the agreed eight. Matlala was accused of bribing top police officials to win a 360m rand ($22m; £16.5m) tender for his health company Medicare24 in 2024. He pleaded guilty last month, as part of a deal that could have seen Matlala giving key evidence against senior officials. Though disappointed by Matlala’s U-turn, the state still believes it has a ‘strong and winnable case’, Kaizer Kganyago, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) told journalists on Monday.” (07/13/26)

https://archive.is/hnIax

The Digital Euro’s New Chapter

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes

“In the end, the digital euro does not liberate Europe, modernize it, or make payments more convenient. It merely changes who holds control, shifting it from American private companies to European public authorities, and strengthens that control in the process. At its core, this project reveals a profound civilizational choice: money ceases to belong primarily to individuals, as the state assumes the power to define the limits of financial freedom.” (07/13/26)

https://fee.org/articles/the-digital-euros-new-chapter/

India: Inflation accelerates to 4.38% in June, exceeding forecasts

Source: CNBC

“India’s consumer price inflation rose to 4.38% in June, up from 3.93% in May as the U.S.-Iran war ‌and a weak monsoon raised food and fuel prices, adding to cost pressures. The headline inflation number was above economists’ expectations for a 4.30% rise, according to a Reuters poll. … Last month, India’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged but said it expects inflation to rise and growth to temper in the financial year ending March 2027.” (07/13/26)

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/13/india-june-inflation-oil-food-iran-war.html

First Amendment Protects Universities From Florida’s Stop WOKE Act

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“The cure for a regime of establishment-approved ideology does not come from government censorship of conversations. That should be clear to anybody who believes in freedom, and it’s a point strongly made by a federal appeals court in overruling Florida’s Stop WOKE Act. Saying the First Amendment is incompatible with ‘an official government line—in a college classroom of all places,’ the court overruled the state’s effort to battle ideological orthodoxy by imposing its own orthodoxy.” (07/13/26)

https://reason.com/2026/07/13/first-amendment-protects-universities-from-floridas-stop-woke-act/

EU rallies dozens of nations to pledge $1 billion for recovery fund in Gaza

Source: SFGate

“The European Union coordinated efforts to raise 900 million euros ($1 billion) in aid for Gaza, working with 65 governments and organizations including the White House and the United Nations, the bloc’s top diplomat said Monday. Kaja Kallas announced the fund after a meeting of the Palestine Donors Group in Brussels. ‘The EU is the most credible supporter, for the Palestinian people. We are the largest donor and the strongest backer of the two-state solution,’ she said. The meeting was the second gathering of the Team Gaza Initiative, an effort by the EU to rally support for recovery projects like sanitation and farming in the destitute and war-ravaged coastal enclave of some 2 million people.” (07/13/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/eu-rallies-dozens-of-nations-to-pledge-1-billion-22343244.php

Keeping Cool: The Air Conditioner That Changed America

Source: The Daily Economy
by Gale Pooley

“With sweltering temperatures once again gripping much of the world, it is worth appreciating air conditioning — the quiet invention that transforms dangerous heat into manageable discomfort, shields millions from heat-related suffering and death, boosts productivity, and makes once-hostile climates livable. It is a powerful reminder that wealth, innovation, and human ingenuity enable societies to adapt to nature’s extremes and protect human life. To understand why the US heat death rate is 59 times lower than that of Europe, it helps to begin with a young engineer named Willis Carrier.” (07/13/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/keeping-cool-the-air-conditioner-that-changed-america/

NATO 3.0 Emerges Alive and Dangerous from the Ankara Summit

Source: Common Dreams
by Joseph Gerson

“Despite its well-advertised tensions and tectonic geopolitical changes, this week’s NATO summit demonstrated that NATO has survived and is resilient. It remains committed to reinforcing US hegemony across Europe and globally. Not a lot has changed since former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote that US global dominance relies on controlling the periphery of Eurasia: NATO in the West, in Southwest Asia to the South, as well as its Asia-Pacific allies from South Korea and Japan through the Philippines and Australia. In the 21st century, military planning as well as trade is deeply integrated across these three regions. The Summit served to reinforce what is emerging as a new bloc system for our yet to be named era. Threatened by the US and NATO, as John Mearsheimer remarked, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea each see the US as a mortal enemy.” (07/13/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ankara-nato-summit

El Salvador: Party nominates Bukele for third term as president

Source: Yahoo! News

“El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has ‌secured the nomination of his ruling ‌Nuevas Ideas party for the 2027 presidential election, ​the party said late on Sunday, following legal changes that cleared the way for his seeking a third term. … In July 2025, ​the ruling ​party’s allies in ​Congress dismantled previous ‌constitutional safeguards and approved new measures that allow indefinite presidential reelection.” (07/13/26)

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/el-salvador-presidents-party-nominates-115541893.html