Ohio State Police fire RoboCop for contributing to zero arrests and issuing no tickets
Advertising for a $7 million Tokyo apartment featuring an “invisible man” becomes a hot topic The Straits Times
‘The world’s most famous tree’: Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old oak dies The Guardian
Climate/Environment
breaking news!
Y-axis alert!
Nino 3.4 sea surface temperatures are currently more than 3 standard deviations above the 1991-2020 average, forcing us to expand the y-axis by up to 3.5σ.
And is that line at the bottom? That was in 1988. pic.twitter.com/NwbOij2Gwk
— Professor Elliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) June 17, 2026
Tropical Storm Arthur forms along the Texas coast, extending the threat of flooding across the tropical Deep South Eye
“Sponge City” is gaining popularity. But can we cope with a supercharged storm? Inside Climate News
Looking for a deal on heat pumps? Team up with your neighbors. grist
When is the apocalypse? ‘Earth’s black box’ to be installed at remote Tasmanian airfield The Guardian
pandemic
School districts are struggling to keep up with burgeoning special education management needs. “The pandemic has significantly accelerated the growth in the number of students with disabilities. In the five years following COVID-19 school closures, the number of local students identified as needing services increased by 50% compared to the previous five years.” And instead of blaming it on eight months of remote learning…
Long-lasting novel coronavirus associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in children and adolescents in the Omicron era (RECOVER-EHR): A retrospective cohort study The Lancet
China?
China has a new weapon: strong oil prices
The West will successfully deal with AI to keep out China Politico
As Wall Street celebrates SpaceX IPO, Chinese government narrows focus on AI investment risks George Chen
India
US removes “India” from military command name, withdraws support for India from Trump era The Wire
syrakistan
Lebanon: Israel drastically expands use of illegal mass “evacuation” orders, committing war crimes of illegal deportations Amnesty International
Israel expands attacks on Palestinians near ‘Yellow Line’ drop points in campaign to further occupy Gaza Strip
“His only crime is being a Palestinian doctor” +972 Magazine
US uses frozen Palestinian funds to advance Israeli ‘normalization’ policy: Report Press TV
***
Text of memorandum of understanding between Iran and US NBC News
Factbox: 14-point memorandum between US and Iran sets out conditions to end imposed war and rebuild regional security framework Press TV
President Trump threatens to drop a bomb on Iran if it doesn’t “behave” Middle East Eye
Trump administration admits to using Grok to bomb Iran in federal lawsuit supporting Truth in Musk
New York Times: As the Iran conflict enters a new phase, can you say whether you intend to hold anyone in the administration accountable for the school strike that killed more than 100 children?
TRUMP: No, that’s a very strange question. it is… pic.twitter.com/vh0plTlYKZ
— Aaron Looper (@atrupar) June 17, 2026
Africa
Egyptian drone attack kills several people at gold mine near Sudanese border, miners say Sudan Tribune
Somaliland leader opens door to Israeli military base in Somalia
old blighty
Lawyer in Ukrainian Starmer arson trial says there was a huge cover-up Skwawkbox
Palestine Action co-founder vows to overturn ban in court or ‘in the streets’ The Canary
discord in europe
Bavarian Supreme Court rules state spy agency can monitor AfD DW
A new war that’s not so cold war
Finland abandons nuclear weapons ban RT
Finland to buy US-made glide bombs for F-35s, ministry says The Straits Times
Copyright Infringement on English Channel Ian Proud
Europe’s G7 countries and the United States plan to build long-range missiles “under license” in Ukraine. Le Parisien (machine translation)
🇧🇾🇺🇦🇷🇺 Belarusian children’s bus collides with AFU drone in Bryansk region.
The acting governor said that when AFU forces attacked the bus, it was carrying school children, a group of parents and the bus, and they treated it like a military target.
One of the deceased was confirmed to be a Belarusian national. … https://t.co/Bm43O9GoKH
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 17, 2026
Ukraine’s defense minister predicts dozens of new companies will hire thousands of foreigners to work in Ukraine Ukraineska Pravda
EU Council opening communication channels with Kremlin, officials acknowledge parliament Politics Magazine
imperial collapse watch
Senate committee approves bill that would ban defense contractors from stock buybacks CNBC
Spirit of the Age Thomas Frank, Harper’s
JUST IN – President Trump surrounded by world leaders at G7 summit in France: “I’m the boss” pic.twitter.com/rM0Cu5RK5y
— The Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) June 17, 2026
Lafaire Epstein
US House of Representatives staff visit Ghislaine Maxwell prison following laptop and puppy allegations The Guardian
south of the border
US military bombs suspected drug ship in Eastern Pacific, killing at least one person
Cuba announces major reforms as US economic siege intensifies Al Mayadeen
Trump 2.0
More than 770,000 children no longer receive SNAP benefits after President Trump made changes to the federal food program ProPublica. America: Killing children abroad, killing children at home.
Senators suspect Trump misappropriated Secret Service funds to build NOTUS ballroom
Why does President Trump want the American Rescue Act? The answer should leave us wondering. Bulkin treatment
unity party
Khanna signs ‘Peace Pledge’, first in Congress, pledging to deny AIPAC funding A Common Dream
Democrats are the worst
Democratic socialists rise to the roots of mayors in the Trump era NBC News. Explanation:
This is clearly an issue that Democrats across the country need to wake up to as well. Urban areas are the core of the Kuomintang. If DSA ate lunch there, we would be in trouble.
— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) June 17, 2026
big brother is watching you
Bay Area launches drone war on trash San Francisco Standard
accelerationist
Members of Peter Thiel’s secret ‘Dialogue’ Society exposed in leak Wired
America’s ‘nuclear allies’ test US nuclear revival FT
police state surveillance
Minnesota union members included in federal prosecution of ICE monitors Workday Magazine
Fallout from ‘Broadview Six’ continues as Trump administration launches new prosecutions in Minnesota Law Doak
How States Can Use Domestic Terrorism Laws to Prosecute Activists Civil Liberties Center
ICE appears to be purchasing immigrants’ tax identifiers from data broker 404 Media
supremes
The Supreme Court will decide whether ICE can detain people indefinitely. We should all be concerned. slate
economy
Housing starts fall to pandemic levels as builders worry about inflation Stateline
basil
Futurism Tesla allegedly showed cooked data to gain approval for fully self-driving cars
A.I.
The White House wants humanity to stop all jailbreaks. It may not be possible with wired
OpenAI’s Stargate data centers take longer and cost more than competitors’ data centers
Smartphone market to shrink 15% this year due to memory crisis The Register
Agentic AI comes to medicine Eric Topol
Generative AI has a Herbalife moment: What we’ve lost
class war
Musk and AI oligarchs impose risks on us Anne Pettifor. “…the next global financial crisis is just around the corner.”
More Americans are going hungry in the face of federal cuts and soaring food prices Stateline
Lake Station Fixers: A Working Class Story
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