June 21-27, 2026
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NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
New U.S. Iran Strikes Show Trump Has Started a ‘Forever War,’ Exasperated Officials Say: After U.S. attacks on targets around the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for a ship strike on Thursday, administration sources voiced fears of worse to come despite the supposed ceasefire. ZETEO
DEMOCRACY IN DANGER
Postmaster General Confirms Plan to Hold Back Mail Ballots Under Proposed Rule: The postmaster general, David Steiner, said on Wednesday that under a proposed rule, his agency would not deliver mail ballots in states that decline to hand over voter data. Steiner conceded that his agency does not have the authority to administer elections but instead characterized the rule as a procedural precaution to ensure ballots are being sent to eligible voters only. THE HILL. However, a federal judge in Massachusetts Thursday blocked federal agencies from implementing President Donald Trump’s sweeping attack on mail voting and his attempt to create a national voter registration list before the midterm elections. District Judge Indira Talwani, a Barack Obama appointee, found that major parts of Trump’s March 2026 anti-voting executive order were “legally void” for exceeding the president’s power and violating the separation of powers by encroaching on states’ authority to administer elections. DEMOCRACY DOCKET
FEC filings confirm GOP meddling in Dem primaries: A Republican-linked group was the sole funded of two pop-up super PACs that spent more than $4.3 million across a swath of Democratic congressional primaries to support candidates seen as less electable. POLITICO
WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER
Federal health agency cancels most of its teen pregnancy prevention grants: A spokesperson for U.S. Health and Human Services confirmed to Stateline on Friday that the agency is canceling 53 out of 67 grants, worth about $68 million, under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, affecting grantees in more than two dozen states. Teen birth rates have fallen dramatically in the past 20 years, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data — about 72% since 2007. Experts attribute that decline to fewer teens deciding to have sex earlier, sex education and better access to contraception, especially for girls. STATELINE
Money once used for crucial national-park repairs is now financing Trump’s redecorating projects.: The Park Service spent $347,503 to remove and replace the stucco on the colonnade wall, a project that cleared the way for Trump to affix gold frames and plaques mocking some of his predecessors. This previously undisclosed spending is part of an enormous shift of taxpayer cash away from national parks around the country and into the Washington area. In order to pay for the president’s projects, the parks have had to cancel needed repairs, slash their budgets, and operate with fewer employees. ATLANTIC
IMMIGRATION
Trump administration asks supreme court to back immigration detention policy: The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to let it detain people arrested in its immigration crackdown without a chance to seek bond, even if they have lived in the country for years. The administration made that request in a filing made public on Friday, asking the court to overturn a May decision by a federal appeals court, which had rejected its reinterpretation of a decade. THE GUARDIAN
What the Supreme Court rulings mean for America’s immigrants and the nation: The Supreme Court issued two decisions Thursday that will collectively allow the Trump administration to push forward the president’s plan to transform the asylum system and expel immigrants who come from some of the world’s most troubled countries. The decisions affect both immigrants who have been living in the United States for years and those who are still seeking entry. WASHINGTON POST
Federal agents track down Syracuse woman, demand she remove Instagram post about ICE: Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents issued a warning to a Syracuse woman Tuesday to remove a social media account they said threatens federal agents. Paigelynne Gonyea said she believes they are referring to a January post where she named the ICE agent who shot protester Renee Good. SYRACUSE
Federal court allows ICE to expand expedited deportations nationwide: A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with an effort to expand fast-track deportations throughout the U.S., in a legal win for the president's crackdown on illegal immigration. CBS
SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY
Supreme Court backs Monsanto in its fight against liability from popular weed killer: The Supreme Court agreed to shield Monsanto from liability over its popular weed killer, Roundup, dealing a victory to the company's new owner as it struggles to resolve thousands of costly lawsuits from people who claim the key ingredient caused their cancers. NPR
Military services again requiring recruits to get flu shots as Air Force outbreak grows: The outbreak is unfolding just two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the annual flu shot optional for troops, scrapping the military's requirement for it, which dates to 1945, a move breaking with longstanding public health directives. Now the services have already been given exceptions to Hegseth's policy according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement provided to ABC News. As part of those exceptions to the policy, the Army, Navy and Air Force are once again requiring flu shots for basic trainees, according to officials. ABC
AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance: What is happening in Mpongwe now is a grim echo of a time that most of the nurses and clinicians here are not old enough to remember. Three decades ago, hospitals in Zambia were packed with young men and women dying agonizing deaths, and the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic had overwhelmed the health system. Life expectancy had dropped to 37. NYT
CORRUPTION ALERT
DOGE Operative Behind Nuclear Safety Rollbacks Sat on Industry-Backed VC Board:: A key architect of Trump’s nuclear safety rollbacks simultaneously served on the board of a venture firm backed by nuclear industry investors. SLUDGE
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