June 24, 2026

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News Source
EXCERPT:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a wannabe Barack Obama, doubled down on his “maximum warfare” comment he made last week despite the urge to tone down the rhetoric after President Donald Trump faced his third assassination attempt.

Disgusting:

As it relates to anything that has been said, certainly as it relates to the comment related to “maximum warfare everywhere, all the time,” in connection with the redistricting battle that Republicans launched, I stand by it. You can continue to criticize me for it.

I don’t give a damn about your criticism as it relates to anything that has been said, certainly as it relates to the comment related to maximum warfare.

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EXCERPT:

It’s been 48 hours since the attempted assassination of President Trump and senior Cabinet officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Sadly, one network endeavors to deemphasize the words contained within the shooter’s manifesto, and hide his leanings from viewer consideration.

Watch as correspondent Matt Gutman papers over all of these important insights into the shooter, reducing his statements to his mockery of the security arrangements outside the D.C. Hilton:

MATT GUTMAN: In an email to family timed to be sent just before the incident, police say the suspect himself expressed surprise at the security footprint. He wrote “I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat. The security at the event is all outside… because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.”

News Source
EXCERPT:

The ongoing military conflict regarding Iran and the Strait of Hormuz may well mirror a future situation off-Earth — the use of cislunar space, the region between the moon and our planet. Think blockades, seizing of ships, impacts on the global economy, repercussions in terms of needed resources and markets, from fuel to high-tech semiconductors and production processes. Now turn your attention skyward and note that the U.S. Space Force is establishing a dedicated acquisition office to appraise the importance of the cislunar region for warfighting and national security.

In recent weeks, there has been palpable excitement over NASA’s Artemis 2 moon mission and the announcement of the space agency’s ambitious plans for human habitation of the moon. “In parallel, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, causing global energy markets to spike and everyone to notice, yet again, how vulnerable we are to accidents of geography,” said Marc Feldman, executive director of the Center for the Study of Space Crime, Piracy & Governance. “Sometimes, a pair of events contains a warning, if you are able to see it”, Feldman added.

News Source
EXCERPT:

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence.

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power.

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EXCERPT:

For years now, astronomers have been witnessing what seems like an ever-growing puzzle regarding the early formation of the universe. According to recent findings, some supermassive black holes, with masses ranging up to one billion times larger than the sun’s, were formed within less than a billion years following the formation of the universe itself. This phenomenon is hard to understand according to current scientific explanations for the evolution of black holes. Normally, black holes are created when stars collapse and gradually increase in size. This is because the entire process requires time. However, recent findings made through the use of the James Webb Space Telescope point toward the opposite. There might be an unknown force behind their quick formation, and dark matter could be the answer.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Speaking with CNN’s Manu Raju, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker discussed political violence in America after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The problem with his remarks is that he decided to blame the president, despite this being the third assassination attempt on his life. Rather than call out the left, which is the side largely responsible for much of the political violence in this country, he decided to slander Conservatives, as he failed to acknowledge any form of self-reflection.

According to Pritzker, it is the president who calls for political violence against the other side, so much so that he has called for jailing his political opponents. The problem with this, however, is that reality proves otherwise, so much so that the level of projection in his remarks is unbelievable.

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EXCERPT:

Anne Hathaway wanted a certain kind of person on set for The Devil Wears Prada 2. Which means she wanted a certain kind of person NOT on set for The Devil Wears Prada 2. But, you be the judge. The Left, once again, is insisting that all violence comes from the political right despite the fact that they have to twist themselves into knots to get there. Let’s see how much the Left has done since Trump’s reelection. Lee Zeldin faced off in Congress in an epic battle with the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock. We’re sorry. We’re being told that’s Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Our mistake.

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EXCERPT:

During the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, a 26-year-old company commander’s unit was pinned down by a fortified hilltop. After frontal assaults failed, the junior officer made an extraordinary request: an entire battalion, four times the size of his own unit, for a jungle flanking maneuver. The regimental commander agreed. The surprise assault broke the Vietnamese defense. This company commander’s pedigree was as formidable as his tactics: His father was a founding general who had just retired as head of the Chinese military’s General Logistics Department.

Five years later, that same officer commanded the regiment tasked with the main assault at the Battle of Laoshan, the largest engagement of the Sino-Vietnamese border war. His attack plan, the military’s first complete infantry-artillery coordination plan since the Cultural Revolution, required massed artillery support far exceeding what any single regimental commander could normally secure. During a massive counterattack, his regiment held the line against six enemy regiments. His competence was real. So was the informal network of guanxi — the entrenched personal connections and reciprocal obligations — that put him in a position to demonstrate it.

The officer was Zhang Youxia. In January 2026, nearly half a century after his triumph in Vietnam, he became the most senior general to fall in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s unprecedented purge.

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EXCERPT:

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff said Tuesday that he made a “serious mistake” by recommending Peter Mandelson be made U.K. ambassador to the United States, but denied interfering with the appointment process.

Morgan McSweeney told lawmakers on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that it had been “a serious error of judgment” to back Mandelson. The committee is investigating how Mandelson, a scandal-tainted friend of Jeffrey Epstein, was given the key diplomatic job despite failing security checks.

McSweeney said that “the prime minister relied on my advice, and I got it wrong.” He apologized to Epstein’s victims, saying “I am sorry for any part this controversy has played in causing further hurt or distress.”

McSweeney’s testimony came as Starmer faced more heat Tuesday over the appointment, with lawmakers set to vote on whether the U.K. leader should be investigated by a parliamentary standards watchdog over the ill-fated decision.

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EXCERPT:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation declined to end a lawsuit blocking President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche used a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to call on the litigation to be dropped.

“I write to acknowledge receipt of your letter requesting that the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (“National Trust”) dismiss the above-captioned lawsuit,” National Trust senior counsel Gregory B. Craig confirmed to Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate in a letter on Monday. “The National Trust respectfully declines the invitation to dismiss.”

“The National Trust’s filings have repeatedly insisted that any injunction on ballroom construction nonetheless permit work to continue on the below-ground bunker construction you have represented to the Court is necessary to preserve national security,” the letter continued. “What Saturday’s awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so.”

“Equally clear is that nothing in this lawsuit puts the personal safety of the President, his family, or his staff in any jeopardy. Indeed, after reviewing multiple secret security submissions by your office, the court concluded that the absence of a White House ballroom is not a matter of national security permitting those federal laws to be ignored.”

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EXCERPT:

A Wisconsin teacher was placed on leave following controversial comments in which he said he was “not impressed with recent presidential assassins.”

Kaukauna High School social studies teacher Patrick Meyer suggested that the four men who successfully assassinated a U.S. president — John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz and, Lee Harvey Oswald — must be rolling over in their graves after recent failed attempts to kill a president.

“I am not impressed with recent presidential assassins. It’s f—ing embarrassing! Booth, Guiteau, Czolgosz, Oswald must all be spinning in their graves! MAGAA (make Americans great assassins again)! Sad!” Meyer said in a since-deleted post on X, appearing to mock President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, slogan.

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EXCERPT:

Cryopreservation, the process of preserving biological tissue by cooling it to extremely low temperatures, often sounds like something out of science fiction. In reality, scientists have been studying and refining this technique for nearly a century. Progress remained slow for decades, but that began to change in 2023, when researchers at the University of Minnesota successfully transplanted a cryopreserved kidney into another rat. That milestone demonstrated that frozen organs could one day be used in human transplants.

Despite that progress, preserving larger organs remains a major hurdle. One of the biggest problems is cracking, which can occur when tissues are cooled too quickly. These fractures can damage the organ and make it unusable, making crack prevention a critical goal for advancing organ preservation and transplantation.

A team at Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Matthew Powell-Palm from the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, has introduced a new approach aimed at addressing this issue. Their research outlines a method that could reduce the likelihood of cracking during cryopreservation.

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EXCERPT:

Imagine an America where factories hum again, jobs return to towns long left behind, and the heartbeat of industry pulses stronger than it has in years.

Under President Donald J. Trump, that vision is becoming reality.

Democrats spent years pushing a narrative that manufacturing’s decline was inevitable, a so-called Trump Effect they blamed on him while their own policies accelerated the bleeding. Trump has ended that lie. American manufacturing is surging back, and the numbers prove it.

Republicans must recognize this triumph, especially now, as midterm season unfolds. They should defend it fiercely, for Democrats’ woke leftist base would dismantle every gain with vindictive speed if handed power again.

Manufacturing is expanding for the third straight month. Its key index posted the highest reading since 2022. New orders are rising for the third consecutive month as both American and overseas buyers seek U.S.-made products. Production has grown for five months running and is accelerating at a pace unseen before the disastrous Biden-Harris era. The Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Index surged in April, beating forecasts.

News Source
EXCERPT:

President Donald Trump continues to prioritize the passage of the SAVE America Act, keeping election integrity at the forefront in Washington. However, states are not waiting for Congress to act. Across the country, this shift has been building for years, and it is becoming harder to ignore.

The SAVE America Act should be passed because it aligns federal elections with the direction states are already taking.

Florida offers one of the clearest examples. Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a state-level measure requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and directing officials to verify applicants using existing data systems. The approach mirrors what the SAVE America Act would do at the federal level. DeSantis said the law would “strengthen the security, transparency, and reliability of Florida’s election system.”

Florida is not alone. In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves signed the SHIELD Act, which requires officials to verify citizenship when individuals register to vote, including checks against federal databases and regular audits of voter rolls. Reeves called it “another win for election integrity” and made clear that the state intends to keep strengthening its system.

News Source
EXCERPT:

HOPELESS Russian soldiers are reportedly shooting down their own drones and then disguising them as Ukrainian aircraft so they can claim battle bonuses.

It comes as horror claims emerge that Vladimir Putin’s soldiers are turning to cannibalism as they run low on provisions.

Russian soldiers are reportedly accidentally shooting down their own drones Credit: EPA
Miscommunication means firing units mistake their own drones for Ukrainian aircraft Credit: Getty

Russians shoot down their own drones due to coordination failures and administrative confusion, United24 Media reported.

But Mad Vlad’s desperate lads are then pretending to have taken down Ukrainian drones so that they can claim cash rewards.

Pro-Russian media describe the situation as a “time bomb”, expressing fears that nearly all of Putin’s drones could soon come under attack from his own hapless soldiers.

Originally published April 24, 2026 for our weekly Issue of Mindful Intelligence Advisor.  Subscribe to get weekly issues.

By STAFF

This report covers political, world, cultural, market, and sci-tech news from April 17-23, 2026.

This report contains the Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, and People Advance Reports.

TOP NEWS TAGS

Iran War

2026 Elections

AI Markets

Ukraine War

Gerrymandering Wars

Trump Deportations

AI Resources

Progressive Virginia

SPLC Indictments

Nuclear Scientists Disappearing

SUMMARY

IRAN – The Iran War is still in its precarious ceasefire status (which you can read about on pg. 2 in our Deep Dive Report, How Iran Killed NATO), with the markets going up and down according to the confidence investors have that the Strait of Hormuz may be opened soon.

The ramifications of Iran on geopolitics are generational and will set new patterns for decades to come.

U.S. POLITICS – The progressives appear to be taking the offensive in U.S. politics, with a big 2026 U.S. House redistricting win in Virginia and polls showing support for the President and his policies slipping.

CULTURE – An indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center is not being met with the usual enthusiasm from the Trump base because skepticism abounds that even indictments will result in anything more than dismissals.

This is a story we will be monitoring, for it is a bellwether of a whole industry of what we consider to be potentially borderline protection rackets, with SPLC being one of the major players. GLAAD might be on par with SPLC.

SCI-TECH – AI’s transformation of society is only accelerating, leading us to create a whole new family of AI-related news tags (which is reflected in our top 10 tags above).

A. GLOBAL OUTLOOK

IRAN CEASEFIRE TOTTERS AS LEBANON CEASEFIRE EXTENDSPresident Donald Trump announced there was no hurry to finalize a peace deal with the Iranian regime. He has extended the ceasefire indefinitely. For more news on Iran, read our Deep Dive Report on pg. 2.

The President also announced the Lebanon ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended for three more weeks.

VIRIGINIA SAYS YES TO PROGRESSIVE GERRYMANDERINGThe Progressives won a major battle in the ongoing gerrymandering wars, this time scoring a narrow victory in Virginia. The ballot measure allows the progressives to change U.S. House Districts to effectively take 4 Republican seats away. The now-passed ballot measure faces legal challenges.

STARMER HOLDS ON AS EPSTEIN SNARE TIGHTENSKier Starmer is holding on amidst increasing calls for him to resign. Evidence already revealed Starmer fully knew the man he appointed to be Ambassador to the U.S. had Epstein ties before the appointment. Now, it is revealed he willfully lied when confronted before Peter Mandelson, the man in question, was finally appointed.

SPLC ACCUSED OF FUNDING HATEThe FBI has leveled multiple criminal indictments against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). SPLC is accused of spending millions of dollars to fund numerous far-right hate groups, including the group behind the now-infamous Charlottsville, VA white supremacist rally. The SPLC’s initial defense is it was simply paying informants.

SPACE DEFENSE AND NUCLEAR SCIENTIST APOCOLYPSE?The FBI is now looking into the disappearance and deaths of numerous scientists working in the nuclear and space defense industries. The cases go back to 2022. U.S. House Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a letter to the FBI, “If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets.”

He later added, “Once you see the facts, it would suggest that something sinister could be happening and it would be a national security concern… Congress is very concerned about this. Our committee is making this one of our priorities now because we view this as a national security threat.”

TRANSGENDER CARE FOR KIDS, SAYS DISTRICT JUDGEUnited States District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai has ruled on the HHS’s declaration that gender-affirming care for children is unsafe and ineffective. The progressive judge has ruled the HHS declaration to be unconstitutional.

The judge sided with the 22 progressive-led states, which argued the federal government did not have the legal authority to make such a determination.

TRUMP DOWN BIGLY – President Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to 37% according to an NBC News poll. This is the lowest rating the poll has recorded during the President’s second term. His disapproval rating has hit 62%, with 50% now strongly disapproving.

AFTER SECRETARY FIRING, NAVY GETS SHOOT-ON-SIGHT ORDERAfter the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, was suddenly dismissed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump issued a new shoot-on-sight order to the Navy. The move has many wondering if the now-former Secretary was dismissed for refusing to follow that same order.

META’S DOWNSIZING CONTINUES – The parent company of Facebook, Meta, has announced plans to lay off nearly 10% of its total workforce, 8,000 positions, starting in early May 2026. These layoffs may not be the only layoffs, as more might be announced after May of this year.

NEXTAR BLOCKED FROM TEGNAThe expected merger of television media companies Nextar and Tegna won’t happen after U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy Nunley ended the deal, claiming the legal challenges by eight U.S. State Attorney Generals and DirecTV were likely to succeed.

TRUMP TAKES NEXT STEP TO LEGALIZE WEEDThe Trump administration has officially reclassified certain aspects of marijuana as being a Schedule III drug, which removes many federal criminal designations. For now, the designation only applies to state-licensed medical marijuana, though some within the administration hint more is to come.

B. HEADLINES MISSED

FISA COURT QUASHES SPY TOOL, TRUMP DISSENTSThe Trump administration is fighting a FISA court ruling that prevents the government from specifically searching for individuals online who have contacted a foreigner.

The administration is challenging the FISA court as the court’s existence comes up for renewal this April 30. The GOP-led House extended the program by unanimous consent vote during a late-night session.

SCOTUS ALLOWS STEALTH TRANSITIONING KIDSSCOTUS rejected a petition by parents to challenge a Massachusetts law that allows schools to treat their children as a gender not aligned with their biological sex without parental consent. The schools also have a policy permitting teachers to conceal the child’s school-affirmed trans or non-binary gendered identities from the parents.

AI IS BECOMING A UTILITY – More and more Americans have begun making AI subscription services a part of their essential household budget. Since 2024, paid AI subscriptions have increased by 38%. The paid AI subscription service market is expected to exponentially expand over the next two years.

RIOT BOTS AND THE CCP – China hopes to soon deploy robots to control future rioters. The People’s Armed Police Force (PAP) is already testing the possibility in preparation for a potential mass riot event.

WAS CHATGPT BEHIND A MASS SHOOTING? Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier thinks ChatGPT may have had a hand to play in a recent mass shooting event on the Florida State University campus. He declared, “My prosecutors have looked at this and they’ve told me if it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder.”

He is referring to ChatGPT, whom he accuses of aiding and abetting the shooting. The AG has opened a criminal investigation into ChatGPT.

TEACHERS OF THE FUTURE MUST LEARN TO TEACH WHAT AI CAN’TThe future of teaching in an AI reality is going to mean learning what humans can teach humans that AI cannot, and becoming maximally good at teaching humans JUST that, letting AI teach the rest.

A study from a University of Pennsylvania professor used AI to show that future is already here, and colleges and universities are quickly working to prevent the outmoding of degrees before they are ever completed. IF AI is not factored into the learning, there’s a good chance that job you’re training for is already gone.

C. PEOPLE ADVANCE

SENATE GOP FINALLY PASSES ICE FUND BILLUsing a procedure called “budget reconciliation,” the GOP-led house finally passed a bill funding ICE and Border Patrol through President Trump’s current term. The bill now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass by a razor-thin margin, before it gets to the final passage stage.

CHARLIE KIRK HONORED WITH 1A PROTECTING LAWS – Kansas joins a growing list of states which passed laws honoring the late assassinated American activist Charlie Kirk. The laws have one thing in common, they both protect rights enumerated in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. These rights are the right to religious liberty and the right to freedom of speech.

WOKE HEALTH PANEL NO MORE – RFK Jr. is vowing to replace the “woke” panel currently in charge of choosing what preventative care gets covered by Obamacare. Kennedy plans on replacing the current allegedly “woke” members of the U.S. Preventative Service Task Force, saying “We’re now bringing new members on who have a clear mission.”

U.S. MILITARY GETS VACCINE FREEDOM – Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth has ended mandatory flu vaccines for military personnel. While flu vaccines will still be offered, military personnel can now opt out of them if they so choose.

NO MORE MEN IN WOMEN’S CELLS – A Federal Appeals Court has upheld President Trump’s XO requiring biological sex determines which prison an inmate is assigned to. The argument hinged on the claim biological males faced “cruel and unusual punishment” by being forced to be imprisoned with men.

JESUS RESTORED BY ITALIANS IN LEBANON – Italian Peacekeeper Troops in Lebanon delivered a new Jesus statue to a Lebanon village that saw their previous Jesus statue smashed by an Israeli soldier in a now-viral video. The IDF has apologized and punished the solider responsible.

DIRT-POWERED BATTERIES – Researchers from Northwestern University have invented a fuel cell that is powered by microbes found in soil. Northwestern alumnus Bill Yen, who led the work, said of their proof-of-concept, “We need to find alternatives that can provide low amounts of energy to power a decentralized network of devices… we looked to soil microbial fuel cells, which use special microbes to break down soil and use that low amount of energy to power sensors. As long as there is organic carbon in the soil for the microbes to break down, the fuel cell can potentially last forever.”

ASSESSMENT

AI – The growing resistance to AI’s main resource requirement, massive database centers, seems to be a worldwide phenomenon, and the U.S. is hardly an exception. Despite the resistance, and AI’s unpopularity, AI is increasingly becoming an integral part of the very lives who still oppose it. These same users also oppose the resources, the data centers, needed for it.

U.S. – America’s major political factions continue to harden, while a distinctly American voice has yet to emerge. A win in Iran could change the political climate in America overnight, at least for the Trump base and those willing to be part of an anti-progressive coalition with them.

So far, the pushback to the progressives is more anti-progressive than distinctly American, with no clear articulate apologetic for American rule of law coming from any of the major thought leaders of the non-progressive factions.

WORLD – While Iran dominates world news, Europe is facing an immigration overflow crisis that even the most progressive are finding harder and harder to deny. In the wake of the perceived immediate existential Russian threat, many governments are finding it hard to face the immigration crisis realistically without empowering parties that would quickly replace these governments altogether.

MARKET – The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz seems to be having less and less of an effect on the global economy, though it is still a significant negative impact on the overall global economy (with regional impacts being far worse, especially in Iran itself). The world is adjusting to the bottleneck and more routes, options are being chosen or created.

ON OUR RADAR – Looking at next week, there are some possible major SCOTUS rulings expected that could affect the 2026 election. The report of nuclear scientists and space defense scientists dying or disappearing could be the major story next week if more clear evidence emerges to show this isn’t merely some incredible coincidence.

We will also be watching to see how the evidence plays out against the SPLC and if it will result in an examination of all the political groups that allegedly use the power of their platform to destroy reputations to massage donations from corporations. This would just be a more indirect version of a protection racket. We have a feeling we will be doing a Deep Dive Report on this soon.