June 19, 2026

02 U.S. Politics

Blurb:

Key Takeaways

  • Tennessee lawmakers passed Senate Bill 350, preventing landlords from banning tenants from possessing firearms on leased property.
  • The law amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 66, extending firearm rights to homes, apartments, and vehicles in landlord-provided parking.
  • The legislation passed with strong bipartisan support: 27-5 in the Senate and 73-21 in the House.
  • Existing leases prohibiting firearms will be void as of July 1, 2025, and landlords must amend them by July 1, 2026.
  • The law allows tenants to sue for damages if landlords violate their rights, affirming that Second Amendment protections apply even in rental situations.

Blurb:

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has seized more than 650,000 ballots from California’s November 2025 special election and announced his office will conduct an independent count.

The move is setting up a direct confrontation with Democrat state officials demanding he stand down.

The investigation focuses on Proposition 50, a ballot measure tied to congressional district reform, after local investigators flagged what they describe as tens of thousands of excess votes.

Blurb:

A Midwest affiliate of the nation’s No. 1 killer of unborn children will pay $500,000 to settle a federal investigation into its alleged discriminatory practices, including promoting racial segregation.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois violated federal civil rights laws when it conducted training sessions in which the organization “segregated employees by race [and] subjected white employees to harassment,” according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The abortion provider also engaged in “disparate treatment against white employees regarding terms, conditions, and privileges of employment,” the EEOC discovered in its class investigation into “charges brought by multiple Planned Parenthood employees.”

Perhaps it comes as little surprise that the affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, founded by a woman who embraced the racist and discredited theories of eugenics, would be investigated on racial discrimination charges.

Blurb:

President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth just gave the National Guard some great news.

At an event in Memphis, President Trump said that Hegseth has signed a directive granting full active-duty pay and benefits to National Guard members deployed to U.S. cities as part of a federal crackdown on crime.

The White House shared:

Watch President Trump’s announcement here:

Blurb:

The American Center for Law and Justice, which repeatedly has assembled for court cases the facts about America’s abortion industry and the millions of dollars it has been demanding from taxpayers to fund its unborn infant-killing operations, has confirmed that a major battle in that war has been won.

But not by the abortion behemoths who went to court insisting they had a constitutional right to tax money.

The ACLJ said the 1st Circuit court has granted a stay that allows Section 71113 to take effect even in the states that sued.

Blurb:

The New Hampshire Senate has defeated a bill that would have codified abortion as a fundamental right and provided legal shields for abortionists who kill babies, including protections against out-of-state legal actions.

In a 16-8 vote along party lines on March 5, senators rejected SB 551, the Shield Law for Reproductive Health Care Access.

Sponsored by Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, and co-sponsored by all Senate Democrats, the legislation sought to declare a right to kill babies in abortions and shield New Hampshire abortionists from external interference.

Blurb:

You have to be an absolute monster to be sent to Rikers Island. Mamdani’s constituency. But he won’t meet with the families of the people these violent criminals have killed or the the women they’ve raped or the NYPD injured in the line of duty. Just the criminals.

This is another fitting example of why many are fleeing New York City. The dynamic is nicely captured in the opening of a piece at Tablet magazine: “My breaking point wasn’t getting mugged,” Josh Greenberg, a digital media strategist who left Park Slope, New York, in early 2022, told me. “It was realizing the city had more sympathy for the guy that mugged me than they did for me.”

Editors note: The reason why I place “fast” in quotes is because you can eat like a horse in the morning and you can eat like a horse in the evening. I do not consider that a “fast.”

Blurb:

Iran’s regime is publicly rejecting a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, escalating tensions even as President Donald Trump signals a willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict.

State-run outlets in Tehran reported Wednesday that Iran “will not accept a ceasefire offer from the United States.”

The rejection underscores the regime’s refusal to de-escalate despite mounting international pressure.

Blurb:

The biggest argument against democracy is five minutes with the average voter. The Democratic Party might be making that argument stronger. I’ve never seen a party push to eliminate elections and voting the way Democrats have in this fight over Department of Homeland Security funding.

Yes, this stubbornness over funding a key agency that’s been shut down since Presidents’ Day weekend is more about anti-Trump hysteria, but it also reflects the Democrats’ long-term goal of defunding ICE. Republicans understand this — that’s why they funded the agency through 2029 during the first reconciliation.

With TSA agents quitting due to lack of paychecks, the Democrats believe hurting regular people to get their way will work. We’re dealing with legislative terrorists. I was hesitant about ending the filibuster, but I am now leaning entirely toward it because Democrats want unrealistic concessions, and shutting down DHS over deportation disputes isn’t a valid argument.

Blurb:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is doubling down on protecting illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement just days after the killing of 18-year-old college student Sheridan Gorman, for which an illegal immigrant from Venezuela is in custody.

On Wednesday, Johnson unveiled a city snowplow named “Abolish ICE” and addressed reporters about the city’s ongoing efforts to push back against the Trump administration’s efforts to apprehend and deport illegal immigrants, particularly those who have committed violent crimes.

“This name derives from our city’s legacy of standing up for justice, dignity, and the rights of all people, no matter where they come from,” Johnson said as he stood in front of the vehicle. “I want to take this moment to reiterate that Chicago does not want ICE on our streets, in our airports, nor in our city. Chicago believes in abolishing ICE.”

Blurb:

Wednesday on “The Alex Marlow Show,” host and Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow talked about Iran.

Marlow said, “So, the sweeping of these mines can be a massive job, a real pain in the butt, very time-consuming, but it wasn’t as many mines as I had feared initially yesterday. So I’m hoping it’s just a bargaining chip, because Trump has laid out what he needs in order to…take his foot off the gas.”

Blurb:

Key Takeaways

  • San Jose State University is suing the federal government over a Title IX ruling that found it violated regulations by allowing a trans-identifying male player to participate on its women’s volleyball team, prompting claims of unfairness and safety concerns from female players.
  • The U.S. Department of Education ordered SJSU to apologize to affected female athletes, restore awards, and implement changes to comply with Title IX, but SJSU is contesting these demands, arguing that the findings are unfounded.
  • SJSU’s leadership asserts it has acted lawfully and is dedicated to fostering an ‘inclusive’ environment, though critics accuse it of neglecting the well-being of female athletes in their policies.

Blurb:

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against an Orange County-based towing company alleging it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally auctioning over several years nearly 150 motor vehicles owned by members of the military.

According to the lawsuit, from August 2020 to April 2025, San Clemente-based S&K Towing Inc. illegally sold or disposed of as many as 148 vehicles owned by servicemembers, many of which were towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Even though S&K’s contract with Camp Pendleton required it to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, the company made no effort to comply with the SCRA, which requires tow companies to obtain a court order before selling or disposing of a vehicle owned by an SCRA-protected servicemember.

Blurb:

While Illinois’ 12 public universities are beginning to roll out plans to provide abortion pills on campus, as state law now requires, none offer prenatal care and only a few advertise referrals for it, a College Fix analysis found.

Illinois recently began requiring public higher education institutions to provide or offer referrals for contraception and abortion pills to students for free if the campus has a student health center. If the center includes a pharmacy, the school must provide abortion pills to students on campus, according to the law.

The Fix recently looked at the campus health center websites of all 12 public universities to see which offer abortion pills (sometimes referred to as medication abortions), which offer abortion referrals, and whether any offer other services for students who are pregnant. The Fix also contacted each university to ask about these services, but only three responded.

Blurb:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is currently experiencing the longest wait times in the history of the United States as the ongoing Democrat-led shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drags through day 40.

As of March 25, the shutdown stands as the second longest in U.S. history when partial and full shutdowns are considered together, second only to last year’s Democrat-led full government shutdown.

The impasse centers on appropriations for DHS agencies, including the TSA. Senate Democrats have blocked multiple attempts to advance full-year funding bills for the department, which would include operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection.

Blurb:

The University of Sussex has published a “toolkit” to enable political and legal action to grant “rights” to trees. This is consistent with the radical environmentalist activism seen in many universities, such as Harvard Law, which is now teaching “nature rights” principles and strategies to students.

“Tree rights” is a subset of the overarching “nature rights” movement, which also includes “river rights,” “ocean rights,” and even “rights for the moon.” I don’t have space to discuss the entire 186-page advocacy treatise — developed over three y

Blurb:

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to temporarily place a fee on packages due to rising fuel prices as the war in Iran continues to rattle energy markets.

The 8% fuel surcharge on packages under Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select is expected to take effect on April 26 and remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027. The Postal Regulatory Commission must review and approve the fee before it is enacted. If approved, first-class stamps and other mail services would not be affected.

“Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges,” the service said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have steadfastly avoided surcharges, and this charge is less than one-third of what our competitors charge for fuel alone.”

The development comes as the war in Iran has triggered the largest disruption to the global energy supply in history, due largely to Iran’s sweeping blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have spiked roughly 40%, approaching a record $120 a barrel earlier this month before stabilizing slightly.

Blurb:

BEIJING: China warned the United States on Thursday (Mar 26) against bringing “conflict and the chaos of war” to the Asia-Pacific, after Washington and its allies said they would weigh building a weapons base in the Philippines.

A US-led intergovernmental defence group agreed last week to assess funding for a new ammunition assembly and production line in the Philippines, according to a joint statement.

The decision was made by the 16 members of the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR), which also includes Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Blurb:

Just weeks earlier, Larry Fink expressed hope for a “neutralized Iran,” framing the conflict as a good investment opportunity

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has warned of an impending global recession if the US-Israeli war on Iran drags on and oil prices remain above $100 a barrel. The stark prediction comes just weeks after Fink framed the conflict as a good long-term investment opportunity.

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC this week, Fink said oil prices could stay above $100 per barrel for years if Iran “remains a threat,” potentially hitting $150 and sparking “a probably stark and steep recession.”

Blurb:

After a yearslong legal battle, the Supreme Court vindicated a Colorado Christian baker hounded by a “Civil Rights Commission” for the sin of refusing to craft a custom cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding. A woman by the name of Kristen Clarke found that ruling “devastating.”

Clarke, who would go on to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under President Joe Biden, arguably grew to embody the weaponization of civil rights law against conservatives. Yet on Wednesday, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hailed Clarke as a “civil rights giant” in announcing her new position as NAACP general counsel.

Blurb:

President Trump suggested late Wednesday he’s avoiding describing the military conflict with Iran as a “war” because of concerns around the fact that Congress hasn’t authorized military force.

“I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say, if you use the word war, that’s maybe not a good thing to do,” the president said at an event for House Republicans’ fundraising arm. “They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is.”

Blurb:

The U.S. is preparing to send thousands more troops to the Middle East, prompting speculation about a ground attack on Iran amid conflicting accounts of peace talks.

The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send about 3,000 troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, alongside two Marine Expeditionary Units, to assist military operations in Iran. CNBC has contacted the White House and is awaiting a response.

Military experts said that the number of additional troops being deployed to the region appears to be consistent with plans for discrete and time-limited operations — rather than a sustained ground campaign.

Blurb:

The Democrats have set a new record for single-month lobbyist fundraising. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reported a record $4.1 million in lobbyist-bundled contributions in February, according to a Sludge analysis of Federal Election Commission filings, a dramatic increase in corporate-linked fundraising as House Democrats are campaigning on “affordability.” The lobbyist-derived cash made up nearly one-third of the DCCC’s fundraising last month.

Lobbyist bundling, in which registered lobbyists collect checks from their clients and colleagues and deliver them in a single package, is a key way that corporate interests work to gain influence with lawmakers. Federal law requires disclosure of bundled contributions above $24,000.

The DCCC’s February total shatters previous records and builds on a trend of the Democrats’ increasing reliance on lobbyist bundling for their funds. January’s $3.6 million was itself a high-water mark, and as recently as 2023, monthly lobbyist bundling reported by the DCCC was generally much lower, typically in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Blurb:

Russia said Wednesday it was “deeply outraged” by a reported strike on the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, which it partially constructed and helps operate.

“We are extremely outraged by this reckless, irresponsible manifestation of a disastrous course,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

A projectile landed inside the plant’s compound late Tuesday but caused no damage, Iran’s atomic energy organization said, accusing the United States and Israel of attacking the facility.