Ohio Police Fire Robocop to Help Make Zero Arrests and Failure to Issue One-Ticket Futurism
Listing of $7m Tokyo apartment with ‘invisible man’ hits the headlines Straits Times
‘World’s most famous tree’: Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old Major oak dies The Guardian
Climate/Environment
New News!
y-axis warning!Nino 3.4 ocean temperatures are now more than 3 standard deviations above the 1991-2020 mean, forcing a broadening of the y-axis up to 3.5σ.
And that way down the line? That was in 1988. pic.twitter.com/NwbOij2Gwk
– Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) June 17, 2026
Tropical Storm Arthur Forms Off Texas Coast, Fueling Flood Threat Across Deep South Eye of Tropics.
‘Sponge Cities’ are catching on. But Can They Handle Strong Storms? Inside Weather News
Looking for a deal on a heat pump? Connect with your neighbors. Grist
When is the Apocalypse? The ‘Earth’s Black Box’ will be installed at Tasmania’s remote Guardian airport
An epidemic
School Districts Struggle to Keep Up with Growing Special Education Needs. “This pandemic has greatly increased the number of students with disabilities. In the five years since Covid closed schools, more than 50 percent of local students have been identified as needing services compared to five years ago.” Then you go on to blame eight months of distance learning, not…
Long-term COVID-associated SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among children and adolescents in the omicron era (RECOVER-EHR): a retrospective cohort study The Lancet
China?
China has a powerful new weapon for oil prices Bloomberg
The West is playing well on AI in order to shut down China Politico
As Wall Street Celebrates SpaceX IPO, Beijing Tightens Its Focus on AI Investment Risks George Chen
India
US Drops ‘Indo’ From Name of Military Command, Returns Trump-Era Nod to India The Wire
Syracistan
Lebanon: Israel is ramping up the use of illegal mass ‘exit’ orders and is committing a war crime of illegal transfers Amnesty International
In Campaign to Take More Gaza, Israel Increases Attacks on Palestinians Near “Yellow Line” Dump
‘His only crime is that he is a Palestinian doctor’ +972 Magazine
US uses frozen Palestinian funds to advance Israel’s ‘normalization’ agenda: Report Press TV
***
Text of the Iran-US memorandum of understanding for NBC News
Factbox: 14-point US-Iran MoU sets goals to end hostilities, reshape regional security framework Press TV
Trump threatens to ‘drop bombs on their heads’ if Iran ‘doesn’t behave’ Middle East Eye
Trump Admin Admits Using Grok to Bomb Iran in Federal Lawsuit Backing Musk Truthout
NYT: As you approach a new phase in the Iran conflict, can you say now whether you will hold your superiors accountable for the school strike that killed more than 100 children?
TRUMP: No. Such a question to ask. It’s a… pic.twitter.com/vh0plTlYKZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 17, 2026
Africa
Egypt strikes kill dozens at gold mine near Sudan border, miners say Sudan Tribune
Somaliland leader leaves door open to Israeli military base Somalia Today
Old Blighty
Barrister in Ukraine’ ‘Starmer arson’ case claims huge amount covered by Skwawkbox
Palestine Action founder vows to overturn proscription ban in courts or “streets” The Canary
The breakup of Europe
Bavaria’s highest court rules that the state’s spy agency can monitor the AfD DW
The New Cold War
Finland overturns RT ban on nuclear weapons
Finland to buy US F-35 bombers, says Straits Times
Crime on the English channel Ian Proud
G7 members of Europe and the United States will produce long-range missiles “under license” in Ukraine. Le Parisien (machine translation)
🇧🇾🇺🇦🇷🇺 A Belarusian children’s bus was hit by an AFU Drone in Bryansk region.
The acting manager says that the bus was carrying school children, a group of parents, and their coach when the AFU army attacked – mistaking it for a military force.
One of the dead has been confirmed to be a Belarusian citizen.…
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 17, 2026
Ukraine’s Defense Minister predicts dozens of new companies will bring thousands of foreigners to work in Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
EU Council Opens Channels of Communication With Kremlin, Official Confirms Parliamentary Political Magazine
Imperial Collapse Watch
Defense contractors would be barred from returning their stock in a bill approved by a Senate CNBC panel
The Spirit of Time Thomas Frank, Harper’s
I JUST DID – Trump at the G7 summit in France, surrounded by world leaders: “I’m a boss.” pic.twitter.com/rM0Cu5RK5y
— The Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) June 17, 2026
Epstein’s story
US House staff visit Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison after requests for laptop and puppy The Guardian
South of the Border
US Bombs Suspected Drug Boat in Eastern Pacific, Kills At Least One Antiwar
Cuba reveals major changes amid US economic blockade of Al Mayadeen
Trump 2.0
More than 770,000 Children No Longer Receiving SNAP Benefits After Trump Revokes Federal Food Program ProPublica. America: killing children abroad, killing children at home.
Senators Accuse Trump of Shifting Secret Service Funds to Build His Ballroom NOTUS
Why does Trump want the Save America Act? The Answer Should Concern Us. Balkinization
Uniparty
Khanna Becomes First In Congress To Sign ‘Pledge Of Peace’ Pledge To Reject AIPAC Fund Common Dreams
Democracies are simple
Democratic socialists are on the rise in Trump-era mayoral races NBC News. Comment:
It’s clearly an issue that national Democrats need to wake up to, too. The urban regions are the core of the national party. If DSA eats your lunch there, you’re in trouble.
— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) June 17, 2026
Big Brother is Watching You
Bay Area launches drone war against trash The San Francisco Standard
The Accelerationists
Leak Reveals Members of Peter Thiel’s Organization’s Secret ‘Wired Chat’
US ‘nuclear bros’ test America’s nuclear revival FT
Police State Watch
Minnesota Trade Unionists Among Those Targeted in Federal Cases of ICE Observers Workday Magazine
As the Trump administration begins a new prosecution in Minnesota, the “Broadview Six” continues with the Law Dork.
How States Can Use Domestic Terrorism Statutes to Prosecute Activists Civil Liberties Defense Center
ICE Looks to be Buying IRS Identifiers from Data Broker 404 Media
The Supremes
The Supreme Court will decide whether ICE can detain people indefinitely. We Should All Be Concerned. The slate
The economy
Housing starts to sink to epidemic levels as builders worry about Stateline inflation
Bezzle
Tesla Allegedly Shows Cooked Data For Full Self-Driving Futurism
The AI
White House Wants Anthropic to Block All Jailbreaks. That May Not Happen With Wires
OpenAI’s Stargate Data Centers Take Longer and Cost More than Competitors’ Refinements
The smartphone market will shrink by 15 percent this year due to the memory problem The Register
Agent AI Comes to Medicine Eric Topol
Generative AI Has Its Lost Herbalife Moment
Class War
Musk and the AI Oligarchs Threaten Us Ann Pettifor. “…As the next Global Financial Crisis approaches.”
More Americans go hungry due to government cuts, rising grocery prices Stateline
Lake Station Working Class Journalists
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here.
