News of the Week for June 14th, 2026
- 2026 Election
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
2026 Election
Why Graham Platner’s Supporters Don’t Care
This morning, the Wall Street Journal’s report on Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner includes the detail that at the candidate’s Sunday evening town hall, no one asked him about his past misconduct. Supporters signed a poster board that said, “We are your Grahamily! and we’ve got your back.” On it, people wrote messages like, “Everyone has a past! Keep Going!” The widespread perception at the event was that Platner was the victim in this story, a good man who had been wronged by ex-girlfriends and excessive scrutiny from an unscrupulous media.
Spencer Pratt’s Frustrating, but Not Shocking, Third-Place Finish
To elaborate on Jeff’s unpopular-but-accurate assessment of the Los Angeles mayor’s race, Spencer Pratt’s third-place finish is deeply disappointing, but not particularly shocking, if you were paying attention to the preelection polls.
How Nancy Mace Self-Immolated
Despite the exceptionally low standards of the present-day House of Representatives, the conduct of Representative Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) still managed to shock the conscience.
Nancy Mace’s thrashing in South Carolina governor’s race caps a rough downfall
The congresswoman finished fifth in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, according to unofficial returns, solidly losing even her own home county and district.
USPS proposal could halt ballot deliveries to states that don’t share voter lists
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield says the U.S. Postal Service should not play a role in determining ballot delivery to states.
Brian Kemp voters, not MAGA faithful, will sway GOP gubernatorial runoff
The governor has not endorsed a gubernatorial candidate in the race, but he’s more popular than Trump in Georgia.
Three Iowa Libertarian candidates face challenges for place on 2026 general election ballot
Iowa Republicans are challenging three Libertarian candidates’ place on the 2026 general election ballot based on paperwork errors, taking these challenges to the Iowa State Objections Panel next week.
The Runoff In The Governor’s Race Gets Its First Major Survey. Here Is What The Numbers Mean.
Berkeley’s new IGS survey gives us the first meaningful look at November’s governor’s race — and the numbers reward a careful read.
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Could President Trump Face a Pro-Life Revolt?
‘The movement preceded Donald Trump. It will outlast him,’ said activist Lila Rose.
Gun Rights
Second Amendment fights grow across several states over 3D-printed gun laws
The push comes as advocates argue the measures conflict with constitutional protections
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Privately developed Mark-Zero reactor goes critical at Idaho National Laboratory, DOE says
A milestone in nuclear energy was reached at Idaho National Laboratory, where a privately developed reactor design achieved criticality for the first time in decades.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
Democrats on the lookout for their next ObamaCare
With healthcare costs a top concern in this election cycle and enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies going nowhere in Congress, parts of the Democratic establishment see this moment as the ideal time to launch a new healthcare initiative to coalesce their base behind. They just need to decide which idea to go with.
War & Terror
Ukraine Wants to Help Us with Drones, But We Won’t Take It
Back in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is awaiting White House approval for a that was proposed by the Ukrainian government last year. You may have noticed a lot of drones flying around in the Middle East; since the start of the conflict, the Iranians have fired at least 5,000 drones at targets in Israel, at U.S. bases in the middle east, oil tankers, port facilities, energy infrastructure, etc.
‘Proportionally’ Moronic: Iran as The West Wing
Actually, truth being stranger than fiction, I don’t think President Trump needs to keep reposting lefty catnip video — this time of Jed Bartlett, the Dem idée fixe of Clinton without sex scandals, blathering about “proportional” military strikes with the late John Amos (as “Admiral Percy Fitzwallace”). The top New York Times story this morning (like every morning, it seems) is about how all the brutal fighting is the most daunting challenge yet to . . . yes . . . the cease-fire.
Donald Trump Has Deterred Himself
It was not long after the Pentagon revealed that a U.S. Apache attack helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday was, in fact, shot down by hostile Iranian fire that the president told the Wall Street Journal that it “wasn’t a big deal.”
UK defense secretary resigns, saying the government isn’t willing to spend enough on the military
U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey unexpectedly quit on Thursday, saying the government is unwilling to spend enough on the military at a time of “rising threats.” The resignation dealt another blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is already facing demands from Labour colleagues to step down.
Section 702 Temporary Extension Looks Set to Fail
I posted late yesterday about how President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress were trying to entice the Democratic minorities in both chambers to agree to a temporary extension of the government’s statutory foreign intelligence collection authority — FISA Section 702.
So – GWOT Will Get a Memorial?
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation on June 10 unveiled the long-awaited design that will pay tribute to servicemembers and families involved in GWOT.
Operation Meow-Meow! Ukrainian ‘Vampire’ drone rescues cat family from frontlines
A cat and her four kittens stranded on the front lines in war-torn Ukraine didn’t have to claw their way to safety — they caught a ride aboard a specialized “Vampire” hexacopter drone in a daring mission dubbed “Operation Meow-Meow.”
Donald Trump’s Pallets of Cash
Another president chooses surrender
National
Florida proposes rule requiring proof of citizenship for public college admission
The Florida Department of Education is proposing a rule that requires community college applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status, which immigrant advocacy groups argue will exclude undocumented students from higher education. The rule aims to ensure that only eligible residents qualify for state educational benefits, reinforcing existing laws that deny undocumented students access to in-state tuition and state subsidies. Advocates from groups like the Florida Immigrant Coalition argue that the proposal would harm both students and the economy, as it may discourage enrollment and negatively impact colleges financially.
Minority enrollment soars at Arkansas universities after affirmative action ban
New data shows minority enrollment at Arkansas colleges has increased rather than declined since the 2023 Supreme Court decision outlawing race-based admissions.
Man charged in forced marriage, satanic ritual after police respond to Olive Garden
A man was accused of holding a woman against her will and forcing her into a marriage.
Flesh-Eating Parasite Confirmed in South Texas Calf; USDA Establishes Quarantine Zone
The New World screwworm is a $1.8 Billion threat to Texas agriculture.
Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files
The president’s top advisers gathered in a series of Situation Room meetings as they struggled to contain a scandal engulfing Donald Trump himself.
Scientists Concerned Latest Gene Editing of Human Embryos Could “Open the Floodgates”
It’s a “gateway to embryo editing to do enhancements.”
How Sergio Gor Is Transforming the Role of U.S. Ambassador in the Trump Era
From his post in New Delhi, Mr. Gor has become a force in U.S. foreign policy, chasing business deals and stunning diplomats by reversing a long-planned embassy building project.
Economy & Taxes
Consumer prices rose 4.2% annually in May, highest in three years
The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, both in line with expectations. The core CPI accelerated 0.2% for the month and 2.9% from a year ago. While the annual rate was in line with the forecast, the monthly gain was below the 0.3% estimate. The report indicated that much of the inflation surge came from a 3.9% jump in energy prices, putting the 12-month increase at 23.5%. Core commodities prices actually posted a 0.1% decline.
Downsizing and the Ozempic Economy
One of the (many) reasons that central planning fails is because of the difficulty of forecasting the countless consequences of some event, innovation, or other development, even one so small as that much quoted flap of the butterfly’s wing.
Adam Smith Warned of (Almost) Everything Wrong With U.S. Trade Politics Today
Far from serving the public interest, protectionism serves the firms that lobbied for it. Same as it ever was.
Sooner or later, America is going to have to reckon with the debt
There is a bigger political constituency for fiscal consolidation than many think
International
A 7.8 magnitude quake in the Philippines kills at least 35, collapses buildings and sparks tsunami
An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in ruined buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby coasts.
Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after ‘brutal’ knife attack in Belfast
A man believed to be Sudanese has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a “brutal” knife attack in Belfast, police have said.
Opinion
FISA Negotiations Confirm Madison’s Fears
“But if we continue to postpone from time to time, and refuse to let the subject come into view, it may occasion suspicions, which, though not well founded, may tend to inflame or prejudice the public mind, against our decisions: they may think we are not sincere in our desire to incorporate such amendments in the constitution as will secure those rights, which they consider as not sufficiently guarded.”
Is the American Experiment Legitimate?
How the Constitution met, and still meets, the test posed by the Declaration of Independence.
The Washoe Warning: Why Flippo Could Hand Benitez-Thompson NV-02
Nobody gives Democrats much credit in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District. That makes sense on its face.
Partisan Sectional Polarization and the Civil War
I was running some numbers while working on my book, and while the history is a staple of the best commentary on the period, putting it in graphical form really jumped out at me. The popular vote era (i.e., when most states began selecting their electors by a popular vote that was tabulated and published) began in 1828, when all but two states (South Carolina and Delaware) held a popular vote for president. From 1832-60, only South Carolina continued the old method of the legislature selecting electors. For most of this period, the country was evenly divided between slave states and free states, although neither their populations nor their actual electorates were the same. And any measure of polarization between the two is understated by the absence of South Carolina, the most militantly pro-slavery state from the 1832 nullification crisis to its secession in December 1860. Still, we have enough voting data to measure the degree of divergence between the free-state vote and the slave-state vote in presidential contests.
Flag Day Chronicles
From fireworks to parades, the Fourth of July is one of America’s most festive holidays. But Americans often overlook another patriotic occasion worth celebrating: Flag Day.
