June 30, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 123.

• The U.S. and Iran each announced yesterday that they will send delegations to Qatar this week as part of ongoing negotiations to fully end the Middle East war, which has seen a series of lulls and military strikes over the past weeks. Reports cite Iranian officials, however, as saying that Tehran has not yet agreed to meet directly with U.S. envoys "at any level" in Qatar. [more]

U.S. CITIZENSHIP | Upholding a long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court today rejected President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to declare that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. [more]

U.S. TRANSGENDER | In the first of several rulings expected to be announced today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws banning transgender girls and women from playing on public school and college female sports teams. [more]

U.S. ELECTION SPENDING | Reversing its own 2001 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court today struck down limits on how much political parties can spending in coordination with candidates for Congress and president, a decision analysts say will effectively skirt efforts to prevent large donors from circumventing caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate. [more]

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL POWER | In decisions announced yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court said the president may legally fire the heads of independent federal agencies without cause, with the exception of members of the Federal Reserve – a ruling seen widely as a significant expansion of executive power. In his majority opinion on the case dealing with independent agencies, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that previously upheld protections against removal for agency heads are "contrary to the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution." [more]

U.S. DATA AND LOCATION PRIVACY | In a ruling yesterday that touches on modern digital privacy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court said that constitutional privacy protections extend to cellphone location information and blocked the use of so-called geofence warrants, which have allowed authorities to gather the location history of people near a crime without having evidence they had anything to do with the crime itself. Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the 6-3 majority opinion that, "A cellphone user is not to be viewed as sharing private information with third parties—which then can be freely passed on to the government—just by doing the ordinary things cellphone users do." [more]

U.S. MEDICAID | Attorneys general in 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to block the January 1 implementation of Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services new work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The lawsuit argues that the agencies' interpretation of the requirement, which includes new limits to a medical frailty exemption, will create harmful coverage barriers and prevent eligible Americans from accessing the care they need. [full lawsuit filing] [more]

CALIFORNIA | In the latest of several similar settlements, the San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese agreed yesterday to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials. The archdiocese, which declared bankruptcy in 2023, will also be required to implement a series of child protection and transparency reforms as part of the settlement. [more]

VIRGINIA | Virginia's latest state budget legislation, enacted yesterday, includes a provision allowing for the legal sale of recreational marijuana through up to 350 cannabis shops beginning July 1, 2027. Legislative budget documents suggest that sales and excise taxes on the sale of recreational marijuana in the state are expected to generate about $51 million in revenue in the programs first year. [more]

U.S. WEATHER | An estimated 47 million people across large portions of the U.S. Midwest and parts of the Ohio Valley are under extreme heat warnings today as a heat dome moves across the central part of the country. The extreme heat is expected to affect much the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast later in the week and into the July 4 holiday weekend. [more]

GLOBAL CLIMATE INVESTMENTS | Officials at the World Bank say that while demand for climate-related projects remain strong, the organization plans to drop its previously publicized goal of devoting 45% of its annual lending resources to projects with climate-related benefits. [more]

U.K. | Under the country's new $20 billion Defense Investment Plan announced yesterday, the U.K will expand its military spending and place a greater focus on newer technologies, such as self-flying fighter jets, uncrewed submarines, and drones. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Hundreds of police were deployed in multiple South African cities, including Johannesburg and Durban, today ahead of planned demonstrations by several groups against illegal immigration. Reports note that previous similar demonstrations have resulted in attacks on migrants and vandalism of foreign-owned businesses. [more]

E.U. AND GERMANY | Reuters cites an internal German government document as showing that Germany is demanding a €400 billion reduction to the European Commission's proposed €2 trillion budget for 2028-2034, calling the plan "unaffordable." [more]

WEST AFRICA | Authorities in the neighboring West African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast say at least 24 people have been killed in widespread flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain over the past few days. [more]

CONGO | Reports say the Congolese government has imposed new bans on public demonstrations and mass gatherings in the provinces of Kinshasa, Tshopo, Haut-Uele, and Bas-Uele amidst fears of the country's ongoing Ebola outbreak spreading to new areas. [more]

SPAIN | Officials in Spain say about 1 million immigrants have applied to legalize their immigration status under a program launched earlier this year to integrate foreigners living and working in the country without authorization. The application period for the program is scheduled to close today. [more]

MONACO | Authorities in Monaco say three people, including Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev, who was targeted by Ukrainian sanctions in 2023 for ties to Russia, were injured yesterday in the detonation of an explosive device. Police say the suspect in the incident fled into neighboring France and that the motive for the attack remains under investigation. [more]

WORLD CUP | In yesterday's round of 32 World Cup matches: Brazil beat Japan, Paraguay beat Germany on penalty kicks, and Morocco beat the Netherlands on penalty kicks. Today's matches include Ivory Coast vs Norway, France vs Sweden, and Mexico vs Ecuador. [full bracket] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1934, German dictator Adolf Hitler launched his purge and campaign of extrajudicial executions of political and military rivals in what came to be known as the “Night of the Long Knives." [more history]