Tuesday, June 30, 2026

BIG Wrap

U.S. Supreme Court rules against Trump order to end birthright citizenship

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States Supreme Court has ruled against US President Donald Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship for all individuals born on US soil. The 6-3 ruling represents a major blow to Trump and his effort to transform immigration in the US. Upon taking office on January 20, 2025, Trump had signed an executive order seeking to bar those born in the US to parents on temporary legal statuses or without...

New Israeli assault in southern Syria forces families to flee their homes

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Syrian government has condemned overnight Israeli attacks in southern Syria, as residents near the occupied Golan Heights were forced to flee their homes. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday firmly condemned “the Israeli aggressions”, calling them “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. The latest attack took place on Sunday in Abdin, a village in western Deraa province, where residents attempted to block the advance of an...

Oil industry fights $50-billion climate case in Oregon

(New York Times) Nearly five years to the day that an unprecedented heat dome descended on the Pacific Northwest, dozens of lawyers coalesced in a Portland courtroom this week to debate an extraordinary lawsuit that attempts to hold oil companies responsible for the deaths that resulted. The $50 billion lawsuit argues that the deadly heat dome — the most extreme heat event in the region’s recorded history — was a result of the defendants’ decades-long...

IRGC says 8 U.S. military sites destroyed

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The IRGC says its forces have destroyed eight US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, with the attacks described as retaliation for recent US attacks on Iranian facilities. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Strait of Hormuz remains under total Iranian control for the next 30 days and any US attacks will only exacerbate the precarious situation.   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/6/28/iran-war-live-trump-threatens-tehran-as-us-bombs-sirik-qeshm-for-2nd-day

World aids rescue effort as Venezuela quake death toll hits 920

(Al Jazeera Media Network) International rescue teams have joined an urgent search for survivors in Venezuela, where people remain trapped under collapsed buildings after two devastating earthquakes on Wednesday. Countries from across the Americas – including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Cuba and the United States – as well as the United Nations, continued on Friday to send search and rescue teams and humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the quakes. “To the Venezuelan people, to those whose loved...

U.S. Supreme Court scales back Roundup cancer lawsuits in victory for company

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States Supreme Court has sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the product could cause cancer. The ruling on Thursday was tied to a case that came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against the global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer, a Germany-based company that acquired Roundup when it bought its original producer...

Rubio says Iran cannot charge tolls in Hormuz

(Al Jazeera Media Network) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran will not be permitted to charge tolls or fees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz under any final agreement with Washington, exposing one of the biggest points of friction in negotiations aimed at ending months of conflict across the Middle East. The dispute comes after Iran announced it would waive planned transit fees through the strait that crosses through its territorial waters...

Drowning deaths soar in France as Europe contends with peak of heatwave

(BBC News) Forty people have drowned in heatwave-related deaths in France since last Thursday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said, as temperatures hit record levels in several major cities and the heatwave reaches a peak in several European countries. "It's not something to be taken lightly, going swimming in unsupervised areas during a heatwave," Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari told French radio. France, along with Spain and Italy, has been hardest hit by the heatwave...

Half of France under red heat alert as alcohol banned at street music festival

(BBC News) France has issued red heatwave alerts for around half the country including Paris for Monday as a heatwave pushes temperatures towards record levels. On Sunday, temperatures in the southwestern city of Bordeaux hit 40C (104F). Earlier, French authorities banned alcohol consumption in public places during the annual Fête de la Musique, a national music festival that draws millions to the streets across the country. "For all events organised by the state and its agencies, instructions have been...

Meloni tells Trump to focus on own popularity

(BBC News) Italy's Giorgia Meloni has again hit back at US President Donald Trump on social media after he questioned her political popularity and repeated his claim that she asked "over and over" for a photo together. Trump said on Saturday that the prime minister was "doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity". He also accused her of not supporting US efforts to prevent Iran "from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon". In a statement...