[NYP] A Long Island school clerk overseeing board of education elections tore up ballots and threw them in a dumpster to rig the election for a local DJ, a newly revealed internal probe found.
Hempstead Union Free School District Clerk April Keys allegedly rigged the May 19 trustee election by smuggling official ballots out of her office and handing absentee ballots to incumbent candidate Victor Pratt so he could trash them, according to a 51-page petition filed by the district with the state Education Department.
Keys could now face criminal charges as the district is looking to overturn Pratt’s razor-thin win. Pratt is a third-term trustee and former school board president who moonlights as a local DJ under the stage name DJ Vic-Lover, according to his social media.
The FBI announces the arrests of two additional suspects for plotting to attack Israel-linked members of Congress at a White House event earlier this month.
US federal authorities last week announced the arrest of five suspects for the plot. The conspirators allegedly planned to use explosive-laden drones and snipers to attack a mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn.
The plan was first to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event, then go after additional politicians gleaned from TrackAIPAC.com. The previous arrestees are ringleader and illegal alien from Mexico, Abraham Alvarez, 31, one of the DACA kids gone bad; Tycen Proper, 19, whose parents contacted the police with their concerns, Michael Alan Thomas and Bryan Oma Roa in California, and recruiter Daniel Eskridge, who is married.
The conspirators had discussed targeting politicians who had connections to the “pro-Israel lobby.”
The US Department of Justice announces the arrest of two more suspects —- William Lee Spartacus Falkner, from Washington state, and Jordan W. Rincker, 28, of Missouri. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Falkner has experience manufacturing and piloting drones and had discussed loading explosives onto drones with the other conspirators, the statement says.
Rincker accepted $1,200 in cash from another suspect to help pay for some of the expenses related to the planned attack and gave a shotgun to one of the other suspects, the Department of Justice says.
A search of Rincker’s home turns up four firearms, a gas mask, night vision goggles, a thermal scope and body armor.
[FoxNews] Hiram Carrero, 19, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to the assault on the subway
A high school senior who admitted to setting a sleeping homeless man on fire on the New York City subway last year has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
After Hiram Carrero pleaded guilty in March, Judge Lewis J. Liman gave the 19-year-old a prison term that is six months longer than the mandatory minimum for arson, but shorter than the eight-year maximum federal prosecutors asked for.
Prosecutors said in court filings that Carrero’s "heinous actions" on December 1, 2025, left the homeless man extensively scarred and disfigured, adding that he likely would have died if first responders hadn't immediately arrived to rush him to the hospital.
Early in the morning, Carrero entered the uptown train at the 34th Street–Penn Station subway stop. Security footage captured him setting the fire and then leaving the subway car.
The train traveled for more than two minutes before reaching the next station, during which the fire spread across the subway bench and engulfed the victim, who was seen on surveillance footage standing up before collapsing.
Police officers with the New York Police Department arrived at the 42nd Street–Times Square station and found the homeless man on the platform with flames rising from his lap, per body camera footage.
"Carrero attempted to kill a sleeping, homeless man by burning him alive and leaving him trapped on a moving subway car," prosecutors said in their sentencing submission, adding that this crime was "separated from murder by mere chance."
Prosecutors did not view Carrero’s admission that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana before the attack as a sufficient mitigating factor.
Defense attorney Jennifer Brown asked for leniency by pointing out that Carrero was born with "neurodevelopmental impairment" after his mother did drugs while she was pregnant with him. Brown also said that he was abandoned at the hospital by his biological parents after he was born.
She described his teen years as a whirlwind of heavy drug use and drinking, which escalated in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from going to school in person.
"Words are inadequate to express the profound shame and remorse that Hiram feels," Brown wrote in a court filing. Carrero himself called his crime "senseless" and "inexplicable."
Carrero's attack came roughly a year after the killing of Debrina Kawam, a sleeping subway rider who was fatally set on fire aboard an F train in Brooklyn in December 2024.
Sebastian Zapeta, a previously deported migrant from Guatemala, was arrested and indicted for Kawam's murder. He remains in custody as he awaits trial.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
06/25/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Let me understand this ...
In NY, if a person, sets another person on fire.
They are charged with only Arson.
Which is a property damages type crime.
They get sentenced 5 1/2 years and not the usual 10 to 25 for attempted murder?
Is this only for lower class citizens, or does it also include, upper class persons?
[Yahoo] Going to work for Bud Light or Cracker Barrel? Ferrari's marketing boss has quit after 16 years at the company just weeks after a backlash over the launch of the supercar maker's first-ever electric car, the Luce.
The firm announced this week that Enrico Galliera would leave the role of chief marketing and commercial officer. He will be replaced by former BMW Italy head Massimiliano Di Silvestre in July.
Ferrari thanked Galliera for his service and said he had "decided to embark on a new chapter in his professional journey - a decision shared with the company some time ago."
The Luce was heavily criticised when it was unveiled in May. Ferrari did not mention the launch in its statement about Galliera's departure.
Chief executive Benedetto Vigna said that Galliera "has played a significant role in the company's growth and in strengthening the Ferrari brand worldwide."
Galliera's role involved managing which clients could purchase the luxury car maker's highly sought-after vehicles.
"He has the gratitude of the entire Ferrari team and my personal best wishes for the future," Vigna said in the statement.
Galliera declined to add any further comment to the statement from Ferrari.
Since taking the role in 2010, Galliera has been involved in many of the firm's key events.
LaFerrari, Ferrari's first production hybrid hypercar, which combines a petrol engine and an electric motor, was launched in 2013.
In 2015, the firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange and in Milan the following year.
However, the launch of the $640,000 (£485,552) Luce spawned a host of internet memes and negative reactions.
Its looks, the brain-child of iPhone designer Sir Jony Ive, was criticised by the company's former chairman, Italy's deputy prime minister and transport minister Matteo Salvini.
The company's shares plunged by 8% the day after the Luce was unveiled.
[Townhall] Scientific American has drifted far away from its scientific roots over the past generation. The outlet that had been rather rigorous in following the...well, the science, had become instead more of a left-leaning activist portal. Unsurprisingly, this has led to diminishing fortunes.
So much so that now it has been announced that the magazine has been sold to the entity LabX, and it is assured that layoffs will be taking place.
Good. They’ve long been in need of adult supervision.
New: Employees at Scientific American magazine were told this morning that their publication is being sold to LabX Media Group.
There will be layoffs as part of that process, according to a memo sent to staffers: "As part of that transition, LabX has evaluated the organizational…
#4
Quit paying $$$ it way, when I noticed it started moving more in a political non-science agenda direction. ? Guessing a change in editors or owners ?
Either way, like many cybernauts, at the time. I found digging the still barely secure INET, using access to a OC-3 line, was fun and produced a collection of good R&D papers, data & prerelease info.
[FRC] Below is a list of 550+ companies that, according to February 2026 data from the Human Rights Campaign, provide transgender healthcare services (puberty blockers, hormones, and reconstructive surgical procedures) to covered minor dependents.
Three pages, four columns per page of company names in alphabetical order. Some cover the treatments in the health benefits package, not those doing the cutting and injecting.
[PJM] Say a prayer for the good people of Venezuela.
On Wednesday night, two major back-to-back earthquakes rocked the country. Of course, it's too early to know just how much damage they caused or if there were any casualties, but if what I'm seeing on social media and hearing from my sources in South America is any indication, it doesn't look too good. I'm seeing buildings down and hearing stories of roofs collapsing on homes and power outages. At least one apartment building has collapsed, and rescue is underway. People can't get in touch with their loved ones, and many are begging Elon Musk to step in and help with that.
Scientists are saying "high casualties and extensive damage" are extremely likely.
The first earthquake — a magnitude 7.2 — struck about 100 miles west of Caracas, the nation's capital. The second, with a magnitude 7.5, came about a minute later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Parts of Colombia and the Caribbean also reportedly felt the tremors. USGS called it a "severe seismic doublet sequence," and tsunami warnings were temporarily issued for parts of the Venezuelan coast, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba, but they have since been canceled. It's one of the most devastating natural disasters the country has experienced in over a century.
The regime's "interior minister," Diosdado Cabello, appeared on state TV and said that several homes and buildings have fallen. He urged people to stay outside of their houses for now. (For what it's worth, I've seen some Venezuelans on social media expressing their disappointment that he survived, so at least they still have their humor about them.)
But above all, my Venezuelan contacts are asking for prayers. The country's infrastructure was already crumbling due to years of neglect by the regime, and this certainly doesn't help the situation.
Here are some of the videos pouring in. This one is from Simón Bolívar International Airport, which is the country's main airport just outside of Caracas:
Courtesy of Skidmark, the Fox Weather report can be read here.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/25/2026 00:00 ||
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[USGS] M 5.6 - 11 km N of Redwood Valley, CA
2026-06-24 15:10:40 (UTC)39.362°N 123.229°W8.9 km depth
All the usual USGS stuff can be enjoyed at the link, for those who understand such things. Is a 5.6 Richter quake concerning in well-shaken California? Is this connected to the one in Venezuela?
#4
On the face of the Sun, apprehension;
On Terra's, a taut seismic tension.
"She's quaking!"
They stare.
"There! I'm making him flare!"
A coinkydink? *blink* Ishin-denshin?
[ZERO] In the latest dystopian lunge toward a total surveillance state, the London Metropolitan Police has confirmed plans to deploy static live facial recognition cameras in the West End, including Soho and areas around major theatres and retail spots, with installation targeted for the end of this year.
Six additional areas are slated for rollout in 2027. The fixed cameras, mounted on lampposts and street furniture, will operate continuously and can be repositioned based on shifting crime patterns.
Privacy campaigners warn the move creates "digital police lineups" for innocent theatregoers and shoppers in one of Britain's busiest tourist zones, escalating a technology already used to scan millions of faces.
The expansion fits a clear pattern of UK authorities layering physical biometric surveillance onto existing efforts to shape online narratives, restrict speech, and monitor public discourse under pretexts of safety and disinformation control.
During a six-month pilot in South London earlier this year, static cameras scanned approximately 470,000 faces, resulting in over 170 arrests, and they claim recording just one false alert. Police claim that non-matches have their biometric data deleted immediately.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the technology as "one of the most revolutionary technology advances in policing in recent years," adding "Public confidence in this is clear - around 80 per cent of Londoners support its use.
Rowley also stated the force wants "to build on our success by introducing this capability to the West End and Soho by December. The use of static cameras will help us continue cutting crime in high-footfall areas in central London."
Policing Minister Sarah Jones has backed nationwide expansion with record investment. Dee Corsi of the New West End Company welcomed a potential West End pilot, saying it offers "a significant opportunity" to tackle crime and boost public confidence.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Olga Kuznetsova
[REGNUM.RU] In recent days, economic commentators in the US have been practically constantly mentioning Venezuela, where a veritable "oil rush" has begun. Every day brings news of new cooperation or relaxations in this area.
One of these is the signing of an agreement with the Spanish energy company Repsol, which intends to explore new oil reserves on the southeastern coast of Lake Maracaibo.
It would seem a logical move: in the past few months, Venezuela has managed to replace not only key management figures but also completely revise its approach to business matters. Following the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, the country's key industry is forced to quickly shift from a survival strategy to rebuilding its own industry as quickly as possible.
And the Repsol project will contribute to both—both increasing oil production and fulfilling a media goal, proving to investors that the region can be entered without fear of losing everything, as already happened when Hugo Chávez came to power.
But whose interests do the Spanish oil producers serve? Will they create the competitive environment the Bolivarian Republic so desperately needs, or will they become a weapon of Uncle Sam, who still looms large over official Caracas? For now, the latter option seems more realistic.
HEART OF VENEZUELA
The oil and gas fields around Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco River belt are often called the heart of Venezuela. This comparison is no coincidence. This is where the country's key fields are located, including those where foreigners worked, even during the harshest sanctions.
Companies partially owned by Chevron have been more comfortable than many others, but China Concord Resources Corp. also has facilities on Lake Maracaibo.
During Maduro's rule, threats of provocations, terrorist attacks, and foreign invasions in Maracaibo were the main triggers used by both Venezuelan security forces and the American elite.
The former constantly carried out forceful measures there and accused the opposition of preparing terrorist attacks on foreign sites, while the latter exploited the slightest difficulties among businessmen in propaganda or in the internal struggle of the American oil tycoons.
What does the Spanish company Repsol's entry into this field mean? Let's start with the fact that "entry" is too strong a word. The corporation had been working with the Venezuelan government since 1993, but was forced to retreat into the shadows after Donald Trump revoked the licenses of all Western companies operating in the country in 2025.
A closer look at the agreement reveals other nuances. In the document, the parties expressed an interest in producing light oil—the kind that can be brought to market and sold almost immediately.
Other areas of cooperation have also been announced, such as electricity, a sore point for the entire Maracaibo region. Power outages have long been a source of discontent among the local population and fueled protests. Therefore, work in this area will add credibility to the new authorities.
The approximate timeframe for cooperation has also been announced—until 2050. For a business surviving in constant instability, that's practically an eternity.
WHO WAS ALLOWED TO WORK?
Repsol representatives began negotiations with the team of acting President Delcy Rodríguez almost immediately after the kidnapping of President Maduro and the change in Caracas's rhetoric.
However, these meetings were only officially confirmed after amendments to local legislation were approved, granting private companies the right to manage oil projects. The interim authorities also outlined the total expected investment volume—$1.4 billion for 2026 alone. They also made it clear that foreign businessmen were not at risk of further nationalization.
In February, Repsol and their French colleagues from Maurel & Prom met with Rodriguez and expressed their willingness to cooperate. A couple of weeks after the talks, the US government intervened: five oil companies were given back their licenses for all operations in Venezuela's oil sector. Repsol was among the lucky ones, including Chevron, Italy's Eni, and Britain's BP and Shell.
Around the same time, the Spanish Foreign Ministry began discussing the need to lift EU sanctions against Rodriguez, which she has been under since 2018. The reason cited was her work on amnesty for political prisoners, but the real motives appear to be much more mundane. For Repsol, which is forced to comply with European law, working with a sanctioned government could have caused problems.
European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas agreed to bring the issue of Rodriguez's legalization up for discussion, but there is still no consensus on the matter.
However, this did not stop the management of another European company, Italy's Eni, from announcing that it would accept Venezuelan oil as payment for natural gas produced at the Perla field in Venezuela, which Eni is developing jointly with Repsol.
Adding to the intrigue is Eni's future plans to export gas from this field to Europe, partially replacing LNG supplies from Russia. Whether this project will actually materialize remains to be seen, but it will certainly alleviate legal issues in the near future.
OLD PLAYER
Repsol and Venezuela's state-owned company PDVSA operate through a subsidiary, Petroquiriquire, which is 60% owned by Venezuelans and 40% by Spaniards.
The company already has production in Maracaibo, hovering around 40,000 barrels per day. The agreement calls for it to increase by another 20,000 barrels, and for all of the company's Venezuelan assets to increase production by at least threefold: Repsol also produces heavy oil at the Tomoporo and La Ceiba fields.
It sounds impressive, but it won't make up for the overall collapse of the industry in the absence of new investors.
As for Repsol itself, judging by its rhetoric, it views itself as a creditor to Venezuela: during the political instability and sanctions, the Bolivarian Republic owed them several billion dollars. However, the new agreement contains no obligations regarding this amount.
However, there is something no less interesting: a system of guaranteed payments is being introduced, which will help prevent such situations from arising in the future.
At this point, many people wonder: why has Repsol ever been allowed to operate in Venezuela—under both the current and previous governments? The fact is that this company is one of the oldest players in the oil and gas market, legally revived in the 1980s following the oil industry reforms Spain implemented to join the European Union.
The company's key revenues in recent decades have been tied to the Americas—a common pattern for Spanish corporations that sought to avoid acquisition by European giants and invested their capital in Latin American countries, not only in energy but also in telecommunications and finance.
This arrangement allows Spain to maintain its position as a regional power both in its dealings with the EU and in its discussions with the US. The reputational assets of Repsol, which has maintained a Spanish presence in Venezuela for over thirty years, are highly valuable to Donald Trump, who calls for investment in a "liberated" Venezuela.
There's another nuance: Repsol's list of major shareholders includes the well-known corporation BlackRock. In 2025, just as the storm clouds were gathering around Caracas, BlackRock investors began increasing their stake in the company, bringing it to 7.4%, and the total value of their shares to over a billion dollars.
CONTROLLED OIL RUSH
Trump's relationship with BlackRock is far from ideal, and in recent years has fluctuated between harsh criticism and pragmatic cooperation—for example, thanks to the introduction of BlackRock structures into Argentina, led by Javier Miley, the country has begun to integrate into the American financial and technological system.
Repsol is even more interesting: the company once owned a structure of the oil and gas company YPF, which was nationalized by the Argentine government in the 2010s, but managed to maintain its status as a long-standing partner of Chevron, invested billions of dollars in the development of Argentine fields, and is now part of a consortium turning the local energy sector toward the United States.
In addition, another major American investor, Vanguard, and one of the four largest American banks, Bank of America Corporation, also own part of Repsol's shares.
And no doubt many others, thanks to the multiplying power of capitalism. Go us!
Therefore, it is simply not appropriate to continue calling the company Spanish without qualification—it operates entirely in the interests of US investors.
Uh huh. But most American investors go for the return, keeping their politics mostly separate.
Once these nuances are clarified, the "oil rush" in the Bolivarian Republic begins to look like a completely controlled process: before the mass launch of smaller companies, the major players occupy the most profitable locations and control key processes in the energy industry.
If you don’t understand capitalism and Western capitalists, sure.
As for Rodriguez's team, they now face a different challenge: demonstrating maximum loyalty and maintaining their influence on the ground in the run-up to potential presidential elections, which continue to be manipulated by Washington, which periodically publicly flirts with the opposition in exile.
It's clear that it won't be possible to argue strongly with the Americans in this situation, but it's possible to build relationships with each key player individually, which could play a positive role for Rodriguez in the future (it's not for nothing that they say she received her current position, in part, due to her constant interaction with American oil magnates).
But it's also important to understand that the current agreement between PDVSA and Repsol is preliminary. It's a memorandum of understanding, so individual details are still being discussed behind closed doors. However, it's doubtful that the terms will improve in Venezuela's favor in the future.
#1
Wonder what yesterday's earthquakes did to the aged oil infrastructure.
[AI] Venezuela oil infrastructure needs billion dollar overhaul
Venezuela's oil industry requires an estimated **$80 billion to $100 billion** in investment over the next decade to restore production to its late-1990s peak of 3 million barrels per day. Current output stands at roughly **800,000 barrels per day**, less than 1% of global supply, due to decades of mismanagement, nationalization, and U.S. sanctions that have left infrastructure in severe disrepair.
**Infrastructure Decay** is the primary barrier, with PDVSA reporting that its Paraguana Refining Center operates at only **10% of capacity** and many pipelines are over 50 years old. Restoring pipeline networks alone is estimated to cost **$8 billion**, while fixing onshore storage and wellheads requires immediate attention to prevent further production losses. Less than **2,000 of 12,000 oil wells** in the critical Orinoco Belt are currently functional.
**Investment Challenges** remain high despite recent U.S. government efforts to encourage American companies to re-enter the market. Chevron is the only major U.S. operator still active, producing about **240,000 barrels per day**, while other firms like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips seek compensation for assets expropriated in 2007, with outstanding arbitration awards totaling **$12 billion**. Analysts warn that even with political stability and sanctions relief, reaching pre-crisis production levels would take **7 to 10 years** and require sustained capital commitment amidst significant geopolitical risk.
#2
I worked with severals then-young Venezuelan engineers a few decades ago. Top notch people. Part of our operating agreement with Venezuela was that we had to employ/train their people in the US if we wanted to place our people in Venezuela. Most of the oil countries had similar policies but the African ones seemed like luxury ‘jobs’ for connected people and they neither worked nor learned, just got paid, as part of the price we paid to produce their oil. Not the case for Venezuela, in my experience.
[Yahoo] The ugly year for crypto seems to have no end in sight.
The insight: The crypto market has now erased more than half of its value in just eight months, according to new research from The Kobeissi Letter. On Oct. 6, 2025, the total market cap of crypto hit a record $4.3 trillion. Now 261 days later, crypto is worth just $2.0 trillion, marking a 54% decline in value. This means crypto markets have erased an average of $8.8 billion per day for 261 days straight, according to the note.
Considering concerns about stretched valuations, rising geopolitical tensions, and a market that's become increasingly sensitive to interest rate expectations, the pullback in the highly risky crypto space has made sense.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/25/2026 10:24 ||
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#1
How much of the shrinkage is Iran and proxies being cut off, as I assume is being worked between Israeli and American white hats, and perhaps Al Shabaab and other jihadi group accounts as well?
Good. This will change our situation from growing energy scarcity to heading toward adequate. Well done!
[NewsMax] The Department of Energy announced Tuesday a conditional commitment for $17.5 billion in financing aimed at accelerating construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors, a move that would increase U.S. nuclear generating capacity by roughly 11%.
The plan supports the purchase of long-lead components needed to rebuild the domestic nuclear supply chain and speed deployment of five two-reactor projects across the country.
The department said the program could accelerate reactor construction timelines by as much as three years while reducing costs and helping achieve President Donald Trump's goal of having 10 new large reactors under construction within six years.
"Just over one year ago, President Trump directed the Energy Department and its agency partners to unleash the next American nuclear renaissance," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. "These conditional loans will play an important role in reviving the supply chain needed for America to once again build large-scale commercial reactors."
The financing is structured around Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design, currently the only licensed large-scale advanced reactor operating in the United States.
Each AP1000 reactor generates about 1.1 gigawatts of electricity. Together, the 10 proposed reactors would add about 11 gigawatts of generating capacity. That's enough electricity to power nearly 10 million homes.
The announcement comes about a year after Trump signed a series of executive orders intended to expand domestic nuclear energy production, streamline reactor licensing, strengthen nuclear fuel supplies, and accelerate development of advanced reactor technologies.
The DOE said those efforts have already led to the creation of the Reactor Pilot Program, expanded testing opportunities at Idaho National Laboratory, and faster authorization pathways for advanced reactor projects.
Dan Sumner, interim CEO of Westinghouse, said the initiative represents a major opportunity for the industry. "Westinghouse is honored to partner with the U.S. government to meet this once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver nuclear power at scale in the United States and overseas," said Sumner.
Craig Piercy, CEO of the American Nuclear Society, called large reactors the foundation of future growth.
"The nuclear resurgence will come in all shapes and sizes, but it can't happen without a firm foundation of gigawatt scale Generation III+ reactors," Piercy said.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said expanding nuclear generation is critical to meeting future energy needs. "Building more nuclear reactors here at home is how we secure America's energy future and unleash American energy dominance," he said.
[PJMedia] SCOTUS Decides How Far States May Regulate Concealed Carry in Public
Can citizens who have been trained and have concealed carry licenses actually carry concealed in shops or other private property open to the public without being given express permission by the property owner?
Or, like a vampire in the teen hit Vampire Diaries, will the license holder have to have an invitation to enter?
That’s the question the Supreme Court was asked to consider in Wolford v. Lopez, which was argued before the court in January 2026.
In a 6-3 decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that a Hawaii law banning concealed carry at businesses and other types of private property that is open to the public is unconstitutional. In the court's opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Hawaii's "regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives."
"Hawaii’s law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the property owner’s express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments," the ruling concluded.
#3
Hawaii will just change a couple of words in the law and claim it is now in compliance with the Court but still has essentially the same restrictions- maybe even more, forcing the whole legal review process over again.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court UPHOLDS the Department of Homeland Security's right to END Temporary Protected Status for illegal Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
MASSIVE WIN for President Trump's immigration agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision on Mullin v. Doe, as the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fights the corruption-fueling, overextended "temporary protected status" for Syrians and Haitians.
The decision was in favor of the Trump-Mullin DHS, with six justices voting in favor and three voting against. The dissenters were Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, according to SCOTUSBlog.
This is a major win not only for immigration reform, but for American workers who have long found themselves shouldered out of certain jobs in favor of foreigners who will accept lower pay and fewer benefits.
The majority opinion disagreed with the claim that ending TPS for Haitians was likely a racial decision rather than one based on the legal issues in the case. Specifically, the majority opinion decided that the Haitians and Syrians in the case are not entitled to orders that postponed the terminations of TPS during litigation.
The title of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) inherently indicates that such protection must be for a short time. And yet multiple Syrians and Haitians sued the federal government for trying to end their TPS years after they received it. TPS is supposed to help refugees in extreme need after a catastrophic political or natural disaster; it is not supposed to be a life-long permission to live in the U.S. and obtain jobs and benefits. For nationals of some countries, TPS has been in place for multiple generations.
Temporary Protected Status is permanent:
Somalia: 35 years Sudan: 28 years Honduras: 26 years Nicaragua: 26 years El Salvador: 24 years Haiti: 16 years South Sudan: 15 years Syria: 14 years Nepal: 11 years Yemen: 11 years
[FoxNews] Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the law 'violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms'
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Hawaii on Thursday, handing concealed-carry permit holders a major victory in a 6-3 decision.
The Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Wolford v. Lopez, who contested Hawaii's state law requiring a property owner's explicit permission to allow lawful gun owners to bring firearms into public businesses.
"Hawaii's law at issue here violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms," Justice Samuel Alito wrote. "This regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives."
The ruling reverses a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had upheld Hawaii's restrictions after the state enacted them in response to the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision.
After Bruen struck down New York's "proper cause" licensing requirement and held that Americans have a constitutional right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense, Hawaii overhauled its firearms laws.
Among the new provisions was a requirement that concealed-carry permit holders could not bring firearms onto another person's private property, including businesses open to the public, unless the owner provided express authorization through signage or verbal or written permission. In Second Amendment advocacy circles, the law became known as the "vampire rule."
Alito wrote that the law could subject lawful concealed-carry permit holders to criminal liability while going about routine daily activities, such as stopping at a gas station, pharmacy or grocery store. He illustrated the concern through a hypothetical based on Jaime Caetano, a woman who sought to carry a weapon after threats from an abusive former partner, imagining her running ordinary errands while lawfully carrying a firearm for self-defense.
"Unless each of these establishments has posted a sign saying 'Guns Welcome' or something to that effect, each visit could expose her to criminal liability," Alito wrote.
The court rejected Hawaii's argument that its unique culture and history justified stricter gun laws. The state had relied in part on what its courts call the "spirit of Aloha" to defend the regulations.
"The Second Amendment cannot give way to 'the spirit of Aloha' in Hawaii any more than it can yield to the spirit of the Big Apple or the Windy City," Alito wrote. "Merely local attitudes can neither shrink nor inflate the meaning of fundamental Bill of Rights guarantees."
The Court also rejected Hawaii's reliance on an 1865 Louisiana law enacted as part of the post-Civil War Black Codes as evidence that similar restrictions have historical roots. Hawaii argued the statute showed there was a historical tradition of requiring people to obtain permission before carrying firearms onto another person's property.
But the majority said the law shouldn't be used as a historical guide because it was part of the Black Codes, a set of post-Civil War laws aimed at disarming newly freed Black Americans.
"Unless we put history entirely out of our minds, Hawaii's claim that this tainted artifact illuminates the original understanding of the right to keep and bear arms cannot be taken seriously," Alito wrote.
However, Justice Elena Kagan reached the opposite conclusion in a brief dissent. She argued Hawaii's law fit within the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation, pointing to colonial-era laws that also required people to obtain permission before carrying firearms onto another person's property.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, took a broader approach in a separate dissent. Jackson argued the dispute wasn't really about the Second Amendment at all, but about the rights of private property owners.
"There is no constitutional right to enter private property without the owner’s permission, let alone with a firearm," Jackson wrote. "So the question this case presents is merely how a property owner must communicate his decision to exclude or to invite armed carry, including whether a State may alter the background property-law rules that set the default as one or the other."
"The Second Amendment has nothing to say about that," Jackson continued.
Gun-rights organizations quickly celebrated the ruling, while Hawaii officials had not publicly responded as of publication.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon celebrated the ruling on social media, noting the Justice Department Civil Rights office co-authored an amicus brief for the case.
"A great return to sanity and historical presumptions!" Dhillon wrote.
The National Rifle Association, which filed an amicus brief urging the Court to strike down Hawaii's law, called the decision "a major victory for the Second Amendment."
"Law-abiding gun owners will no longer be forced to beg for special permission simply to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms in public places," John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director said in a statement.
The Second Amendment Foundation, which also filed an amicus brief, said the Court correctly rejected what it described as an attempt to create a de facto public-carry ban.
"Our stance is that one of the most fundamental underlying principles of the Second Amendment is the right to carry in public for self-defense," said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. "If a business does not want you to carry a firearm on the premises, the burden should be on the proprietor, not the private citizen."
SAF founder Alan Gottlieb said the ruling should serve as a warning to other states with similar laws.
"This law was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to disarm peaceable citizens, and we're grateful the Supreme Court saw through the ruse," Gottlieb said. "With this precedent-setting ruling in hand, other states that have similar laws in place should be on notice."
#1
3 voting against. --- Justices Sonia Sotomayor (OBAMA), Elena Kagan (Obama) , and Ketanji Brown Jackson (Biden). Anyone surprise? Anyone wondering if they voted based on the Constitution or a Political agenda?
[RedState] Shortly after the polls closed in South Carolina, Decision Desk HQ projected that Attorney General Alan Wilson had won the Republican nomination for Governor of South Carolina. At 72 percent of precincts reporting, the race wasn't even close. Wilson surpassed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, 67 percent to 32 percent.
As RedState reported, President Donald Trump's coveted endorsement in the primary originally went to Lt. Gov. Pam Evette over District 1 Congresswoman Nancy Mace. However, after the June 9 primary went into a runoff between Wilson and Evette, President Trump issued his endorsement in the runoff race, praising both candidates as sound choices.
#1
...Something just struck me as not-quite-right about LT Gov Evette, and Nancy Mace started with so much promise, but later left the rails completely.
Wilson seems to have been a good dude - or at least as good as anybody in SC politics can be - and I'll have no problems voting for him again in the general.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The FBI announces the arrests of two additional suspects for plotting to attack Israel-linked members of Congress at a White House event earlier this month.
[Townhall] 
[Yahoo] The ugly year for crypto seems to have no end in sight.
