CURE News for July 1st
Mark David
July 1st
1) Letters from an American June 27, 2026 Heather Cox Richardson
Observers are noting that the reflecting pool fiasco, in which Trump created the idea there was an emergency, ignored experts, bypassed normal procedures to give a wildly inflated contract to a crony, bragged about his success, ignored the problems, claimed his enemies had sabotaged him, and finally stationed troops around the landmark he had turned into a swamp, represents the Trump administration perfectly.
But a report by Michael Scherer of The Atlantic about Trump’s remodeling of the West Colonnade is perhaps an even better representation of the Trump presidency. In March, Trump tore up the light brown Tennessee flagstone that paved the walkway in the West Colonnade that connects the White House residence to the Oval Office and replaced it with polished black African granite carved in Italy. When a reporter asked Trump who was paying for the remodeling, Trump answered: “Paid for by me.”
But, as Scherer discovered, that was a lie. He examined National Park Service budget documents showing that the walkway replacement cost taxpayers $689,232, all part of a $1.3 million project that includes new hardware for nearby doors. Last year, Scherer reports, the National Park Service spent $347,503 to replace the stucco on the colonnade wall so Trump could hang pictures of the U.S. presidents alongside plaques featuring his own opinions of them. Documents say the project was a “Rush project at request of POTUS.”
2) Sen. Mitch McConnell's condition remains unclear 2 weeks after being hospitalized
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jennifer Osting for WLKY
It's been more than two weeks since Sen. Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital, and there's still few details surrounding his condition or why he's there.
A spokesperson for McConnell's office told WLKY Sunday night that there are "no updates at this time" regarding the senator's condition.
The office reiterated its same message from last week saying, "Senator McConnell is still working closely with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters as he continues his recovery."
The spokesperson added that McConnell will not be voting this week, but that is not unusual because the Senate is currently out of session.
https://www.wlky.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-hospital-condition-louisville-kentucky/71768553
3) US Rep. Castro connects Air Force trainee death to flu outbreak at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland BY Nate Kotiso for KSAT
Lackland trainee Keon McDaniel died June 16, according to a US Air Force news release
WASHINGTON – Three members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, are calling for an investigation into the death of a U.S. Air Force trainee from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
In a news release Tuesday night, Castro said “the Air Force confirmed that trainee Keon McDaniel died from the flu during the outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.”
According to a June 17 news release from the U.S. Air Force, McDaniel, a trainee with the 737th Training Support Squadron, died June 16.
The Air Force said McDaniel was in his sixth week of Basic Military Training on June 12 when he experienced a “medical emergency” and was subsequently transported to Brooke Army Medical Center for treatment. McDaniel died at the hospital four days later.
4) Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent
By John J Martin Assistant Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University for THE CONVERSATION
A decades-old law limiting how much money political parties can spend in coordination with candidates was struck down by the Supreme Court on June 30, 2026. Citing First Amendment principles, the court held in NRSC v. FEC that the limit unduly prevented political parties from “freely” and “fully” advocating for their respective nominees. The case marks the Roberts court’s latest chapter in a 20-year trajectory toward a more deregulated campaign finance system.
While not the earth-shattering decision that was Citizens United, the 2010 ruling that struck down limits on corporate and union campaign spending as a violation of their free speech, NRSC v. FEC is still significant. And it has the potential to materially reshape the American political process.
Indeed, campaign finance regulation is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Some political theorists even contend that the private funding of campaigns is antithetical to core democratic principles of integrity, equality and responsiveness to voters.
5) Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter turbocharges presidential power
BY Grahm C Dodds Professor of Political Science, Concordia University for THE CONVERSATION
The U.S. Supreme Court – with its six conservative justices, three of whom were nominated by President Donald Trump – has recently reversed landmark decisions that have long guided American government and society. Over the last few years, the court has stripped federal protection of abortion rights, affirmative action, gun control, and a significant portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
In its highly anticipated decision on June 29, 2026, in the case of Trump v. Slaughter, the court has added the political independence of nominally independent agencies to that list, allowing the president to fire members of the Federal Trade Commission. The ruling overturns a case that had held sway for 91 years.
The court’s 6-3 decision in Slaughter also effectively endorses the unitary executive theory, thereby greatly expanding the power of the president.
6) How Trump admin rule changes could affect whooping crane habitats
Conservation groups fear the Trump administration's changes to the Endangered Species Act could destroy habitat for the endangered whooping crane. By Emery Winter for SNOPES
· In June 2026, people on social media claimed that the Trump administration was removing habitat protections from the endangered whooping crane.
· The claim appeared to be based on a recent Bloomberg Law article analyzing the impact the Trump administration's proposed rule changes may have on the whooping crane. Since this claim is based on the predicted impact of rule changes that have not been implemented as of this writing, we have left this claim unrated.
· The Trump administration is planning on removing a definition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regulatory enforcement of the Endangered Species Act that prohibits people from killing endangered species through habitat degradation or manipulation. It has also proposed a rule that would remove protections from most wetlands in the United States.
· The whooping crane migrates over the Great Plains twice a year, stopping numerous times at wetlands along the way. Many, but not all, of the wetlands that would lose protections are along this migration route. The whooping crane population fell to fewer than two dozen birds in the 1940s, in part because of habitat destruction driven by agriculture.
· We've reached out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency for more information on when the rule changes will take effect. We will update this story if and when we learn more.
7) Google's AI boom sends emissions, power use soaring by Amy Harder for AXIOS
Why it matters: Google has invested more aggressively than perhaps any other tech company in clean energy, yet its environmental report released Tuesday shows how difficult it has become to keep climate goals on track amid the AI buildout.
Driving the news: Google's data centers are becoming more efficient, but the company's AI infrastructure is growing even faster.
- "This rapid expansion in energy demand is a reality we must manage actively, and we're committed to ensuring that the growth of AI doesn't become a rationale for lowering our environmental standards," the report states.
By the numbers: Most are going up.
- Electricity demand jumped 37% — up from a 27% increase last year and roughly 3.5 times higher than in 2019.
- Greenhouse gas emissions rose 18%, the largest annual increase Google has reported, driven largely by manufacturing AI hardware, including chips and servers.
- Water consumption climbed 34% to 10.9 billion gallons, more than double 2021 levels. Data centers accounted for most of the increase.
8) Scoop: Harris reaches out to Mamdani, pro-Palestinian activists in run-up to 2028
By Holly Otterbein, Alex Thompson for AXIOS
Kamala Harris privately called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani last week and has been holding lengthy, closed-door meetings with other prominent progressives — including pro-Palestinian activists.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign the former vice president is laying the groundwork for a potential White House run in 2028 — and looking to strengthen or repair her relationships with left-wing Democrats.
Driving the news: Harris called Mamdani last Thursday to talk about the party's future and plan a longer conversation, a person familiar with the call told Axios.
- Harris, who occasionally has texted with Mamdani in the past few months, called him two days after the mayor's handpicked candidates swept three congressional races in New York City, ousting a pair of incumbents.
- In April, Harris met with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in Chicago on the sidelines of the "Power Rising" conference, a summit for Black women empowerment.
Harris and her team also have been reaching out to pro-Palestinian activists during the past year, including at least one who helped lead the "Uncommitted Movement," which grew out of opposition to former President Biden's policy on the war in Gaza.
9) Exclusive: GOP think tank pushes heavy health spending cuts by Catlin Owens AXIOS
An influential conservative think tank is issuing a new call for policy changes that would lower the federal government's health care spending, including several that would be guaranteed to generate political blowback.
Why it matters: Paragon Health Institute has considerable sway with congressional Republicans and the Trump administration, both in terms of proposing policies and serving as a springboard for key staffers.
- Even though Republicans may lose one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, the Paragon worldview is likely to remain highly relevant for the remainder of the Trump administration.
The big picture: The very design of federal health care programs — including Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act — incentivizes waste and higher health care prices, Paragon CEO Brian Blase writes in a paper provided first to Axios.
10) Beyond the Headlines: The Supreme Court's Final Decisions
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance by Joyce Vance Jun 30, 2026
The Supreme Court never really sleeps. Even though today was the last day they will announce decisions from cases that were briefed and argued during the 2025-2026 term, there are still matters pending on the shadow docket and a whole host of cases they must consider to decide whether they will hear them next term. As if to underscore that, when the “cleanup conference” order came out this afternoon, we learned the Justices had agreed to hear a case that asks them to determine whether bans on AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles are constitutional. That’s the issue in Viramontes v. Cook County, which has been consolidated with a second case, Grant v. Higgins.
It only takes four votes to grant certiorari and hear these cases. It will take a fifth one to end restrictions on casual civilian ownership of these weapons. That’s what's at stake. The Court doesn’t take cases like this just to pat a state on the head and sign off on its ban—it has bigger fish to fry than affirming the status quo.
11) A New Declaration of Independence from Tyranny THE BOROWITZ REPORT
We hold these truths to be self-evident by Andy Borowitz Jul 01, 2026
When in the course of human events a
tyrant imperils a nation, it is the duty of those who cherish democracy to
remove him from power.
We the People refuse to tolerate a despot who threatens our country and the
world.
--He has engaged in corrupt schemes to profit from his office, plunder the Treasury, and steal from the taxpayers.
--He has desecrated the People’s House and the nation’s capital.
--He has perverted the Department of Justice to take revenge on his perceived enemies.
--He has vandalized the federal government, replacing experienced professionals with incompetent sycophants.
--He has deployed a domestic army of masked thugs to terrorize, torture, and kill.
--He has shredded aid for those most in need, at home and abroad, spreading hunger, sickness, and death.
--He has betrayed the nation’s allies and collaborated with its foes.
--And he has committed war crimes, ordering unprovoked attacks on foreign countries, targeting civilians, and massacring children.
We reject him and his enablers.
They must be held accountable and brought to justice.
And such tyranny must never contaminate this nation again.
Today we vow to set the United States on a new course.
To eliminate racism, sexism, and inequality.
To embrace honesty, empathy, and kindness.
To form a more perfect Union.
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/a-new-declaration-of-independence-17e?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2337656&post_id=199376615&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=5jaee&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email