June 24th CURE NEWS
Mark David
1) The Last Check on Presidential Power by Adam Kinzinger
The Supreme Court faces a simple question: Will it defend the Constitution or accommodate a president?
In the coming days, the Supreme Court will confront a question the Founders thought they had already answered: How much power should one person have?
The Court is about to decide several cases that could define the scope of Trump’s authority. One case concerns Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship. Another involves the administration’s attempt to revoke legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Others could expand presidential control over independent agencies and officials Congress deliberately insulated from political pressure.
Taken individually, these disputes may seem technical. Together, they point in the same direction: a presidency with fewer constraints and more power.
The question before the Court is larger than immigration, agency structure, or administrative law. It is whether the Constitution still imposes meaningful limits on the chief executive.
2) The Voting-Machine Report They’re Hiding Until November
The pattern is becoming impossible to miss: the hidden report, the voter-roll purges, the gerrymanders, and Postal Service changes targeting mail ballots in Democratic states... by Thom Hartmann THE HARTMAN REPORT June 24th
Somewhere inside the White House right now there’s a federal intelligence report sitting in a drawer, and Trump’s lickspittles who put it there are betting you won’t see it before you vote in November.
It’s an assessment of the security of America’s voting machines, produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Reuters revealed last week that White House officials have spent months refusing to authorize its release even as the 2026 midterms come barreling toward us.
The findings are almost comic in their irony, but they could also become the weapon that brings down our democracy this November. I’ll get to that in a moment, but first the backstory.
3) Microsoft points to lower water use in AI era by Amy Harder for AXIOS
Microsoft is seeking to make the case that its AI-fueled data center expansion does not come with soaring water use.
Why it matters: Combined with recent water announcements from Google, Amazon and Nvidia, Microsoft's update Wednesday shows how the companies at the heart of the AI boom are racing to respond to growing concerns about the buildout's environmental footprint.
Driving the news: Microsoft said its newest AI-focused data center designs — first unveiled in 2024 — do not consume water for cooling during normal operations.
- The move is part of a broader effort that the company says has helped improve its water efficiency by nearly 90% since the early 2000s.
- The company also said it replenished more water globally in fiscal year 2025 than it used across its operations, a milestone toward its goal of becoming water positive by 2030.
4) Did Trump's motorcade drive through newly painted reflecting pool?
A White House official posted a video of the motorcade crossing the landmark on May 7, 2026. BY Anna Rascouët-Paz for SNOPES June 24th 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade drove through the newly painted and sealed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Rating: True
Context
Trump's motorcade passed through the empty pool on May 7, 2026, after it was painted and sealed and before it was refilled with water as part of a renovation project.
n June 2026, a claim spread online that President Donald Trump's motorcade had driven through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was painted and sealed as part of a more than $14 million renovation project.
The rumor circulated as the U.S. National Park Service struggled to maintain the appearance of the Washington, D.C., landmark after Trump ordered it to be repainted to "American flag blue" for the country's 250th anniversary.
5) CBS News' Tabloid Turn after Purging Veteran Journalists
Hunter Biden's laptop is red meat for MAGA. So Bari Weiss has hired a tabloid "reporter" for the CBS investigative unit who has done obsessive coverage on that topic.
By Jennifer Schulze for THE LINCOLN SQUARE Juine 24th
With her latest hire, Bari Weiss’ continues her jaw-dropping attack on the credibility of CBS News.
Weiss reportedly told colleagues she wanted to “blow up” the network. She has steered the marquee evening newscast off a ratings cliff, ripped a hole in the heart of the network’s crown jewel, 60 Minutes, and purged a growing number of hardworking journalists from throughout the organization. Now, she’s hired someone for the network’s investigative unit who specializes in tabloid style reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop and other related topics.
6) How the US Supreme Court decides its cases – a step‑by‑step guide
By Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst June 24th, THE CONVERSATION
Each June, the nation turns its attention to the U.S. Supreme Court as it hands down some of its most consequential decisions.
Long before a landmark Supreme Court ruling dominates the headlines, it is shaped by a highly structured legal process, much of which takes place out of public view. This procedure involves strict gatekeeping rules, a series of private conferences, written briefs, oral arguments and, finally, the announcement of an opinion.
As a legal and Supreme Court scholar, I know that understanding how the nation’s highest court actually makes policy requires stepping into this exceptionally regulated, sometimes hidden routine. It is through this process that the court evaluates, and eventually decides, increasingly high-stakes cultural and political battles.
Here’s how it all unfolds:
7) Tucker Carlson says he’s abandoning the GOP. That should terrify Trump.
Israel is becoming a wedge issue on the right. Carlson says Trump is on the wrong side of it.
By Zeeshan Aleem for MS NOW
Right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson says that because of his fury over President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, he won’t vote for the Republican Party in the midterm elections. Trump should be terrified: Carlson’s defection from the party is precisely the kind of intra-MAGA blow that could demobilize Republican voters ahead of November.
In an interview with the “Can’t be Censored” podcast that aired Thursday, Carlson said, “There’s no chance I would support the Republican Party” this fall because he cannot back “a political party that’s not loyal to the United States, that puts the interest of a foreign country above those of its own citizens.” The country Carlson is referring to is Israel. And while his argument is not accurate, it taps into a narrative that has a lot of potency on the right.
8) Millions lose food stamps under Trump cuts. Arizona is hardest hit
By Leah Douglas and Erica Stapleton for RUETERS June 24th
- Summary
- Half of Arizona's SNAP participants have lost their benefits
- Trump changes to the safety-net program push more costs onto states
- Food pantries in Arizona say they are seeing more demand since the changes went into effect
WASHINGTON/PHOENIX, Arizona, June 24 (Reuters) - When Angelica Garcia tried to renew her food stamps this spring, she said she thought she knew the drill.
The single mother of three in Tucson filled out the application. She repeatedly called Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, the state agency administering the federal aid, often staying on hold until the line dropped. She visited a thinly staffed DES office and waited hours for a caseworker.
9) Behind the Curtain: Global AI wars by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen for AXIOS
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance issued a rare joint warning this week that frontier AI capable of crippling governments and businesses is close. The fast rise of Chinese and Japanese models helps explain the urgency and fear, officials tell us.
Why it matters: Yes, Anthropic's Mythos model is the most cyber-lethal threat in the world. But OpenAI is close here in America. And China and Japan, using much cheaper models, have gotten closer, faster than intelligence agencies anticipated.
- "The timeline is not years, it is months," Five Eyes warned.
- Five Eyes, composed of the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is considered the world's most comprehensive and powerful spy network.
10) A citizen’s guide to Ken Paxton BY Noel Sims Jun 24, 2026 for Popular Information
Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the state’s Republican runoff for US Senate by nearly 30 points, delivering a resounding defeat to incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).
Paxton’s victory was even more impressive considering the ethical controversies that have plagued his tenure as an elected official. As Attorney General, Paxton has been indicted on felony securities fraud charges, investigated by the SEC, impeached by the Texas House, and sued by the State Bar of Texas for professional misconduct. He was repeatedly accused of using his government position for personal gain — including by members of his staff.
11) Mob-Boss Mandates: Inside Trump’s $1B Threat to State Elections
The administration’s plot to leverage Homeland Security grants is part of a dangerous playbook for November. By Frank Figliuzzi for LINCOLN SQUARE
Exclusive reporting by CNN on Monday exposed a threat by President Trump to pull millions of dollars in federal funds from states who refuse to comply with his demands to change how we conduct elections.
The mob-boss style threat is a variation on a worn-out Trump theme – bend to my will or pay the price. This time, Trump’s demand comes with a double danger. It not only undermines the security of upcoming midterm elections but erodes the safety of our communities by yanking over $1 billion in Homeland Security grants used by towns and counties to prepare for disasters, protect infrastructure, and counter terrorism. It seems like a sinister scheme of an increasingly desperate president to either rig the midterms or claim massive fraud if he fails.
Already, a federal court has balked at a portion of Trump’s plot – but now we know what he’s up to.
12) Britain's lost decade BY Zachary Basu for AXIOS
On June 23, 2016, the Brexit referendum unleashed a populist tide that rewrote the rules of Western politics.
- Ten years later, a diminished and fractured United Kingdom is preparing for its seventh prime minister — still haunted by the future it was promised.
Why it matters: Keir Starmer was elected as a competent, level-headed antidote to 14 years of Conservative rule — a period consumed by austerity, ideological warfare and the chaos of leaving the European Union.
- His resignation on Monday, less than two years after a historic Labour landslide, reveals Britain's chronic instability has outgrown partisan explanation.
13) The growing problem with toxic algae
Naturally occurring bacteria in water is thriving on increased nutrients from agriculture and global warming
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK June 23rd
The internet is awash with jokes about the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, which is now riddled with algae.
The Trump administration spent more than $14 million (£10.5 million) draining the pool and painting the bottom “American flag blue” in time for the 250th anniversary of US independence. The president had described the reflecting pool – the scene of Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a dream” speech – as “filthy” and “dirty”, and promised to transform it into something “beautiful”. Instead, residual algae has “proliferated” in warm weather, said The Guardian, turning the pond “Wicked” green.
Something positive that can be said about the pool’s algal bloom is that it’s harmless. But toxic algae blooms are a worldwide phenomenon that can harm humans and devastate marine life. And as the climate crisis warms the water, the problem is growing.
14) 101 Former Judges Ask the New York Bar to Investigate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
By Joyce Vance Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance June 24th
Today, 101 former judges filed a complaint, asking the New York State Bar Attorney Grievance Commission to “initiate an investigation into Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche (Registration No. 4192456) for violation of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.” The judges are joined by Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
15) Vance Furious After ChatGPT Keeps Recommending Obama’s Nuclear Deal
Andy Borowitz THE BOROWITZ REPORT June 24th
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Vice President JD Vance flew into a rage on Wednesday after ChatGPT repeatedly recommended former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
Desperate to advance negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Vance asked the bot, “What is the best possible nuclear deal with Iran?,” only to have it extoll Obama’s 2015 accord.
Adding insult to injury, Chat responded to subsequent prompts by informing Vance that Obama reached this deal without a reckless military campaign that closed the Strait of Hormuz and required the US to pay Iran $300 billion.