CNN:"Telfs-Buchen, Austria (CNN)President Joe Biden arrived in Europe Saturday for a week of summits, where the grinding war in Ukraine -- entering its fifth month and fading from Americans' attention -- will be thrust back to the forefront. The President touched down in Germany late Saturday local time. Biden hopes to announce new sanctions and military assistance alongside European allies during his visits to Germany and Spain. Both the Group of 7 and NATO summits will hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who continues to appeal to the United States and other countries for more help. Yet big questions loom over the talks in Germany and Spain, most importantly whether the united western response to the conflict can be sustained -- particularly as leaders face the threat of a global recession and growing anger at home over rising prices for gas, food and other goods.The looming economic crisis has caused serious political problems for many of the leaders, Biden included. .. "

CNN:"Robert E. Crimo III has been taken into custody near Lake Forest, IL, authorities said during a brief news conference just before 8 p.m. ET. Authorities said Crimo was spotted by a North Chicago officer who attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Crimo then fled and led officers on a brief pursuit before being stopped in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was taken into custody without incident and will be taken to the Highland Park police department. When asked, authorities said they are still calling Crimo a “person of interest” while they investigate and connect him to the scene. ..The Highland Park, Illinois shooting marks at least the 308th mass shooting in the US this year, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit tracking such incidents. The organization defines a mass shooting as involving four or more people shot, not including the shooter. There have been 11 mass shootings in the first four days of July, including three on July 4 alone, in Richmond, Virginia; Chicago and Highland Park, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The carnage punctuates an already bloody American spring and summer, including an 18-year-old's racist attack at a New York supermarket that killed 10 and another 18-year-old's shooting at a Texas school that left 19 students and two teachers dead. In the wake of those massacres, President Biden just nine days ago signed into law the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington."

"(CNN)To date, the January 6 committee has provided a clinical, step by step breakdown of who knew what when in the days leading up to the insurrection at the US Capitol. The committee's hearing on Tuesday was something quite different -- as Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, provided stirring and intimate details of what happened that day and, specifically, how Donald Trump acted. It was, in a word, ugly. Three moments stand out: 1) Hutchinson said she was told that when Trump got back into the presidential limousine, known as the Beast, and was told that he could not join protesters at the Capitol, he lost it. The then-President tried to grab the steering wheel and, when one of his security detail reached to stop him, he grabbed at that man's throat. 2) Trump, in expletive-laden language, urged that people with weapons -- guns, knives and the like -- be let through the magnetometers before his speech to the "Stop the Steal" rally. His goal? Ensure that the photographs and video of the event showed a packed crowd all listening to him. "They're not here to hurt me," Trump reportedly told people. 3) Meadows, when pressed by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, to say something more amid "Hang Mike Pence" chants at the US Capitol responded, according to Hutchinson: "[Trump] thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they are doing anything wrong."Consider that. The President of the United States tried to commandeer his limousine, was stopped from doing so, and struck out at one of the people tasked with protecting him.. The President, knowing there are armed people gathering, urged that they be let into a confined space so that the crowd looked robust. Amidst chants that his vice president be hung, Trump said that he deserved it. It sounds more like the plot of a bad made-for-TV movie than real life. And all of it was happening on the same day that thousands of people stormed the Capitol, leaving 5 people dead and more than 100 police officers wounded..."

"(CNN)Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming said she is "absolutely confident" in blockbuster testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, and that the January 6 committee welcomes information from the Secret Service related to the incidents Hutchinson described. In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that aired Thursday, Cheney was pressed on Hutchinson's remarks that former President Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent in a vehicle traveling to the White House on January 6, 2021, and the committee's vice chairwoman was asked whether the panel had followed up with the Secret Service. Cheney told ABC that the panel had spoken with Tony Ornato, then-White House deputy chief of staff, and Robert Engel, who was the Secret Service agent in charge on January 6, 2021 -- and at whom Hutchinson testified that she was told by Ornato that Trump had lunged. "I don't want to get into too many details," Cheney said. "The committee has spoken to both Mr. Ornato and Mr. Engel, and we welcome additional testimony under oath from both of them, and from anybody else in the Secret Service who has information about any of these issues.".."

CNN:"'Classic Trump playbook': Ex-Trump official responds to his attacks on Hutchinson Erin Burnett Out Front Former Trump White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin weighs in on the former president verbally attacking Cassidy Hutchinson on Newsmax following her testimony before the January 6 committee." Yes, the deranged rabid nutter, totally wacked out of his mind attacks the veracity of Hutchinson who clearly described a deranged clear and present danger to American Democracy.

WASHINGTONPOST:
"Generally speaking, Secret Service agents aren’t supposed to be in the news. But Cassidy Hutchinson’s explosive testimony on Tuesday has thrust them into it again. An agent who also served as Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Anthony M. Ornato, reportedly disputes Hutchinson’s testimony. The dispute has set up the unusual prospect of Secret Service agents testifying to the Jan. 6 committee. It also could create one of the biggest factual disputes of the Jan. 6 committee’s work, with two (or more) witnesses testifying to something completely different under oath. And, very notably, this is hardly the first time Ornato has denied an account of a key White House conversation. It’s now happened in at least three high-profile occasions. And that calls his denials into question, say former Trump aides who stand by Hutchinson. One of them flat-out said Ornato lied in one of his previous denials. But another top White House aide involved in a previously disputed conversation is vouching for Ornato..."

"WASHINGTON/JACKSON, Miss., June 25 (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters descended on the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday to denounce the justice's decision to overturn the half-century-old Roe v. Wade precedent that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion. The sweeping ruling by the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, was set to vastly change American life, with nearly half the states considered certain or likely to ban abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasoning could also lead it to reconsider past rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalizing gay marriage nationwide, and invalidating state laws banning gay sex. "

"(CNN Business)Calls for violence against members of the January 6 committee are circulating on some of the same online platforms that helped fuel the lies that led to the insurrection, a new analysis has found..."

CNN:"Dasha Navalnaya, the daughter of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, speaks with CNN's Jim Sciutto about the conditions her father faces after he was transferred to a maximum-security prison..." No one notified the family. They transferred him to a prison known for torturing and murdering inmates. He is in insolation, a form of psychological torture. Putin doesn't want him out. Putin doesn't want everyone to know his government is corrupt. The important thing to remember is that putin does not represent Russia and Russia is not putin.

June 28 (Reuters) - Prominent Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was detained in Moscow on Monday, a lawyer for opposition figures and a Russian journalist said on their social media accounts. Irina Babloyan, a journalist and a host at the now defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, said Yashin was detained while the two were walking together. "I was walking with my friend, Ilya Yashin, in the park ... The police came and took Ilya away," Babloyan said on the Telegram messaging app. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov, who has represented many Russian opposition figures, also said Yashin was in police custody for the alleged administrative violation of disobeying a police officer. "I'm not allowed to visit the (Moscow) Luzhniki Police Department to (see) the detained Ilya Yashin," he said on his Facebook page. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. There was no official confirmation of the detention from Russian authorities. Yashin's detention is the latest in a wider and long-lasting crackdown against opponents of the Kremlin."

"LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska suggested on Tuesday that no winner would emerge from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and highlighted the economic price that Russia was paying for its actions. Deripaska's comments to reporters in Moscow represented a rare public questioning of the Kremlin's rationale for the war by one of Russia's richest men. He was careful to avoid directly criticising President Vladimir Putin."I'm troubled by how quickly we abandoned everything that was achieved (economically) in the 90s, then we abandoned everything that we achieved in the 2000s, and now we are sitting and waiting for victory. Victory of what? Whose victory?" Deripaska asked. He added: "I think that destroying Ukraine would be a colossal mistake, including for us." Rising levels of prosperity had been linked to the development of Russia's private sector and building ties with the rest of Europe as Russia's main economic partner, he said. But it was "obvious" that Western sanctions were now hurting Russia more than Europe, said Deripaska, founder of Russian aluminium giant Rusal.Nor did he see any threat to its political leadership. "There is no potential for regime change in Russia. The opposition preferred beautiful European views and retreated from the life of the country," Deripaska said. Many of Russia's leading opposition figures, especially associates of jailed Kremlic critic Alexei Navalny, have fled to other European countries to escape being prosecuted.Deripaska, 54, is one of a group of businessmen known as oligarchs who control large parts of the economy, especially in energy and commodities, and have been able to preserve their fortunes on condition that they stay out of politics. Putin calls the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine a special military operation to demilitarise and "denazify" the country, a line rejected by Kyiv and the West as baseless war propaganda. The Kremlin on Tuesday repeated its assertions that the operation was going according to plan."

BBC:"Nato's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg is just speaking in Brussels, where foreign ministers from the security alliance are gathering this afternoon. "We have seen no indication that President Putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine and rewrite the international order," he says. The secretary general says that Nato needs to support Ukraine, sustain the sanctions on Russia and strengthen its own defences and deterrents. He says the conflict may last a long time "and we need to be prepared for that"

CNN:"He helped decode texts from January 6th. What he found scared him Anderson Cooper 360 Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman who helped the January 6 committee link text messages sent to and from Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, tells CNN's Anderson Cooper what scared him about what he uncovered about the January 6 insurrection." Riggleman said reviewing the texts started with bemusement which turned to horror. The texts reveal a roadmap from November 3rd and 4th all the way to the end. The horror was the fact that the upper levels of the government and the Republican party were inundated with qanon and other conspiracy theories all the way to the top, using language that this was a holy war and a call to arms this was our Omaha Beach. You have a text from Ginny Thomas, the wife of a Supreme Court Justice saying I hope the following is true:

"Washington (CNN)The Justice Department on Monday charged the head of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four other leaders with seditious conspiracy in the January 6 US Capitol attack, escalating the criminal case against the far-right extremist group. These are the most aggressive charges brought by the Justice Department against the Proud Boys, and are the first allegations by prosecutors that the group tried to oppose by force the presidential transfer of power. Tarrio and his co-defendants previously pleaded not guilty to an earlier slate of charges. The new indictment adds fresh details about what Proud Boys leaders said on January 6, 2021. Prosecutors accuse the five defendants of working together to intimidate members of Congress and law enforcement and prompt them to flee, thereby preventing them from performing their official duties. .."

CNN:"...Russia's offensive in the east is playing out as international media attention on Ukraine recedes somewhat from the headlines. And that may be what Putin is counting on, perhaps mindful that high energy costs and rising consumer prices -- both of which have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine -- are more likely to concentrate public opinion (and drive election outcomes) in the United States and elsewhere.Putin may also be counting on short diplomatic attention spans. This is the same Russian leader who doubled down on his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015 after Damascus suffered a string of defeats. That war -- now entering its 12th year -- has continued even as the world's attention has shifted to Ukraine...Putin has a much more open-ended timeline for his war in Ukraine. Ukrainians, in contrast, fear international fatigue may set in, leading the international community to press their government to make concessions to Putin. "

"WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - North Korea could conduct a seventh nuclear test at "any time" and has shown no interest in returning to negotiations, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea said on Tuesday. North Korea has test-launched an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles this year and its officials have also used rhetoric that could suggest plans for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Sung Kim told reporters.Kim reiterated U.S. assessments that North Korea was preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test. Asked when that might happen, he said: "I don't have anything more. They've obviously done the preparations..., and my understanding is they could test any time." .."

REUTERS:"Long before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the mass detentions of Russian peace protesters, the Kremlin was already stifling dissent - with choking bureaucracy. Throughout 2021, the Kremlin tightened the screws on its opponents – including supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny – using a combination of arrests, internet censorship and blacklists. The crackdown accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine...."

"The FBI is engaged in a nationwide effort to build public awareness of hate crimes and encourage reporting to law enforcement. Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI’s civil rights program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities. Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim—they are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community. “Hate crimes are the top priority within the FBI’s Civil Rights Program, due to the devastating impact these types of crimes have on communities. One act can terrorize entire communities and groups of people,”said FBI Associate Deputy Director Jeffrey Sallet. “There’s simply no place in this country for hate and intolerance.... "

PRESIDENT.GOV.UA:"Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians! Today was a long and very important day of our foreign policy activity. A conference devoted to the recovery of Ukraine started in Lugano, Switzerland. I want to point out right away that when they talk about recovery, they often put the emphasis incorrectly. It is not only about what we should do after our victory or in the following years, but also about what we need to do right now. Ukrainian forces liberated more than a thousand settlements from the occupiers, and new ones are added every week. Now, for example, in the south of our country. All of them suffered large-scale destruction. And this also means the need for colossal funds for the restoration of infrastructure, for the return of medicine and social services, for the restoration of normal economic life. There are tens of thousands of destroyed houses alone in the liberated areas. And we also need to prepare schools and universities for the new academic year in the entire free territory of the country and in new conditions of constant threat, in particular missile strikes... We must already prepare for the winter and do everything so that we pass this winter calmly from the point of view of energy despite the threats Russia creates every day. .. "
BBC:"

• Russia says it now controls the whole of the Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine after capturing the final holdout of Lysychansk
• Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin that Luhansk had been "liberated", the defence ministry said
• But Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, has told the BBC that Lysychansk is not under the "full control" of Russian forces, despite Moscow's claims
• He added that the situation had been "very intense for quite a while now" with Russian ground forces "attacking the city non-stop".
• Elsewhere, at least six people were killed and 15 injured in Ukraine's eastern city of Slovyansk following intense shelling by Russian troops

" CNN:"

• Putin will not congratulate Biden on Independence Day
• Ukraine asks Turkey to "detain" Russian-flagged ship carrying Ukrainian grain
• Russia says weekend strike on Belgorod was aimed to provoke Moscow
• As Russia creeps closer, a group of volunteers awaits them in the forests of eastern Ukraine
• Hockey player detained in Russia for allegedly evading military service, per reports
• School destroyed in attack on Kharkiv

CNN:"Russia’s war in Ukraine is the “greatest threat to the world order,” US Ambassador Nicholas Burns said at a forum in Beijing on Monday — a rare event that saw Burns seated on a panel alongside his Russian counterpart for a diplomatic debate. “The fact that Russia crossed the border with an armed force, unprovoked, and has started this war with so much human suffering, so many innocent civilians dead in Ukraine — this is a direct violation of the United Nations charter, it is a direct violation of what the Russian Federation signed up to when it became a member state,” Burns said at the discussion, which was hosted by Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and the World Peace Forum..."
CNN:"Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Kyiv region on Sunday, travelling to Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv Governor Olexiy Kuleba said on his official Telegram channel. Kuleba said Albanese expressed Australia's solidarity with Ukraine and the crimes committed in the Kyiv region. According to Kuleba, Albanese was “stunned by what he saw: ruined civilian buildings, traces of mines, the ruined Antonov Airport.” Albanese then announced a new assistance package to Ukraine, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office.
" REUTERS:"KYIV/POKROVSK, Ukraine, June 26 (Reuters) - Russian missiles hit an apartment block and kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes U.S. President Joe Biden condemned as "barbarism" as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow. Up to four explosions shook central Kyiv in the early hours, in the first such attack on the city in weeks. read more "The Russians hit Kyiv again. Missiles damaged an apartment building and a kindergarten," said Andriy Yermak, head of the president's administration..."
CNN:"Some countries invited to participate in the G7 summit in Germany “will have to choose sides” as the war in Ukraine continues to rage on, an Élysée source told journalists on Monday. “It is the stability of the international order that is at stake,” the Élysée source said. Germany, host country of the G7 summit, has invited Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to join the summit. Some of the invitees, such as India, have yet to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Sessions on Monday afternoon are open to invited countries. French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet with the presidents of Indonesia and South Africa separately this afternoon. "
CNN:"Telfs-Buchen, Austria (CNN)... Speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" hours after Russian missiles hit Kyiv, shattering what had been relative calm in the Ukrainian capital, Johnson urged Americans, Britons and others in the West to maintain resolve in punishing Moscow, despite the effect the war has had on global oil prices.
BBC:"The West must prepare to continue supporting Ukraine in a war lasting for years, Nato's chief has warned. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the costs of war were high, but the price of letting Moscow achieve its military goals was even greater. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also warned of a longer-term conflict. And in a stark warning, the newly appointed head of the British Army said the UK and allies needed to be capable of winning a ground war with Russia."
CNN:"(CNN)Russia will transfer nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to its ally Belarus over the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in St. Petersburg the missile systems "can use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both in conventional and nuclear versions," according to the Kremlin.
BBC:"The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has told the BBC the Russian public will eventually realise their young soldiers are dying for nothing more than Russian President Vladimir Putin's ambitions. The former world heavyweight boxing champion was attending the funeral of a well-known 24-year-old anti-corruption activist when the remarks were made. Volunteer soldier Roman Ratushny was killed in Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, on 9 June. Mayor Klitschko, who won legions of fans across the world during his long record-breaking career, said the Russian leader was destroying millions of lives in both Ukraine and his own country. "This is also a tragedy for Russians and for the Russian Federation. The people do not understand that right now, but I am sure they will realise very soon the reality. The Russians die - for what? The ambition of Putin?" The mayor was among hundreds of mourners who turned out to pay their respects to Mr Ratushny - who came to prominence during pro-democracy protests in 2013 against the pro-Moscow former Ukrainian government..."
CNN:"(CNN)Ukraine's bid to join the European Union received a major boost on Friday morning, after the bloc's executive said it believed the country should be formally considered for candidate status in the wake of Russia's invasion. Speaking in Brussels, the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission recommends "that Ukraine is given candidate status. This is of course on the understanding that the country will carry out a number of further reforms."
CNN:"Hong Kong (CNN)When Russian President Vladimir Putin dials into the virtual BRICS summit hosted by Beijing on Thursday, it will be his first time attending a forum with the heads of major economies since launching an invasion of Ukraine earlier this year...."

BBC:"A journalist who quit her job at Russian state-controlled TV channel back in March over the invasion of Ukraine has told Russian audiences to switch off their television sets. "Just don't listen, find other sources of information," Zhanna Agalakova said in an interview with BBC Newsnight. "The war is evil, the war is death". ...
CNN:"Russia's actions in Ukraine provide enough evidence to conclude that Moscow is inciting genocide and committing atrocities intended to destroy the Ukrainian people, according to the first independent report into allegations of genocide in that country..."
"
BBC:"The prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, has met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on an unannounced trip to Kyiv. She also visited the devastated Ukrainian towns of Irpin and Bucha, according to the local authorities. Marin was seen wearing a bullet-proof vest, walking with officials and soldiers. The prime minister recently announced Finland's historic decision to apply for Nato membership.

CNN:"A Ukrainian lawmaker called on the United States to provide air defense systems and fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that the situation on the battlefield is "far worse" than it was at the beginning of the war. “For us time means lives, thousands of lives.
..
"BERLIN, May 12 (Reuters) - Russia, not Ukraine, needs de-Nazification, the leader of anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot, who left Russia this week by disguising herself as a food courier, said before her group kicks off a concert tour against the war. .."
"
CNN:"(CNN)Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has backfired on a number of fronts. But one of the most disastrous consequences of all for the Russian President is the increasingly likely prospect of Finland joining NATO. "
BBC:"Russia should be expelled from Ukraine and "pushed back to Russia", Estonia's prime minister has said. Kaja Kallas said western countries should share her aim that Ukraine wins the war and Putin loses. But she says keeping unity will become more difficult as the war goes on. "If there is some kind of peace agreement, everybody stays where they are, then the [Russian] aggression really pays off," she told the BBC's Newshour. "Not only do you take neighbour's land by force but you also appease in the end and we shouldn't allow that." She said European security was at stake, adding "we all need to have this understanding that our neighbour's problem today is our problem tomorrow". .."
CNN:"The prosecutor general of Ukraine said her office is opening new cases of alleged war crimes by Russian forces, with a total of 9,158 criminal cases "involving purely war crimes."
BBC:"Kira Glodan, a three-month-old baby, is one of the latest victims in the war in Ukraine. She was killed along with her mother and grandmother in a Russian missile strike in Odesa..”
BBC:"US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said the appointment of a Russian general dubbed the "Butcher of Syria" to oversee its war in Ukraine is "consistent" with its handling of the war.... General Alexander Dvornikov, 60, previously led Russian operations in Syria, where Russian forces have been accused of deliberate targeting of civilian areas. He'd previously also served in Chechnya.
BBC:"Russian forces executed civilians in various locations in the Kyiv region, according to new testimony published by Amnesty International.
REUTERS:A woman carries her cat as she walks past buildings that were destroyed by Russian shelling...

CNN:"(CNN)The House passed a bipartisan bill on Friday to address gun violence that amounts to the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. Now that the House has approved the measure, it will go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington. .."

BLOOMBERG:" US index futures and European equities fell as concern over the possibility of a recession outweighed optimism over US-China talks aimed at tariff reductions. The euro fell to a 20-year low against the dollar. Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes dropped at least 0.6% each as US markets were set to return after Independence Day holiday. European stocks tied to economic activity, such as carmakers and commodity companies, posted the biggest losses among peers. Investors rushed to the safety of the greenback, while a selloff in Treasuries eased. US and Chinese officials held discussions amid reports Washington may roll back some of the trade levies imposed by former President Donald Trump. While that came as a relief, investors continued to fret over a potential US recession, stubborn inflation and monetary tightening. Economic reports in Europe, including French purchasing managers’ indexes, came in below estimates. “The Fed will likely remain aggressive in its fight against inflation for now,” said Joachim Klement, head of strategy, accounting and sustainability at Liberum Capital. “At the same time, European growth is slowing down fast. This just puts additional fire on the growth concerns about the US.”. ."

ABCNEWS:" "The Justice Department should not avoid prosecuting Donald Trump in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack if a prosecution is warranted, Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview with ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. While bringing charges against the former president -- who may challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 -- would be unprecedented and "difficult" for the country, not doing so would support a "much graver constitutional threat," Cheney said Wednesday in an interview at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that aired Sunday on "This Week." "Are you worried about what that means for the country, to [see] a former president prosecuted? A former president who was a likely candidate; who may in fact be running for president against Biden?" Karl asked Cheney."I think it's a much graver constitutional threat if a president can engage in these kinds of activities, and the majority of the president's party looks away; or we as a country decide we're not actually going to take our constitutional obligations seriously," Cheney said. "I think that's a much, a much more serious threat." "I really believe we have to make these decisions, as difficult as it is, apart from politics. We really have to think about these from the perspective of: What does it mean for the country?" she said..." ."

"WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday dramatically increased the power of states over Native American tribes and undercut its own 2020 ruling that had expanded tribal authority in Oklahoma, handing a victory to Republican officials in that state. In a 5-4 decision authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court ruled in favor of Oklahoma in its bid to prosecute Victor Castro-Huerta, a non-Native American convicted of child neglect in a crime committed against a Native American child - his 5-year-old stepdaughter - on the Cherokee Nation reservation." Until now, states generally lacked jurisdiction over such crimes, which were prosecuted by the federal government. The change of course only two years after the July 2020 ruling in a case called McGirt v. Oklahoma was made possible by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett's October 2020 appointment by Republican former President Donald Trump to replace the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had been in the majority in that decision." As in Dobbs this Court seems quick to overturn established precedent using its virtually absolute power to further the political agenda of its conservative majority. Historically since the Civil Rights movement the Court has used its logic to increase the rights of indivduals and minorities. Now it is contracting those rights in a totally arbitrary and capricious manner.“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely..." Lord Acton

"(CNN)They are the backbone of America's democracy, and now, because Donald Trump threw the full power of the presidency behind his vicious intimidation of election workers and officials, they are afraid to even say their names in public. Reluctantly, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman on Tuesday joined a pantheon of heroes who have defended the country's core right to vote after relating the terrifying price they paid, simply for doing their duty to ensure free and fair elections in Georgia..."

CNN:"(CNN)Tuesday's January 6 select committee hearing featured election administration officials who were berated by former President Donald Trump and his cluster of election denying confederates for refusing to abet in his attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his deputy Gabriel Sterling and Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers became famous to varying degrees for simply upholding their oaths of office and doing their jobs without fear or favor...All three witnesses told their stories and acquitted themselves well during the hearing. They deserve special commendation for their devotion to duty, placing country above mindless partisanship in defense of democracy... "

CNN.." After having seen everything so far including the hearing today that focused so much on trump causing violence against Pence do you believe that trump himself knowingly committed a crime?" Professor Tribe, who is an authority on Constitutional Law stated "without a doubt beyond a reasonable doubt beyond any doubt and the crimes are obvious; the most obvious being he was ordering the Vice President that everyone in the room knew to be illegal namely to pick the next President...Ordering your Vice President to violate the law in order to stay in power is a very serious Federal crime. I do believe that Merrick Garland will approve charges against this president. I think he knows deep in his heart and as a lawyer that the rule of law will not survive and that as Judge Michael Luttig said today that we are still in a situation where the former president is a clear and present danger to the survival to the Republic" "

CNN:"...In the last decade, the fringe elements within the party have increasingly dominated the GOP's narrative. This problem will persist unless the decent people of the Republican Party stand up, speak out and lead from a position of strength instead of fear. And the way to defeat fringe elements who instigate and launch primaries is to fight them. Full stop. Trump remains a dangerous political figure, despite his diminishing stature. But he and the extremists are outnumbered. The more good Republicans publicly speak out against extremism, the more likely Trump's grip on the GOP can be broken. It's called leadership, and it's liberating. It certainly beats cowering in fear. .."

CNN:"Anderson asks George Will if is he worried about democracy: Hear his reply. Contrary to the myth today Americans are quite willing to confront their mistakes. On balance our progress is stunning. The discord today is unsightly awful and childish but we've seen worse. I don't think our democracy is in danger of death but I do think it is in danger ofo being attenuated and weakened. Democracy depends upon above all else on a culture of persuasion of conversation .."

"(CNN)As President Joe Biden meets European leaders this week at G7 and NATO summits, all will be trying hard to project an image of unity. They will have their work cut out for them. Back in February, the West impressed the world with its resolute rally behind Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal aggression. From Washington to Warsaw, leaders from across the political spectrum seemed to be singing in rare harmony. Four months later, what's striking is how quickly divisions have resurfaced -- both among countries and within them...As inflation surges, Covid-19 mutates and economies teeter on the edge of recession, Western leaders hardly look up to the task of defending the free world.

CNN:"A 20-year veteran of Russia's diplomatic service announced his resignation Monday in protest of his country's war on Ukraine, multiple media outlets reported..."The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country.".."Those who conceived this war want only one thing - to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity. To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this."..

ALJAZEERA:"Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been abruptly transferred from a prison where he was serving his sentence to an undisclosed location, according to his allies. Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, has cast President Vladimir Putin’s Russia as a dystopian state run by thieves and criminals where wrong is portrayed as right and judges are in fact representatives of a doomed elite.Navalny’s top aide informed about the transfer on the Telegram app on Tuesday. Just last month, Navalny lambasted Putin via video link in a Russian court, saying the Kremlin chief started a “stupid war” that was butchering the innocent people of both Ukraine and Russia. When his lawyer arrived at Correctional Colony No 2, a prison camp in Pokrov, 119km (74 miles) east of Moscow, he was told, “There is no such convict here,” according to Navalny's chief of staff Leonid Volkov. “Where Alexey is now, and which colony he is being taken to, we don’t know,” Volkov said in a statement on Telegram..."

ALJAZEERA:"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said his country’s military action in Ukraine was not responsible for the global food crisis, claiming that the West was preventing the export of Russian grain. “The food market is unbalanced in the most serious way,” Putin said, addressing a “BRICS Plus” virtual summit that brought together the leaders of 17 countries, including China, India, Brazil and South Africa..."THEGUARDIAN: The Russian navy has been given orders to lay mines at the ports of Odesa and Ochakiv, and has already mined the Dnieper River, as part of a blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, according to newly declassified US intelligence." Putin is the root cause of the suffering in Ukraine and the world and is using developing nations to put pressure on the West to get what he wants, i.e. satisfying his imperial ambitions. Russian soldiers should revolt against putler and his cronies and restore sanity. The West and developing nations should support Ukraine's fight to maintain its sovereignty. The world needs to unite against putlers imperialism to feed the people and restore peace.

CNN:"...India's tragedy is not that it's the worst place in the world -- it's that we are on our way there. We're burning down our house. India is an experiment that is failing dangerously," she told CNN. "Many, many of my beloved friends -- poets, writers, professors, lawyers, human rights activists and journalists -- are in prison, most of them charged under a dreaded law called the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, all of them for speaking up for minorities, Dalits and forest-dwellers facing displacement and state terror."Among them are people I consider to be India's most important minds. It makes one wonder what living as a free person in the time of fascism means. What does it mean to be a bestselling author when the world is breaking?" writes Roy. In this email interview with CNN Opinion, Roy says Indian politics has something in common with the US Capitol riots, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is stoking hatred, and talks about who the real power in India lies with.CNN: What does this incident involving BJP officials' comments about the Prophet Mohammed reveal about Indian politics today? Roy: It reveals how successfully the clear and present existential threat posed by Hindu nationalism in India has been masked by the face it presents to the outside world..."

CNN:"Singapore (CNN)Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday accused the United States of being a "bully" and "hijacking" countries around the region, during a combative speech in which he said his country would "fight to the very end" to stop Taiwanese independence. Seoul, South Korea (CNN)A total of 29 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's self-declared air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, according to the island's Defense Ministry. The Defense Ministry said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force planes were a mix of fighter jets, early warning and control aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft, electronic intelligence aircraft, and aerial refueling aircraft. It was the third-highest daily number of Chinese jets entering Taiwan's ADIZ since the start of the year and comes less than a month after China sent 30 warplanes on a similar mission."

"WELLINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The foreign minister of Tuvalu pulled out of the United Nations Ocean Conference opening in Portugal on Monday after China blocked the participation of three Taiwanese included in the tiny Pacific island nation's delegation list, according to Radio New Zealand. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, is not a member of the United Nations and its citizens are unable to attend U.N. events as representatives of Taiwan."..The nation of 12,000 people has had diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1979, and is one of 14 countries that continues to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China...Taiwan's Foreign Ministry thanked Tuvalu for its support, and expressed condemnation of China. "China's arbitrary pressure on (U.N.) member states has only once again revealed its nasty nature," the ministry said.. ."

"June 28 (Reuters) - Any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war on Russia which could lead to "World War Three," Russia's former president, Dmitry Medvedev, was quoted as saying on Monday...Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, also said that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Russia would strengthen its borders and would be "ready for retaliatory steps," and that could include the prospect of installing Iskander hypersonic missiles "on their threshold.".

CNNBUSINESS:"(CNN)Millions of people struggled to pay their rent during the pandemic. But that hardship fell disproportionately on renters of color, those living with children and people renting in the South, according to an exclusive new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The number of renters that fell behind on rent peaked at 15 million in January 2021, the report showed. Since then, federal aid programs -- including billions of dollars in rent relief and an eviction moratorium -- plus a recovering economy, have reduced that number. But there remained 10.4 million renters who said they are not caught up on rent as of March

CNN:"Look back at Russia's armed conflicts since Putin took office Anderson Cooper 360 CNN's Matthew Chance takes a look at the career of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the parallels of a number of wars Russia has been involved in the past and the war in Ukraine today.Source: CNN”
NPR: Russian mercenaries are also active in Libya, Sudan, Mali and the CAR.

CISA:"This joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA)—authored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and National Security Agency (NSA)—is part of our continuing cybersecurity mission to warn organizations of cyber threats and help the cybersecurity community reduce the risk presented by these threats. This CSA provides an overview of Russian state-sponsored cyber operations ; commonly observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs);detection actions; incident response guidance; and mitigations...."

BBC:"Legendary British rock band Pink Floyd has released a song in support of Ukraine. The track is called "Hey Hey Rise Up". It features the vocals of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from Ukrainian band Boombox. Pink Floyd band member David Gilmour said he was inspired by a video on Instagram by Khlyvnyuk, who is currently serving in Kyiv's defence, in which he sings in an empty Sofia Square in the Ukrainian capital. Gilmour wrote the music for the song, and then spoke by phone to Khlyvnyuk in hospital, where he is recovering from injuries. "I played a little on the phone and he gave me his blessing We both hope to do something together in person in the future,"said the British musician. This is Pink Floyd's first song since 1994, and all proceeds from the sale will go to humanitarian aid for Ukraine.. .”