Supreme Court upholds mail‑ballot grace periods, rejecting GOP challenge

The Supreme Court ruled 5‑4 to uphold a Mississippi law that lets mail ballots postmarked by Election Day be counted up to five days later, preserving grace periods in 18 states and territories. NPR highlighted the decision as a loss for the GOP and a victory for voting‑rights advocates who say it protects rural, military and overseas voters, while the New York Times emphasized how the ruling thwarts President Trump’s push to restrict mail voting and revive his SAVE America Act proposal. Republicans, including the RNC and Trump, called the ruling a setback and said they will continue to pursue stricter election deadlines.

Supreme Court declines Trump’s appeal in Carroll sexual‑abuse verdict

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear President Donald Trump’s petition to overturn a $5 million civil verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The Court issued no opinion, ending Trump’s final attempt to reverse the unanimous jury finding. Carroll’s attorney said the ruling “affirms once and for all” the verdict, while Trump labeled the case a “weaponization” and “lawfare” effort on social media. The New York Times noted that a separate $83 million defamation judgment could still be appealed, an angle not emphasized by the BBC.

U.S. and Iran agree to halt fighting, yet clashes continue

The Wall Street Journal reports that the United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end days of fighting in the Strait of Hormuz and will resume peace talks, potentially in Qatar. In contrast, NPR notes that the ceasefire has been punctuated by renewed exchanges of fire, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launching drone and missile strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait and the U.S. responding. The differing coverage highlights both the diplomatic progress and the ongoing volatility on the ground.

Venezuela quake death toll exceeds 1,400 as thousands remain missing

The twin earthquakes that struck La Guaira and Caracas have killed more than 1,400 people and left over 3,000 injured. Both the Wall Street Journal and the BBC report that tens of thousands are still unaccounted for, with the WSJ highlighting shoddy construction and government negligence, while the BBC stresses the slow official response and reliance on volunteers. International rescue teams from several countries are digging through rubble, but families continue to search manually amid criticism of the Rodríguez administration's handling of the disaster.

Ukraine drone strikes trigger fuel shortages and black markets in Crimea

Ukrainian drones are repeatedly hitting power and fuel facilities in Crimea, leaving parts of the peninsula without electricity, straining water supplies and creating a gasoline black market where prices can reach $25 a gallon. Residents report closed stores, limited public transport and a sharp drop in tourism, while Russian authorities have imposed a state of emergency and pledged to deliver fuel by land or sea. The Wall Street Journal emphasizes these daily raids and their direct impact on civilian life ahead of September parliamentary elections.

Europe endures record heatwave as temperatures shatter records and strain infrastructure

The Guardian reports a fierce heat dome has pushed temperatures above 40 °C across central, eastern and southern Europe, setting new national records in places like Slovakia and Germany. Red warnings prompted authorities in Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Balkans to open thousands of cooling centres, exempt a nuclear plant from water‑temperature rules and curb electricity use, while transport networks buckled and wildfires erupted. The extreme conditions have been linked to hundreds of excess deaths and underscore scientists’ warning that such unprecedented heat is driven by the climate crisis.

Israeli strikes kill eight Palestinians in Gaza and teen in West Bank

Israeli drone and airstrikes in Gaza killed at least eight Palestinians, including two children, according to AFP and Reuters reports. A separate raid in the West Bank wounded a 15‑year‑old, Ahmad Jawad Jaber, who died on the way to hospital, officials said. Human‑rights group B’Tselem highlighted the broader pattern of child deaths in the West Bank, while the Wire focused on the Gaza casualties.

Six killed in shooting at German mothers and children centre

A 45‑year‑old Turkish‑German man opened fire at a centre for mothers and children in Stade, near Hamburg, killing six staff members and wounding others. Police say the attack stemmed from a custody dispute over his infant daughter and that the suspect was apprehended after a vehicle chase. The three‑month‑old child and her mother were unharmed.

U.S. stocks climb as Iran tensions ease and tech shares rebound

On June 29 U.S. indexes rose, the S&P 500 jumped 1.2%, the Nasdaq 100 surged 2.3% and the Dow gained 0.7%, after weekend hostilities between the United States and Iran cooled and teams prepared for a Doha meeting on the interim peace deal. Tech‑related stocks led the rally, with Comcast up 6.1% on a planned spinoff, SpaceX gaining 5.3% after its Nasdaq 100 inclusion, and Alphabet rising 4.6% as a new Dow component. Reuters highlighted the easing geopolitical risk and quarter‑end window dressing, while MarketScreener also pointed to rising oil prices amid lingering uncertainty.

California gives state agencies Claude AI access at half price

California signed a deal with Anthropic to provide the Claude AI tool to all state agencies and local governments at a 50% discount, including free training and technical support. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the agreement, making Claude the first AI productivity tool available statewide through the Department of Technology’s shared services portal. The Next Web noted that the partnership proceeds despite the Pentagon labeling Anthropic a supply‑chain risk, highlighting a widening gap between state and federal AI policies.

OpenAI launches GPT‑5.6 with three‑tier model, limited to select partners

OpenAI introduced GPT‑5.6 on June 26, offering three tiers, Sol, Terra and Luna, priced at $5/$30, $2.5/$15 and $1/$6 per million tokens respectively, with Sol serving as the flagship, Terra matching GPT‑5.5 performance at half price, and Luna targeting high‑volume, low‑latency workloads. The rollout is initially restricted to roughly 20 government‑approved partner organizations following a Trump administration executive order, with broader API and ChatGPT access expected within weeks. The tiered launch positions OpenAI ahead of competitors such as Anthropic and Google amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of frontier AI models.

Supreme Court rules geofence warrants violate Fourth Amendment privacy protections

In a 6‑3 decision, the Court held that accessing a phone’s location history through a geofence warrant is an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment, requiring a traditional warrant with probable cause. Ars Technica emphasized the majority’s focus on privacy expectations and quoted support from privacy advocates and tech industry groups, while noting Justice Alito’s dissent favoring an app‑by‑app standard. Engadget framed the ruling as a major win for privacy rights, stressing that law‑enforcement must now obtain a proper search warrant for geofence data. The case arose from a Virginia bank robbery where a geofence warrant helped identify the suspect.

Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium for $8 billion, eyes satellite‑internet competition

The Register reports Rocket Lab’s $8 billion cash‑and‑stock deal for Iridium will give it a global L‑band constellation and recurring revenue, positioning it as a vertically integrated rival to SpaceX and Amazon’s upcoming Leo service. The company says it will expand Iridium’s direct‑to‑device offerings and grow the constellation, though it still lacks launch capacity comparable to SpaceX.

South Korea pledges $1 trillion for chips, AI data centers and robots

South Korean officials and top tech firms announced a $1 trillion program to double DRAM output, build large AI data centers and launch commercial humanoid robots by 2028, according to Ars Technica. Reuters detailed that Samsung and SK Hynix will invest $585 billion in new fabs while SK Group, GS Group and Naver earmark $357 billion for data centers, requiring massive electricity and water supplies. The Korea Times reported labor opposition, noting Hyundai’s $5.8 billion robot plant plan and unions threatening strikes over job security.

Tidal stops paying royalties on AI‑generated music, but won’t ban it

The Verge reports that Tidal will label tracks identified as 100% AI‑generated and cease paying royalties for them, effectively demonetizing such content starting July 15. The platform plans to use detection tools and expects distributors to label AI music, while also removing AI tracks tied to fraudulent activity. Competitors such as Spotify and Deezer have introduced verification and detection measures of their own.

Meta contractors used fake teen accounts to probe chatbots on harmful topics

Wired reports that hundreds of contractors hired by Meta’s vendor Covalen created dummy under‑18 accounts and sent over 45,000 prompts about suicide, sex, drugs and other high‑risk subjects to ChatGPT, Gemini and Character.AI. The project, dubbed Cannes, was conducted without the competitors’ knowledge and may have violated their terms of service. Meta defended the activity as routine safety benchmarking, while critics say it mixes safety testing with anti‑competitive practices.

WhatsApp introduces usernames, letting users chat without sharing phone numbers

The Verge reports that WhatsApp will roll out a username feature later this year, allowing people to add contacts and message without revealing phone numbers. Users can reserve a handle now via Settings on Android or iOS, and can claim existing Instagram or Facebook handles if available. The service does not support searching by username, so contacts must know the exact handle, and existing phone‑number contacts will still see the number.

Google says EU data‑sharing rules could jeopardize user privacy and security

Google’s security team warned that the European Commission’s draft rules under the Digital Markets Act, which would require the company to share anonymized search data with rivals and allow other AI models on Android, could create serious privacy and fraud risks. VP of security engineering Heather Adkins told Wired that the data could be de‑anonymized quickly and that opening Android to competing AI services might increase fraud within weeks. The EU plans to finalize the measures by late July, aiming to curb Google’s dominance, while Google argues the proposals threaten user security.

Sony to delete 551 StudioCanal titles from UK PlayStation libraries

Sony announced that, effective September 1, UK PlayStation customers will lose streaming access to 551 movies and TV shows from StudioCanal, which will be removed from their libraries. The action follows earlier removals of StudioCanal titles in Germany and Austria in 2022 and a 2023 pull of Discovery content after licensing agreements expired. Ars Technica reported that the incident underscores that digital purchases are time‑limited licenses rather than true ownership, prompting criticism over the lack of refunds.

US renewable energy passes key milestone in April, advancing clean energy transition

Anthropic strikes deal to offer Claude to California agencies at half price

Governor Gavin Newsom and Anthropic have agreed to provide the Claude AI chatbot to state and local agencies at a 50% discount, including training and support. The tool is intended to help employees draft documents and analyze information, aligning with Newsom’s executive order to accelerate AI use while maintaining safety standards. The deal contrasts with a federal dispute in which the Pentagon labeled Anthropic a supply‑chain risk and chose OpenAI instead.