Keeping up with the news

 

Here are a few recent headlines:

US court dismisses Trump administration lawsuit over Los Angeles immigration policy

LA had argued successfully for maintaining local control. Donald Trump should mind his own business and stop interfering where he is not welcome. 

Trump has often bragged about the stock market, "stocks up" but what goes up can always come down. 

The stock market had been booming until recently but is now making a signifant correction.

Wash. Post, Nasdaq tumbles as global tech sell-off deepens

NBC News

Global tech sell-off intensifies, led by AI and chip stocks

If Trump takes credit when the marlet is up, will he take blame when it goes down?  Don't bet on it.  

sorry folks, a glitch hete

Add Ylenges brought forward by Mr. Trump. He expects the 3 justices that he named himself to invariably side with him, which may not always be the case. (Those who do rule against him will certainly hear all about it.)

  Is justice blind? Not necessarily so, nor is it deaf and mute. Members of the Supreme Court will hear the President's arguments and each member will then make a decision. Court justices are human beings, just like you and me, 

The president is not a dictator with absolute authority whose orders must be carried out without question, rather just an elected servant of the people, subject to various legal constraints. Trump has found this to be very unfair, very frustrating, convinced that he is always right. (Don't we all think we are right?) This matter has often come up before. Trump never admits, even after the fact, that he might actually have been wrong. 

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Here now is a question:

Dead ducks have been found near the Reflecting Pool in DC. What happened to them and why? 

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One of my correspondents says;

As DJT has his hands full with Iran et al., another adventure in Cuba is unlikely this year. However, as more Cubans suffer hunger and unemployment under its dysfunctional regime, more are likely to flee to el Norte. A bigger risk for the USA is a repeat of the Mariel exodus which inundated S. Florida decades ago.

But was the Mariel exodus particularly harmful to our country? Granted that Trump now seems obsessed with keeping all immigrants out, except for Musk's white South African farmers. But with so many folks being deported and with the US birthrate tanking, maybe our country could actually use some more Cubans. 

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A ceasefire with Iran now needs to be made permanent. 

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        Around here. a mama doe will be fiercely protective of her fawn, so we should never             try to approach. 

        We often see wild deer emerging from the surrounding forests. Cars seem to                          pose the greatest risks to deer hese days. If a car hits a deer on the road, even if the                deer runs off, the encounter should still be reported to wildlife authorities.

We certainly have lots of wildlife locally, often seen out in the forest or just crossing the road, not only deer, but ducks, geese, rabbits, raccoons, and beavers, among others. We even see them right here outside our house. 

Bears also live in our area, with the black bear being the official state animal, though once plentiful wolves have become basically extinct. Both gray and red wolves historically roamed the state but were completely eradicated by bounty hunters in the early 20th century. Reintroducing wolves to the state's forests is under consideration.

FRENCH CREEK, W.VA. — The West Virginia State Wildlife Center welcomed 3 new grey wolf pups now in June 2026. These wolf pups, born in April, will grow to be about five feet long from tail to muzzle, and about three feet tall at the shoulder.

The current plan is not to release these wolves into the wild, but rather to keep them at the center where visitors can safely see them. But possibly by breeding more wolves at the center, future plans might include some releases. The public does not seem eager for any wolf releases. Nor would local deer and other animals, unaccustombed to dealing with wild wolves, adapt very easily. Leave well enough alone seems to be the current thinking of wildlife professionals. Just keep young wolves there at the center, but their numbers controlled. 

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A friend recently sent me a message about her award, saying, "Eat your heart out." 

Her message implies that I am envious, which is actually not true, as I believe her award certainly was merited. I am really happy for her. We were never in competition for that honor. I told her, "I am so happy for you." And I really meant it. 
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Today on Tuesday, June 23, at almost 7pm, problems are already emerging on this draft which needs to be posted right now. Waiting until tomoorow will just make matters worse. 

Back to the office, back now to mid-east peace talks

 

Perhaps one reason bosses want employees back in the office is that working-from-home shows that employees may not need bosses much after all.  

President Trump had repeatedly promised that no tax money would be used to build his planned 999-seat White House ballroom, calling it a "taxpayer-free" gift to the country. However, leaked internal records from the lead contractor, Clark Construction, indicate the total project cost has ballooned to $600 million and includes more than $300 million in taxpayer funding.

Judge says Trump DOJ subpoenas of Tim Walz and other Democrats are unconstitutional

Wash. Post, Vance says Iran agrees to nuclear inspections, as under Obama-era deal that Trump threw out

Hillary Clinton Blasts 2016 Election Loss to Trump in Netflix Docuseries

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Mr. Trump has been loudly and vociferously attacking the Supreme Court, perhaps anticipating that the Court may soon rule against him.

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Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction 

AP News https://apnews.com ›

The Supreme Court has reinstated a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz..

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Mona Khalil, Defender of Sea Turtles, Killed in an Israeli Strike in Lebanon ☞ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/world/middleeast/mona-kahlil-turtles-lebanon-conservation.html

Mona was killed by Israeli forces.

International Court of Justice, Israeli forces deliberately target Palestinian women in Gaza

Sinc Palestinian women are the mothers of the next generation, Israelis might like to see them all gone. 

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            Donald Trump is desperate now to make a final deal to end the Iran war which he so impulsively started simply for no good reason. After actually having achieved no substantive war gains, all has ended up just where it was before. But at least Netanyahu's corruption trial has been delayed, accomplishing the war's only real objective. So many have died and so much money has been wasted just to keep Bibi out of jail. Meanwhile Israel's worldwide reputation has taken quite a beating. But Trump knows he needs to finalize a peace deal before the upproaching US midterms if Republican lawmakers are even to survive.

Mr. Trump seems to be realizing that striking Iran in the first place was actually a big mistake.

NY Times, Suspect Is Among Three Killed in Montreal Shootout

A police officer and a civilian also died in a gun battle that prompted a citywide shelter-in-place alert.

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What's it like for a mama duck to have to keep track of multiple offspring? And like many families in the animal kingdon and often even among humans, dad is nowhere to be found. Duck dads may be off fighting each other over territory or mates. But ducks are not the only species where dads have gone missing.

 

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French police found a priceless stolen Picasso similar to this one during a recent Paris drug raid. It had been missing for several years now.