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Sanders Socialist Scheme Seeks Confiscation of Private AI Company Stakes
Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act on June 18, 2026. The legislation would force a one-time 50 percent tax on leading AI companies, payable in newly issued stock, for firms generating over $200 million in annual gross receipts. This hands the federal government a controlling 50 percent ownership stake in companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and others tied to AI, data centers, computing infrastructure, or advanced robotics. The bill requires spin-offs of AI operations, grants government board seats with voting power to prioritize worker welfare, public safety, competition, sustainability, and solvency over financial returns to shareholders, and creates a new regulatory commission. Proceeds from a 5 percent annual draw on the resulting fund, optimistically pegged at $7 trillion, would fund $1,000 annual payments to every American along with expanded government spending on healthcare, education, and housing. Sanders frames the seizure as reclaiming collective human knowledge for the public, but it amounts to outright confiscation of private corporate property dressed up as a public benefit.
🏛️ News & Politics
Obama Presidential Center Subcontractors Left Unpaid Ahead of Juneteenth Opening
Black contractors and other subcontractors who helped construct the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago report they remain unpaid for millions of dollars in work as the facility opened on Juneteenth. Omar Shareef, president of the African American Contractors Association, stated that some Black contractors who participated in the project have not received full payment despite promises to uplift minority businesses. Several firms claim losses ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars due to project delays that stretched from an expected 24 months to about five years, repeated design changes, rework, and disputed change orders in a reportedly chaotic environment. One subcontractor described it as the worst-run job in 35 years of experience. Affected companies face risks including lost bonding capacity, strained supplier and banking relationships, potential bankruptcy, and mortgage defaults on personal assets used to sustain operations. The Obama Foundation says it paid the general contractor, Lakeside Alliance, in full and on schedule, while Lakeside notes that closeout matters often extend beyond opening on large projects.
Senate Parliamentarian Term Limits Pushed to Advance Election Integrity Measure
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is reviving legislation to impose term limits on the Senate parliamentarian. This move aims to address the parliamentarian’s prior ruling that blocked the Save America Act from advancing under budget reconciliation rules. The Save America Act is an election integrity bill that requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and voter ID at polls. Blackburn, along with Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Roger Marshall, originally filed the term-limits resolution a year ago. She noted growing support as Republican voters express frustration over stalled efforts to enact President Trump’s priority election law. The parliamentarian position has no fixed term and serves at the pleasure of Senate leadership.
FBI Captures Billion-Dollar Medicare Fraud Fugitive in the Philippines
Herbert Leon Kimble operated a healthcare fraud scheme that generated more than 1.2 billion dollars in improper Medicare charges. The scheme targeted elderly beneficiaries through call centers that pushed medically unnecessary orthopedic braces. Kimble pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, healthcare fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and offering kickbacks. He skipped sentencing in 2024 and fled the country. Authorities arrested the 60-year-old in Pasig City, Philippines, on June 11 and returned him to the United States. This marks the second arrest from the FBI’s new Most Wanted Fraudsters list. Officials highlighted cooperation with Philippine authorities in the effort to protect taxpayer funds from such schemes.
Taxpayer Funds Help Fuel Coalition Targeting Trump's Immigration Enforcement
A coalition of groups, including Democracy Forward and UnidosUS, plans to sue the federal government over alleged misconduct by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers. The effort focuses on expanding the use of the Federal Tort Claims Act to pursue claims for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death from federal employee actions. More than 100 lawyers from about 60 organizations met in Chicago last week for training on these cases. Democracy Forward, chaired by Democratic lawyer Marc Elias, has filed over 150 lawsuits against the Trump administration. UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, received millions in federal grants in recent years, including $11.2 million in 2023. The National Immigrant Justice Center also got government funding. The groups frame immigration enforcement as harmful to communities.
National Guard Deployed At Lincoln Reflecting Pool After Vandalism Reports
National Guard members and police have been stationed at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., following reports of multiple sabotage attempts on its recent renovation. President Trump stated on Truth Social that vandals damaged the newly installed “American Flag Blue” sealant with chemicals similar to those used on the National Mall grass days earlier, and scratched codes such as “8647” into the surface. Local reporters documented arrests of individuals who interfered with maintenance workers clearing algae and attempted to rip out sections of the sealant. The incidents occurred shortly after the pool’s multi-million-dollar renovation, which addressed prior leakage issues but quickly led to algae growth and surface problems. Trump noted that repairs to the damaged areas would occur early the following week, amid ongoing efforts to maintain the site between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
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📢 The American Fifth Column
Chicago Teachers Union Faces Heat Over Long-Delayed Financial Audits
The Chicago Teachers Union withheld annual financial audits from its members for five years despite bylaws requiring their release, prompting a lawsuit from union members, a congressional inquiry from the House Education and Workforce Committee, and a U.S. Department of Labor audit. Pressure from these actions finally led the union to release the records in January 2026, years after the last public audit covering fiscal year 2019. The belated documents reportedly revealed inconsistencies in financial reporting, failed audits in certain years, and questions about spending transparency during a period when the union poured millions into political activities, including support for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Arkansas Student Scores Improve After State Rejected DEI and Focused on Fundamentals
Arkansas public school students posted notable gains on the 2026 ATLAS exam. Proficiency across all subjects and grade levels rose from 35 percent in 2024 to 42 percent. Math proficiency climbed from 36.4 percent to 44.2 percent. Science proficiency increased from 35.6 percent to 44 percent. English language arts proficiency went from 33.8 percent to 39.5 percent. The share of students at the lowest performance level dropped by 17 percentage points, from 27.9 percent to 23.1 percent. Third-grade reading proficiency rose 18 percent from 35 percent to 43 percent. These results were in accordance with the 2023 LEARNS Act. The law eliminated critical race theory and DEI initiatives from curricula. It returned emphasis to core skills. It also raised the minimum teacher salary to $50,000. It added literacy coaches and tutoring support. It expanded school choice and career-technical education options.
Chicago Weekend Gun Violence Claims Five Lives as Drive-By Mass Shooting Wounds Dozen on South Side
At least five people were killed, and 19 others were injured in shootings across Chicago from Friday afternoon into early Saturday. A drive-by mass shooting in the Roseland neighborhood on the South Side left 12 people wounded shortly after 11 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of West 95th Street. A red SUV pulled up to a large crowd gathered there, and two occupants opened fire before fleeing. Victims in that incident ranged in age from 17 to 47. Several self-transported to hospitals while others were taken by ambulance. Police also responded to separate fatal shootings in other parts of the city during the same period.
New Hampshire First Transgender Lawmaker Gets 33 Years for Child Sex Crimes
Former New Hampshire state representative Stacie Marie Laughton, a biological male who identifies as a woman and was once celebrated as the state’s first openly transgender elected official, received a 33-year federal prison sentence. Laughton pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children after goading a former partner who worked at a Massachusetts daycare into taking explicit photos and videos of children as young as three years old over roughly two years. Federal prosecutors noted extensive text messages in which Laughton discussed potential or fantasized sexual contact with the kids. The scheme came to light in 2023 while Laughton held public office. Laughton’s lengthy criminal history includes prior convictions for fraud, a bomb threat, and stalking that led to multiple resignations from elected positions despite repeated attempts at political comebacks.
Los Angeles City Council Advances Noncitizen Voting Measure to November Ballot
The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-5 on June 18, 2026, to place a charter amendment on the November 3 ballot that would authorize city officials to create a program allowing certain noncitizens to vote in municipal and LAUSD school board elections. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez introduced the proposal, which limits eligibility to residents with legal status, such as DACA recipients, green card holders, and those with temporary protected status. Supporters argue the change gives long-term contributors a voice in local matters affecting their families. Opponents, including Councilmembers John Lee, Monica Rodriguez, and others, raised concerns about election administration by Los Angeles County, potential ballot separation issues for federal races, erosion of citizenship requirements, and risks to public trust in the electoral process. The measure does not affect federal elections, and implementation details on registration and verification remain unresolved.
🌐 International
Vance Doubts Iranian Claims Of Strait Closure As US Envoys Advance Iran Talks In Switzerland
Summary
Vice President JD Vance voiced skepticism over reports that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz again and stated he saw no evidence of such a move. US Central Command corroborated that commercial ship traffic increased on June 20, with safe passage remaining intact as dozens of merchant vessels transited the waterway carrying large volumes of oil to global markets. Despite the tensions, US special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Switzerland to join senior adviser Jared Kushner for technical-level negotiations with Iran set to begin on Sunday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf also headed to the site while Vance indicated he might join soon. Fighting continued in southern Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire announcement.
Gunmen Assault Niger Capital Airport Killing Dozens
Gunmen attacked Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital of Niamey early on June 18, 2026. Security forces repelled the assault after explosions and gunfire that lasted around 30 minutes to two hours. Niger’s Defense Ministry reported 11 soldiers and two civilians killed, along with 22 attackers. About 20 suspects were arrested, and four people were wounded. The airport serves as a strategic hub hosting a Nigerien air force base and the headquarters of the joint military force with Burkina Faso and Mali. This marked the second attack on the site in 2026, following one in January claimed by the Islamic State group.
Cuba Approves Sweeping Economic Reforms to Expand Private Sector Amid Crisis
Cuba’s National Assembly unanimously approved a package of 176 economic measures that mark the most significant shift from the island’s socialist model since the 1959 revolution. The reforms allow privatization of selected state-owned enterprises through share sales, open banking, and real estate development to private investment, permit larger private businesses with more than 100 employees and multiple ownership, and ease restrictions on foreign investment, including direct hiring and property purchases. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero presented the plan, which grants greater autonomy to municipalities and enterprises while drawing from models in China and Vietnam, all while maintaining socialist political control and the dominant role of the armed forces in key sectors. Cuban leaders, including Raúl Castro, endorsed the changes as a response to severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, frequent blackouts, and economic pressures, including U.S. sanctions.
European Parliament Approves Sweeping Deportation Overhaul
The European Parliament voted 418 to 218 with 30 abstentions to pass the Return Regulation, a major update to EU rules for removing third-country nationals who lack legal status. Lawmakers from right-wing groups celebrated the outcome by chanting “send them back” while opponents responded with “shame on you.” The measure shortens the time for voluntary departures to generally 30 days, allows detention of some migrants for up to 24 months with possible extensions, and sets up a framework for offshore return hubs in third countries. It also requires migrants to cooperate by providing identification and biometric data, creates an EU-wide European Return Order to prevent forum shopping across member states, and builds on the recent entry into force of the broader Pact on Migration and Asylum. Supporters, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, described it as a long-overdue step to address low return rates of around 20 percent for those ordered out, while critics raised concerns about expanded detention and outsourcing obligations. The regulation still needs formal Council adoption and publication before phased implementation begins.
Bolivia's President Declares State of Emergency Over Protest Blockades
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on June 20 2026. This gives the military authority to clear road blockades that have disrupted fuel and food supplies in La Paz and other major cities for about 50 days. Protests driven by austerity measures such as fuel subsidy cuts have led to violent clashes resulting in at least 17 deaths, mostly from lack of medical access, 365 arrests, and 37 injuries. The decree prohibits street blockades that hinder transportation, orders armed forces to support police in reopening roads, and aims to restore order without suspending core constitutional rights. It lasts up to 90 days. Paz, who took office in November 2025 after ending nearly two decades of socialist rule, faces pressure from indigenous rural groups allied with former President Evo Morales. Some unions have agreed to lift barriers, but others continue demanding his resignation.
