🇺🇸⚡️- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore claimed a Bronze Star on his 2006 White House Fellowship application and let it stand for years. His superior says Moore did not receive it in Afghanistan, undercutting his “honest mistake” and lost paperwork defense.

A ceremony photo shows Moore receiving an Army Commendation Medal instead. His supervisor, James Gottschling, says that award matched Moore’s service: half a deployment at brigade headquarters, mostly inside the wire, without commanding soldiers in combat. He says the role offered virtually nothing that could merit a Bronze Star.

Moore’s mentor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, first said he saw an approved award packet, then claimed verbal approval. Army awards require signed permanent orders, and none has surfaced. Moore knew before leaving Afghanistan that he had not received the medal, yet the claim went uncorrected for nearly two decades.

Only after the controversy erupted did Moore receive a retroactive Bronze Star in 2024 through a process led by Fenzel.

🇺🇸⚡️- Businessman Patrick Bet-David has announced that he will host a debate for the Florida Republican Gubernatorial Primary, which will include three of the top candidates, including James Fishback, Jay Collins, and Paul Renner.

Notably, Byron Donalds has neglected to appear at the debate despite Bet-David’s efforts.

The debate is scheduled for July 2nd at 6pm EST on Bet-David’s channels.

🇺🇸🫏⚡- The first major policy stemming from the Democrats’ “Project 2029” is a social media ban for all under sixteen, similar in fashion to other social media bans seen across the Anglosphere.

Senator Cory Booker, Representative Mikie Sherrill, and the head of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, have all backed the proposal.

🇴🇲🇮🇷⚡- "We are not in favor of imposing transit fees [in the Strait of Hormuz]. That is prohibited under international law and we are committed to those rules.

It's Iran's responsibility to ensure that shipping lanes are free of any mine-related hazards," - Badr bin Hamad, Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Omani Foreign Minister however did not rule out charging 'service fees' under the pretext of 'enhancing the safety of navigation, preparing for emergency accidents, and combating pollution'.

🇲🇨🇺🇦🇷🇺 - Ukrainian media have largely identified Vadim Ermolaev as the intended target of the terrorist attack in Monaco yesterday.

Ermolaev, a former Ukrainian-Jewish oligarch, owned multiple businesses, including an alcohol brand registered in Crimea. In 2019, he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and obtained Cypriot nationality, a move widely seen as enabling him to reclaim business interests in Crimea following Russia’s 2014 annexation. In 2023, Ukrainian authorities sanctioned him for conducting business activities in Crimea in cooperation with Russian structures.

Unlike other former Ukrainian-Jewish oligarchs, such as Vadim Rabinovych, who have openly expressed support for Putin, Ermolaev has generally maintained a low political profile.

While Ukraine has its right to target individuals it considers to be supporting Russia’s war effort, carrying out such an operation in a Western populated center marks a significant escalation and raises serious concerns about risks posed to civilians.

🇲🇱⚡️- New images and claims of the FAMa engaging in cannibalism are surfacing online.

🇲🇱⚡️- A curfew has been enacted in all of the Mopti region for a month following increased JNIM activity.

🇲🇱⚡️- The junta's forces are reportedly condoning and even encouraging widespread acts of cannibalism around Bamako.

Several Malian civilians have begun targeting Fulani and Tuareg minorities. After being beaten to death, there have been documented cases of those minorities being cooked and eaten in public.

🇸🇩⚡- Heavy artillery and drone shelling of al-Genina, the capital of the West Darfur region, and a Rapid Support Forces stronghold.

🇫🇷🇨🇫⚡- French journalist Thomas Dietrich has claimed that France is preparing a military-backed effort to overthrow Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, allegedly with support from loyalist Chadian militias, CAR-based rebel groups, and elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Dietrich asserts Paris is seeking to exploit Russia's weakness, and reassert its influence in Bangui.

Note, his claims have not been independently verified and are based on his own writings and sources. Dietrich was previously expelled from Togo.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇶🇦⚡- Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Doha, Qatar, for indirect talks with Iran over the recent flare up.

🇺🇸⚡️- The Supreme Court has upheld the West Virginia and Idaho laws, in a 6-3 ruling, that prohibit transgenders from participating in women's sports.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇴🇲⚡- "Iran and Oman are working on a proposal to charge ships using the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran argues that the payments would be fees for services such as navigation, safety, and environmental protection, while Oman has suggested a model where shipping companies pay for safe passage, which Muscat has put forward to Washington.

However, it remains unclear whether these payments would be voluntary [Oman's preferred method] or mandatory [Iran's preferred method], reflecting differences between the two countries’ positions," - The New York Times.

🇺🇸⚡️- BREAKING: In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship.

Chief Justice Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson all voted to uphold, with Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissenting and Kavanaugh in part.

🇺🇸🇱🇾⚡- "The US is seeking to broker a power-sharing deal in Libya that would legitimize family rule by the Haftars [East Libya] and Dbeibahs [West Libya].

While presented as an interim step toward elections, the plan would likely make their positions permanent," - Foreign Policy.

🇺🇸⚡️- The ruling was 5-4 on the 14th Amendment and 6-3 on the Congressional citizenship statute. Roberts was joined by Sotomayor, Karan, Barrett, and Jackson, with Kavanaugh concurring in part on the statutory question, per Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.