USA - You can burn an American flag, but if you deface the gay flag, the regime will put you in prison… In America, you can spit on Vietnam veterans, defecate on the US flag, threaten the lives of US Supreme Court Justices, mock Christianity, and burn entire cities to the ground in the name of a career felon. But if you dare to trample on the rainbow flag, oh, there will be serious hell to pay, mister. That’s what three teenagers in Washington are finding out the unjust, immoral, and hard way, as they face felony charges for disrespecting the national homo religion.

USA - Storm trackers in the Texas Panhandle recovered a massive hail stone that researchers say is likely to be a new state record. Val and Amy Castor, veteran storm chasers with Oklahoma City television station KWTV, discovered a piece of hail more than 7 inches (17.78 centimeters) long Sunday along the side of the road near Vigo Park while they were chasing a major thunderstorm system. Val Castor said the stone was about the size of a pineapple. “That's the biggest hail I've ever seen, and I've been chasing storms for more than 30 years,” Castor said.

USA - Very few supporters of President Joe Biden believe prioritizing marriage and having children is beneficial for society, polling from the Pew Research Center found. Only 19 percent of Biden voters say that “society is better off if people make marriage and having children a priority,” compared to 59 percent of former President Donald Trump supporters and 39 percent of registered voters overall. The results come amid a singleness and loneliness epidemic among young people and as the United States continues to experience the lowest birth rate in a century.

EUROPE - According to Europe Elects, France has seen a 31 percent increase in popularity amongst what they call "right-wing ID groups". Austria is the other country that has experienced this trend, with an uptick of 26 percent. They have also identified "centre-right EPP groups", which have been succeeding in Spain (34 percent), Germany (31 percent), Poland (37 percent), Latvia (35 percent), Slovenia (46 percent), Croatia (35 percent), Greece (28 percent), and Cyprus (25 percent). Finally, "national-conservative ECR groups" have seen their popularity rise in two countries: Italy (by 29 percent) and Czech Republic (by 33 percent).

FRANCE - France’s government faces its highest borrowing costs this year after Emmanuel Macron’s shock decision to call a parliamentary election. The yield on 10-year French bonds has climbed as much as 10 basis points to 3.19 percent, which is its highest level since November. The yield - which is the return that the French government promises to pay buyers of its debt - was as much as 54 basis points higher than for Germany’s 10-year bund, the benchmark for the European debt market. By contrast, the UK’s 10-year gilt yield has risen less than four basis points today to 4.3 percent.

GERMANY - Olaf Scholz is coming under pressure to follow Emmanuel Macron’s example and call a snap election after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in EU elections. “This government is basically finished and we need to do what France has done,” Markus Söder, the conservative governor of Bavaria, said on Monday. Mr Söder added that Mr Scholz’ government “no longer has the trust of the population, that’s why there should be new elections as soon as possible.” The centre-Right Christian Democrats, the main opposition in Germany’s parliament, also called on the Chancellor to call a vote of confidence on Monday to test whether he still has the support of his shaky three-way coalition.

EUROPE - The world's second-largest democratic exercise is complete and the results are not pretty for the so-called 'leaders of Europe'. The parties of Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, who are at the helm of the EU's two largest and most powerful countries, suffered major defeats to right-wing and conservative groups. Such a defeat unquestionably undermines their rule at home - so much so that the French president last night called a snap election in a move resembling a bloodied boxer on the ropes preparing to throw a final desperate punch before suffering a knockout blow. Meanwhile in Germany, Scholz's rivals declared the election results a 'disaster' for the Chancellor's government which since coming to power in 2019 has presided over a litany of crises.

NIGER - Joe Biden begins forced withdrawal of US troops from Niger leaving behind a $100 million airbase – this after failing to negotiate agreement with the ruling regime. This comes after the Biden administration agreed in May to remove the remaining US troops from Niger by September. The approximately 1,000 troops will leave the two US military bases in the country to the new regime. Russian forces are already in the country and actually share the same base as US troops. This is one of Joe Biden’s greatest foreign policy failures among many and is, of course, being ignored by the US fake news media conglomerate. The military junta which seized power last year has already ordered French troops to leave, while moving closer to Russia.

USA - General Mills is being called on to remove plastic chemicals from some of its food products after a signed petition by Consumer Reports and several advocacy groups was sent to the company headquarters last week demanding change. The petition, which has over 30,000 signatures, comes after Consumer Reports tested 85 different foods and found phthalates, a commonly used plasticizer, in Annie's Organic Cheesy Ravioli, a brand owned by General Mills. Other General Mills products containing the plasticizer include the Yoplait, Cheerios, Green Giant, and Progresso brands. "Given that steady exposure to even very small amounts of these chemicals over time could increase health risks, we urge Annie's and General Mills to immediately take the necessary steps to monitor and eliminate the presence of these chemicals across all of your brands," the petition reads on Consumer Reports website.

UNITED NATIONS - The head of the World Health Organization has declared war on so-called “anti-vaxxers.” “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)” That is exactly the strategy being used by the head of the World Health Organization, which let’s not forget is an organ of the United Nations. Even the term “anti-vaxxer” is designed to ridicule, to stir up hatred for the “other.”

GERMANY - Germany’s ruling coalition was outdistanced by the opposition in Sunday’s vote for the EU Parliament, coming in behind the conservatives and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to exit polls. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) received around 14% of the vote, down from 15.8% in 2019, marking their worst results in decades, according to early forecasts from ZDF and ARD based on exit polls and partial counting. The conservative center-right main opposition, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), is predicted to take first place with around 30%.

USA - The US journalists who are ignoring the displacement and demotion of many US professionals by millions of imported visa workers are suddenly complaining about the inflow of British journos into their top media jobs. “UK media execs are being handed some of the biggest jobs in US journalism,” said a critical article in the media-industry site, The Wrap.com. The article continued: "...some question whether the [hiring] choices are what America’s democracy needs. ‘Everybody’s screaming about how we have a crisis in local news,’ said Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at CUNY. ‘I say we have a crisis in national news too, at this time when fascism is at the door.’ ‘Right-wing Brits running the Washington Post? Stuff of nightmares,’ said a tweet from Dan Froomkin, at PressWatchers.org. The Brit arrivals include Will Lewis, the new CEO of Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post.

USA - US workers at John Deere plants have accused the company of acting on “greed” as America’s most famous agricultural equipment company plans to shift more production to Mexico. The company – famous for its green tractors and leaping deer logo – has announced layoffs of several hundred workers over the last several months with more layoffs planned for later this year. “We get wind of more layoffs daily, it seems, and it’s causing uncertainty all over,” said a longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline, Illinois, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “The only reason for Deere to do this is greed.” They cited the company’s recent profits. John Deere reported a profit of over $10 billion in fiscal year 2023 and its CEO John May received $26.7 million in total compensation.

USA - Walmarts are closing across the country - and retail experts say the cuts are signals of a bleak future for shoppers. The multi-million dollar corporation has closed nine stores so far this year, which could be a warning sign for other retail giants. Walmart, which operates 5,000 stores in the US, is also reportedly laying off hundreds of corporate employees as the company urges remote workers to come into work. "The blunt truth is that while stores remain a vital part of the retail mix, they are not quite as relevant as they used to be," the expert told the outlet. "Walmart's decision is part of a larger shift that will be played out across all parts of the retail sector over the coming year and beyond."

UK - Few energy analysts enjoy the level of global respect accorded to Vaclav Smil, a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba and a best-selling author of 47 books. Whenever Smil publishes something new, people in the energy space pay attention. That’s certainly the case with his latest publication, a 48-page report titled “Halfway Between Kyoto and 2050: Net Zero Carbon Is a Highly Unlikely Outcome.” In the report, Smil details efforts to date by global governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and finds them wholly inadequate to achieve the goal of net-zero by 2050.