Extra, Extra

Suspending Spree: “The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday placed 144 employees on administrative leave and opened an investigation into their decision to sign a letter accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the agency.” They’re blowing up core American freedoms faster than fireworks. NYT (Gift Article): E.P.A. Suspends 144 Employees After They Signed a Letter Criticizing Trump.

+ Election Campaign: “The department’s effort, which is still in its early stages, is not based on new evidence, data or legal authority, according to the people, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Instead, it is driven by the unsubstantiated argument made by many in the Trump administration that American elections are easy prey to voter fraud and foreign manipulation.” NYT (Gift Article): Justice Dept. Explores Using Criminal Charges Against Election Officials. (Eventually, they’ll use criminal charges against everyone except criminals.)

+ Jobs Description: “The US economy is surprisingly resilient, both in terms of consumer spend [and] the labor dynamic … And just general economic economic activity is stronger than one might have guessed if you were sitting here on April 3, projecting what the tariff policy would deliver.” US adds 147,000 jobs in June, surpassing expectations amid Trump trade war.

+ Don’t Be Too Giddy for Diddy: “This verdict marks only one chapter in Combs’s mounting legal battles. Combs, who remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, is now awaiting sentencing and faces a growing number of civil lawsuits [50 and counting] against him alleging sexual assault and abuse.” Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces growing wave of civil suits as criminal trial ends.

+ Who Called Shotgun? From eight-year-old ‘influencers’ to trans anarchists, today’s gun owners aren’t who you think.

+ Live Rounds: American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press.

+ Pushing AI to the Limit: “Peter sat alone in his bedroom as the first waves of euphoria coursed through his body like an electrical current. He was in darkness, save for the soft blue light of the screen glowing from his lap. Then he started to feel pangs of panic. He picked up his phone and typed a message to ChatGPT. ‘I took too much,’ he wrote.” People are using AI to ‘sit’ with them while they trip on psychedelics. (We’ll know we’ve reached the singularity when the AI says, “Enough, I can’t deal with these people anymore…”)