Sereen Haddad is a bright young woman. At 20 years old, she just finished a four-year degree in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in only three years, earning the highest honors along the way. Yet, despite her accomplishments, she still can’t graduate. Her diploma is being withheld by the university, “not because I didn’t complete the requirements”, she told me, “but because I stood up for Palestinian life.”

Haddad, who is Palestinian American, had been raising awareness on her campus about the Palestinian fight for freedom as part of her university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The struggle is also personal for her. With roots in Gaza, she has lost more than 200 members of her extended family to Israel’s war.

She was part of a group of VCU students and supporters who attempted to set up an encampment in April 2024. The university called in the police that same night. Protestors were pepper sprayed and brutalized, and 13 were arrested. Haddad was not charged, but she was taken to the hospital “because of the head trauma that I endured”, she told me. “I was bleeding. I was bruised. Cuts everywhere. The police slammed me down on the concrete, like, six different times.”

But last year’s attempted encampment wasn’t even the reason Haddad’s degree is being withheld. This year’s peaceful memorial of it was. And how that scenario played out, with the university and campus police constantly changing the rules, illustrates something worrisome far beyond the leafy confines of an American campus.

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A fast-moving wildfire in central California became the largest in the state this year after exploding in size overnight as hot temperatures and dry conditions increased the wildfire risk ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

The Madre Fire broke out on the afternoon of July 2 in a remote area of central California near Highway 166, according to Cal Fire. The fire rapidly spread to over 35,000 acres overnight as it burned through grasslands in a section of the Los Padres National Park.

By 5 p.m. PT on July 3, the fire grew to more than 52,000 acres and was only 5% contained, according to Cal Fire data. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for small communities near Highway 166 as the fire moved toward the Carrizo Plain National Monument, about 69 miles southeast of San Luis Obispo, California.

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The Supreme Court voted to lift temporary blocks on President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who were in the country temporarily or without legal authorization.

The court ruled 6-3 that District Court rulings temporarily blocking Trump’s order "likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts." It did not decide whether the order is constitutional - a question that is being argued in lower federal courts.

In other decisions on the last day of the court's term, the justices ruled against a challenge to an Obamacare provision that forces health insurers to cover certain medicines and services, like HIV-preventive medication and cholesterol-lowering drugs; allowed parents to remove their elementary school children from classes where the books include gay characters; and upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users of pornographic web content.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) questioned first lady Melania Trump’s reported “Einstein visa” at a House hearing Wednesday.

“Let me remind y’all that Melania, the first lady, a model — and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell level — applied for and was given an EB-1 visa, and what that stands for is an Einstein visa. Now y’all that don’t know, let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa,” Crockett said.

“You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt,” the Texas Democrat added. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”

The Washington Post has reported that Trump in 2001 was given a green card via the elite EB-1 program. The program has been used by people such as academic researchers and multinational business executives, as well as people who have demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim,” according to the Post.

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When the Trump Organization announced its cellular brand earlier this month, it touted that the devices would be “made in the USA,” keeping in line with Trump administration policies. Now, just 10 days later, the company is quietly erasing those claims.

The website for the device has removed all language indicating the phone would be manufactured in the U.S. Instead, it opts for language that still leans toward isolationism, but is much more vague now, saying it was “designed with American values in mind” and it was “brought to life right here in the USA.”

A massive cargo ship carrying an estimated 3,000 vehicles capsized in international waters this week, causing it to sink, according to the US Coast Guard.

The Morning Midas, operated by the London-based company Zodiac Maritime, sank on Monday, June 23, around 5:30 p.m., officials said. The incident occurred about 450 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska.

According to the Coast Guard, the ship carried 1,530 metric tons of very low-sulfur fuel oil, along with 350 tons of marine gas oil. Additionally, it was transporting 3,048 vehicles, including 70 electric and 681 hybrid.

The Liberian-flagged Morning Midas, which was headed to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, from China, experienced a fire on June 3. As USA TODAY previously reported, 22 crew members abandoned the ship after they failed to put out the fire.

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The EU may take action to increase pressure on Israel unless there are “concrete” improvements for the inhabitants of Gaza, its foreign policy chief has said.

After meeting the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels, Kaja Kallas said it was “very clear” that Israel had breached its human rights commitments in Gaza and the West Bank.

She said if the situation for Palestinians did not improve, the EU could discuss “further measures and come back t\\]]s in July”.

But Kallas declined to spell out details: “The concrete question is what then we [the EU] are able to agree?

“But right now, the most important thing is to improve the situation on the ground, improve the lives of people in Palestine and stop the suffering and also human toll that we see there every day.”

TVNL Comment: How much more suffering must Palestinians endure to get the EU to acknowledge the devastation that Gazans experience every day?  This 'warning' is shameful.

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President Trump’s decision to float the possibility of regime change in Iran following a number of U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities has caused a new rupture across the MAGA universe, as top supporters fret about the possibility of a deeper U.S. involvement in a Middle Eastern war.

Trump surprised some supporters by authorizing weekend strikes against three nuclear sites in Iran, but he and his team seemed to signal the military action could end there.

The president scrambled those calculations in a Truth Social post Sunday. He said that while it was not politically correct to use the term regime change, “if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”

The White House walked back Trump’s remarks Monday, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he was just suggesting the Iranian people might want a new government, not suggesting a new front or motive to the war.

TVNL Comment:  The US needs  regime change before the whole world erupts in war!

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