The News You Need on Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Mamdani Rules, Israel continues its "bellicose delirium," Charlie Kirk's critics get justice, and Trump shoots himself in the throat.
New York Belongs to Mamdani
Associated Press
Charles: In a remarkable display of political clout, Zohran Kwame Mamdani propelled three of his allies into Congress last night. Levi Strauss heir Dan Goldman was crushed by Mamdani ally Brad Lander 66% to 34%. Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez were the other victors.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of fiery progressives swept establishment-backed Democrats in the state’s congressional primaries on Tuesday, ousting two sitting congressmen in a resounding show of force for the democratic socialist leader of America’s largest city, who is fighting to reshape the Democratic Party.
U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was defeated by Mamdani’s most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was beaten by the Mamdani-backed former city Comptroller Brad Lander, who has often aligned himself with the democratic socialist movement. And another Mamdani ally, democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, defeated the handpicked successor of retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Undoing History: As the World Watched Gaza, Settlers Charged Ahead in the West Bank. A Clash Is Imminent
Ha’aretz
Scott: Fomenting conflict and war have become the life’s blood of Israeli politics, and each successive chapter of war—Gaza, the West Bank, the invasions of Lebanon and Syria, the war on Iran—appear only to lead to calls for new, greater wars in a sort of bellicose delirium. Among Likud politicians this year, a struggle had broken out over whether the next war (following the annihilation of Iran) should be waged against Syria, Turkey (or both) or Egypt, each of which is portrayed in turn as the new eternal enemy. The idea of living in peace with neighbors and finding a modicum vivendi with the Arabs, Armenians, Druze and others who occupy the space of Israel/Palestine is ridiculed as some naïve nonsense. But these warmongers are the ones deluding themselves. As the writers at Ha’aretz, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the former heads of Israeli intelligence all note, the real next war is being baked right now on the West Bank, led in no small part by Americans and drawing on the resources of US taxpayers.
A revolution is taking place in the northern West Bank. A decades-long settler project is becoming a reality – fast. Settler representatives in the Israeli government are reaping political gains, while the IDF enables and supports the effort on the ground. The revolution started unfolding after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government was sworn in 2022. It was accelerated after Hamas’ October 7 attack.
At the heart of the drama is an effort to reestablish settlements evacuated under Israel’s 2005 disengagement plan, deep inside Palestinian-populated areas, where Israelis had largely been absent for nearly two decades. In total, settlers are taking over 18 strategic sites that cut through the largest contiguous Palestinian population area in the West Bank.
Israel’s return to the area includes the deployment of military forces, the construction of bases to protect settlements, road building, land expropriations and the intimidation of Palestinians in their daily lives. Senior military officials understand the move could ignite the region. Settler leaders, however, celebrate it: “This is what redemption looks like.”
In Israeli media, this is often presented as the action of the settler movement, independent of the state. But that is false.
The settlement project in the northern West Bank is materializing with massive military support and resources. Central Command chief Bluth recently said in a closed forum: “We are heading toward a very, very big change in northern Samaria. They will have to consider whether, in the face of such a major challenge, Judea and Samaria should stay as a single [IDF] division or rather two divisions…”
The military rationale has aligned with the long-term goals of the settlers who want to return to the northern West Bank.
Notably, Finance Minister and Defense Ministry minister Bezalel Smotrich said at the start of the January 2025 operation: “Today, with God’s help, we began changing the security doctrine in Judea and Samaria as well, as part of the campaign to eradicate terrorism in the area. This is part of the war aims added by the cabinet at the demand of the Religious Zionism party. Operation Iron Wall will be an intensive and sustained campaign against terrorist organizations and those who foster them, to protect the settlements and their residents and to safeguard the security of the entire State of Israel, for which the settlement enterprise serves as a security belt…”
Israel’s return to the northern West Bank is unfolding within a broader context. The settlement movement has set its sights on strategic goals. Dismantling the Oslo accords appears to be the next major objective. At the same time, annexation of the West Bank has gained significant traction within Likud in recent years. And Smotrich, author of the “Decisive Plan,” recently said that Israel’s next government should “encourage migration” of Palestinians from the West Bank. “In the long term there is no other solution,” he argued. The forces driving the return to the northern West Bank are moving quickly to create facts on the ground before the national elections expected later this year. Whether the process slows or accelerates will depend largely on the next U.S. administration – and the composition of Israel’s next government.
Justice For Those Fired After Charlie Kirk Was Killed
NPR
Charles: A national campaign to punish anyone who described Charlie Kirk’s politics accurately after he was assassinated led to the firing, suspension or investigation of more than six hundred people in what Reuters described as a “pro-Trump crackdown.”
Now many of those fired for exercising their First Amendment rights are being appropriately compensated, NPR’s Huo Jingnan reports.
The wave of firings was pushed by pro-Trump influencers and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Iowa state public defender Maria Rutenberg had been in her job for fifteen years when she was fired last September after she wrote on Facebook, “live by the sword, die by the sword” and “you reap what you sow.” Ruhtenberg also said that “whoever shot [Kirk] should go to prison.”
Her post was only visible to her Facebook friends but one of them complained to her employer. That single complaint got her fired.
After she appealed her termination she got her job back last November. Last May she also got $125,000 in damages from the state.
A photo of Charlie Kirk at at makeshift memorial at Orem City Center Park the day after he was killed.:
Others who were fired won compensation from Indiana to Florida and Tennessee:
Melissa Crook was a high school teacher at Creston Community School District in Iowa. She was fired after commenting on a family member’s Facebook post that “I do not wish death on anyone, but [him] not being here is a blessing.” She settled with the school district for $145,000 and full benefits and left the school as part of the settlement.
Suzanne Swierc, who worked as a health educator at Ball State University in Indiana, was fired after penning a Facebook post that included “If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends” and “while it’s difficult, I can and do pray for his soul.” She settled for $225,000 and left the university as part of the settlement.
Brittney Brown, formerly a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was fired after reposting a satirical account that pretends to be a whale: “they care exactly as much [about the shooting of Kirk] as charlie kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.” She was fired a day after the right-wing influencer account Libs of TikTok, which was spearheaded by Chaya Raichik, highlighted Brown and called for her firing. She settled with the state for $485,000 and left the agency.
Darren Michael, a tenured professor at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, was fired after posting a news story from 2023 with the headline “Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths ‘Unfortunately’ Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment.” He got his job back and received a $500,000 settlement, according to The New York Times.
While many people lost their jobs over things they posted online, Larry Bushart, a retired law enforcement officer in Tennessee, was wrongfully detained. He was jailed by the local sheriff’s department in Perry County, Tenn., for 37 days on a $2 million bond for posting a meme that the department claimed caused “mass hysteria.” The meme quoted President Trump reacting to a school shooting in 2024 at Perry High School in Iowa: “We have to get over it.” After his release, Bushart received a $835,000 settlement.
A Cold Call to Trump about Jeffrey Hildebrand Yields Insight into Trump Policy Formation Process: There isn’t any
Pro Publica
Scott: A casual cold call from Pro Publica’s Alex Cuadros yields some fascinating things. To get your wife appointed as a US ambassador and to get all the regulatory concessions you can imagine, you don’t have to present a case to Trump. Just a bag of cash. And of course, it helps to get regulations repealed if you just say they were written by Biden or Obama—whether they actually were, or not. This is how things work.
I’d been trying to reach President Donald Trump for a few days. Each time, my heart would start pounding. After nearly two decades as a journalist, I’m reasonably used to talking to powerful people. But cold-calling the president of the United States — on his personal cellphone — made me feel like a cub reporter all over again.
“Hello?” a voice said on the other end of the line. This time, the president had picked up.
I introduced myself and told Trump I’m a reporter with ProPublica.
