Hello, readers – happy(ish) Tuesday! Today we’re covering the Iran-Israel insanity, a cruel Supreme Court decision, pacts between the E.U. and Canada as well as the U.K. and Ukraine, Tesla Robotaxis, the heat dome, and the NBA Finals.

Here’s the good news: in a recent study, a stem cell-based treatment appears to have cured 10 out of 12 people with a severe form of Type I diabetes.

“Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later.” – Benjamin Franklin

The Iran-Israel Info Dump

This is of those “weeks where decades happen” that Lenin was talking about. Early on Sunday morning, the U.S. got involved in the Iran-Israel war, leveraging its fleet of B2 stealth bombers to help Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. The bombers dropped at least 14 GBU-57 bunker buster bombs – each 20.5 feet long and weighing 30,000 pounds – on Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility, while submarine-fired Tomahawk missiles hit other Iranian defense structures. Photos of the damage at Fordow indicate that multiple GBU-57s penetrated the ground above it, likely causing significant damage to the facility, though it’s unclear what the extent of the damage is.

Iran responded to the U.S. strikes with its own attacks on Monday. Luckily, the strikes – which targeted a U.S. military hub in Qatar – didn’t end up injuring any U.S. or Qatari personnel. “I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post after the attack. 

Later on Monday, Trump announced that both sides had agreed to “a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” which was negotiated with the help of Qatar. Neither Iran nor Israel have officially announced that they would be following the deal’s terms, which ordered Tehran to stop strikes early in the morning local time while allowing Israel an extra 12 hours to continue bombing Iran. Iranian missiles landed in Israel even after the first deadline, and Israeli strikes hit Iran in a quick response. Soon after, Trump posted that “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” on TruthSocial. Both Iran and Israel indicated that they would wind down the conflict after claiming their respective triumphs in the war, but who really knows what will happen by the time you get this email?

Deadly Deportations Are Back On The Docket

Yesterday, the Supreme Court gave the Trump White House the green light to continue deporting immigrants to countries that they’re not citizens of. Before the decision, a lower court ruling had temporarily forced the administration give immigrants set for deportation to a “third country” the opportunity to show that they might face torture at their destination. This “meaningful opportunity” was accompanied by a 15-day grace period where the immigrants could build a case with their lawyer. Now, immigrants can be deported to countries like politically unstable South Sudan with less than a day’s notice. 

The decision, which saw all 6 conservative Supreme Court justices rule in favor of the Trump White House, overturned a lower court judge’s ruling that immigration officials must grant the grace period in order to let their targets secure a “credible fear” interview to dispute the third country deportations. 

The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices fired off a searing dissent. “Apparently, the court finds the idea that thousands will suffer violence in far-flung locales more palatable than the remote possibility that a district court exceeded its remedial powers,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She went on to call the decision a “gross abuse” of the court’s power, and said it was “as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable.”

At Least I Still Have E.U.

• While Trump has dragged the U.S. into/out of yet another conflict in the Middle East, he’s also pulled the country away from some of its closest historical allies, including the E.U. and Canada. Luckily that pair still has each other. Yesterday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney signed off on a broad defensive agreement with the European bloc while meeting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, the head of the European Council, in Brussels.

• The agreement will see Canada participate in the E.U.’s €150 billion SAFE defense fund. Participation, in this case, means that Canada will be able to access the fund’s massive pool of money to develop its defense capabilities, as long as it involves an E.U. country in those projects. The E.U. has signed similar agreements with South Korea, Norway, and Japan, creating a wider defense alliance with less reliance on the U.S.

The Drone-Developing Duo

• Ukraine and the U.K. are also shifting closer together as the Trump administration has largely left Kyiv out to dry in its war with Russia. Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to a new deal which will see the two countries cooperate to jointly produce long-range drones. The pair declined to say how exactly the drones would be used, but it’s likely that the murder machines will be used in Ukraine’s war against Russia, especially in Kyiv’s efforts to damage military infrastructure deep behind Russian lines.

• “We will do it together. I’m happy about these strong relations between both of our countries,” said Zelenskyy soon after meeting with Starmer. The drones, he claimed, will “save as many lives as possible” in Ukraine by pressuring Russia to “think about peace.” Russia clearly has anything but peace on its mind, though – while Zelenskyy was in Britain, the Kremlin launched a wave of drone and missile attacks against targets in Ukraine, damaging multiple apartment blocks and killing at least 14 people.

More Mixed Nuts

• Claims of Potential Human Rights Violations Strain E.U.-Israeli Relations (NYT, $)

• Nigerian communities to take Shell to high court over oil pollution (Guardian)

• Thailand blocks tourists from entering Cambodia as their border tensions soar (AP)

• "A scrap of paper": Philippine VP Duterte wants impeachment complaint dismissed (Reuters)

• Nato summit expected to be triumphant for Trump and deflating for Ukraine (Guardian) 

Robotaxi’s Rough Start

• Tesla stock jumped 9% yesterday after the company’s Robotaxi program conducted its first-ever rides in Austin, Texas over the weekend. Did the Robotaxi rollout warrant that sizable stock bump? Not really, and here’s why.

• First, the Robotaxi fleet – consisting of just a dozen or so Tesla Model Y SUVs equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Unsupervised software – only operated in one specific Austin neighborhood. Second, despite having the “FSD Unsupervised” package, the cars were all supervised by a living Tesla employee in the front seat. Third, only a select few people were actually allowed to call a Robotaxi ride – most of the riders were social media influencers who vocally support Tesla and Elon Musk on Twitter/X.

• Videos shared online also raised some eyebrows about the safety of the Robotaxis. In one clip, the Robotaxi swerves into an oncoming lane in the middle of an intersection before swerving back to correct its mistake. In another, the Robotaxi slams its brakes whenever it sees a police car that’s not even on the road, which might not make for a safe or pleasant driving experience. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the media that it’s “aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information.”

It’s A Hot Air Dome Summer

• Trump is trying to build a Golden Dome over the U.S., but for now all we’ve got is a massive heat dome. This week, most of America is facing unseasonably hot temperatures – at least three-quarters of the country (245 million people) will experience temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and roughly 10% of Americans (33 million people) will face triple-digit temperatures.

• The Northeast and Midwest will bear the brunt of the nationwide heat dome, with temperatures in those areas reaching peaks of 20°F higher than normal for this time in June. Making things worse is the fact that heat domes – a weather phenomenon which occurs when atmospheric pressure is higher than normal – also trap in humidity, making the air feel warmer than it actually is. New York City is expected to suffer its first 100°F day since 2011 as the sun peaks today, and Philadelphia will face multiple triple-digit days in a row for the first time since 2012.

More Nuts In America

• U.S. sends worldwide travel warning after bombing Iran nuclear sites (WaPo, $)

• US judge blocks Trump plan to bar international students from Harvard (Guardian)

• 'The water was just screaming' - Eight dead in Lake Tahoe after boats capsize (BBC) 

• Florida building 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention centre in Everglades (Guardian) 

• Jury sees more sex videos as prosecutors wind down case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs (AP)

It’s Finally Over

• The NBA Finals wrapped up on Sunday, with the Oklahoma City Thunder securing their first-ever postseason title in a 103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers. Bill Simmons summed it up best: “I think this might be the first NBA playoffs that comes and goes where the team I’m going to remember isn’t the team that won the title.”

• Why? Simply put, the Pacers were electric all playoffs long. Their series against the Cavs and Knicks featured multiple insane buzzerbeaters from star guard Tyrese Haliburton, and their brand of basketball was extremely entertaining to watch. Unfortunately, their hopes for a ring came crashing down partway through the first quarter, when Haliburton had to limp off the court with an Achilles tendon injury.

• While the Pacers held on through the first half, the Thunder eventually buried them with a white-hot third quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topped off his MVP season with the Finals MVP trophy after racking up 29 points (11 from free throws), 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. The Thunder will roll into the 2025-2026 season as favorites with the same roster, while Haliburton will likely take a full year to recover from his ACL injury.

More Loose Nuts

• Scientists Are Sending Cannabis Seeds to Space (Wired)

• The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting (Atlantic)

• Apple keeps pulling its own ads (Verge)

• You sound like ChatGPT (Verge)

• A.I. Computing Power Is Splitting the World Into Haves and Have-Nots (NYT, $)

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