Stranger Than Fiction

You can support the newsletter that you’re reading right now using PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or purchase a subscription on Substack.Don’t forget to join us in the Stranger Slack for access to source documents and a running feed of news throughout the day. (this link was broken for awhile and has now been fixed)TOP NEWS

• DOJ to Propose Limiting Internet Firms’ Protections “The Justice Department is set to propose a roll back of legal protections that online platforms have enjoyed for more than two decades, in an effort to make tech companies more responsible in how they police their content, according to a Trump administration official.” - WSJ

• Retail Spending Rebounded as States Eased Lockdowns “Shoppers opened their pocketbooks last month as states eased coronavirus-related restrictions. May’s 17.7% jump marked the biggest monthly increase in records dating to 1992” - WSJ ***Stock futures this morning point toward a fourth day of gains***

• India-China Border Standoff Turns Violent, With 20 Indian Soldiers Dead “India said 20 of its soldiers died in a clash with Chinese troops along the two countries’ disputed border in the Himalayan Mountains, the worst military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades” - WSJ

• Surprising Spending Habits Formed by Homes Flush with Cash During COVID-19 “Consumers who held on to jobs or who are getting government benefits have seen bank accounts swell during the coronavirus pandemic because of restrictions on shopping and tourism. Now, they are spending with surprising strength to renovate homes and entertain families.” - WSJ

• Albuquerque shooting the latest example of fringe actors at protests “According to a list of federal cases, the majority of those intent on committing mayhem seem to be individuals not affiliated with any group.” - WaPo

• North Korea blows up liaison office in escalation of hostilities with Seoul “North Korea has blown up the inter-Korean liaison office near the country’s border with South Korea, marking a sharp escalation in hostilities by Kim Jong Un towards Seoul.” - FT

WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO

• 🎧 LISTEN: 

• Booker breaks down systemic racism during Senate Judiciary hearing on policing

• Gorsuch’s surprising LGBTQ decision

• Black students at dozens of high schools across the country have banded together to create Instagram accts to anonymously share black student experiences and hold the schools accountable

THE COMMENT

“In a lengthy dissent that sounded like it was written in 1964, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, argued that the court’s job is to interpret statutes to “mean what they conveyed to reasonable people at the time they were written.” It’s hard to imagine these justices applying the same logic to the meaning of the Second Amendment, which reasonable people at the time understood to apply to bayonets and muskets.” - New York Times Editorial Board on SCOTUS decision on LGBTQ rights

THE STRANGEST

• Petition launched to replace statue of Robert E. Lee with GWAR's Oderus Urungus in Richmond, Virginia

THE AV ROOM