This Week’s Rundown
National Stories
Israel/Iran at War; Trump Debating US Involvement
Last Friday, Israel launched attack on 100+ sites, killing military leaders and nuclear scientists
Iran responded with waves of missiles & drones, both sides continuing to exchange attacks
US, UK send planes to Middle East; Iran says US, UK, French military targets in the region are fair game
Israel tells Tehran’s 10M+ civilians to evacuate
Iranian missile strikes Beersheba hospital; Israel threatens to assassinate Khamenei
Trump says US will decide involvement within two weeks
Iran in talks with European powers in Geneva
Islamic Republic has completely shut down internet in the country
IAEA warns of potential nuclear contamination risk
Yemeni Houthis vow to attack American ships in Red Sea if US gets involved
US ATTACKS 3 IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES LAST NIGHT
Iran responds with missile strike on Tel Aviv
Trump Calls for Ramped-Up ICE Raids in Democratic Cities
Demands 3000 arrests daily
Says in Truth Social post, “we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens. These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them. That is why they believe in Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports — And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role. You don’t hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!”
LA Dodgers Deny ICE Access to Dodger Stadium Grounds
ICE says it wasn’t them; DHS says it was masked CBP agents attempting to use the parking lot for staging
Dodgers have previously allowed law enforcement to use stadium grounds for staging
Dodgers expected to announce plans to assist immigrant families affected by raids - planned announcement postponed
Pakistan Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Cites his “decisive diplomatic intervention” following several days of cross-border strikes, marking the worst regional fighting between the nuclear-armed India & Pakistan since 1971, killing dozens and stoking fears of a wider war.
Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a US-brokered truce on May 8
If it would get him to ride off into the sunset and go away, would you give him the Nobel?
Trump Complains About Juneteenth
"Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed," Trump wrote in a post that went up just after 7 p.m. ET on Thursday evening.
"The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Judicial Review
Judge Orders Mahmoud Khalil Released
Palestinian Columbia grad student and activist has been detained since March 8 - “Khalil was the first person arrested under Trump’s crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel’s devastating war in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign policy.”
Khalil is married to a US citizen; she gave birth to their first child during his detention - an event he missed.
“Justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue,” Khalil said outside the facility in a remote part of Louisiana. “This shouldn’t have taken three months.”
Texas Judge Strikes Down Federal Abortion Privacy Rule
Maddy Gitomer, senior counsel at Democracy Forward, in an emailed statement: “The 2024 HIPAA Privacy Rule has helped protect pregnant people and health care providers from invasive government intrusion into private medical information.’’
The rule was intended to protect patients in jurisdictions where abortion or gender-affirming care is illegal, preventing disclosure of private health information when individuals seek such care in places where such care is protected by law
In a clear case of judge-shopping, Christian-nationalist legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom brought the case in front of US District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a far-right ideologue who previously attempted to ban abortion drug mifepristone nationwide from the bench.
If this ruling stands, it would allow authorities in states like Texas and Indiana to obtain medical records of patients who obtained care in legal states and then prosecute based on those records.
SCOTUS Upholds TN Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
6-3 decision along partisan lines affirmed that states can enforce bans on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for transgender youth.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, “our role is not ‘to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic’ of the law before us, but only to ensure that it does not violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment.Having concluded it does not, we leave questions regarding its policy to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process.”
A similar Indiana law has been in limbo, awaiting the results of this case.
Indiana AG Todd Rokita reacted to the decision on X, ““VICTORY! … This is a massive win for Hoosiers, protecting our kids from irreversible harm.”
What about the irreversible harm of being forced, by the power of the state, to live with gender dysphoria, when care is available and approved by parents & doctors?
Indiana Stories
Mike Braun Not Interested in Presidential Run
Adam Wren cited three unnamed sources in reporting Braun had been having private discussions about it.
Do you believe him?
Would he have a shot?
Morales Grilled by State Budget Committee, Doubles Down
Was asking for $10M in new spending authority after…
Nearly doubling office staff since 2022
Awarding no-bid contracts to campaign donors
Spending $90K in state funds on a luxury vehicle
Frequently traveling abroad on state time
Missing important meetings
“I won’t apologize,” Morales told the committee. “My work ethic is unmatched. I arrive at the Statehouse by 5 a.m. every day. Nobody outworks me.”
Another City-County Councilor Calls for Hogsett Resignation
Crista Carlino also called for Council President Vop Osili and Vice President Ali Brown to step down from leadership
Followed a finance committee meeting where councilors debated, then approved, paying the final $300K to law firm Fisher Phillips
Fisher Phillips conducted investigation into harassment in mayor’s office
Investigation focused only on Hogsett’s former aide Thomas Cook, omitting creepy behavior by the mayor himself
Many believe mayor and his allies on the council influenced the scope of the investigation
Carlino joins Jesse Brown, Andy Nielsen, as Democratic councilors calling for Hogsett’s resignation
Councilor Jesse Brown points out that he was removed from caucus for similarly calling out Dem colleague by name.
Within days of each other, I watched two startling events unfold on video. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was strong-armed out of a Republican-controlled press conference by law enforcement, shoved to the ground, and handcuffed. Americans watched in outrage. At the June 9, 2025 City-County Council meeting in Indianapolis, controlled by Democrats, multiple women were forcibly shoved out of a public meeting, while Hoosiers watched in outrage. Both of these incidents were appalling to watch and excruciating to acknowledge.
I have seen peaceful protesters be silenced and bullied by police, judges, and law enforcement officers. America witnessed the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War protests, as people like Alabama Governor George Wallace and Judge Julius Hoffman became symbols of oppression.
Forcibly removing people from a public meeting is not the way we fix our problems and settle our issues in a democratic society. This applies to both parties!
Councilor Vop Osili has, hopefully, learned a valuable lesson in how to not conduct a meeting. Unlike Kristi Noem, however, he apologized.
IDP ACTIONS
In 2024, then IDP Chair Mike Schmuhl took positive action and began the task of creating a Code of Conduct that would govern the state party, its employees, and other members of the Democratic Party. The Code of Conduct was adopted by the State Central Committee in December, 2024.
Following the March, 2025 party reorganization, as the new Chair, I immediately appointed members to the newly-formed Ethics Committee. In coordination with the Rules Committee, the Ethics Committee promptly created a procedure by which complaints involving Code of Conduct violations could be submitted and reviewed. This was adopted in May, 2025.
With regard to the conduct of Thomas Cook, IDP wholeheartedly condemns sexual harassment of any kind, and believes that the institutional culture that perpetuates this should be finally rooted out everywhere. We believe everyone should feel safe in the workplace. No formal complaint against Cook has ever been filed with IDP.
IDP has taken the following steps to provide a safe working environment:
Unionized our staff, with the contract listing code of conduct parameters;
Retained an outside human resources firm;
Updated our employee handbook, which we require all employees to sign. The handbook details the process to report any unwanted behavior to our outside human resources firm;
Required all employees to complete sexual harassment training that is specifically tailored to people working in politics, campaigns, or state parties;
Created a Code of Conduct, Ethics Committee, and formalized a process to review Code of Conduct violations;
Included a list of sexual harassment training partners in the refreshed County Party Handbook, and will provide this list to campaigns as part of materials distributed to them.
IDP has a procedure in place for handling these kinds of allegations. As an attorney with respect for the law and the process, I cannot issue further statements or findings of fact without first following this process.
IDP exists to elect Democrats across the entire state of Indiana. Thousands of Hoosier Democrats are doing dynamic work every day. County chairs across the state report that Hoosiers are responding in great numbers to the abominations of the Trump Administration. Volunteers are stepping up, asking how they can help. IDP has conducted many successful town hall meetings, with more scheduled. Hoosiers are tired of the chaos in Washington and at the Republican-controlled Indiana Statehouse. Our focus is on improving the lives of Hoosiers by electing Democrats.
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