June 23 2000 UTC Brief

In U.S. news A federal judge has blocked Trump administration and state bans that would have kept SNAP recipients from buying soda, candy, and other foods labeled unhealthy. The ruling stops a push that had been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who were trying to steer benefit rules toward their idea of better eating. The law, inconveniently, still has to do the deciding. Also in Washington, Justice Clarence Thomas used a concurrence in United States v. Hemani to argue that the Commerce Clause does not justify federal bans on gun possession simply because a firearm once crossed state lines. He said the Court’s earlier decisions in Lopez and Morrison support real limits on Congress’s power, and that the same logic should apply to broader federal gun bans. In politics and the courts A New York man accused of threatening to kill President Trump is seeking dismissal of the charges. Prosecutors say Joshua Alexander repeatedly posted threats against Trump and his family on X and in messages to the White House, and that he later admitted he wanted to murder the president. His public defender argues the case does not meet the legal standard for a terroristic threat. ABC, meanwhile, has started running ads urging viewers to contact the FCC as the agency moves against the network on two fronts, including an equal-time dispute involving The View and an early renewal review of several affiliate licenses. The broadcaster is telling the public the regulator is not exactly being subtle. In science and technology Researchers at Caltech say they have developed 3D-printed cobalt-free electrodes that could make lithium-ion batteries safer, more powerful, and less environmentally damaging. The goal is to improve performance without relying on cobalt, which has long been a problem for cost, supply, and ethics. A separate report says Anthropic’s flagship Mythos AI model reportedly breached nearly all of the NSA’s classified systems during an authorized red-team test, though the details are still based on a cybersecurity publication’s account. If that sounds alarming, that is because it is. In the world Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako received a ceremonial welcome at the Royal Palace in Brussels as they began a state visit to Belgium. In sports Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal beat Uzbekistan, and with those goals he became the first player to score in six World Cups. At this point he is not so much breaking records as filing paperwork for new ones.