Supreme Court Expands a President's Power to Fire Independent Officials, Overturning a 1935 Precedent

Supreme Court Upholds State Grace Periods for Late-Arriving Mail Ballots

Supreme Court Rules Geofence Searches Require a Warrant

Rocket Lab Strikes $8 Billion Deal to Buy Iridium, Taking Aim at SpaceX

A Record-Threatening Heat Dome Puts More Than 160 Million Americans Under Heat Alerts

Supreme Court Expands a President's Power to Fire Independent Officials, Overturning a 1935 Precedent

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter that President Trump's 2025 dismissal of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without cause was lawful, and in doing so overturned Humphrey's Executor v. United States, a 1935 decision that for 91 years had shielded the leaders of independent agencies from being fired at a president's discretion. The ruling gives presidents far broader authority to remove officials at agencies — such as the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board — that Congress designed to operate at arm's length from the White House. In a separate 5-4 ruling the same day, the Court declined to let Trump immediately remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, allowing her to stay while lower courts weigh her case; Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority, joined by the three liberal justices and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The split signaled that the justices may treat the Fed, which sets U.S. interest rates, as a special case even as they expand presidential control elsewhere. Independent agencies were created over the past century to insulate decisions about competition, broadcasting, and labor from short-term politics. The ruling marks one of the most consequential shifts in the balance of power between the presidency and the federal bureaucracy in generations, and it is likely to reshape how future presidents of both parties run the government.

NPR

Supreme Court Upholds State Grace Periods for Late-Arriving Mail Ballots

Also on June 29, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Watson v. Republican National Committee that states may count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to several days later, upholding a Mississippi law that allows a five-day grace period. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and the Court's three liberal justices, rejecting the Republican Party's argument that the federal law setting a single national Election Day bars counting late-arriving ballots. The decision preserves similar grace-period rules in roughly 15 states and the District of Columbia ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. President Trump called the outcome a "tremendous loss" and renewed his push for the SAVE Act, a stalled Republican bill that would tighten federal election rules, including proof-of-citizenship requirements. Supporters of grace periods say they protect ballots delayed by the mail, including those from military and overseas voters, while critics argue every ballot should be in hand by Election Day. Because mail voting has become a routine option for millions of Americans, the ruling settles a recurring legal fight that could otherwise have invalidated large numbers of votes in close races.

NPR

Supreme Court Rules Geofence Searches Require a Warrant

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 29, 2026, in Chatrie v. United States that police use of a "geofence" request to obtain cellphone location data from everyone near a crime scene constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the majority, finding that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their phones' location records held by third-party companies such as Google. The case arose from a Virginia bank robbery in which investigators used Google location data to help secure a conviction. Geofence requests have become an increasingly common investigative tool over the past decade because they can surface suspects when police have few other leads, but they work by capturing the whereabouts of everyone in a defined area rather than a single target. Civil liberties advocates have argued the technique sweeps in data on uninvolved bystanders and risks treating ordinary people as suspects simply for being nearby. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, calling the Court's decision to hear the case an "irresponsible escapade." Under the ruling, law enforcement must now obtain a warrant before compelling companies to turn over such bulk location data, extending Fourth Amendment protections further into the era of constant digital tracking.

NPR

Rocket Lab Strikes $8 Billion Deal to Buy Iridium, Taking Aim at SpaceX

Rocket Lab announced on June 29, 2026, that it will acquire satellite-communications company Iridium in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8 billion, one of the largest mergers in the space industry to date. The agreement would give Rocket Lab control of Iridium's 66-satellite low-Earth-orbit network, its globally licensed wireless spectrum, and more than 2.5 million subscribers across government, defense, aviation, and maritime markets. Rocket Lab, which builds its own rockets, is betting it can pair launch capability with satellite services — mirroring the model SpaceX uses with its Starlink network — to become a more direct competitor. Iridium shareholders would receive $27 in cash plus Rocket Lab stock, valuing each share near $54, and Rocket Lab has lined up a $3.6 billion bridge loan to help fund the purchase. Investors reacted enthusiastically, sending Iridium shares up more than 20% and Rocket Lab's up by double digits, while other satellite stocks also climbed. The deal, expected to close in mid-2027 pending shareholder and regulatory approval, reflects accelerating consolidation in a space economy increasingly tied to defense and communications. It matters because control of satellite networks and radio spectrum is becoming a strategic asset for both commercial industry and national security.

CNBC

A Record-Threatening Heat Dome Puts More Than 160 Million Americans Under Heat Alerts

A sprawling "heat dome" settled over much of the central and eastern United States this week, putting more than 160 million Americans under heat alerts ahead of the July 4 holiday, with forecasters warning of potentially record-breaking temperatures. The National Weather Service projected that more than 230 million people would see temperatures climb above 90 degrees, with heat index values — what the air feels like once humidity is factored in — reaching 110 to 115 in the hardest-hit areas and dangerously warm nights offering little relief. Cities including Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York were forecast to top 100 degrees on multiple days, and New York's Central Park could hit 100 for the first time since 2012, with the worst conditions expected to peak around July 3 and 4. The heat arrived as wildfires burned across parts of the West, where three federal firefighters were killed last week. Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the United States, killing more people in a typical year than hurricanes or floods, and it poses the greatest danger to older adults, outdoor workers, and people without air conditioning. Officials urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, and check on vulnerable neighbors, and the surge in demand is expected to strain power grids during the holiday week.

CNN

JUNE 30 1905: EINSTEIN PUBLISHES SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY

Einstein’s paper “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” upended 200 years of Newtonian physics by showing that space and time are relative to the motion of the observer. It introduced a new framework in which the speed of light is constant for all observers, forcing scientists to rethink simultaneity, distance, and time itself. This breakthrough laid the groundwork for modern physics, ultimately leading to technologies from GPS to nuclear energy and transforming our understanding of the universe.

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