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The coastal town on Vancouver Island, home to some 2,500 year-round residents, punches far above its weight.

Last year, the United Nations named Canada’s first “Creative City of Gastronomy.” Was it cosmopolitan Toronto, French-inflected Montreal, or “Hollywood North” Vancouver? No, it was Kelowna, a small city in British Columbia best known to die-hard American skiers as the gateway to Canada’s deep powder. But Kelowna is also the northern seat of the Okanagan Valley,...

Laker starting center Deandre Ayton will accept his $8.1 million player option for 2026-27, foregoing unrestricted free agency.  Ayton had until Monday to make a decision on the option he had in his contract as part of the two-year, $16.2 million deal he signed with the Lakers last year.  Deandre Ayton had until Monday to...

The latest warning comes as many Californians are already under financial strain from rising utility costs.

The NBA guard is expected to voluntarily surrender to authorities this week.

Supreme Court Allows Late Receipt Of Ballots During Elections

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5–4 to uphold a Mississippi law providing that absentee ballots do not have to be received by Election Day – and that states may count ballots postmarked by Election Day but received afterward.

The Supreme Court in Washington on April 28, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee reverses the Fifth Circuit, which had sided with the Republican National Committee and the Mississippi Republican Party. It leaves in place the ballot receipt practices of roughly 30 states and puts Congress, not the Court, on the hook if anyone wants a nationally uniform receipt deadline.

The Case

Mississippi lets certain residents – including college students away from home, senior citizens, and others – vote by absentee ballot. They can mail their ballots or send them by common carrier. The deadline: ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the registrar no more than five business days afterward.

The RNC argued that the three federal Election Day statutes – governing presidential electors, House members, and senators – use the word “election” to mean two things at once: ballot casting and ballot receipt. So when Congress set a day for the “election,” the RNC argued, it also set a receipt deadline. The Fifth Circuit agreed. The district court had not.

Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett framed the question at the outset: does counting ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later violate the federal statutes?

Justice Amy Coney Barrett

Barrett’s argument runs on three tracks: text, statutory context, and constitutional structure.

On text, “election” has always meant the act of choosing. Webster’s 1869 dictionary defines it as “[t]he act of choosing a person to fill an office.” The Court’s own precedent in United States v. Classic (1941) called an election “no more and no less than the expression by qualified electors of their choice of candidates.” That choice, Barrett writes, is made when voting is complete – not when ballots land on a registrar’s desk. The statutes set when the people vote, and says nothing about when the mail arrives.

The 2022 amendment to the presidential Election Day statute reinforces this point. When Congress inserted the phrase “election day” and defined it, it tied the definition to “the period of voting” – not the period of receipt. That is the act Congress was governing.

The Electoral College has always separated the act of voting from the act of transmission. Electors “give their Votes” on a uniform day and then “transmit” those votes to the seat of government. The Constitution mandates that the voting day be uniform; it says nothing about the day of receipt. The federal Election Day statutes follow the same architecture. As Barrett closes the majority opinion: “The election-day statutes say nothing about ballot receipt, and we cannot add to the words Congress chose.”

The Dissent Comes Out Swinging

In a scathing dissent, Justice Samuel Alito argued that an “election” is a collective act, not an individual one. The electorate does not express its choice until the full collection of ballots is in official custody. Until that moment, the choice is not made – it is still in transit, still subject to recall, and still incomplete. Receipt is therefore part of the election, not merely an administrative matter.

Justice Samuel Alito

He cited two centuries of practice to support that view: from the founding through most of the 20th century, Election Day was the day ballots were collected. Even during the Civil War, when states had every logistical incentive to extend receipt deadlines for soldiers at the front, none did. Alito finds it implausible – a “delicately put understatement,” he says, borrowing the majority’s own phrase – that extending receipt deadlines simply never occurred to Civil War-era legislatures as an option. In short, he argues, they understood federal law to require receipt by Election Day.

Alito also cites Foster v. Love (1997) – the Court’s only prior interpretation of the Election Day statutes – which defined “election” as the “combined actions of voters and officials meant to make a final selection of an officeholder.” If officials receiving ballots is part of that “combined action,” then officials receiving ballots must occur on Election Day. The majority, Alito argues, quietly reads the “officials” half of that formula out of the statute.

And he raises a practical alarm: what is the outer limit of today’s holding? Mississippi uses a five-day window. Washington state allows receipt up to 21 days after Election Day. The majority’s reasoning sets no federal floor. Could states eliminate receipt deadlines entirely? Could a voter hand a ballot to an Uber driver on Election Day for delivery weeks later?

What Happens Next

The immediate effect: Mississippi’s five-day post–Election Day receipt window survives. The Fifth Circuit’s ruling is reversed and remanded.

The broader effect: the roughly 30 states that already count ballots postmarked by Election Day and received afterward are now on solid federal legal footing. No federal preemption argument runs against them under today’s ruling.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 11:00

The grand jury probe into the Shanghai-based tech mogul, first reported by Fox News, was begun months ago and authorized by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the source said.

A middle school in an upscale New Jersey suburb has started taking back yearbooks after it was discovered a photo of Adolf Hitler was published in the student baby photos section.

It's low-hanging fruit.

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WASHINGTON — President Trump acted lawfully when he fired former Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter last year without cause, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, finding legal protections against such dismissals unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the 6-3 opinion and overturned past precedent restricting presidents from carrying out such firings. “Although it is up to...

A mom of five allegedly butchered by two sisters made a tragic call to her pal – just moments before being hacked to death in a broad daylight attack.

Key Events This Holiday-Shortened Week: Jobs, Warsh In Sintra, ISM, ADP

Global attention this holiday-shortened week,will center on the US labor market, with the June employment report due on Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday. A reminder that the US will be 250 years old this week. Alongside that, central bank communication will be in focus at the ECB’s Sintra forum (today through Wednesday), while inflation data across Europe and activity indicators in Asia—notably China’s PMIs and Japan’s monthly data—round out a busy global calendar.

In the US, DB economists expect payroll growth on Thursday to slow to +75k (from +172k previously), with private payrolls rising by around +90k. There is some risk of seasonals pulling down the numbers as they have in recent years around this time. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.3%, while average hourly earnings are seen unchanged at +0.3% month-on-month. Hours worked are also expected to remain steady at 34.3, leaving nominal income growth broadly stable.

Ahead of that, today brings the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey, while tomorrow sees the May JOLTS report, where markets will watch for any shifts in hiring, quits and layoffs amid a still subdued hiring environment. Wednesday then features the ADP employment report alongside the ISM manufacturing index (forecast 53.9 vs 54.0 previously). These releases should help set expectations going into Thursday’s payrolls. Beyond the labor market, tomorrow also sees the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index (economists expect 94.4 vs 93.1 previously).

On policy, attention will turn to Wednesday, when Fed Chair Warsh speaks at the ECB’s Sintra forum. DB economists continue to expect a relatively hawkish policy path, with two rate hikes pencilled in later this year. However, near-term guidance is likely to remain limited, leaving markets to take their cues primarily from incoming data.

Looking beyond the US, Europe’s main event is the aforementioned ECB’s annual Sintra conference, which begins today and runs through Wednesday, featuring remarks from major central bank leaders. In parallel, inflation data will be a key focus, with Spain and Belgium reporting today, followed by Germany, France and Italy tomorrow, and the Eurozone aggregate on Wednesday. DB economists expect inflation of 2.46% YoY in Germany, 2.30% in France, 3.23% in Italy, and 2.95% for the Eurozone. Switzerland will also release CPI on Thursday. In the UK, the BoE publishes its credit conditions surveys on Thursday and the DMP survey on Friday.

In Asia, China releases various PMIs in the first half of the week. In Japan, today’s retail sales (out earlier) is followed by industrial production tomorrow, where economists expect a +1.4% month-on-month increase. The highlight, however, will be the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey on Wednesday, which is expected to show broadly steady sentiment and may reinforce the case for further gradual policy tightening.

Courtesy of DB, here is a day by day calendar of events

Monday June 29

• Data: US June Dallas Fed manufacturing activity, UK May net consumer credit, M4, Japan May retail sales, Eurozone May M3, June economic confidence
• Central banks: ECB forum on central banking in Sintra (through July 1), ECB's Lagarde speaks, BoE's Pill speaks
• Earnings: Prosus, AeroVironment

Tuesday June 30

• Data: US June Conference Board consumer confidence index, MNI Chicago PMI, Dallas Fed services activity, May JOLTS report, April FHFA house price index, China June official PMIs, UK June Lloyds Business Barometer, Q1 current account balance, Japan May jobless rate, job-to-applicant ratio, industrial production, housing starts, Germany June CPI, unemployment claims rate, May retail sales, import price index, France June CPI, May PPI, consumer spending, Italy June CPI, May PPI, Canada April GDP
• Central banks: ECB's Vujcic, Elderson, Schnabel, Cipollone and Lane speak, BoE’s Breeden speaks
• Earnings: Nike

Wednesday July 1

• Data: US June ISM index, ADP report, May construction spending, China June RatingDog manufacturing PMI, Japan Q2 BoJ’s quarterly Tankan survey, June consumer confidence index, Italy June new car registrations, budget balance, Q1 deficit to GDP, Eurozone June CPI
• Central banks: Fed's Warsh speaks, ECB's Lagarde, Vujcic, Cipollone and Lane speak, BoE’s Bailey speaks, BoC’s Macklem speaks
• Earnings: General Mills
• Other: Ireland takes on the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU

Thursday July 2

• Data: US June jobs report, May factory orders, initial jobless claims, Japan June monetary base, France May budget balance, Italy May unemployment rate, Eurozone May unemployment rate, Canada June manufacturing PMI, Switzerland June CPI
• Central banks: ECB's Cipollone speaks, BoE's Mann speaks, BoE’s Q2 bank liabilities, credit conditions surveys
• Other: US bond markets close early

Friday July 3

• Data: China June RatingDog services PMI, UK June official reserves changes, France May industrial production, Italy May retail sales
• Central banks: ECB's Lagarde, Nagel and Makhlouf speak, BoE's Bailey speaks, BoE’s June DMP survey
• Other: US Independence Day holiday (all markets closed)

Finally, looking at just the US, Goldman writes that the key economic data release this week is the employment report on Thursday. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh is expected to speak at the ECB Forum in Sintra, Portugal on Wednesday. 

Monday, June 29 

• There are no major economic data releases scheduled. 

Tuesday, June 30 

• 09:00 AM FHFA house price index, April (consensus +0.2%, last +0.1%)
• 09:00 AM Case-Shiller home price index, April (GS -0.1%, consensus -0.1%, last -0.2%)
• 10:00 AM Conference Board consumer confidence, June (GS 95.5, consensus 94.6, last 93.1)
• 10:00 AM JOLTS job openings, May (GS 7,100k, consensus 7,288k, last 7,618k): We estimate that JOLTS job openings declined to 7.1mn in May based on the signal from online measures of job postings from Indeed and LinkUp.

Wednesday, July 1 

• 08:15 AM ADP employment change, June (GS +120k, consensus +119k, last +122k)
• 09:00 AM Fed Chairman Warsh speaks: Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh will participate in a panel discussion with the President of European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. A moderated Q&A is expected. The event will be livestreamed. In his press conference following the June FOMC meeting, Chairman Warsh said, "The Committee thought that the labor markets were stable. There were some people around the Committee who thought that it was trending better than that, [and] trends matter more than data points." He also reiterated language from the post-meeting statement, saying, "Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy... but to be clear, the Fed will deliver price stability."
• 09:45 AM S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, June final (consensus 55.7, last 55.7)
• 10:00 AM ISM manufacturing index, June (GS 54.0, consensus 53.9, last 54.0): We estimate that the ISM manufacturing index was unchanged at 54.0 in June, reflecting a slight decline in regional manufacturing surveys—our manufacturing survey tracker declined by 0.6pt to 54.4 in June—that is offset by a tailwind from residual seasonality.
• 10:00 AM Construction spending, May (GS +0.2%, consensus +0.2%, last +0.4%)
• 05:00 PM Lightweight motor vehicle sales, June (GS 16.1mn, consensus 16.1mn, last 16.1mn)

Thursday, July 2 

• 08:30 AM Nonfarm payroll employment, June (GS +130k, consensus +115k, last +172k); Private payroll employment, June (GS +95k, consensus +118k, last +120k); Average hourly earnings (MoM), June (GS +0.2%, consensus +0.3%, last +0.3%); Unemployment rate, June (GS 4.3%, consensus 4.3%, last 4.3%): We estimate nonfarm payrolls increased 130k in June. On the positive side, we estimate that the World Cup could boost payroll growth by 40k in June. Additionally, June payrolls have exhibited a consistent positive bias in initial prints over the last decade. The bias has become particularly pronounced in state and local government educational services payrolls: over the last three years, the category has been revised down by an average of 45k between the first and third releases. On the negative side, we expect a 10k decline in government payrolls outside of state and local government educational  services. We estimate average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month-over-month in June, reflecting negative calendar effects. We estimate that the unemployment rate was unchanged on a rounded basis at 4.3% in June, reflecting the stabilization in continuing claims.
• 08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended June 27 (GS 215k, consensus 220k, last 215k): Continuing jobless claims, week ended June 20 (consensus 1,813k, last 1,821k)
• 10:00 AM Factory orders, May (GS -1.7%, consensus -2.0%, last +4.8%)

Friday, July 3 

• US Independence Day holiday observed. There are no major economic data releases scheduled. NYSE will be closed, SIFMA recommends bond markets remain closed.

Source: DB, Goldman

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 10:20

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court formally blocked President Trump’s attempt to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a ruling that is likely to reassure markets of the central bank’s independence. Trump attempted to fire Cook, a Biden appointee, on Aug. 25, 2025, via a Truth Social post, citing accusations by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill...

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