June 19, 2026 - Israel Strikes Lebanon, Iran Talks Slip

Michelle's a Mingler.

I watched a good deal of the Obama Presidential Center opening yesterday. It was a remarkable gathering. Every living American president except Donald Trump. Secretary Clinton. Vice President Harris. Performances by Springsteen, Bono, and John Legend. And President Obama once again exhibited his singular gift for the spoken word.

But it was Michelle Obama who caught my ear.

After thanking supporters, recognizing her daughters, and praising her husband - "You told me all those years ago that you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life" - she turned to the purpose of the Center. That's when she said something that stopped me.

"So we want you to come here and put away your phones and talk and laugh and cry. Make new friends. Get your hands dirty in my garden. Push your baby on a swing in the playground. Have a romantic picnic on the Great Lawn. Because that's the work of democracy, too. Being neighborly. Taking care of public spaces. Having some fun. Enjoying each other. Shaking out of the isolation and division that have crept too deeply into our lives."

She went on to urge South Siders specifically to drop beats in the recording studio, hit corner threes at home court, host birthday parties, hold clothing drives. To make the campus their own.

That's the Mingle Project in a sentence-or several. Michelle Obama didn't know she was making the case for what I've been arguing for years. But she was.

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Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have intensified as fighting with Hezbollah threatens a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal, delays key negotiations and raises tensions between Israel and its closest ally, the United States, over the path forward in the region.

Associated Press

Defending the newly signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Vice President JD Vance told The New York Times that Israel "can't just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem," pushing back on Israeli ministers who oppose the agreement ending the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Al Jazeera

An estimated 2 million fans flooded lower Manhattan Thursday for what's being called the largest ticker-tape parade in New York City history, celebrating the Knicks' first NBA title in 53 years after a 16-3 playoff run capped by a Finals win over the Spurs.

New York Post

Barack and Michelle Obama were joined by Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bono, John Legend, Common, Christina Aguilera, Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, Marc Anthony and Tems for the opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side.

Chicago Sun-Times

Minor league baseball's York Revolution forfeited its Thursday game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs after several players refused to wear jerseys with rainbow sleeves for the Pennsylvania team's 11th Annual Pride Night.

NBC News

In United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the federal law barring users of illegal drugs from possessing firearms cannot be applied to a Texas man who admitted to regular marijuana use, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing that early American restrictions on "habitual drunkards" were not a sufficient historical analogue.

SCOTUSblog

A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds former President Barack Obama viewed favorably by 57% of Americans, far ahead of President Donald Trump at 34% and former President Joe Biden at 30%, while 30% named Obama as the president they most admire compared with 19% for Trump.

CNN

A federal appeals court ruled the Trump administration can remove and replace the slavery exhibit at Philadelphia's President's House site, reversing a district judge who had ordered the Interior Department to restore displays detailing the nine people enslaved by George Washington there.

The Hill

For the first time since tracking began in 2021, fewer than half of U.S. adults are classified as "Cost Secure" and able to consistently afford needed care, prescriptions, and medical services, with the sharpest declines among women, younger adults, and Black and Hispanic Americans.

Gallup

Christine Emba argues that the declining birthrate may not have a single cause like smartphones, but instead reflects deeper issues of isolation, technology-driven disconnection, and the erosion of real-world relationships.

The New York Times