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Artifacts of Independence An archaeological dig to uncover artifacts from a fort critical to the Battle of Bunker Hill ended yesterday, on the 251st anniversary of the fight. Archaeologists found musket balls, teacups, tobacco pipes, and even a wig curler. Watch the excavation process here. Although the Americans ultimately retreated, the Massachusetts-based battle is said to have bolstered colonists' confidence (explore battle map). The night before the battle, more than 1,000 people dug a 3-foot-deep, 6-foot-wide trench protected by a 6-foot-high wall, a structure that proved critical to slowing the British advance. The dimensions, recorded two months after the battle by cartographer Henry Pelham, were confirmed by the dig. Archaeologists did not find human remains, despite nearly 150 soldiers dying in the fort. The city of Boston carried out the dig in partnership with American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, a nonprofit introducing veterans to careers in archaeology. Learn about the organization's impact here (w/video).

Some people are like clouds - when they go away, the day gets brighter. (this one made me chuckle) James

✈️ Parting shot! Photo: Michael Meath Reader Michael Meath of Lewes, Del., sends us this view from the skies: "Flying my Cessna 172 over Cape Henlopen State Park and the Delaware Bay at sunset."

Writing with AI Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios Jim writes: Few AI use cases elicit more outrage than writing: Using AI makes writing duller ... dumber ... robotic. It kills thinking ... creativity ... originality. It produces sameness and slop! Why it matters: All that's true — if you, as the teacher or writer, allow it to be true. Lazy AI outsourcing means lazy thinking and writing. Used with persistence and skill, AI can enhance both your thoughts and expression. I'm thinking and writing more and better than ever. But I want to be frank and useful about what I've learned about writing and the limits I've hit since turning myself into an AI lab rat: 🚨 Caution 1: I'm 55, a writer by training, went in aware of AI dangers, and am a prolific writer with or without it. Anyone lazily letting AI do their thinking or writing is playing with fire: You're destined to create a mushy, "blah brain." Hope the tips that follow help you build a bionic brain instead. 🚨 Caution 2, from Autumn, my wife, who's more of an AI skeptic: "Don't conflate the way you write and the utility of AI to convey information with soul writing that many of us need to live, breathe and understand the world around us. Living without that is like trying to live without air for many of us — it needs to be said somehow." Between the lines: As AI tools get more powerful, Axios will stay transparent with you about how we use them. (Our website includes a detailed explanation of how we use AI in our journalism.) This column captures my latest thinking on best practices. 👀 So here's the nitty-gritty of how I use AI for writing: Set rules based on your standards, not AI's. I write into the model's memory: My writing flows from my thinking. So challenge me, never flatter me; press me with wise skepticism. Then write like me — always in Smart Brevity — to match my style. Be very precise about the writing and editing style. I have mine wired into the AI memory (just tell it to commit style to memory) and in a skills document for my AI agents. My rules: short, sharp sentences ... clinical, fact-based emphasis ... context flagged as "Why it matters" ... and supporting points stacked in bullet form in order of importance. Pour in examples. You need to feed in the original work you're most proud of. It can be as simple as diary entries, memos or a school project. Make sure your writing and editing priorities are reflected in it. I've dumped in every Axios column, memo and strategic document, as well as four books (two unreleased). Let's pause for a second. Those are very clear parameters for writing and editing with AI. That will suffice for most people in most instances. I've taken my own AI journey much further. I'm doing this to test limits and capabilities. 💡 Advanced writing with AI: Create specific advanced skills. I use both projects (mainly in Claude, but increasingly in ChatGPT) and agents (in ChatGPT's Codex). Inside projects and agents, my thinking, writing and editing files are much more specific and richer. They're called skills or instructions, depending on the platform or use case. I detail a fact-checking skill to double-check data points, then move outside the agent for another fact-check with a safety-net skill. Interact with projects and agents a lot. You need to create a conversation loop, where you get better at fine-tuning the writing output, and the AI gets better at understanding your style. It definitely gets better with time. You want to find a mind meld that serves and betters you. Put it to the test. My laboratory is my Axios C-Suite newsletter, which I publish Saturdays for CEOs and other executives. I'm testing and using two main things: I have a project inside of Claude that knows everything I've written for this audience, plus my thinking about business and leadership, and the high standards I have for ideas and data. I have a similar agent that operates autonomously, powered by Codex, that constantly scans high-quality publications, data projects and research for relevant information. It writes up ideas in my style and delivers them via email before I wake up. The items are good, smart starters or enhancers — but they're never camera-ready, at least by my standards. Push and pull — a lot. Funny thing: I write naturally in an AI kind of way — direct, sparse, lots of dashes. And AI naturally writes a lot like me (and naturally loves Smart Brevity). So I find the output often excellent, well-documented and edited better than my favorite human editor, Mike Allen. It still does weird stuff, but rarely. It's wordier and less direct than I am. Increasingly, I find myself using its edits or proposed Jim-like phrases as naturally as the notes from Mike or any other human editor. Fun new test: I'm preparing to hike Kilimanjaro, so I'm doing a lot of rucking. I've been using Claude in voice mode to have long conversations about things I want to write. I have Claude keep detailed notes, pull out my best phrases and ideas, challenge my assumptions, help organize my thinking. Then we go back and forth by voice before producing a draft column. That's how I got both the idea and the output for my "Confessions of an AI lab rat" column. The end product was a hybrid of my thinking and my best phrases alongside Claude's real-time editing and editor-like pushback. The bottom line: I hope this inspires you to try some of these discoveries yourself.

US and Iran sign initial deal to end war, ease sanctions and open strait as nuclear talks continue WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran on Wednesday that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-oil-deal-june-17-2026-19652f4611b704c0a991bf1f5bc9a4b9? Iran Deal Signed The US and Iran have remotely signed their deal to end hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and launch negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program, Pakistan's prime minister said yesterday. Read the 14-point memorandum of understanding here. The agreement covers the return of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and is predicated on an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Details surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and existing stockpile of enriched uranium are slated to be negotiated over a 60-day period. Trump said the US Space Force will monitor whether Iran tries to recover materials from its bombed nuclear facilities. At a minimum, Iran promises to down-blend its uranium in the presence of international observers. The text outlines a $300B plan for Iranian reconstruction, and the US will issue waivers for its oil sanctions against Iran. The deal does not cover Iran’s missiles, around 70% of which are reportedly still intact.

🗳️ Jeffries' redistricting surprise Democrats celebrated a small victory in Georgia today as GOP leaders shelved plans to redraw the state's congressional maps for the 2028 elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in a statement to us, said his party "will continue to keep the pressure on until the MAGA power grab is defeated and the American people prevail." "Georgia Republicans know that MAGA extremists will face a fierce backlash at the ballot box in November and beyond for their scheme to rig congressional maps in the middle of the decade," he said. Between the lines: Republicans hit pause on their plans amid fear that a redraw before November could energize Democratic voters. Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns wrote in a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp today that the legislature would not attempt to redraw Georgia's congressional or state legislative lines at this year's special session. The bottom line: "This fight is not over," state Rep. Jasmine Clark, the Democratic nominee in Georgia's 13th U.S. House District, warned in a statement today. "This redistricting special session was completely unnecessary, and I'm happy that Republican leaders are saying no to redrawing lines." — Andrew Solender

‼️ Trump's natsec loyalty test Senate Republicans have entered a new phase of national security tensions with President Trump. Why it matters: Trump is demanding Republicans move in lockstep with him on three high-stakes national-security fronts at once, even as his moves are generating many of their sharpest criticisms of him yet. 🕵️‍♀️ Section 702 of FISA: The spy powers lapsed Friday after Trump's choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence blew up bipartisan negotiations. Senators woke up today to a 3:54am "Truth" in which Trump said he was delaying Jay Clayton's nomination as DNI and demanding Republicans attach the SAVE Act. 💣 Iran: Some Republican senators are apoplectic over the Iran war deal text that came out today. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) called Trump's Iran war "the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told reporters Trump "is receiving some very poor advice on this deal." 🚀 Defense funding: The White House wants $1.5 trillion for defense, including $350 billion through reconciliation. The regular appropriations topline has drawn fierce Democratic pushback and raised shutdown risks this fall. Trump also wanted the SAVE Act attached to it, even as Senate Majority Leader John Thune said key provisions would likely be stripped by the Senate parliamentarian. 🪤 The big picture: Thune has spent the past 18 months trying to keep Trump's national security demands aligned with what Senate Republicans can pass. That alignment looks more fragile than ever. Thune hadn't been briefed on the Iran deal. He also didn't get a heads-up on Trump delaying the Clayton nomination, and he called it a "good question" when asked what the president hoped to accomplish by postponing it. But Thune told Punchbowl News he and Trump are "fine." A source familiar with their relationship said that narratives about the two being at odds are overblown and that they're in frequent communication. "The White House and President Trump have enjoyed working closely with Leader Thune and Senate Republicans. ... We look forward to continuing these close relationships and fulfilling President Trump's priorities that Americans elected him to enact." White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told us. The bottom line: "The president has put Leader Thune in a very difficult position. ... We need a new DNI and we need to get FISA back," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Semafor. — Justin Green

The Boomerang Effect View in browser In 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu draped buildings with giant banners that depicted him shaking hands with a grinning Donald Trump. Captioned with the words Another League, the posters presented Netanyahu’s ties with the American president as an argument for the Israeli prime minister’s reelection. No one else, Netanyahu’s campaign implied, could deliver the mercurial man in the White House. That was then. Today, Netanyahu’s boast has boomeranged, transformed from an electoral asset into an advertisement of his diminished influence. In June alone, Trump has labeled him “fucking crazy” and said that he has “no fucking judgment.” The reprimands have gone beyond rhetoric. According to Israeli and American reports, over the past week, the president forced Israel to abort imminent retaliatory strikes on Iran and demanded that the country restrict its response to Hezbollah fire from Lebanon that has pummeled the Israeli north. Trump also reportedly denied Israel’s request to view the memorandum of understanding that his administration negotiated with Iran until it was already a fait accompli. Desperate for a deal to wind down his ill-conceived war, the president effectively offered Israeli concessions to his Iranian interlocutors. Trump has railed against Netanyahu in the past, most famously after the Israeli leader congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 election victory. But the current contretemps has much higher stakes and comes at the worst possible time for Netanyahu. Israel’s elections are slated for either September or October, and Trump has placed the Israeli prime minister in a fiendish vise that jeopardizes his political future. For years, Netanyahu has built his brand on two promises to the Israeli electorate: that he alone could withstand international pressure to compromise on Israeli security, and that he alone could handle Trump. Now the president is forcing Netanyahu to choose between the two. Either he defies Trump’s diktats about Lebanon and Iran to save his reputation as a stalwart security hawk, or he folds to preserve the perception of his alliance with the president. Whatever path Netanyahu picks, he will imperil Israel’s geopolitical standing and undermine his own case to Israeli voters. Those voters already aren’t buying what Bibi has been selling. Netanyahu’s coalition of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties received just 48.4 percent of the vote in Israel’s last election and obtained a parliamentary majority only due to a quirk of the country’s electoral system. Even before the horrors of October 7, 2023, polls had showed Netanyahu and his allies losing the next election. For years after, about two-thirds of Israelis regularly told pollsters that they wanted the prime minister to resign. A similar number today don’t want him to run for reelection. Israel’s opposition is leaderless and fragmented—but nonetheless projected to win markedly more seats than the current government. (Whether it can cobble together a viable coalition is another question.) Israel’s failed forever wars in Iran and Lebanon have further eroded Netanyahu’s prospects. At the outset of the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, the Israel Democracy Institute found that some 70 percent of Israeli Jews believed that the operation could succeed in destroying Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs, and 61 percent thought that it would topple the Iranian regime. These expectations, stoked by Netanyahu and his media allies, were always unrealistic and have predictably curdled into disillusionment. The institute’s most recent survey found that less than a third of Israeli Jews expected a U.S.-Iran agreement to dismantle the ballistic-missile program or the Iranian regime, and just 29 percent believed that ending the war under current conditions was compatible with Israel’s security interests. According to Amit Segal, a journalist well sourced on the Israeli right, Netanyahu had hoped to host Trump in Israel before the looming election, in what would essentially have been a campaign rally in diplomatic disguise. Today, such festivities seem fantastical. After the interim Iran accord was announced, the Likud party reportedly canceled a planned electoral blitz meant to highlight its leader’s close ties to Trump. But as a student of power who has done everything he can to hoard it, Netanyahu should have seen this rug pull coming. As the president has demonstrated time and again, the only person whose interests matter to Trump is Trump. Those interests have often aligned with Netanyahu’s, but this was always a marriage of convenience. Like many of his party and generation, Trump has long held generally pro-Israel inclinations. He cares little for the aspirations of the Palestinian people and has openly fantasized about invading Iran since the 1980s. Tilting toward Israel played to the president’s evangelical-Christian base, as Trump noted when he declared that he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “for the evangelicals.” But Trump’s interests were bound to diverge from Netanyahu’s as the Iran war stretched on without resolution. Netanyahu needed military achievements to pitch to voters at the ballot box; Trump needed the markets to calm before the midterms. And so when the campaign failed to produce quick results, Trump pulled the plug, first acceding to a cease-fire in early April, then restraining Israel from bombing Iran and Lebanon this month, and today moving toward an interim accord that lifts sanctions on Iran even as it does little about its nuclear program and says nothing about its ballistic missiles or support for terrorist proxies. That 60-day accord is tentative and fragile and may yet collapse into renewed hostilities. But if the president chooses to see it through, the Israeli leader can do very little about it. As Trump put it today, “We’re the big partner, and he’s the very small partner.” For Netanyahu, who is finally facing a reckoning before the Israeli electorate, this is a disaster on his doorstep. For Trump, it’s someone else’s problem. Related: Netanyahu’s very useful war Jonathan Lemire: Trump in defeat

Chicago Co-Founder Walt Parazaider Dies After Bout With Alzheimer’s Disease https://www.thedailybeast.com/founding-member-of-chicago-walter-parazaider-dead-at-81-from-tragic-illness/?

Trump Throws Wild Tantrum and Reverses His Own Decision The president has torpedoed confirmation of the next director of national intelligence unless he gets his own way. Donald Trump went on an almost incomprehensible rant while lashing out at Republicans for hindering his agenda. Trump, who is in France for the G7 summit, launched into a 259-word tirade on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, touching on topics including his SAVE America Act, so-called “blue slips,” Senate tradition, and efforts to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. At the heart of the 80-year-old president’s meltdown is the announcement that he has canceled Monday’s scheduled confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton to become the next DNI. Trump’s original choice, MAGA super-loyalist Bill Pulte, will remain acting DNI despite having no intelligence background. Trump also demanded that one of his personal lawyers, Jamie McDonald, be confirmed as Clayton’s replacement for the highly influential role of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, while suggesting Republicans had “fallen into a trap” during the confirmation process. “The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented, William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved by the Dumocrats,” Trump wrote. “However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA. Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal.” FISA, or Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is a controversial surveillance authority used by U.S. intelligence agencies that allows them to monitor foreign individuals deemed national security risks without a warrant. Congress rejected a short-term extension of FISA last week, causing it to lapse for the first time since it was established in 2008. Trump has repeatedly said he will not support any renewal of FISA unless it includes his SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and largely ban mail-in voting. The bill, which would significantly overhaul the election process ahead of November’s midterm elections, has stalled in Congress because it lacks sufficient support in the Senate and has virtually no chance of being attached to a FISA renewal. “In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, must be confirmed and blue slipped,” Trump continued, referring to the decades-old Senate tradition that allows home-state senators to object to certain federal nominations. “Because of the ridiculous views of Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell partner, Jamie, approved, and I don’t want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place.” “Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap,” Trump added. The president concluded the rant by confirming that he will “not be going forward” with Clayton’s confirmation hearing until McDonald is confirmed as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-throws-wild-tantrum-over-tulsi-gabbard-replacement/?

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a district court decision that dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) against Concordia University… The post Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal in Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Governance Dispute appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

Bill C-9, the *Combatting Hate Act*, has cleared the Canadian Senate, instituting expansive new criminal penalties for hate-motivated activities. The legislation creates a specific criminal offense for intimidating or obstructing… The post Canada’s "Combatting Hate Act": Legislative Expansion of Criminal Speech Laws appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

Before dawn in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the roosters do not get to finish. The men arrive with rifles and machetes while the village is still folded in sleep, and by… The post U.S. Brands Nigeria a Religious Freedom Violator as Christian Death Toll Climbs appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

In April, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill that cut a hole in Connecticut’s own Religious Freedom Restoration Act. House Bill 5044, sold as a vaccine-standards measure, declares that the… The post Conscience Is Not a Coupon appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

In 1890 the Supreme Court knew exactly what religion was, which should have been the first warning. Certainty on a question like this is usually the sound of a man… The post What is "Religion" anyway? appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

The big picture: The intersection of faith and public policy is tightening. Courts and legislatures remain the primary battlegrounds, with a distinct shift toward administrative action and conscience protections as… The post RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: A WEEKLY BRIEFING appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

Three Protestant bodies spent one week at war over the body. The only church adding members is the one that refused to hold the argument. The Southern Baptist Convention reached… The post Everybody’s Wrong, and Rome Is Filling Up appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

On the evening of June 5, 2026, in a chapel in Riverside, the president of La Sierra University stood before seven graduates and told them, “I am La Sierra,” and… The post The Shield They Are Dismantling appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

The view from Pepperdine’s law school in Malibu runs straight out to the Pacific. For three days in early June the people gathered there kept their attention on something harder… The post Pepperdine and Founders’ First Freedom Bring the Religious Freedom Conversation Home to Malibu appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

A dozen men gathered to pray in a private home in University Heights, Ohio. The city responded with a cease-and-desist letter. That sequence, simple on its face, now sits before… The post An Orthodox Jew Prayed at Home. The Supreme Court Will Decide if He Can Sue the City That Stopped Him. appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

As an American, my baseline for “hate speech” is comfortably anchored in the First Amendment. In the United States, we operate under the near-absolute protection of the Brandenburg v. Ohio… The post The Great Northern Shift: How Canada’s Bill C-9 Reconfigures the Landscape of Hate Speech appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article