INDIA - At least 92 people have died in India’s Bihar as the state remains in the midst of a punishing heatwave that’s affecting much of the country, bringing with it droughts and hundreds of cases of heatstroke. The country is experiencing its lowest rainfall before monsoon season in over six decades and is in its third week of a heatwave, set to become one of the longest on record. The majority of the recorded deaths in Bihar since June 15 have occurred in Aurangabad, Gaya, and Nawada, where temperatures have been around 45 degrees Celsius. At least 562 patients have been admitted to government hospitals with heatstroke, and officials fear the death toll will continue to rise.

USA - In a key seismic zone approximately 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, there have been more than 1,000 earthquakes since May 25th. Needless to say, it would be quite alarming for the entire state of California to experience more than 1,000 significant earthquakes in just 3 weeks, but in this case we are talking about an area that is “less than a square mile” in size. And what makes this even more concerning is that all of these earthquakes are happening in a location that is very close to the San Andreas Fault. Could it be possible that the San Andreas Fault is about to wake up in a major way? ...Scientists assure us that the San Andreas Fault is loaded and ready to spring at any moment, and they have also warned us that the entire fault zone “could unzip all at once”.

USA - The Pentagon document laying out the US doctrine of nuclear operations was publicly available for about a week, then made ‘official use only.’ What’s inside is a chilling reminder that Washington sees nuclear war as winnable. “Nuclear Operations,” or Joint Publication 3-72, was dated on June 11 and made private since, but not before it was downloaded by Steven Aftergood, an activist at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). It is currently available on the FAS website as a PDF.

MIDDLE EAST - A US military surveillance drone has been shot down by Iranian forces while flying over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the aircraft had violated Iranian airspace, and that the incident sent a "clear message to America". But the US military insisted the drone had been over international waters at the time, and condemned what it called an "unprovoked attack" by the IRGC. President Donald Trump tweeted: "Iran made a very big mistake!" The incident comes at a time of escalating tension between the two countries.

EUROPE - The European Central Bank stands ready to cut interest rates and could re-start its bond purchase stimulus program if needed to help the economy, President Mario Draghi said Tuesday. Markets read the comments Tuesday as a step toward more stimulus in coming months, sending the euro lower against the dollar. Draghi said in a speech at an ECB conference in Sintra, Portugal, that “further cuts in policy rates… remain part of our tools.” He added that there was “considerable headroom” to re-start bond purchases, which inject newly created money into the financial system in the hope of boosting lending and economic activity.

UK - Sajid Javid has been knocked out of the Tory leadership race, leaving three contenders vying for the job and to be the next prime minister. The home secretary received 34 votes, coming behind Jeremy Hunt with 59. Michael Gove received 61 votes, leap frogging Mr Hunt to gain second place; while frontrunner Boris Johnson got 157 votes from MPs. MPs are now voting in a fifth ballot to select the two candidates who will go through to a party membership vote. The vote will close at 17:30 BST and the result is due at about 18:00. The remaining two MPs will compete in a run-off of the party's 160,000 or so members, and the winner will be announced in the week of 22 July.

USA - The US trucking industry has not experienced a downturn of this magnitude since the last financial crisis, and this is one of the clearest signs yet that the US economy is steamrolling into a severe economic downturn. When economic activity is increasing, the trucking industry sees rising demand for their services and freight rates tend to go up. That is precisely what we witnessed in 2018, and truckers were hoping for more of the same in 2019. But when economic activity is on the decline, the trucking industry sees decreasing demand for their services and freight rates tend to go down. Unfortunately, the numbers that the US trucking industry is reporting right now are absolutely abysmal. Freight rates have now fallen for six months in a row on a year-over-year basis, and according to Business Insider during the month of May loads on the spot market fell “by a chilling 62.6%” compared to last year…

USA - According to a shocking new report from the Commonwealth Fund, the suicide rate in the United States is the highest that it has ever been before. Sadly, the same thing can be said about the death rates from drug overdoses and alcohol. All three death rates are at an all-time record high, and yet our society is still fairly stable at the moment. So if we are seeing this many “deaths of despair” right now, what in the world are things going to look like when our society really begins to start crumbling? One out of every six Americans is taking psychiatric drugs, we are currently dealing with “the worst drug crisis in American history”, and people are killing themselves in record numbers.

USA - Some LGBTQ activists are apparently pushing some parents to bring their children to LGBTQ pride parades because they believe that it can only benefit the children involved. One activist, a self-described "semi-retired sex therapist" named "Ren," said that children are very safe at such places. "Children benefit from seeing people loving one another, from seeing diversity and inclusion," the activist added. "Children suffer from seeing violence and fear, hatred and divisiveness. We found and built our tribe at these gatherings."

MIDDLE EAST - In recent weeks I had come to the conclusion that there probably would not be a war with Iran in 2019, but now I have to admit that I was wrong. US officials were very quick to blame Iran for the attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and President Trump’s advisers have reportedly been pushing him very hard to strike Iran. President Trump had been hesitant to engage Iran militarily, but now it appears that he is going to give the war hawks in his administration exactly what they want.

UK - Alex Burgess handed evidence to police in Oxford in an outrageous bid to prove former Prime Minister Edward Heath – the man responsible for taking Britain into the EEC – committed treason and sedition, unearthed reports reveal. As Brexit uncertainty continues until a new Prime Minister is elected, newly-resurfaced reports reveal a spate of astonishing allegations fired at the man who took Britain into the EEC – the precursor to the EU.

CHINA - It’s like a scene out of a horror movie… But pure reality! An elite primary school in Hangzhou, China is making its students wear brainwave-reading headbands that can supposedly detect their attention levels in the classroom. The practice was exposed in a series of photos, showing students at Jiangnan Experimental School wearing black electronic headbands while in class. The students in Hangzhou were given the Focus 1, a flagship product of BrainCo, which detects and quantifies students’ attention levels. The headbands come with a portal called Focus EDU, which the company boasts as “the world’s first classroom portal for teachers to assess the effectiveness of their teaching methods in real time and make adjustments accordingly.”

MIDDLE EAST - The incidents involving two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman this week may have been carried out at the direction of the US, a top Iranian official implied, citing its record of using “false-flag” operations to justify wars. Two oil tankers, the Norwegian-owned ‘Front Altair’ and the Japanese-owned ‘Kokuka Courageous,’ were damaged by explosions on Thursday while sailing through the Gulf of Oman – the chokepoint of global oil trade. It still remains unclear what exactly happened with the ships, as conflicting reports suggested the use of magnetic mines, torpedoes and even an aerial attack. The US, as well as some of its allies, were quick to squarely blame Tehran for the incident, but did not provide any solid proof to back up the allegations. Iran has firmly denied any involvement.

USA - Teen Vogue is facing backlash for “promoting prostitution” after publishing an article which advertises sex work as “real work” to its audience, which is made up mostly of girls between the ages of 12 and 18. The article, headlined “Why Sex Work Is Real Work” was originally published in April, but has recevied renewed attention and criticism after the magazine decided to promote it again on Twitter this week. In the piece, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng argues for the decriminalization of sex work across the world, citing global efforts to ensure better labor rights for the women involved. The continued criminalization of sex work is “a form of violence by governments and contributes to the high level of stigma and discrimination” around prostitution, she argues.

EUROPE - European bank shares – which have been getting crushed and re-crushed for 12 years – are getting re-crushed again. On Friday, the Stoxx 600 Banks index, which covers major European banks, including our hero Deutsche Bank, dropped to an intraday low of 130.5 and closed at 131.2, thereby revisiting the dismal depth of December 24, 2018 (130.8). Our hero among European banks, in particular because of its size, is Deutsche Bank. It fell to a new historic low of €5.81 on June 3, and on Friday closed at €6.03. Its shares have now plunged 95% from the peak in 2007. One thing is clear: Deutsche Bank will not be allowed to collapse in a messy way. It’s too big, and it would take down the German economy with it. It will be rescued in some way, but it is likely that any rescue will further destroy current shareholders...