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Survey shows Japan's business sentiment improving for a 5th straight quarter

The Bank of Japan has reported its quarterly survey of business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers rose to 22 in June from 17 in the previous quarter

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Mourners attend funerals for 14 Pakistani children killed in roof collapse

Mourners are attending funerals of 14 schoolchildren who were killed when the roof of a tutoring center collapsed

Onlookers astonished by JD Vance's latest attempt to dunk on Pope Leo: 'Excommunicate him'

Vice President JD Vance's most recent jab at the pope backfired as onlookers shot back at him.During an appearance on Fox News, Vance questioned decisions by the American Pope Leo, who has emerged as a vocal advocate for immigrants and directly challenged the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdowns."I don't see Pope Leo as an anti-capitalist. I do think some of the things that have come out of the Vatican on the immigration issue, in particular, have been troubling," Vance said. "What I would hope the Catholic leadership has learned from some of the things that me and Marco [Rubio] and the president have said about immigration is, it's not just about the dignity of the immigrant, it's about the dignity of the native born."Vance has criticized Pope Leo's comments about immigration before, but this time, online critics were ready to respond and share their unhappiness with Vance's comments."You have to have some deep, unregistered pretentiousness to try to dunk on the pope," wrote political commentator Juan Escalante on Bluesky."Come on, Pope Leo," pleaded journalist Thor Benson. "Excommunicate him. Do it for me.""I hope the scholars at the large hadron collider have learned from my many assorted thoughts on particles," joked political scientist Anjali Dayal, summing up Vance's argument."More Catholic than the Pope, eh?" asked progressive political commentator Wajahat Ali.Journalist Patrick A. Reed wrote that Vance gave off the "same energy as all those dudes who think they could win a point against Serena," referring to tennis champ Serena Williams.You have to have some deep, unregistered pretentiousness to try to dunk on the pope[image or embed]— Juan Escalante (@juanescalante.com) June 30, 2026 at 6:05 PM

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'It's incredible': CNN analysts stunned by 'enormous implications' of Trump crypto profits

CNN analysts stressed the gravity of revelations of Trump's major profits from cryptocurrency.According to a New York Times report, the Trump family profited to the tune of $1.4 billion through their cryptocurrency business. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper described the revelations as "incredible" and "stunning" as he spoke with other analysts. According to the Times report, Trump reeled in more than $2.2 billion in total revenue in 2025."It really is hard to overstate just how unusual and how historic this is," New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton told Cooper.According to Lipton, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar bought half of the Trump family's crypto business. Lipton pointed out that the sons of Steve Witkoff, who was involved in negotiations with Iran, were also invested."We're talking about billions of dollars of financial ties between the UAE and the Trump family, at the same time as he is negotiating, sharing some of the most advanced technologies humans have ever created, and these AI chips with the UAE," Lipton explained. "There are enormous implications in foreign policy that are mixed up with the personal financial interests of the president."Veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher said the Trump administration is "a coin-operated presidency, really. You just put money in to give to him, and then he gives you other things, and this is exactly what's happening with the crypto stuff."She described the news of Trump's crypto profits as "astonishing," and mentioned that Trump's family is also profiting from a recent mining deal with Kazakhstan."It's a vig," Swisher said, using a loansharking term. "They go around from country to country shaking people down."

'Off the Richter scale': Presidential historian raises red flags about Trump mining deal

A presidential historian is sounding the alarm about a recent mining deal that's expected to enrich the Trump family."The audacity is so off the Richter scale," Douglas Brinkley said about a deal between the Trump administration and Kazakhstan to access one of the world's largest untapped reserves of tungsten.The New York Times reported on the $1.6 billion tungsten mining deal with the Central Asian country. The Times noted that the sons of both Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stand to benefit. Tungsten is used in "missile warheads, fighter jets, computer chips, and other critical goods," the Times noted.Brinkley reacted to details of the deal as reported by the NY Times during an appearance on The Jim Acosta Show on Tuesday."People aren't sure what's even going on," Brinkley said. "You have to hope the law will eventually hold President Trump accountable if he did some things that are illegal and illicit, but the law moves slowly."Brinkley agreed with host Jim Acosta's assessment that Trump's self-enrichment during his second term is unprecedented."Just think, not that long ago, there was a scandal because Jimmy Carter's brother Billy had a beer, or you know, Neil Bush got involved with a bit of a hedge fund banking thing run a little bit amok," Brinkley said. "They're so small, and then this is such a huge wake-up call, people."The way Brinkley sees it, "you're having a president of the United States using the White House for personal self-enrichment of a kind of mind-boggling audacity," adding that "it's a crisis, but we've got to get through it."Read on Substack