News briefs

Tribune News Service on Jun 24, 2026

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Trump congratulates Mayor Zohran Mamdani on boosting ‘Communists’ to NYC primary wins

President Donald Trump on Wednesday congratulated Mayor Zohran Mamdani on boosting three “Communist” allies to surprisingly decisive wins in contentious NYC Democratic congressional primaries.

Without letting on if he was joking, Trump said Mamdani deserves gushing positive news coverage for helping his favored candidates pull off a clean sweep of three wins in deep-blue districts in parts of the five boroughs where he is extremely popular.

“Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists, and has received loud and universal applause from the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Congratulations Mr. Mayor!”

Trump complained that the media often ignores his success at similarly elevating MAGA candidates in Republican primaries.

—New York Daily News

Video gambling hearing ends after tensions flare between Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson allies, opponents

CHICAGO — A hearing on reversing Chicago’s legalization of video gambling terminals ended abruptly Wednesday after protests from opponents of Mayor Brandon Johnson escalated into a call for a commissioner to resign.

The Workforce Development Committee met to debate an ordinance being pushed by the mayor to authorize an agreement with Bally’s Chicago, the city’s first casino developer, that would ban video gambling terminals.

The arrival of the controversial machines has been a major sticking point between Johnson and the aldermanic opposition that passed this year’s budget over his objections, with the package relying on video gambling legalization to plug in $6.8 million.

During Wednesday’s hearing, held in a committee chaired by mayoral ally Ald. Michael Rodriguez, Johnson’s acting CFO Steven Mahr said the city’s contract with Bally’s will be “at risk” if the repeal does not pass. Bally’s executives also met with the Tribune editorial board Tuesday and said they interpret the agreement as saying the company does not need to pay the city $4 million in annual impact fees if it loses a monopoly on slot machines.

—Chicago Tribune

New report says San Andreas Fault stress at 1,000-year high

LOS ANGELES — Stress on the San Andreas Fault System has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii. Higher stress on a fault means the pressure that causes earthquakes is building.

But there’s no reason to be significantly more concerned than you were before hearing about the study, said Kate Scharer, a co-author of the study and a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena.

While the stress has reached a milestone, the pressure was already high and the fault has been overdue for a large earthquake for some time, according to the study.

It has been over 100 years since a major tectonic rupture has affected the greater Los Angeles area, which means stress on the tectonic plates has been building, according to the study.

—Los Angeles Daily News

Who’s behind Havana syndrome? A decade after, US investigation is in disarray

Years into multiple investigations of the so-called Havana syndrome, a definitive answer remains elusive after the recently departed director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, retracted two intelligence assessments that concluded no foreign power was behind it.

In a memo sent to Congress before leaving office last week, Gabbard said the assessments deliberately limited intelligence collection, failed to include relevant intelligence, and selectively excluded evidence that contradicted their conclusions. The investigators also mischaracterized sources “to suppress alternative analyses” and omitted information necessary to understand the sources’ reliability and quality, according to the memo.

Gabbard said that the recall was necessary due to concerns about “analytic bias negatively impacting the objectivity and soundness of analytic judgments.”

The reports’ retraction comes after media coverage has linked some of the incidents with agents in the Russian military intelligence services and uncovered that the U.S. government had purchased a device that could be linked to the Havana syndrome.

—Miami Herald