Is the parade of bad news getting you down? Join us as we write postcards to desi Democrats in Virginia for very winnable elections in November. Get started here.

NATIONAL

Zohran Mamdani Gets the Democratic Nomination for Mayor of NYC: In a Cinderella story, Mamdani, whose mother is Indian American filmmaker Mira Nair of Monsoon Wedding fame, rose from having 1% support in Feb 2025 to winning the Democratic primary in June. Despite the polarizing nature of his candidacy, Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist in the vein of Bernie Sanders and AOC, generated huge grassroots interest and support. He used public funding to execute a social-media-savvy,  boots-on-the-ground campaign, and overcame his well-known, well-funded, but scandal-tainted opponent Andrew Cuomo. (Mamdani's Hindi and Bangla ads explaining ranked choice voting have gone viral in the desi community!) His success has given jaded Democratic operatives fresh ideas to reach and inspire the voting public. NPR  

US and China Appear to Reach a Deal on Rare Earth Mineral Shipments: The United States and China have resolved issues surrounding shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday, ironing out a dispute that stalled a deal reached in May. REUTERS

Wall Street Rebounds: The S&P 500 is approaching a record high, marking a stunning turnaround from April when stocks nosedived after President Donald Trump unveiled a flurry of tariffs on so-called "Liberation Day." Wall Street has largely shrugged off concerns about tariffs and geopolitical tensions since early April, although there have been periods of volatility along the way. While these issues continue to pose risks to the U.S. economy, many investors are confident they'll skirt any major market downturns, at least in the short-term, experts say. CBS NEWS

DESI NEWS

Citizenship Verification to Make Remittances Difficult for Desis: Buried in the expansive “One Big Beautiful” bill is a clause introducing a 3.5% tax on remittances sent abroad by foreign workers, including green card holders and temporary visa holders such as those on H-1B visas. While U.S. citizens are technically exempt from the tax, they still need to verify their citizenship status, adding a layer of complexity to a routine monthly transaction. INDIA CURRENTS

IMMIGRATION

Supreme Court limits judges’ ability to block birthright citizenship order nationwide:  The Supreme Court has handed President Donald Trump a major victory by narrowing nationwide injunctions that blocked his executive order purporting to end the right to birthright citizenship. In doing so, the court sharply curtailed the power of individual district court judges to issue injunctions blocking federal government policies nationwide. While these restrictions on birthright citizenship only apply to children of undocumented immigrants so far, it makes it easier to expand the scope in the future. POLITICO

CORRUPTION ALERT

A judge sided with Trump. Behind the scenes, he was lobbying for a nomination. A Florida state judge was lobbying for a seat on the federal bench. After he sided with the president in a defamation case, Donald Trump gave him one. POLITICO

CONSUMER SAFETY

More Attacks on Planned Parenthood Funding:  A new Supreme Court ruling paves the way for the state of South Carolina to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving funding through Medicaid. The ruling only applies to South Carolina, where abortion is already outlawed after six weeks of pregnancy, but could be a template for other states. THE HILL

GOOD NEWS FOR PROGRESSIVES

Senate Democrats Fight Back Against Terrible Provisions in the Budget Bill: Invoking the Byrd Rule, Senate Democrats have been successful in removing several non-budgetary provisions that Senate Republicans were attempting to sneak into the budget bill, including the sale of federal lands, gutting the CFPB, stopping food assistance, and many other provisions damaging to the American people. budget.senate.gov is a good resource to track all the changes.

JUST THE HEADLINES

• The U.S. DOGE Service has sent staff to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the goal of revising or eliminating dozens of rules and gun restrictions by July 4. WP

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes summer lunch program for low-income kids. Ugh. SAN ANTONIO CURRENT

• Trump administration orders California to remove gender identity from sex ed. MERCURY NEWS
  

TAKE ACTION

• Come join as we start outreach to irregular desi Dems in Virginia, NJ, and PA. Write to us at tsbmarcomm@gmail.com or fill up the form above to be a part of the change we want to see.

• Have you signed on to the 5 Calls app? The app highlights issues of immediate importance and makes it easy for you to call your representatives.

• Join us as we make an all out push to get Democrats out to vote in the Virginia elections this year. Write to us at tsbmarcomm@gmail.com with the subject line “Virginia Task Force.”