SCOTUS strikes down Hawaii’s “vampire rule”
Yesterday, the Supreme Court sided with 2A advocates in Wolford v. Lopez in an ideologically split 6-3 decision. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority, declaring that a Hawaii law prohibiting gun-carrying anywhere in public where it’s not explicitly allowed violated the Second Amendment. Hawaii had rewritten its anti-gun laws after NYSRPA v. Bruen established a new standard of historical and traditional gun laws, and Hawaii relied on the “spirit of Aloha” as its precedent. Alito pointed out that neither the “spirit of Aloha” nor the spirit of The Big Apple or Windy City supersedes the Second Amendment.

Virginia judge blocks Dems’ “assault weapons” ban
Lancaster County Circuit Judge John Martin on Thursday issued a temporary injunction against Virginia’s recently passed “assault weapons” ban, preventing it from taking effect. Martin reasoned that the law likely violates Virginia’s constitution. Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, and resident John Crump challenged the law, and the injunction extends through the end of December. VCDL President Phillip Van Cleave welcomed the injunction, stating, “We expect the Commonwealth to appeal. We also expect to prevail.” Sure enough, Virginia Democrat Attorney General Jay Jones, who once threatened opponents with “bullets to the head,” responded by vowing to “urgently file a motion to stay this ruling and appeal this temporary injunction,” promising to “continue to vigorously defend Virginia’s assault weapons ban and magazine capacity restrictions and uphold the laws designed to keep Virginians safe.”

Iran strikes again
Despite ongoing peace talks between the U.S. and Iran and a memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a Singapore-flagged vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the Strait has improved, with more than 70 vessels making the crossing on Tuesday, up from around six a week during the Strait’s closure. After the strike, which damaged the ship but caused no casualties, the UN’s International Maritime Organization paused a plan to evacuate ships that had been trapped in the Persian Gulf during the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Iran will be judged on actions like this, and if ships are unable to safely cross the Strait, that would be a violation of its agreement with the U.S.

Mamdani’s rent freeze
On Thursday, New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 to approve socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze plan, a key campaign promise. The plan will freeze rent on some one million of the city’s current rent-stabilized apartments, accounting for more than 40% of apartment rentals. It will also apply to new one- and two-year leases. Mamdani praised the decision as a realization of his goal of delivering affordable housing for residents across the city. Meanwhile, landlord groups condemned the decision, noting that while it may be politically popular now, it will only worsen the city’s housing crisis. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, “The Communists are finally making their move. I’ve been waiting and preparing for this for a long time. … Over thousands of years, that Ideology has not worked once. The game is on. Enjoy watching!”

FBI predator roundup
The FBI is hunting child predators and rescuing child victims, and it made a promotional video to tell America about the effort. The retro video explains that more than 7,200 victims of child exploitation have been rescued, which represents a 49% increase. Roughly 3,500 predators have been captured and put behind bars, a 100+% increase. Eight of the 10 most wanted have been captured over a 17-month period, twice as many as during the Biden administration. Democrat leaders nationwide have been soft on crime, and the Biden administration “lost” more than 400,000 migrant children. Enforcing the law and locking up “the worst of the worst” — or better yet, giving them the death penalty — is one of the chief purposes of government. Most Americans feel relieved to have an administration that takes that duty seriously.

Supreme Court limits liability lawsuits
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 yesterday that cancer victims cannot bring lawsuits against Monsanto in state courts because federal law takes precedence. The justices also ruled that Monsanto is not required to put warning labels on the herbicide Roundup because the EPA does not consider the active ingredient, glyphosate, a cancer risk. Tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed by cancer patients against Monsanto, claiming the company has a duty to warn people of the cancer risks. However, the EPA has repeatedly found since it was first marketed in the 1970s that glyphosate does not cause cancer. The American Farm Bureau reports that glyphosate is used on 300 million acres of American farmland and that removing it would be an “immediate, devastating risk to America’s food supply.”

DACA renewal lawsuit
Government bureaucrats moving slowly isn’t very newsworthy, but NBC News finds it so when that slow movement is disadvantaging illegal aliens. Immigrant advocacy groups are suing the Trump administration for “severe delays” in the renewal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. The Leftmedia outlet diligently sought out the most favorable cases for its pro-immigrant position, detailing one medical graduate who is unable to start his residency due to a delayed renewal of his DACA status. One DACA recipient from Mexico explains that his status, which must be renewed every two years, usually takes four to six weeks to process, but this time it has taken over three months. ICE has been slow to explain the delays, so legal aid organizations are suing for clarity and to learn if this is a fluke or a new standard practice.

No federal buildings meet minimum occupancy standards
A recent report from the bipartisan Public Buildings Reform Board found that only 275,336 of the more than two million federal workers nationwide work in federal office buildings. The report included all federal agencies except for the Department of War and the judicial branch. Maintaining these federal office buildings costs American taxpayers $1.34 billion annually. By law, federal office buildings must maintain a minimum occupancy of 60% to remain open. Yet, according to the data, not a single federal office building in the nation has met this minimum threshold. As board member and former Republican lawmaker Nick Rahall noted, taxpayers are paying “a premium market rate” to keep these half-empty federal buildings open. “The lights are on, but nobody is home.” Touché — except the problem is that everyone is at home.

Americans trust doctors way more than government
What institution do Americans currently trust the most? The answer, according to a recent Marquette Law School Poll, is their doctors, in whom 70% of Americans say they have a great deal or a lot of confidence. This was followed by the military (55%), law enforcement (45%), and local schools (40%). When it comes to government, just 18% of Americans express trust in the federal government. Interestingly, back in 1958, 73% of Americans trusted the federal government, a percentage that has steadily declined over the decades, coinciding with the federal government accruing more power over our lives. The survey found that the institutions Americans most distrust are AI companies (57%) and Facebook (71%).

Headlines

• Biden judge rejects Trump’s sanctuary cities lawsuit (Fox News)

• WNBA star hit with suspension for seemingly punching Caitlin Clark in the throat (Daily Caller)

• Minneapolis decriminalizes public sex bathhouses (Not the Bee)

• Ukraine’s growing drone armada is overwhelming Russia’s air defenses (WSJ)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.