U.S., Germany back safe Strait of Hormuz transit.
Today's events
Hormuz and Iran.
Secretary Rubio and Germany's foreign minister reaffirmed a joint commitment to safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and to keeping Iran from a nuclear weapon, and discussed shifting more of NATO's burden to Europe.1Jun 29 · StateFertilizer emergency.
President Trump declared a national emergency over fertilizer supplies and suspended anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer for eight months, citing global supply-chain disruptions and risk to the U.S. food supply.2Jun · WHCartel fuel theft.
The U.S. sanctioned two Mexican nationals and nine entities tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel — a designated foreign terrorist organization — for fuel-theft operations exploiting Mexico's petroleum sector.3Jun 30 · StateSilicon-metal duties.
Commerce ruled that silicon metal from Norway and Australia is sold below fair value, with Australia also facing countervailing duties — trade remedies on a feedstock for computer chips, solar cells, and aluminum.4Jun 30 · CommerceNarco-terror plea.
A Honduras-based Chinese national, extradited from Guatemala, pleaded guilty to importing over 450 kilograms of cocaine, laundering more than $22 million, and providing material support to the Jalisco cartel, a designated terrorist organization.5Jun 30 · DOJEgg-price fixing.
The Justice Department and 17 states sued Cal-Maine, Hickman's, and Versova for coordinating bids to inflate the daily benchmark that sets wholesale egg prices nationwide, and filed proposed settlements barring the practice.6Jun 30 · DOJWeapons-test oversight.
A GAO review found that 2025 staffing cuts at the Pentagon's independent weapons-testing office reduced oversight of its 173 tracked programs, raising the risk that systems reach troops with undocumented operational shortfalls.7Jun 30 · GAOExploited software flaw.
CISA added an actively exploited SimpleHelp authentication-bypass flaw (CVE-2026-48558) to its catalog, ordering federal civilian agencies to patch the remote-access vulnerability on a fixed timeline.8Jun 29 · CISADrug-resistant fungus.
CDC surveillance counted 13,507 clinical Candida auris cases from 2022 through 2024 — rising from 2,882 to 6,197 a year — as the drug-resistant, often-deadly yeast spreads through U.S. hospitals.9Jun 30 · CDC
Allied Governments
UK defence plan.
Britain unveiled a £298 billion, four-year Defence Investment Plan, adding £15 billion to lift defence spending toward 2.7% of GDP for a next-generation fighter, nuclear submarines, drones, and six new warships.aJun 30 · UK MoDNATO summit agenda.
NATO's deputy secretary general told allied parliament speakers in Istanbul that the July 7–8 Ankara summit will centre on higher defence investment, ramped-up industrial production, and sustained support for Ukraine.bJun 30 · NATOUNRWA funding.
At the UNRWA pledging conference, the United Kingdom announced $30.7 million for the agency, condemned Israeli measures restricting its Gaza operations, and cited the Security Council's demand for aid at scale.cJun 30 · UK FCDO
Voices
“[The two] reiterated the shared U.S.–Germany commitment to upholding safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon.”
State Dept. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott · Jun 291
“Robust and reliable food production is therefore critical to the economic and national security of the United States.”
Presidential Proclamation on Phosphate Fertilizer · Jun2
“No product more quintessentially represents affordability than the price Americans pay for eggs.”
Assoc. Atty. Gen. Stanley Woodward, DOJ · Jun 306
“[Workforce] reductions and resulting loss of subject-matter expertise increase the risk of weapon systems being delivered to the warfighters with undocumented operational shortfalls.”
GAO — Weapon Systems Testing · Jun 307
“C. auris can cause invasive infections associated with high mortality and can colonize patients asymptomatically, which facilitates transmission in health care settings.”
CDC — Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report · Jun 309
“Commerce determines that silicon metal from Norway is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value.”
U.S. Dept. of Commerce · Jun 304
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio's Meeting with German Foreign Minister Wadephul,” June 29, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/rubio-wadephul
- White House, “Declaration of Emergency and Authorization for Temporary Duty-Free Importation of Phosphate Fertilizer, Morocco,” June 2026. whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/…/phosphate-fertilizer-morocco
- U.S. Dept. of State, “U.S. Sanctions Fuel Theft Operators Benefiting Foreign Terrorist Mexican Cartel,” June 30, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/fuel-theft-cjng
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Silicon Metal From Norway: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,” June 30, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/silicon-metal-norway
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Material Support to Terrorism,” June 30, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/chinese-national-cjng
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Justice Department Requires Egg Producers to End Coordinated Benchmark Manipulation that Artificially Inflated Prices,” June 30, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/egg-benchmark-manipulation
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Weapon Systems Testing: Reorganization of DOD's Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation,” June 30, 2026. gao.gov/products/gao-26-108859
- CISA, “CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog” (CVE-2026-48558, SimpleHelp Authentication Bypass), June 29, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/…/kev-cve-2026-48558
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Surveillance for Candida auris — United States, 2022–2024,” MMWR, June 30, 2026. cdc.gov/mmwr/…/candida-auris-2022-2024
- UK Ministry of Defence, “£15 billion New Funding Boost to Transform Armed Forces / The Defence Investment Plan,” June 30, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/defence-investment-plan
- NATO News, “Deputy Secretary General Addresses the Istanbul NATO Parliamentary Summit,” June 30, 2026. nato.int/…/istanbul-parliamentary-summit
- UK Foreign Office (FCDO), “UK Statement at the UNRWA Pledging Conference,” June 30, 2026. gov.uk/government/speeches/…/unrwa-pledging-conference