For years, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed ethnic minority groups like Tibetans and Uyghurs to adopt an identity rooted in Chinese nationality and allegiance to the ruling Communist Party. Now, that push has been codified into a sweeping new law that reaches into classrooms, neighborhoods and homes – and gives Beijing the right to target people outside of its borders that it believes violate its rules. The statute, officially known as the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, came into effect on July 1. It bans acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division” among China’s 56 officially recognized ethnicities, which include a Han Chinese majority that makes up over 90% of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/china/china-ethnic-unity-law-intl-hnk
The planet’s oceans are at unprecedented temperatures for this time of year, breaking the all-time June record, according to new data, with alarming implications for global weather and marine life. On June 21, average global sea surface temperatures reached 69.5 degrees Fahrenheit (20.86 Celsius), edging above the June record last set in 2024, according to data from Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which combines measurements from satellites, ships and buoys. The record was echoed in another data set. Data from the Copernicus Marine Service, implemented by the non-profit Mercator Ocean International, found sea temperatures hit 69.38 Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) on June 21, beating the previous record last set in 2024 by 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/climate/global-oceans-break-june-temperature-record
President Donald Trump collected billions of dollars through an array of cryptocurrency holdings, royalty payments and property investments last year, according to his latest annual financial disclosure released on Tuesday. The 2025 report, which totals 927 pages, provides the most extensive look so far at the growing fortune that the president has amassed since returning to office, including through his stakes in companies co-founded by family members. Trump netted more than $526 million from sales of cryptocurrency tokens tied to World Liberty Financial LLC — a firm managed in part by his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The president holds several other cryptocurrency investments totaling millions of dollars, according to the disclosures.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/trump-cryptocurrency-millions-disclosures
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/us/video/empire-state-climbers-nypd-bodycam
Two daredevils on Wednesday evaded security and climbed to the top of the needle of the Empire State Building, where they unfurled a banner about 1,450 feet above the sweltering city and appeared to propose before their stunt ended up with them in police custody. The extraordinary breach of security at one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks occurred just around noon during a whirlwind summer in the city. It comes weeks after the New York Knicks’ first championship in 53 years led to raucous, sometimes destructive celebrations and a heightened NYPD presence amid World Cup matches and the upcoming wedding celebration of pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce expected at Madison Square Garden.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/us/empire-state-building-banner