At Least Two Palestinians Killed in Gaza as Israel Continues Daily Attacks

Japan Looks To Palantir For Battlefield AI Japan is preparing to introduce AI into the command-and-control systems of its Self-Defense Forces as part of a wider military modernization effort aimed at improving operational speed and interoperability with the United States, according to Nikkei.  Under the proposal, multiple U.S.-developed AI platforms would support commanders by processing battlefield data, assisting with tactical decisions, and coordinating operations across missions such as missile defense, counterstrikes, and drone deployments. The initiative is expected to be incorporated into revisions of Japan's national security strategy later this year...

US New Home Sales Rise For First Time In 3 Months As Prices Near 5-Year Lows With Case-Shiller reporting existing home price declines in half of America's largest cities, and despite a weaker homebuilder confidence print, New Home Sales were expected to rebound from April and May's ugly declines... and they did, but only very modestly. New home sales rose 1.6% MoM (+4.8% MoM exp) marking the first rise in three months, but May's 7.3% MoM decline was revised up to a mere 4.3% MoM decline. However, this bounce was not enough to get annual...

'Problematic But Not Critical': Putin Concedes Fuel Shortages After Ukraine Strikes, Plays It Cool President Vladimir Putin made a rare admission over this past weekend, belatedly acknowledged Sunday that Russia is facing a "certain shortage" of fuel following weeks of ramped-up drone warfare coming out of Ukraine, which has chiefly targeted oil refineries and domestic supply facilities, including in the Moscow region. "As for strikes against critical infrastructure in general, and energy infrastructure in particular, of course, these attacks on our infrastructure facilities create problems," Putin said in the new interview published...