UK punk band blasted for ‘Death to IDF’ chant at Glastonbury fest; police probe

 Another UK band has come under fire for its “threatening” comments against Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza — stirring up a frenzy at an outdoor music festival Saturday.

English-based punk duo Bob Vylan whipped the crowd at England’s annual Glastonbury Music Festival into a furor, and led the massive audience in gang chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF” in referencing the Israeli Defense Forces.

Police are said to be investigating the band’s performance, Deadline reported.

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Bob Vylan performed Saturday at the Glastonbury Music Festival.WireImage

Cops are going over video of the band’s set to see if the group chants involved any criminality.

“We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon,” reads a social media post from Avon and Somerset police.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the post added.

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Cops are going over video of the band’s set to see if the group chants involved any criminality.AFP via Getty Images

Bob Vylan wasn’t alone in its criticism of the Israeli offensive against the notorious terror group, Hamas.

Irish outfit Kneecap got in trouble during a London show when singer Mo Chara shouted out Hamas and Hezbollah — “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” — and allegedly raised the Hezbollah flag, leading to his arrest under the Terrorism Act.

Bobby Vylan, one half of Bob Vylan, similarly urged the crowd to chant along with him on Saturday.

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It didn’t take much to get the crowd chanting.AFP via Getty Images

BBC, which broadcasts the three-day festival, announced it will not be replaying Bob Vylan’s “deeply offensive” set.

A spokesperson for Lisa Nandy, England’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said she “strongly” condemns the “threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.”

Nandy’s office wants “an urgent explanation” from the BBC regarding what sort of “due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance.”

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Bob Vylan first started back in 2017.Bob Vylan/Facebook

In a statement, the BBC acknowledged “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.”

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language,” the BBC added.

Hamas killed 1,200 unsuspecting Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and took another 250 hostage in brutal fashion.

Some 50 Israeli hostages remain captive in Gaza, fewer than half of them are believed to still be alive.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/28/world-news/punk-act-bob-vylan-offends-with-anti-idf-crowd-chants-at-glastonbury-festival/

All Time Highs Are Bullish

 by Barry Ritholtz

 

 

“One of the most bullish things that can happen to any market is for it to reach new multi-year highs.“   Bloomberg, March 5, 2014

 

Markets closed at a new all-time high today.

The usual suspects have already proffered their litany of horrors – valuations are too high, gains are too narrow, we have too much market concentration and a toppy feel, to say nothing about all of the new geopolitical risks that continue to accumulate in tariffs, war and oil prices.1

The problem is that the data simply does not back up their fears:

“Consider the actual historical data. New highs occur very regularly during bull markets. This makes the crash insistency much less compelling. Indeed, we tend to see many more new highs during the secular bull markets than we do during the bear cycles.”

A column I wrote for Bloomberg in 2014 pointed out that the Dow made 492 new all-time highs from 1982 to 1999; in the 12 years covering 1952 to 1965, it made 279. Admittedly, the very last all-time high always takes place before a bear market. But the data shows that if you invest during all-time highs, you do better than you would if you’re investing randomly on any other day in a market cycle (see chart at top).

You might be wondering when to skip an all-time high, but making that bet seems like a fool’s errand. Note we were having this same discussion 11 years ago; consider how disastrous selling the 2014 all-time highs (pandemic and all) would have been.

Yes, it’s true: To avoid that very last all-time high, the 479th ATH before the March 2000 top, you would have had to miss a substantial number of the 478 prior highs that preceded it over the prior 16 years or so.

The odds there make that seem like a terrible bet to me…

https://ritholtz.com/2025/06/ath-bullish/

5 healthcare laws, rules taking effect July 1

 From workplace safety and violence prevention to paid sick leave, several healthcare-related laws are set to take effect July 1.

Five new rules and laws to know:

1. Washington hospital staffing tracking required

Starting July 1, hospitals in Washington state must track compliance with staffing plans on a monthly basis under a law signed in April 2023. Expanded hospital staff committees were required to be in place by Jan. 1, 2024, with the first staffing plans due by Jan. 1, 2025.

2. Vermont hospital safety law

Beginning July 1, Vermont hospitals must develop security plans and establish advisory teams to assist with their creation, under legislation signed April 29.

3. Paid sick leave in Alaska

Alaska’s Ballot Measure 1, approved in November, requires employers to provide paid sick leave, beginning July 1.

4. Washington limits mandatory overtime for healthcare workers

House Bill 2061, effective Jan. 1 for most facilities and July 1 for smaller hospitals, prohibits mandatory overtime for healthcare workers who are hourly employees involved in clinical services or patient care. 

5. Florida’s new teaching hospital designation

Senate Bill 330 — part of Florida’s “Live Healthy” legislative package — goes into effect July 1. The legislation designates four hospitals in the state as behavioral health teaching hospitals.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hr/5-healthcare-laws-rules-taking-effect-july-1/

VA seeks additional $3.5B for Oracle Health EHR

 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary is asking for an additional $3.5 billion for the agency’s Oracle Health EHR project, MeriTalk reported.

However, President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget includes a $2.17 billion increase for the EHR rollout, while the House of Representatives wants to mark up the program by $2.5 billion, according to the June 24 story.

“I can’t emphasize enough, if we do not transform this system, it hurts our community care process because our doctors cannot communicate with the community,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said at a June 24 Senate subcommittee hearing, per the news outlet. “You’re using a system that’s costing us literally hundreds of millions of dollars that’s used nowhere else in the world except the VA. So, we need to move forward on this. I do believe we have a path that is safe, that is effective, and will be cost-effective because Oracle understands that they’ve got to provide this.”

The VA is launching the new EHR at 13 sites in fiscal 2026 after pausing the program for two years due to technical issues.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ehrs/va-seeks-additional-3-5b-for-oracle-health-ehr/

CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is warning healthcare providers and suppliers about a new fraud scheme involving fake faxed requests for medical records.

According to a June 26 alert posted on CMS’ website, scammers are impersonating CMS and sending phishing faxes that falsely claim to be part of a Medicare audit. The faxes ask for patient medical records and documentation in an attempt to collect sensitive information.

“CMS does not initiate audits by requesting medical records via fax,” the agency wrote in the alert. “If you receive a suspicious request, do not respond.”

Providers who suspect they’ve received a fraudulent or questionable fax should contact their Medical Review Contractor to verify the legitimacy of the request, according to CMS.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/cybersecurity/cms-warns-medicare-providers-of-fraud-scheme/

Clinical pharmacy services grow, but hospitals struggle to fill key roles

 U.S. hospitals are increasingly integrating pharmacists into clinical care, but many are struggling to fill roles and maintain staff, according to the 2024 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hospital Settings. 

More than 75% of hospitals now assign pharmacists to provide direct care to most inpatients, with the highest clinical involvement in general medical-surgical (73.3%), critical care (68.5%), oncology (56.9%), cardiology (48.5%), infectious disease (48.1%) and emergency departments (46.5%). 

Despite the growth, hospitals report significant challenges across the pharmacy workforce. Nearly 88% cited shortages of experienced pharmacy technicians and more than 92% reported shortages of sterile-compounding technicians. About 60% of hospitals also reported shortages of clinical pharmacy specialists and 64% reported a shortage of entry-level technicians. 

The survey included responses from 250 hospitals, with results weighted to provide national estimates.  

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/clinical-pharmacy-services-grow-but-hospitals-struggle-to-fill-key-roles-ashp/

'Schumer says Democrats will force reading of 940-page megabill on Senate floor'

 U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday said Democrats will force the Republicans' 940-page tax and spending bill to be read out loud in full on the Senate floor.

"Republicans won't tell America what's in the bill. So Democrats are forcing it to be read start to finish on the floor," Schumer said in a post on X. "We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it."

https://www.aol.com/news/schumer-says-democrats-force-reading-205615608.html