“From late 2023 until 2025, I got a jittery feeling every time I pushed back against the prevailing narrative of Ukraine’s inevitable defeat. That line was quite common in mainstream punditry, but most assiduously promoted by Donald Trump and his worshipers, who assured us that Ukraine doesn’t ‘have any cards’ and in any case Russia always wins its wars. What if I was just engaging in wishful thinking and cherry-picking the facts to fit my own preferred narrative of Ukrainian resilience? Well, here we are in the spring of 2026, and no one (except Vladimir Putin, still trapped in a news bubble of his own making) is talking about Ukrainian defeat anymore.” (06/04/26)
“Hungary’s governing Tisza party has submitted a bill to parliament to abolish an organisation set up by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government that stigmatized opposition figures and journalists for serving ‘foreign interests.’ The SPO was created in 2023 to monitor risks of what Orban’s then-governing Fidesz party described as ‘undue political interference’ by foreign entities. However, critics said it was a tool to suppress dissent, and the European Commission launched an infringement procedure targeting the law behind the agency’s creation.” (06/03/26)
“After weeks of joint U.S. and Israeli strikes, the elimination of its top leaders, and President Trump’s repeated threats, the Islamic Republic appears not weaker but something else … exposed. The war pulled back the curtain. What was standing behind the regime was the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), now more powerful than before and more visible than ever. At the same time ordinary Iranians have lost more freedom and access to basic rights. With the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the regime displayed how far it could flex its muscles and hold global markets hostage, while the United States appeared far less decisive than initially expected. Both sides have declared victory, and neither can explain what was won.” (06/02/26)
“Squashing bugs is the goal of every tech company, but typically not the blood-sucking kind. Google wants to do both. In a permit filing with the Environmental Protection Agency, Google wants to release millions of mosquitoes in California and Florida. The Debug Project’s goal is to decimate populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes by introducing what it calls ‘good bugs’ to the environment. Under its current application, Google is asking to release 64 million mosquitoes across the two states over two years. … Because male mosquitoes don’t bite, the company plans to release only sterile males, with the goal that they mate with potentially disease-carrying female mosquitoes. Those female mosquitoes will go on to lay unfertilized eggs, decreasing the population of potentially dangerous mosquitoes over time.” (06/02/26)
“Although [Tulsi] Gabbard won’t formally leave the role until June 30, Trump announced on Tuesday that he would appoint Bill Pulte in charge of ODNI as acting director. There’s little question that Gabbard’s tenure intensified concerns about the politicization of intelligence. If Pulte’s record thus far is any indication, those concerns are unlikely to fade. … Pulte’s demonstrated pattern of going after Trump’s enemies shows that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the levers of power.” (06/02/26)
“CBS News fired veteran ’60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, one day after he sharply criticized the newsmagazine’s new leadership in front of the staff. CBS said Pelley was terminated for cause, and industry analysts immediately predicted that Pelley might take legal action against the network. The firing is sure to trigger even more scrutiny of CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss and her controversial efforts to overhaul the network news division.” (06/02/26)
“President Donald Trump and some of his top advisers have routinely insisted that the administration’s new, higher tariffs would not burden American consumers because foreign governments or corporations would pay for those tax increases. But with inflation rising and consumers (and voters) increasingly grumpy about the cost of living, the White House has turned to a telling strategy: cutting tariffs to make some products less expensive.” (06/02/26)
