“A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, and officials are investigating whether Iranian fire brought it down, two American officials and a third source with knowledge tell Axios. … Both crew members were rescued around 7:30pm ET, about two hours after the helicopter went down off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X. They are in stable condition.” (06/09/26)
“In our present moment of global upheaval, it’s becoming fashionable to invoke parallels to previous episodes of global crisis. Commentators routinely compare the United States’ political situation to the late Roman Republic just before its slide into Caesarism. Others suggest 1920s Weimar Germany is a more apt comparison with its violent factionalism and loose morals. At the international level, one can find as many comparisons to the Cold War as one can to nineteenth-century Europe. Some, however, are now suggesting that the international situation bears a more striking resemblance to the years preceding the First World War.” (06/09/26)
“After years of infighting, the Franco-German project to build a joint next-generation fighter jet has collapsed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed last week that manufacturers Dassault and Airbus failed to resolve key disputes, officials in Berlin and Paris confirmed on Monday. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, launched in 2017, aimed to build a next-generation fighter to replace Eurofighters and Rafales by around 2040. The move to scrap one of Europe’s largest defense projects comes as Western military officials warn of a mounting threat from Russia and the United States intensifies pressure on Europe to take care of its own defense.” (06/09/26)
“In his new book ‘Recession,’ economist Tyler Goodspeed argues that economic downturns are caused by real shocks, not predictable business cycles.” (06/09/26)
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Caleb O Brown, Amye L Bensenhaver, Kate Miller, & Heather Lemire
“Kentucky built its Open Records Act on a simple, powerful premise: that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest. For nearly 50 years, that premise provided a basic guarantee that Kentuckians could see what their government was doing in their name. That premise is now under a growing threat — from the legislature, and increasingly from the courts.” (06/09/26)
“U.S. small-business sentiment fell in May and the share of owners planning to raise prices over the next three months increased to the highest level in nearly four years, suggesting inflation could remain elevated for a while. The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index slipped 0.6 to 95.3 last month, falling further below its 52-year average of 98.0. The survey’s uncertainty index rose three points to 91. It is running well above its historical average of 68.” (06/09/26)