“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is canceling most pending contracts initiated under ousted Secretary Kristi Noem, the current secretary said on Wednesday, a move that follows congressional scrutiny and an internal watchdog review of her contracting practices. During a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, Secretary Markwayne Mullin also said he would restore longer training for federal immigration officers, reversing a Noem-era decision that shortened training during a hiring surge and drew bipartisan concerns in Congress about whether recruits were adequately prepared. Mullin faced questions from a top Democrat about what steps he had taken to roll back Noem-era contracts. ‘We are looking at the contracts that weren’t already signed, and we did go through and cancel most of those,’ Mullin said. The move is part of a broader effort by Mullin to unwind contracting practices under Noem that drew bipartisan criticism.” (06/03/26)
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s broad authority to recover illegal profits using a financial remedy called disgorgement, buttressing one of the Wall Street watchdog agency’s key powers. The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, upheld a lower court’s decision that had endorsed a wide use of the SEC’s disgorgement authority. President Donald Trump’s administration had defended the SEC in the case. … [Ongkaruck] Sripetch admitted violating securities law, and in a related criminal case was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Sripetch challenged the lower court’s disgorgement order on the grounds that the SEC failed to prove his actions caused stock prices to drop or otherwise financially harmed investors.” (06/04/26)
“Monterey Park voters made history Tuesday by passing the first permanent ban on data centers nationwide. Voters are on track to overwhelmingly approve the ban, with 86% in favor according to the latest ballot count, leading organizers to claim victory (the official results won’t be certified until July 10). Where other jurisdictions have passed temporary measures to curb the controversial development of these massive server farms, Monterey Park voters’ decision in this election will keep developers at bay unless voters want to revisit the decision in a future election.” (06/03/26)
“John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-adversary, has reached a plea deal over mishandling sensitive national security information, according to three sources familiar with the matter. He intends to plead guilty to one felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information, according to one of the sources. He has also agreed to pay a more than $2 million fine, according to one of the sources. A conviction on one count of illegal retention comes with a sentence between 0 and 60 months in prison. The Justice Department declined to comment and referred CNN to the court docket, which indicates a hearing was set for June 26.” (06/04/26)
“North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility believed to produce fuel for nuclear weapons, with leader Kim Jong Un pledging to expand the country’s nuclear forces ‘at an exponential rate.’ Photos suggested the site may be a uranium enrichment facility. Kim has repeatedly cited US-led military threats as underpinning the need for his country to bolster its nuclear weapons arsenal.” (06/03/26)
“The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military will continue its ground operations in southern Lebanon, hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a US-backed ceasefire to end hostilities. … ‘The IDF will, at this stage, continue its fire and ground operations, remain in the security zone in Lebanon up to the yellow line – including in the Beaufort area – and without the return of the population, while continuing to dismantle terrorist infrastructure on the ground,’ he said in a statement. … The IDF also issued a warning this morning saying fighting will continue in southern Lebanon as it urged people to ‘refrain from heading south of the Zahrani River.’ Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported several people were wounded in Israeli strikes in the southern Tyre and Nabatieh areas, which have seen repeated attacks in recent weeks.” (06/04/26)
“In a severe political blow to President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives voted for the first time on Wednesday, June 3, to end the war in Iran. The 215-208 vote, which was mostly symbolic, marked a new period of congressional unease with the conflict in the Middle East amid an impasse in peace negotiations. Strikes in the region have continued in recent days despite the White House’s assertion to lawmakers that hostilities have ended. Four Republicans joined with Democrats to support a resolution asserting the legislative branch’s war authority and blocking further hostilities in the region. It came just two weeks after the Senate advanced a similar measure.” [editor’s note: The war was illegal the instant Trump started it without the required constitutional declaration. These theatrics are no substitute for impeachment and removal – TLK] (06/03/26)
“Ukrainian attacks killed four people in the Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula, Kremlin-installed officials in the region said on Thursday, one day after Moscow and Kyiv traded strikes on each other’s cities. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, said Ukrainian forces had hit a non-residential part of Simferopol, the peninsula’s main administrative town, killing three people and injuring seven. Aksyonov later said on Telegram that one person had been killed and three wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a commuter train in eastern Crimea. Ukraine did not immediately comment.” (06/04/26)
“Seven states are suing the Trump administration over a nearly $1 billion deal to end French energy company TotalEnergies’ offshore wind development off the East Coast, accusing the deal of being ‘unlawful.’ In March, the U.S. Department of the Interior reached a $928 million deal with TotalEnergies to halt construction of the wind farms and redirect the investment into domestic fossil fuel initiatives. … Attorneys general in seven states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, alleging the Trump administration illegally used nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for the deal. The coalition also accuses the deal of violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which restricts the Interior Department’s ability to cancel offshore wind leases.” (06/03/26)
“Bitcoin briefly plunged below $62,000 Thursday morning Hong Kong time, triggering more than $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours as a wave of forced selling accelerated the market’s steepest decline in months. More than 208,000 traders were liquidated across crypto markets, according to CoinGlass data, with bitcoin accounting for over $800 million of the losses and ether another $386 million. The liquidation wave coincided with continued weakness in institutional demand. Investors have pulled approximately $1 billion from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs this week, according to SoSoValue data, extending the funds’ record streak of net outflows.” (06/03/26)
