“Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Monday threatened to amend the country’s constitution to oust President Tamás Sulyok. Magyar said his government would attempt to use all available legal tools to remove Hungary’s head of state, an ally of former prime minister Viktor Orbán, and even change the country’s fundamental law to force his exit. ‘This process will take about a month, we are trying to adopt the necessary legislation as quickly as possible, and yes, there will be talk of removing all puppets,’ Magyar told reporters.” (06/01/26)
“Illinois lawmakers passed a nearly $56 billion state budget early Monday morning after the spring legislative session stretched several hours past its deadline. The $55.9 billion spending plan is the largest state budget in Illinois history. The House passed the budget just after 4 a.m. by a vote of 76 to 39. The plan now heads to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk, who said he plans to sign it. The budget includes more than $800 million in new tax revenue, including new taxes tied to digital advertising revenue, prediction markets, cryptocurrency and large social media companies. It also extends a cap on corporate operating losses, which is expected to generate about $300 million in state revenue.” (06/01/26)
“Nicaraguan Indigenous leader and activist Brooklyn Rivera died from health complications after nearly three years in detention, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday. Last week, the Nicaraguan government’s confirmed that he had been detained since 2023. UN representatives, the US government and Rivera’s family have demanded proof that he was still alive. ‘We regret to confirm that he has sadly passed away,’ the health ministry said in a statement on state-run media outlets. … The 73-year-old was a renowned leader of the Miskito People and a former member of Nicaragua’s Congress. He was arrested in 2023 by the left-wing authoritarian government of President Daniel Ortega on undisclosed charges.” (06/01/26)
“The U.S. military conducted a deadly strike against a vessel in the Pacific on Saturday, killing several alleged ‘narco-terrorists,’ according to U.S. Southern Command. That attack, which killed three men, was one of four such military strikes announced by SOUTHCOM last week. … ‘On May 30, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,’ the post on X noted.” (06/01/26)
“United Auto Workers (UAW) members are on strike as of Monday at midnight. Nearly 1,000 employees at Dauch Corporation, formerly American Axle, are walking out on the job after months of failed labor negotiations. United Auto Workers Local 2093 members say it’s been 18 years since they’ve been fairly paid, and they’re done making concessions. They’ve been negotiating a new contract with Dauch since March. The auto parts company’s a major axle supplier for General Motors, and its largest Michigan factory is in Three Rivers. UAW’s bargaining chairman Josh Jager says workers’ paychecks were cut in half during the Great Recession and have never fully recovered.” (06/01/26)
“Ethiopians voted Monday in an election marred by insecurity but widely expected to see the ruling Prosperity Party secure the majority of legislative seats and give Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed another five-year term. A heavy military presence was observed in the capital, Addis Ababa, as watchdogs called for a peaceful vote in the country that is Africa’s second most populous and host of the African Union. The head of the electoral commission, Melatework Hailu, said security incidents were reported at polling stations in two volatile regions, Oromia and Amhara. Voting resumed at some but did not at 143 others, and it was not clear whether voters would have another chance to cast ballots. No details were given about the insecurity. Voting in 50,000 other polling stations proceeded as Ethiopians choose more than 500 members of the House of Representatives, who will vote to select the prime minister. More than 50 million people, out of Ethiopia’s estimated population of 130 million, are registered to vote.” (06/01/26)
“Israel’s government ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, a day after its ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon in 26 years and as Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa. A joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the orders to attack targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs followed what they called repeated violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah and ‘attacks against our cities and citizens.’ Hezbollah agreed to halt attacks on Israel when the ceasefire was signed in mid-April, but the militant group resumed the assaults after Israeli strikes in Lebanon that Israel characterized as self-defense. After Monday’s warning, large numbers of people were seen fleeing the area known in Arabic as Dahiyeh, jamming roads leading out of the suburb, where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.” (06/01/26)
“The French Navy on Sunday boarded an oil tanker, named the Tagor, which was subject to international sanctions and sailing from Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X. ‘This operation took place in the Atlantic Ocean, on the high seas, with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of the sea,’ he said. … The Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic said in a separate statement on Monday that the French Navy had intervened on an oil tanker more than 400 nautical miles west of the tip of Brittany, coming from Murmansk, Russia.” (06/01/26)
“Nvidia has announced a new chip for PCs as it moves into the consumer market for devices integrated with AI technology. ‘This reinvention of the computer is as big of a deal as the reinvention of the phone into what we now know as the smartphone,’ Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang said as he unveiled the RTX Spark chip. Huang made the announcement on Monday as he delivered a keynote speech ahead of the opening of the Computex technology show in Taipei, Taiwan. Separately on Sunday, the US tightened its rules on selling Nvidia’s most advanced chips to Chinese firms. The RTX Spark is ‘a new superchip … for the era of personal AI agents – offering a new class of computer that moves from tool to teammate,’ Nvidia said on its website.” (06/01/26)
“Former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used one of his first major public appearances since leaving office to defend independent institutions while accepting an award Sunday honoring his efforts to preserve the central bank’s independence. Speaking at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library overlooking Boston Harbor, Powell called universities, courts, Congress and the central bank ‘the foundation and the embodiment of our democracy’ and argued that the Fed’s independence was a ‘priceless asset’ that must be protected. It was one of his most direct defenses of Fed independence, warning that a single administration’s decision to remove bank officials over policy differences would open the way for future elected officials to follow suit, ultimately undermining the credibility that the Fed has spent decades building.” (05/31/26)
