“President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ‘crazy’ in a phone call that involved expletives, saying he was ‘a little bit perturbed’ that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both ‘wartime’ leaders. … The president’s comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.” (06/03/26)
“A prediction market reported U.S. Rep. George Santos to federal prosecutors after he boasted he’d be going to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, then bet against his own attendance, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, referred Santos to the Department of Justice after detecting suspicious trades made by the former congressman ahead of Trump’s Feb. 24 speech, the person said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Kalshi also reported the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal regulatory body that has vowed to crack down on insider trading in prediction marketplaces.” (06/03/26)
“Thailand’s divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was freed from parole on Wednesday after receiving a royal pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as the 76-year-old billionaire businessman’s plans remain unclear. Thaksin, who stood at the heart of a two-decade power struggle with rival sections of the Thai elite, served eight months of a one-year jail term for corruption and abuse of power. He was released from jail early last month due to his advancing age, with his term originally set to end by September. A royal decree pardoning him at the king’s discretion became effective on Wednesday, the birthday of Queen Suthida. Royal birthdays and other symbolic dates are often marked with pardons of jailed prisoners.” (06/03/26)
“A federal court in Nigeria on Wednesday sentenced four gunmen to death in the killing of at least 50 people during a 2022 attack on a church in a southwestern part of the country. Children were among those killed in the assault just as mass was ending at the St. Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo in Ondo State on June 5, 2022. Scores of people also were wounded, overwhelming hospital workers. The four men were convicted of terrorism charges. A fifth defendant was acquitted for lack of evidence. Prosecutors said the defendants were members of the al-Shabab militant group and operated from a cell in Kogi State in north-central Nigeria, about 200 kilometers from the country’s capital.” (06/03/26)
“Florida lawmakers on Tuesday passed a property tax cut proposal that would create a $250,000 homestead exemption, securing it on the November ballot. On the second day of the special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Senate passed House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1-F, creating a $250,000 homestead exemption on non-school levies for homeowners. The Joint Resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to increase the current exemption for owner-occupied homestead property to $250,000 over two years and creates a framework for full exemption over time. The amendment will appear on the November 2026 General Election Ballot for approval by Florida voters.” [editor’s note: The current homestead exemption, not increased since 2008, is $50,000 – TLK] (06/02/26)
“Israel’s deputy foreign minister accused the European Union of weaponizing a ‘socially acceptable mask’ of anti-Zionism to target Israel — after it sanctioned Israeli civil society groups that oppose a Palestinian state. It also sanctioned several individuals. ‘We are witnessing a deeply troubling trend where traditional antisemitism has simply put on a new, socially acceptable mask: anti-Zionism,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told Fox News Digital.’ … The European Union imposed the sanctions on four Israeli civil society organizations and three of their senior figures, alleging support for ‘settler violence’ and claiming they undermine prospects for a Palestinian state — a move that Regavim, one of the groups targeted, described as an infringement on Israeli sovereignty.” (06/03/26)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“A drone strike on a passenger terminal in Kuwait’s international airport wounded several people Wednesday and forced air traffic to be suspended, as Iranian and US forces traded attacks in the Gulf. The attacks marked one of the more severe tests yet of a fragile April 8 ceasefire, that has largely held despite sporadic strikes after more than a month of war sparked by the US and Israeli attack on Iran. Kuwaiti officials blamed the attack on the airport on Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards accused US forces of triggering the night’s sequence of attacks by targeting a communications tower on the country’s Qeshm Island, forcing it to respond.” ()6/03/26)
