“Road closures, no watch parties, bag bans and a gauntlet of security measures will greet fans when they arrive at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, as United States President Donald Trump descends on the heart of Manhattan to watch the New York Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs at home. The Knicks have defied the odds to build a 2-0 head start in the best-of-seven series before their first home game of the finals on Monday. … ‘Attendees should anticipate hard street closures in the immediate area surrounding Madison Square Garden,’ Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said. ‘A strict no-bag policy will be enforced, and we want to communicate that early and broadly so fans can plan accordingly. Attendees should also expect Secret Service-level security screening, similar to airport screening procedures.'” (06/08/26)
“Women desperate to become parents are being harassed for sex and offered cheap, illegal sperm samples online. Some of those unable to access fertility treatment are seeking out options on social media sites, which is driving a growing unregulated market – with some even turning to ‘Tinder for sperm’ websites. A BBC Wales investigation paid £100 for a next-day delivery sample from a man who advertised his ‘baby batter’ online and sent it in a box with a frozen carton of tomato passata. The UK’s regulator for fertility warned women were at risk of ‘exploitation by predatory donors’. Wales Investigates used an alias to order sperm from Joe Donor, here’s what was delivered. … One online advert [says] [I] can ‘rely’ on a man called Joe Donor for a delivery in the post. He’s a prolific donor who claims to have 180 children around the world conceived through sex and artificial insemination.” (06/08/26)
“At the end of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom framed it as a matter of principle when under his administration, California became the first state in the nation to pay for undocumented immigrants to use Medicaid. … now Newsom and fellow Democrats in Sacramento are walking back on their promise to provide healthcare access to all. Lawmakers have slashed the program in a series of cuts over the last year with more expected to come. In January, the state froze any new undocumented adults from applying for the program. Dental benefits for undocumented people are set to expire in July. And Newsom’s latest budget proposal, released in May, calls for increasing premiums from a planned $30 to $50 for undocumented people starting in July next year.” (06/08/26)
“Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, a Democrat, has taken a narrow lead for second place over former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, in the race to take on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff this fall. NBC News projected Bass’[s] advancing to the runoff last week, but the outstanding question, as the city and the state continue counting ballots, is whom she will face and what kind of matchup that will be. NBC News hasn’t projected the winner of the other spot in the runoff. … Los Angeles still has more than 100,000 votes left to count.” (06/07/26)
“Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. Yemen’s Houthi rebels [sic] also fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, further escalating tension. The renewed threat comes as Saudi Arabia is relying on its East-West Pipeline to export oil out through the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. … Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down.” (06/08/26)
“Peru’s presidential election is stuck in a statistical tie, according to an early tally by the pollster Ipsos, echoing previous elections that have dragged on for days or even weeks. It put the left-wing Roberto Sánchez on a marginal lead of 50.3% of the vote, compared with the right-wing Keiko Fujimori on 49.7%. While not an official count, the tally has been an accurate indicator of the final result in previous polls. Official results confirm the race is extremely tight with more than 85% of votes counted. The election pits Fujimori, a mainstay of Peruvian politics, against Sánchez, who is promising broad economic reforms. Concerns over crime and political instability have dominated the race.” (06/08/26)
“Bitcoin steadied in Monday trading after dropping below $60,000 late last week as Strategy Inc. Chairman Michael Saylor hinted at further purchases. The original cryptocurrency climbed as much as 3.8% to nearly $64,200 and was trading around $63,000 at 7 a.m. in London. Ether, the second-largest token, was 2% firmer at around $1,660. … Strategy’s disclosure of a small sale, its first since 2022, contributed to the token’s 18% decline last week as it undermined the narrative that the digital-asset treasury firm would never sell. A social-media post from Saylor suggesting Strategy may announce more Bitcoin buying has helped to soothe market nerves.” (06/08/26)
“The leaders [sic] of Britain, Germany and France said on Sunday they supported a proposal for talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to secure a ceasefire, and Europe would play a role. … Zelenskiy said in a post on X that he also told Starmer Ukraine needed more missiles for air defence systems, just days after he published an open letter to Putin proposing face-to-face talks about ending the war, now in its fifth year. Zelenskiy’s proposal was rebuffed by the Russian president.” (06/07/26)
“The Los Angeles U.S. attorney’s office said it has opened ‘multiple election fraud investigations,’ claiming the California election system has ‘serious structural vulnerabilities.’ First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, whose office is also attempting to audit the state voter rolls, confirmed the investigation late Friday and vowed to follow the evidence where it leads. The nature and status of the probes federal prosecutors might be pursuing in California was not immediately clear. Essayli did not elaborate on the nature of the investigations he said he’d launched and did not refer to any evidence suggesting that fraud had occurred.” (06/06/26)
“Drugmaker Eli Lilly presented trial results to medical professionals on Saturday showing its next-generation obesity drug retatrutide curbed sleep apnea severity in addition to boosting weight loss and helping knee pain. In a Phase 3 trial, Lilly found a weekly injection of retatrutide reduced moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea severity by 60.6% in adults with obesity. Lilly’s older drug Zepbound is approved for the condition. In the same trial, the drug reduced knee osteoarthritis pain by up to 73.1%, Lilly found. The results were presented at an American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans.” (06/06/26)
