“President Trump saw his first major primary loss of the 2026 midterm election cycle in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday as businessman Zach Lahn defeated Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa). Lahn narrowly defeated Feenstra in the primary by just less than 1 point. Feenstra’s primary loss comes less than a week after Trump formally backed Feenstra, calling him ‘MAGA all the way!’ in a post on Truth Social. The congressman told supporters Tuesday that he called Lahn to concede the race to him on Tuesday. … While Feenstra won the coveted Trump endorsement, Lahn was backed by Trump allies within the conservative universe, including the MAHA PAC and Turning Point Action. Most of Trump’s endorsed candidates have seen success in the 2026 primary season, with his backed challengers Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) defeating incumbent Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), respectively.” (06/03/26)
“A Carnival Cruise Line passenger is being praised as a hero after jumping into the water to help an elderly man who fell from a pier during a cruise stop in Mexico. The incident occurred May 19 while Carnival Jubilee was docked in Costa Maya. Carnival Cruise Line confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital, saying an elderly guest fell into the water while returning to the ship. … Video of the rescue later circulated on social media — showing a passenger identified only as Myron removing his shoes and jumping into the water after spotting the man struggling near the ship.” (06/03/26)
“Thousands of Albanians took to the streets of Tirana on Tuesday night protesting against a development planned by a company linked with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast. The €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) resort is being led by Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners on an island off Albania and an undeveloped stretch of coastline near the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape, a wetland home to flamingos, seals and sea turtle nesting sites. … Protests by locals and non-profit organisations started after large barbed wire fences were erected by developers at the proposed site in Zvernec, near Vlora. Several hundred gathered and clashed with private guards on Saturday and some were injured, a Reuters witness said.” (06/03/26)
“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)
