“President Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center, according to an order signed Friday by a D.C. district judge. The ruling is a hit to the president’s effort to renovate the performing arts venue, which was scheduled to close later this year so work could begin. Friday’s order also halted the closure. ‘The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,’ U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a 94-page ruling.” (05/29/26)
“A total of 219 people have been injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League final against Arsenal. Eight were in a serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. Thousands of officers were deployed to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in the capital, Paris. Fifty-seven of them were injured. Nuñez said 780 people had been arrested over the violence — with more than 450 in custody. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block overnight. Some 6,000 police have been mobilised for Sunday’s victory parade at the site of the Eiffel Tower.” (05/31/26)
“For months, Better Call Behnken has investigated criminals using Bitcoin ATMs to trick elderly Floridians out of money. Now, new state legislation aimed at protecting consumers has been passed, and one of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators in North America has filed for bankruptcy. Florida lawmakers recently approved a bill designed to curb fraud involving cryptocurrency kiosks. The law is expected to take effect in January and would limit deposits for new users to $2,000 per day, with higher thresholds of $10,000 per day for existing customers. Lawmakers say the goal is to slow the rapid movement of cash in fraudulent schemes. Now, Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it plans to wind down its network of more than 9,000 machines.” 905/29/26)
“A retired pastor who was convicted and fined for preaching a gospel sermon near a hospital in [the British-occupied part of] Ireland is appealing his conviction. On May 7, a judge found Clive Johnston, 78, breached Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act when he preached a sermon on John 3:16 near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital in July 2024. The buffer zone law prohibits ‘influencing,’ ‘preventing or impeding access,’ or ‘causing harassment, alarm or distress’ to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of facilities where abortions are performed. Johnston announced Wednesday he filed an appeal challenging his conviction. He warned that convicting a person for publicly preaching a well-known Bible passage sets a troubling precedent for religious liberty and free speech.” (05/31/26)
“Venezuela’s former opposition candidate Edmundo González called on Saturday for presidential elections as the five-month mark of interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s administration approaches in the wake of the U.S. military intervention that ousted Nicolás Maduro in early January. The 76-year-old former diplomat was recognized by several countries as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 elections amid a post-election crisis and street protests as the opposition alleged fraud. Electoral records that showed González’s victory over Maduro were deemed credible by international observers.” (05/30/26)
“The latest poll of the California governor’s race just days before the primary election shows Democrat Xavier Becerra widening his late lead. A sprawling survey published Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California asked nearly 40 questions on California and national issues and gauged voters’ preferences in the governor’s race. Becerra, who has climbed in recent polls, is the leading candidate with 23% support among likely voters in PPIC’s poll, despite heavy scrutiny from his opponents in the last gubernatorial debate. … Just behind Becerra in the recent poll is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, with 20% support. Hilton has consistently fared well in the polls and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. … While Becerra and Hilton appear to be the leaders ahead of the primary, billionaire and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer is next behind the front-runners in the PPIC poll with 15% support.” (05/29/26)
“A federal judge declared a New Hampshire law that would have required new voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship because it is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott wrote in the ruling, issued on Thursday, that New Hampshire House Bill 1569 would have made it harder for people to register to vote and cast ballots by removing methods for them to do so. The law would have required all new voters to provide a document proving citizenship, rather than attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury on an affidavit. New Hampshire state law already states that the form filled out and signed when registering qualifies as an affidavit, whether it is filed 30 days before an election or on election day, per state law, Elliott wrote.” (05/29/26)
“A Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Romania early Friday, injuring two people and setting the building ablaze, exactly the type of spillover from the war in Ukraine that many in Europe have long feared. It was one of 232 drones and one ballistic missile launched by Russia against neighboring Ukraine, authorities there said, the latest nearly nightly attack against Ukraine’s power grid. An unknown number of these drones crossed over into Romanian airspace, its government said. ‘This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation,’ Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu said in a statement, promising to respond …” (05/29/26)
“A powerful New Glenn rocket owned by Jeff Bezos'[s] Blue Origin exploded in a spectacular fireball Thursday, sending billowing clouds of fire, smoke and flaming debris into the night sky in a tremendous conflagration visible for miles around. The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. EDT as engineers were counting down to a brief test firing of the New Glenn’s seven methane-fueled BE-4 first stage engines at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin was gearing up for a June launch to put a batch of Amazon ‘Leo’ internet satellites into orbit. … The U.S. Space Force Eastern Range, which coordinates all launches from Florida, said in a statement that ’emergency responders are on the scene. All personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.'” (05/29/26)
“The US and Iran reached a tentative agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and start nuclear talks, according to US officials — though President Donald Trump has not signed off on it yet. Iranian officials have not yet commented on a potential deal. US Vice President JD Vance said ‘a couple of language points’ are still under discussion but the sides are making progress in peace talks. Sources say the tentative deal would begin 60 more days of negotiation on Tehran’s nuclear program.” (05/29/26)
