#headlines

Making fun of the headlines today, so you don’t have to The news, even that about Billy Bush supporting Spencer Pratt for L.A Mayor, doesn’t need to be complicated or confusing; that’s what any new release from Microsoft is for. And, as in the case with anything from Microsoft, to keep the news from worrying our pretty little heads over, remember something new and equally indecipherable will come…

At least 12 people shot at an Ohio festival and a search for suspects is still ongoing, police say (AP) Gunfire erupted Saturday near a busy street festival in Ohio, wounding at least 12 people and sending some eventgoers scrambling for cover while others rushed to help the victims. The shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours. Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and they were “probably shooting at each other.” Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan added.

C.I.A. Officer Found With Gold Bars Said to Have Created Fake Spy Program (NYT) A C.I.A. employee who was found recently with $40 million of gold bars in his house had created a secret intelligence program to funnel millions of dollars from the federal government to himself, according to two U.S. officials. David Rush, the employee, created a fake “special access program,” a sensitive intelligence tool that has highly limited visibility even within the C.I.A., the officials said. Mr. Rush, a C.I.A. officer for 17 years, was arrested on May 19 after F.B.I. agents found 303 gold bars weighing about one kilogram each in Mr. Rush’s home, according to an affidavit. The agents also seized nearly three dozen luxury watches, many of them Rolexes.

Jamaica scrambles to restore power after rare islandwide blackout (AP) Jamaica’s national electricity provider said it was racing to restore service early Saturday, after an outage left the entire island without power overnight. The company president, Hugh Grant, said authorities were still investigating the causes of the blackout, but that it was likely related to lightning that struck near major substations and other grid infrastructure. Such sudden systemwide grid failures are rare in Jamaica, where major disruptions are usually linked to severe weather.

This Debt Collector Is the Devil (NYT) Dr. Diablo, Rodrigo Herrera, is arguably Venezuela’s best-known debt collector. His premise is simple: Individuals and companies hire him to collect debts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. As Dr. Diablo, he then uses public humiliation to pressure deadbeats into paying up. Many do after his “Anti-Debtor Mobile Squad” ambushes them, often at work. This entourage includes a pitchfork-wielding right-hand man clad as the devil; a female “diablita” in demon horns, skintight pants and a sequined red boa; and Mr. Herrera himself in dark sunglasses, a black suit and a flame-adorned necktie. Such circuslike street tactics reflect the imaginative ways Venezuelans find to resolve disputes in a country where rule of law has been gutted by corruption and one-party rule. When his retinue headed out one afternoon in May to mortify a debtor, they strutted through the streets of Caracas in full regalia. “It’s the devil!” passers-by yelled, whipping out phones to take pictures. “I’m a lawyer and I know how the system works,” said Ada Gallardo, 69, one observer. “No one trusts a judge. We need more people like Dr. Diablo to get things done.”

1 million turn out for pope’s Mass in Spain and iconic procession along flower-carpeted route (AP) Pope Leo XIV honored Spain’s centuries-old tradition of religious devotion on Sunday as a “school of faith” for today, as he presided over a Mass before a million people and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets. According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-kilometer (mile) procession route off Plaza Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers. Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith.

Ukraine Strikes St. Petersburg in Long-Range Drone Attack (NYT) Ukraine hit a Russian military base and other targets near St. Petersburg with a barrage of long-range drones early Saturday, just hours after President Vladimir V. Putin, addressing an important annual economic forum in the city, rejected a peace overture by his Ukrainian counterpart. The Russian authorities called the attack “unprecedented,” with Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko of the Leningrad region around the city announcing that more than 140 drones had been shot down. The attack ignited a fire at an unspecified military facility, causing “insignificant” damage and the evacuation of some residents, he said. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, writing on X, stressed the distance that the drones had flown, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), to strike a naval base at Kronstadt, on an island just west of St. Petersburg, as well as a naval arsenal.

Armenians go to the polls under Russian pressure aimed at preventing a drift toward West (AP) Armenians are voting Sunday in parliamentary elections as the incumbent government, under mounting Russian pressure, seeks to loosen ties with Moscow and deepen cooperation with the West. Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks, while high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine.

Pentagon Sees Growing Espionage Threat From Israel (NYT) Recent U.S. intelligence reports have raised concerns about Israeli spy agencies eavesdropping on American negotiators working on a peace deal with Iran, amid rising concern over a more general counterintelligence threat by Israel. Israel and the United States have long known, and tolerated, that each was spying on the other. But an intensified Israeli effort to learn about U.S. positions in talks with Iran has crossed a line, according to some American officials. The reports include concerns that Israel has stepped up its efforts to eavesdrop on senior American officials, including Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s top negotiator, Elbridge A. Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, and one of his main deputies, Michael P. DiMino IV. Another report, written by the Defense Intelligence Agency and other military intelligence offices and focused on earlier events going back several years, said that the counterintelligence threat level posed by Israel had been increased in recent weeks to the top level, from high to critical.

Palestinians suffer from lack of proper toilets across Gaza’s vast tent cities (AP) In their bare-bones tent in southern Gaza, Mostafa Shaaban built his family’s makeshift toilet behind a curtain in a corner. He dug a shallow pit in the sandy soil, poured a concrete slab around it, fixed a bottomless bucket over the hole, then topped it off with a battered, plastic toilet seat. It reeks with a foul odor and buzzes with flies and mosquitoes only a few feet from where they sleep and prepare meals. Every week, Shaaban has to dig the sewage sludge out of the pit. But at least it’s more private than the fetid communal latrines used by hundreds of other people in their sprawling tent camp. “The situation is revolting,” he said of having the toilet inside the tent, “but at least it has more dignity.” There is not a single proper toilet across the vast tent cities housing most of Gaza’s 1.7 million Palestinians left homeless by the war. Displaced families have largely been left on their own to dig their own latrines, some shared by extended families. The result is a hygienic nightmare as horrible smells drift among the tightly packed tents and pools of sewage collect from leaking cesspits or from people dumping the contents of their latrines.

Israel and Iran exchange strikes in most serious escalation since April ceasefire (AP) 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 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. Iran closed the airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main airfield, after an Israeli attack. Israel’s military updated its guidelines for civilians on Sunday evening, limiting large gatherings and canceling school across the country. 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. The Israeli strikes came in apparent defiance of President Donald Trump, who told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further.

A new defence champion is rising from the Gulf (Economist) The petro-monarchies of the Gulf are celebrated big spenders—not least by the West’s defence industry. Their oil wealth pays for about a fifth of global arms imports, with a shopping list ranging from fighter jets to frigates. In a noisy, volatile neighbourhood, safety comes at a price. Now the rich rulers are nurturing their own defence industries, hoping to reduce their reliance on the West. It is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where momentum is strongest. In 2019 around 25 Emirati companies were merged to form the EDGE Group, a national defence champion.In November it formed a joint venture with Anduril, a fast-rising American defence-tech firm, to make drones for the UAE and its allies. Last year EDGE’s revenue topped $5bn, with “healthy” profit margins. Already it is among the world’s top three makers of precision-guided munitions. The UAE’s growing defence prowess has stood it in good stead in the war. Iran has struck at the Emirates far more often than at Saudi Arabia or Qatar. About 80% of Iran’s incoming Shahed drones were tackled by Emirati products, officials say. EDGE’s electronic-warfare systems kicked into action, spotting incoming missiles and drones, and setting off jamming and spoofing, working in concert with American anti-ballistic-missile systems.

Sorry, I’m Not Available. Talk to the A.I. Version of Me. (NYT) It started as a writing assistant. Jeremy Allaire, the C.E.O. of the stablecoin company Circle, trained an A.I. agent to think and write like him, feeding it his podcast interviews, his public writing and a corpus of internal communications. He called it the “Jeremy Allaire skill.” The bot helped him compose drafts. And Allaire was impressed by how well the artificial intelligence captured the way he thinks and writes. So impressed that he decided to let the bot talk to his more than 1,000 employees. Because while Allaire can’t meet with everyone, he realized that the A.I. version of him can. “It’s available to everyone in the company who wants to have a dialogue with me.” Across the business world, many leaders are experimenting with similar tools. Consultants and executive coaches who don’t have the bandwidth to address every inquiry are referring some clients to their A.I. doubles. Harvard Business School professors have incorporated A.I. versions of themselves into courses and office hours. And executives are using their A.I. avatars to address employees in other countries in their own languages.

The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices (AP) The American job market continues to show surprising strength. Employers added 172,000 jobs in May—roughly double what forecasters had expected—and the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday. With just five months to go before consequential midterm elections in the U.S., Americans have grown increasingly frustrated by rising costs, and it’s unclear if the strong job numbers this year will change their gloomy view of the economy. Inflation data last week showed that in addition to gasoline, prices for groceries, clothing and electricity are also on the rise, indicating that inflation may be growing more entrenched. Many young people are still finding it tough to catch a break on a job, and workers who have been laid off have struggled to find another. Nearly 28% of the unemployed in April had been jobless for more than six months, the largest share since December 2021.

In Trump’s second term, financial gain has become a defining feature (CSM) On matters of personal and family money, President Donald Trump appears to be playing by a different rulebook from other presidents—and even from his own first term in office. By his own admission, he feels little pressure to restrict family business dealings simply because of his role in government. A tide of actions reflects the trend: Investors have pumped vast sums into Trump family members’ business interests. Projects such as the White House ballroom are being funded by donors who have dealings with the government. Agencies have granted no-bid contracts to Trump-friendly firms. And in the 19 months since his election, the personal fortunes of the president and his family have soared. To President Trump’s detractors, it’s unprecedented self-enrichment and corruption, or at the very least a failure to follow norms upheld by past occupants of the Oval Office. To defenders, including his Cabinet, staff, and base supporters, the criticism is politically motivated, aimed at punishing a president who they say is transparent in his dealings and follows all applicable laws.

Texas Races to Contain Screwworm as a Second Case Is Confirmed (NYT) Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said on Friday that the state is working with the federal government to slow the spread of the New World screwworm days after the first case was detected in the United States in decades. Mr. Abbott said in a press briefing Friday that Texas, led by the U.S.D.A., is dispersing millions of sterile male New World screwworm flies that would prevent wild female flies from producing offspring and gradually drive the population toward eradication. He also signed a statewide disaster declaration to ensure that the affected areas received resources ahead of what he said is likely to be “an extraordinarily challenging summer to get through this.” The move comes two days after the U.S.D.A. confirmed the first case of screwworm since the 1960s. The news unnerved the cattle and beef industries in Texas, long considered the heart of the American beef industry. Texas leads the nation in beef production, with more than 4.1 million cattle, and accounts for about 15 percent of beef production in the United States, according to the Texas Agriculture Department.

Pope acknowledges stiff competition with Bad Bunny this weekend in Spain (AP) Pope Leo XIV acknowledged Saturday as he headed to Spain that he’s competing with another VIP in Madrid this weekend. Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny is performing two shows of his 10-concert Spanish tour in the Spanish capital. Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Leo acknowledged the Bad Bunny draw when he referred to anecdotal reports of a newfound spiritual awakening especially among young people in Spain. The American pope said he understood that young adults are sensing a lack of meaning in their lives and mused that his visit might help “awaken” something in them. “If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

Ukraine targets St. Petersburg again after Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s offer for direct talks (AP) Residents of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, were told not to leave their homes after a “large-scale” Ukrainian drone attack targeted the city Saturday morning, local officials said, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia. Regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones. Although no casualties were immediately reported, the renewed attack on St. Petersburg strikes a further embarrassing blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

EU inches toward ‘membership-lite’ plan for candidate countries (Politico) EU leaders are seeking consensus on a plan to offer candidate countries some of the economic and political benefits of membership while they navigate the years-long process of joining the bloc. The proposal, drawn up by France and Germany, was presented ahead of a meeting of presidents and prime ministers in Montenegro on Friday. Paris and Berlin suggested offering Western Balkan candidate countries observer status in the EU institutions and limited access to the Single Market as they complete the accession process. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have all applied to join the EU and have been waiting for years while the terms are discussed. The idea of giving these countries pre-accession benefits is seen as a way to ensure they don’t become disillusioned.

Kosovo to hold third election in 18 months as frustration grows over political impasse (AP) Kosovo will hold its third parliamentary election in 18 months this weekend as frustration grows over a continued political impasse in the small Balkan country that is aspiring to move closer to the European Union and NATO. While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled disappointment among Kosovo’s around 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.

Laboring Under Delhi’s Harsh Heat, Workers Must Choose Health or Wages (NYT) Sunil Rastogi, an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi, normally works 12-hour days to make ends meet and save for the heart surgery he needs. But in summer, as temperatures climb above 100 degrees, he faces a dilemma. Should he work fewer hours, bringing home less for his family and delaying his surgery, or press ahead and risk worsening his fragile health? For millions of workers like Mr. Rastogi—wage laborers, construction workers, street vendors, delivery drivers—the scorching summer in New Delhi often forces them into a bitter trade-off between health and income. They keep the machinery of this city running, and they are among the most susceptible to its harshest conditions. On the hottest days, the surface temperature of the ground can reach 140 degrees, according to the Center for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based think tank.

Mideast war updates (Politico/compiled) Violence flared again in the Middle East Friday night, as the U.S. said Iran had sent drones toward the Strait of Hormuz, per Reuters. The U.S. military said it had shot down those drones and hit Iranian sites in response. There was also incoming from Iran in Bahrain and Kuwait.       Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker that peace negotiations are dragging on because Iranian leaders are “going to have to do” things that injure their pride. “They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” he said. A top adviser to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei got more specific: Mohsen Rezaei told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Claudia Otto that talks have come to a standstill over whether the U.S. will agree to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian funds. (As WSJ’s Laurence Norman notes, doing so would be “politically hazardous” for Trump.)       Meanwhile, Pentagon concerns about Israel spying on the U.S. have led the government to move Israel’s classification to the highest counterintelligence threat level, NBC’s Gordon Lubold and colleagues scooped. The White House said the story is false, and Israel said it doesn’t spy on its ally.       An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon Saturday killed several members of the Lebanese military, including a brigadier general, the Lebanese army said, days after the two sides reached a new ceasefire deal.

Most people across 36 countries have negative views of Israel and little confidence in Netanyahu (Pew Research Center) Majorities in most of the three dozen countries we’ve surveyed this year express an unfavorable view of Israel and little or no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These findings come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 8-May 13, 2026. Most interviews took place after the United States and Israel launched a military campaign in Iran on Feb. 28. Across the 36 countries, a median of 67% of adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, while 25% have a favorable view. While public sentiment toward Israel was already fairly negative last year, unfavorable views have become more common in 13 of the 24 countries where we have trend data. Majorities in most countries we surveyed say they are not too or not at all confident in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs. This includes more than half of adults in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.K., and the West Bank and East Jerusalem who say they have no confidence at all.