Senate Republicans Threaten Hegseth Funding Over Iran School Strike

The Senate approved a bill that will freeze Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funds until he shares intelligence on the strike.

The New Republic

The Man Who Wouldn’t Give Up on Liberty

One revolution made Lafayette a hero. Another nearly destroyed him. The story of America’s favorite Frenchman.

The Bulwark

‘A Directive From Above’: Former NYT Editor Lays Out How The Paper Pushes Anti-Trans Bigotry

In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it’s directed from the very top and the damage this legitimization of bigotry has done

Trans News Network

Alpha-gal, Tick Illness Risks Rise in Mississippi

Experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The University of Southern Mississippi say warmer, humid conditions and the movement of deer, birds and pets are making it easier for people to encounter ticks in yards, wooded areas and places where animals travel.

Mississippi Free Press

Louisiana environmental justice activists navigate pushback under Trump. ‘No one on our side.’

“The state of (environmental justice) is we’re in a bad place. We’re hanging on by a thread,” said Beverly Wright, founder of The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, a New Orleans-based organization hit hard by cuts in federal grants.

“But I take heart in the fact that we have been here before and during worse times and under worse conditions, with fewer allies than what we have now.”

NOLA

Senate’s likely next No. 2 warns Trump if Democrats take the majority: ‘It’s going to be a fight’ on key values

“The quality of the nominees would immediately have to go up, because they’re not going to get people like Bill Pulte or RFK Jr. or Pete Hegseth through the United States Senate if the Democrats run that,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, listing some of the president’s more controversial administration picks, who have received no votes of confidence from Democrats.

CNN

Trump’s Intel Chief Arrives to Work Early, Seeks List of Names to Fire

Bill Pulte is officially at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—and causing havoc.

The New Republic

From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas

Freedom in Texas was achieved both after—and before—formal emancipation.

Texas Observer

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Hunger Crisis

His solution to the food affordability crisis is to cut programs that help people afford food.

The Bulwark

35 Essential LGBTQ Pride Songs

From Sylvester to Pansy Divsion to Lil Nas X, from disco to punk to pop

Rolling Stone

Trump threats shake up US-Iran talks in Switzerland on deal’s details

U.S. President Donald Trump continued to threaten Iran on Sunday even as talks began in Switzerland between his vice president and Iranian officials on next steps in the interim agreement signed last week to end the war.

Chicago Tribune

Haitians in Ohio with temporary protected status prepare for upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a decision either by the end of June or early July on whether the Trump administration can end the Temporary Protected Status program for Haitian and Syrian nationals.

Ohio Capital Journal

Americans keep voting for scandal‑prone candidates because they just don’t want the other party to win

These actions can coexist thanks to two forces that political science has much to say about, precepts that have been steadily increasing in relevance over the past few decades: party polarization – or the distance between the two parties – and negative partisanship, voters’ tendency to vote based on negative feelings toward the other party.

The Conversation

The long game: These are the states where Democrats could redistrict for 2028

At least seven blue states are taking steps to redraw maps for 2028 and eliminate Republican-held House seats, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) said last month.

Democracy Docket

When teens drive less, they don’t register to vote. Here’s how civic groups are adapting.

Since Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993, nearly all states must allow residents to register to vote at motor vehicle offices. But fewer teens are obtaining driver’s licenses today, translating into fewer trips to the local Department of Motor Vehicles and more missed chances to register.

Arkansas Advocate

Cervical cancer deaths for vaccinated young women fall to zero in England: study

It is the first time not a single death has been recorded in the age group, with the vaccine estimated to have saved the lives of nearly 200 young women.

CTV News

Polls close in Colombia vote with Espriella and Cepeda advancing to runoff

Lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and peace-builder Iván Cepeda were leading the vote counts in the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections on Sunday, and are to face off in a presidential runoff in the South American nation later in June.

PBS

In Gaza, Fathers Can’t Promise Their Children Food, Safety, or Even Survival

Every Palestinian father faces the impossible task of trying to create a sense of safety in a place where there is none.

Truthout

Bolivian authorities say no active blockades after state of emergency decree

State of emergency permits deployment of military to support police amid five weeks of anti-government protests.

AlJazeera

Larger World Cup led to criticism and predictions of lopsided affairs. The results tell a different story.

Not long after FIFA announced an expanded 48-team World Cup, criticism began to pour in about how the quality of the tournament would likely be worsened.

Chicago Tribune

Sadiq Khan: ‘Brexit has cost Britain billions. It’s imperative we rejoin the EU’

Polls show that the number of people in favour of rejoining the European Union is growing. The mayor of London sees no sense in delaying the inevitable

The Observer

Cambodia cracked down on scams costing Americans billions. It created a new crisis

But the crackdown has created a secondary crisis: thousands of stranded foreign workers transported to Cambodia by the online scam operators and forced to work as hostage employees are now roaming the streets of Phnom Penh, after being freed when the scam operations closed. NGOs, including Amnesty International, say many of the workers are victims of human trafficking. They are now at the center of a silent humanitarian crisis in Cambodia, aid workers say, left with few options and abandoned amid the highly-publicized government crackdown. 

NPR

‘This might actually force some actual brain cells to fire’: Norway is banning younger school kids from using generative AI

Starting in September, children in grades 1-7 (primary school, younger than 13) will “generally not be given access to AI” according to the official ruling translated from Norwegian (via Reuters). From ages 13 and up, “AI can be used gradually and cautiously”, provided teachers have been given the necessary training.

TechRadar

Chile turned to China for an undersea cable. The U.S. said no

A proposed undersea cable from Chile to Hong Kong promised to connect South America directly to Asia. Instead, it became a test of how far the U.S. will go to curb Chinese telecom ambitions.

Rest of World

Can the Special Seats Bill deliver the gender parity Nigeria needs?

Hundreds of women rallied in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, on June 11, urging lawmakers to pass the Special Seats Bill (also known as the Reserved Seats Bill), a constitutional amendment designed to tackle the severe underrepresentation of women in parliament. 

Global Voices

Starmer is on the precipice as pressure builds for the UK leader to resign

Starmer has publicly vowed to stay in office, but pressure is building as more and more Labour Party colleagues conclude that his time is up. Expectation is growing that he will announce a timetable for his resignation as soon as Monday. That’s the day Burnham will be sworn in as a lawmaker in the House of Commons after winning a special election last week.

PBS