June 3, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 96.

• Amidst what Iran and the U.S. continue to claim is an ongoing cease-fire in the Middle East war, Iran fired multiple missiles and drones at targets in Kuwait and Bahrain overnight, including at the Kuwait's main airport, where at least one person was killed and several others were wounded. In response, U.S. forces launched strikes on an Iranian ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. [more]
• Israeli drone strikes targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon continued today, including on a car on a highway just south of Beirut and on the cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. The continued military action came as Israeli and Lebanese negotiators planned to meet for a second straight day today in Washington, DC. [more]
• Iranian state media reports that Iran stopped communicating with cease-fire mediators yesterday as regional tensions continue to escalate – a claim that U.S. President Donald Trump called "false and erroneous." [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,558 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Russia, today, sparking a fire and prompting the temporary closure of the city's airport. The attack came ahead of an economic forum in St. Petersburg at which Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to speak later this week. [more]
• Ukraine and Russia traded large-scale drone attacks overnight, with 198 drones fired at targets across Ukraine and 350 Ukrainian drones launched at Russian targets, according to reports. [more]

U.S. COMPENSATION FUND | Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday that the Trump administration is permanently abandoning plans to establish a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" meant to compensate allies of President Donald Trump who feel they were unfairly targeted in past investigations and prosecutions. Blanche noted, however, that another provision in the Justice Department's settlement with Trump over the leaking of his tax returns– an agreement by the IRS to permanently drop any investigations of Trump's past tax payments – will move forward as planned. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | The Trump administration, through the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has proposed imposing new import tariffs of 10-12.5% on goods from 60 countries, including some of the United States' largest trading partners, for allegedly failing to enforce a forced labor import ban. According to the Trade Representative, among the countries that would be affected are: Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, the U.K., China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, and Switzerland. [press release] [more]

MORE U.S. TARIFFS | In a proclamation issued this week, President Donald Trump adjusted tariffs on some imported metal-based products, including agricultural equipment and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, from 25% to 15% and expanded the existing list of industrial equipment subject to a 15% tariff to include mobile industrial equipment, such as bulldozers and forklifts, when imported from countries that have a trade deal with the United States. [White House fact sheet] [full proclamation] [more]

U.S. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday that mandates the development of operational directives and other guidance to facilitate access to AI-enabled cybersecurity tools and services by federal, state, and local agencies and operators of critical infrastructure and establishes an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse to which AI developers can voluntarily submit their models and products to identify and remediate software vulnerabilities. [White House fact sheet] [full executive order] [more]

CALIFORNIA | With an estimated 57% of votes counted as of early this morning in California's all-party gubernatorial primary, Republican Steve Hilton, Democrat Xavier Becerra, and Democrat Tom Steyer lead a pack of 61 candidates. The top two vote recipients, regardless of party, will advance to November's general election. [AP detailed analysis] [more]

ALABAMA | Overturning a lower court decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Alabama can use a congressional map that favors Republicans in this year's elections. The districting map, which has a majority-Black population in just one of the state's seven congressional districts, was adopted three ago and was found by a lower court to have intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. [more]

U.S., CANADA, AND MEXICO | In a letter sent to U.S. and Mexican trade representatives yesterday, Canadian trade minister Dominic LeBlanc formally requested that the three North American countries renew their United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, free trade agreement for another 16 years. Reports note that, under the terms of the agreement, the trade deal can either be subject to annual reviews or renewed for 16 years. [more]

UNITED NATIONS | Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected the next president of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly yesterday. Rahman will succeed former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whose one-year UNGA presidency term ends in September. [more]

IRAQ | Two powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq – Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Brigades – announced yesterday that they would begin turning their weapons over to authorities as part of ongoing national efforts to reign in militias and bolster alignment with the government of recently installed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. [more]

INDIA | Authorities in New Delhi, India, say at least 21 people were killed, and several others were injured, today when a fire swept through a restaurant and hotel in the city's Malviya Nagar neighborhood. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. [more]

SOLOMON ISLANDS | Speaking in Australia today, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale said his country will review a secretive security treaty signed with China during the tenure of his predecessor. Wale also announced, along with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, that his country and Australia plan to negotiate a comprehensive strategic treaty governing security and economic issues. [more]

ISRAEL | Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday that Israel's weapons exports reached a record-high of $19 billion in 2025 – up about 30% from 2024 – with missile, rocket, and air defense systems accounting for more than a quarter of the sales. [more]

U.K. | Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said yesterday that the British government will set a target for U.K. greenhouse gas emissions of an 87% reduction below 1990s levels by 2040 and keep its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. [more]

PORTUGAL | In the country's second general strike in six months, public transport, schools, and hospitals were disrupted across Portugal today as workers protested against a bill that proposes more than 100 changes to the country's labor laws. [more]

HOCKEY | The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-4, last night to take a 1-0 lead in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Final. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1989, the Chinese government called in the military to put down a pro-democracy demonstration carried out by more than 100,000 people in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, resulting in hundreds of deaths. [more history]