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Today's top stories
American aircraft fired on a number of Iranian sites over the weekend, according to the U.S. military, including on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said this morning that it has responded by firing on a U.S. military base. Despite these volatile conditions, President Trump said on Truth Social this morning that "Iran really wants to make a deal," and told Americans to "just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end."
- 🎧 The war in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the militant group Hezbollah, could undermine efforts to end the war in Iran, NPR's Greg Myre tells Up First. Israeli forces captured a 900-year-old hilltop castle in southern Lebanon over the weekend as part of Israel's deepest push into the country in decades. Israel says Hezbollah was using the area to fire on nearby northern Israel. Iran has issued almost daily statements supporting Hezbollah and says peace efforts must address wars in both Iran and Lebanon, Myre says. But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he wants Israeli forces to keep going in Lebanon.
Congress returns to Washington with a long to-do list. Lawmakers left for a Memorial Day break without passing a plan to fund immigration enforcement for the rest of Trump's term. The funding measure is stuck because of concerns about the Trump administration's push for an anti-weaponization fund. The administration says the fund would allow the DOJ to pay people who claim they were targeted by the federal government. Critics are concerned it could potentially provide cash payments to Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
- 🎧 Some members of Congress are angry that the president unilaterally allocated the money for the anti-weaponization fund, even though Congress is supposed to decide how money is spent, NPR's Eric McDaniel says. Democrats proposed amendments to the three-year immigration enforcement bill that would put their Republican peers on the record about the fund. When it became clear that an amendment to outlaw the fund could garner around 30 Republican votes, GOP leaders delayed voting on the immigration package. But McDaniel says waiting hasn't made things easier.
Trump's anti-weaponization fund isn't just getting pushback from Congress, but also from the courts. The nearly $1.8 billion fund was established as part of a settlement stemming from Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who initially dismissed the lawsuit after the settlement, now says she will review the case. A group of 35 retired federal judges filed a motion last week saying that Trump's lawsuit against the IRS was "itself a fraud on the court." Because the IRS is an agency the president oversees as the leader of the executive branch, the judges say that Trump was, in a sense, both the plaintiff and the defendant in the case. Judge Williams has given Trump's lawyers until June 12 to respond to the motion. The DOJ has been temporarily blocked from establishing the fund following a Virginia judge's ruling.
Watch this
Go face-to-face with the person of the moment. NPR's Newsmakers video podcast brings the biggest names in politics, business, sports, arts, and culture out of the headlines and into the interview chair to discuss the mark they're making on the world. Follow the Newsmakers podcast or subscribe to NPR's YouTube channel to get new episodes as soon as they're available.
Graham Platner seemingly emerged out of nowhere to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate seat in Maine. But his campaign has been dogged by controversies, including racist comments and remarks blaming sexual assault on victims in old, deleted Reddit posts. He has covered a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. And, most recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage. The incidents raise a big question: Does Platner have too much baggage to carry on? Or can the anti-establishment political message that has generated much enthusiasm among his Democratic base carry him through?
In a conversation with Leila Fadel for NPR's Newsmakers, Platner addresses some of his controversies, the failures of his own party and his criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The interview was recorded before news broke of the explicit sexual messages.
Watch or listen to the interview or read the article about their discussion.
Picture show
Kenya's Lake Turkana is the world's largest permanent desert lake. Its waters have long sustained hundreds of thousands of people in one of the most isolated and neglected parts of the country. But the lake now faces multiple threats. Rising water levels have displaced thousands, damaged infrastructure and disrupted fishing, while persistent drought has pushed many herders into fishing, further straining an already delicate ecosystem. See photos from villages near the lake and read stories from residents about how life has changed.
3 things to know before you go
- A United Airlines flight headed to Spain from Newark, N.J., turned around midflight on Saturday over what appears to have been a suspiciously named Bluetooth device on board.
- Trump has suggested replacing an event celebrating America's 250th birthday with a MAGA rally after several artists pulled out of The Great American State Fair.
- An unsettling boom heard over the greater Boston area on Saturday may have come from an exploding meteor. (via WBUR)
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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