Trump has stated 55 times that he defeated Iran.
Trump has stated 35 times that Iran is destroyed.
Trump has stated 38 times that a deal is imminent.
Trump has stated 25 times that the Strait of Hormuz is open.
June 10, 2026
Polls
Interactive Polls
Sabato's Crystal Ball updated its 2026 U.S. House ratings:
Sabato's Crystal Ball updated its 2026 U.S. House ratings:
Republicans: 213
Democrats: 206
Toss-ups: 16 (13 GOP-held, 3 Dem)
——
Other June updates: Cook Political
GOP: 212
Dems: 205
Toss-ups: 18
——
Inside Elections
GOP: 217
Dems: 204
Toss-ups: 14Immigration
Newsweek - The Trump administration on Wednesday escalated its global crackdown on “birth tourism,” with the State Department detailing a series of enforcement actions targeting foreign nationals accused of using U.S. visitor visas to secure citizenship for their children.
In a series of posts on X, the State Department said it is “defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship” by shutting down networks that help pregnant travelers enter the United States under false pretenses, warning that visas will be denied or revoked if childbirth is the primary purpose of travel.
The posts outlining more than 600 cases underscore a broader immigration push that has intensified scrutiny of visa applicants worldwide, particularly those suspected of misrepresenting their intent during consular interviews.
Just wondering
Sam Smith - Why do we think we know more about Graham Platner than we actually know about Donald Trump?
Money
NY Times - U.S. inflation accelerated for a third-straight month in May amid a stalemate in negotiations to end the war with Iran, adding to the price pressures confronting consumers.
The Consumer Price Index report rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday. That is up from a 2.4 percent annual increase before the conflict in the Middle East started in February and is the fastest pace since April 2023. Over the course of the month, overall prices jumped 0.5 percent.
Energy prices drove the bulk of the increase in May, rising 3.9 percent over the month. Once those were stripped out alongside food prices, the “core” index rose 2.9 percent on a year-over-year basis. Core prices rose 0.2 percent for the month, a 0.2 percentage point decrease from April’s monthly rate.
Energy costs have been spilling into categories where they make up a large chunk of the ultimate price tag, including food and airline fares, which rose 2.7 percent in May and are up 26.7 percent since this time last year. Hotel rates also increased 0.5 percent, in a possible indication of impact from the World Cup, although the hospitality industry has been disappointed in demand for rooms.
The Consumer Price Index report rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday. That is up from a 2.4 percent annual increase before the conflict in the Middle East started in February and is the fastest pace since April 2023. Over the course of the month, overall prices jumped 0.5 percent.
Energy prices drove the bulk of the increase in May, rising 3.9 percent over the month. Once those were stripped out alongside food prices, the “core” index rose 2.9 percent on a year-over-year basis. Core prices rose 0.2 percent for the month, a 0.2 percentage point decrease from April’s monthly rate.
Energy costs have been spilling into categories where they make up a large chunk of the ultimate price tag, including food and airline fares, which rose 2.7 percent in May and are up 26.7 percent since this time last year. Hotel rates also increased 0.5 percent, in a possible indication of impact from the World Cup, although the hospitality industry has been disappointed in demand for rooms.
June 9, 2026
Donald Trump
The Guardian - Donald Trump is throwing himself quite the 80th birthday party at the White House on Sunday. All he needs now is for a federal judge, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a passing thunderstorm not to ruin it.
The watchdog group Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit on Saturday in DC federal court, seeking an emergency injunction to halt the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event before a single punch is thrown on 14 June – which is both Flag Day and the president’s birthday.
The case names the National Park Service and Department of the Interior as defendants, arguing the administration has broken multiple federal laws to accommodate what it describes as a “deeply corrupt” private commercial sporting event dressed up as a patriotic celebration.
While 4,300 military personnel are expected to be in attendance, nearly every celebrity Dana White, the UFC president, told Time magazine he had personally invited – including Johnson, Adam Sandler and Jared Leto – has reportedly declined. The event remains a coveted ticket among Washington power brokers, with donors, lobbyists and members of Congress jostling for seats.
Time - President Donald Trump was hailed with a chorus of boos on Monday night while attending Game 3 of the NBA finals to watch his hometown New York Knicks face off against the San Antonio Spurs. Trump—the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game—went as the guest of Knicks owner James Dolan, a long-time friend of the President who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his presidential campaigns. The Knicks ended up losing to the Spurs 115-111 in the third game of the best-of-seven series, which the Knicks lead by two games to one.
Alternet - President Donald Trump stormed out of an interview with NBC News this weekend after being pushed on false claims, and according to a certified speech pathologist, there might very well have been a dementia warning sign hidden in his explosive reaction.
On Sunday, NBC's Meet the Press released a sit-down interview with Trump conducted by Kristin Welker, in which the president became increasingly frustrated over tough questions. In particular, Welker pushed back on Trump's attempt to reiterate his false claims about elections in the U.S. being rigged, which he has made since losing the 2020 presidential race, and has rehashed this week as Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt lost a spot in the general election.
When Welker pressed him for evidence of these claims, which he has never been able to provide, he chastised her as either "crooked" or "stupid" and stormed out of the interview early. This prompted many shocked reactions from observers, with an MS NOW piece calling it the beginning of the end of his credibility as president, and CNN media analyst Brian Stelter calling it "one of the wildest interviews with President Trump that I've ever seen."
PS: Welker and Undernews editor Sam Smith both went to Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.
MS NOW - Trump’s latest ‘voter fraud’ claims may backfire on him in the fall The pushback against his claims about California’s primaries will inoculate the public against similar unsupported charges in November’s midterms.
“California’s election is not the problem here,” said Omar Noureldin, senior vice-president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a pro-democracy watchdog group. “The problem is that we have a president in the Oval Office who continues to lie and sow doubt over elections instead of facing accountability from voters.”
Trump lost his cool after a journalist pushed back on his latest attempt to sow doubt in election results, storming out of a Meet the Press interview which aired this weekend.
The outburst showcased a feature of Trump’s approach if results don’t go his way: he quickly declares them rigged, rallying his supporters and rightwing media to spread similar messages. California is the latest – and largest – test of this technique in this election cycle.
This year’s midterms will serve as an example of how the president will wield the federal government’s power at cities and states in a crusade to ensure his party maintains power.
Social Security
Newsweek - A major Social Security trust fund is set to be depleted faster than expected, a report released Tuesday showed, raising new concerns that states with larger aging populations will be hit harder. The report highlighted the rapid depletion of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, which helps fund retirement benefits and could run dry within the next decade unless Congress steps in.
The worsening outlook for the fund comes after the Trump administration introduced new tax rules in 2025, which reduced the amount seniors pay on their Social Security income, cutting revenue.
According to the report, effects of the OASI's depletion would be felt nationwide, but analysts say the pain would be concentrated in older, lower-income, and rural states.
"Washington is sleepwalking into a retirement crisis, allowing our nation’s most important trust funds to go insolvent at the expense of over 70 million beneficiaries who count on these programs," Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement shared with Newsweek.
"In just six years – during the next Senate class’s term – Social Security’s retirement fund will run out of money. Medicare will run out just half a year later. Today’s youngest retirees will be turning 68 when Social Security runs dry and 69 when Medicare does. Yet our leaders have no plan to prevent the abrupt 22% benefit cut or 11% payment cut that would ensue."
The worsening outlook for the fund comes after the Trump administration introduced new tax rules in 2025, which reduced the amount seniors pay on their Social Security income, cutting revenue.
According to the report, effects of the OASI's depletion would be felt nationwide, but analysts say the pain would be concentrated in older, lower-income, and rural states.
"Washington is sleepwalking into a retirement crisis, allowing our nation’s most important trust funds to go insolvent at the expense of over 70 million beneficiaries who count on these programs," Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement shared with Newsweek.
"In just six years – during the next Senate class’s term – Social Security’s retirement fund will run out of money. Medicare will run out just half a year later. Today’s youngest retirees will be turning 68 when Social Security runs dry and 69 when Medicare does. Yet our leaders have no plan to prevent the abrupt 22% benefit cut or 11% payment cut that would ensue."
Climate change
Inside Climate News - In recent years, extreme heat has devastated species across the animal kingdom. Howler monkeys suffering from heat stroke fell from trees in Mexico, thousands of flying foxes perished during a heat wave in Australia and millions of marine creatures boiled and starved off the United States West Coast and Alaska when ocean temperatures skyrocketed between 2014 and 2016.
A growing body of research finds the problem will only get worse in the coming decades, with thousands of species facing extinction by 2100 due to extreme heat and land-use change. While this research is crucial for guiding long-term conservation, fewer options are available to forecast potential heat catastrophes for wildlife in the near-term, said Josep M. Serra-Diaz, an ecologist at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona.
Serra-Diaz told me that analyses often focus on the past or the more distant future, and that “there was a gap here between these two worlds.”
The new early warning system, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change and co-authored by Serra-Diaz, is trying to help fill that gap. To identify where animals may experience higher-than-normal heat, the researchers combined forecasts from NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System with species-specific historical temperature limits for more than 30,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. They tested their system by applying it to a past timeframe we already have data for—2024, the hottest year on record globally.
The system predicted that between May 2024 and February 2025, more than 3,500 species would be exposed to temperatures higher than previously experienced across their known ranges. Geographic ranges for amphibians and reptiles were expected to have the highest percentage of heat exposure, while birds had lower proportions of their ranges in that higher temperature threshold. The forecast showed Mexico would be among the most affected regions, particularly in the state of Tabasco, where the howler monkeys died in droves that year.
The study found that many regions could have been warned of potential exposure three to five months in advance if the forecast had been available. It also suggests that preventive efforts, such as creating refuges for animals to survive extreme heat, may have aided nearly 500 species of conservation concern across their ranges throughout this time period.
Inside Climate News - Wildfires have worsened ozone levels across the United States so much over the last decade that they have reversed around four years of progress, a new study has found. Surface ozone levels, or smog concentrations, steadily increased from 2015 to 2024, deteriorating air quality across the Midwest and Western U.S., researchers at the University of Iowa found in a study released Thursday. According to the study authors, this contributed to an increase of 318 premature deaths per year from fire-sourced ozone since 2013. Their NASA-funded research mapped these ozone levels in kilometer-by-kilometer grids across the entire continental U.S between 2003 and 2024.
They also used AI and machine learning to incorporate different components, such as satellite observations and air quality forecasts into their models. The researchers said they strengthened this by measuring surface ozone levels by parts per billion (ppb) and comparing it against the data from the Environmental Protection Agency. While the models themselves cannot predict future ozone levels, Weizhi Deng, the principal author on the study, is concerned about the trajectory of ozone levels based on their conclusions.
Making war a national goal
While almost every cabinet level department is named after a positive goal, such as the environment or justice, an exception is the Trump regime's use of the term "Department of War." Are we expected to seek war the way we seek fair laws or a cleaner environment?
On September 5, 2025, President Trump introduced “Department of War” as a secondary title for the Department of Defense in an executive order. Is the "Department of War” the new department name?
Yes and no: the DOD can use “Department of War” as a secondary title, but Congress would need to pass legislation to officially change an agency’s name. And while an act formalizing the name change has been introduced to Congress, it hasn’t passed the House or the Senate. So it’s still officially the Department of Defense under the Federal Register and on USA.gov, but the DOD does refer to itself using the secondary title, the “Department of War.”
The DOD may use ‘Department of War’ informally, but changing its official name requires an act of Congress. MORE
Polls
Pew Research - The latest polling from the Pew Research Center is a damning indictment of the political establishment in this country. About 60% of Americans have a negative view of both Republicans and Democrats — and Democrats are 1% less popular.
So even with the absolute disasters controlling the White House and Congress, Americans still say they dislike Democrats — even slightly more than they dislike Republicans.
This is why Democrats still lose — even when Republicans are unpopular. ....
Middle East
Headline USA - Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things.Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations.
The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. That’s because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal.
Roll Call - The U.S.-Iran war appears to have no end in sight, as it hit its 100-day mark over the weekend despite President Trump’s campaign promises to keep the U.S. out of long-term foreign conflicts. Trump denied ever promising not to start any new wars and disputed that Washington’s conflict with Tehran constituted an “endless war” during an interview with NBC News’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that aired on Sunday.
However, the president continues to be dogged by questions about the war’s peace prospects as renewed strikes between Israel and Iran threaten the fragile truce between the U.S. and Iran. “The ceasefire was always more theoretical than real,” said Michael Rubin, a Pentagon official during the second Bush administration.
... One former Trump administration official argued the strikes between Israel and Iran do not jeopardize the ceasefire because it is in Iran’s interests for the negotiations to drag out. “Iran is playing a bit of a game here in trying to position that they might jeopardize the talks,” the former official said. “They think they benefit from the talks dragging out over time.”
Others warn that the Iranian regime’s position poses a long-term risk to the country’s own economy if the talks drag. According to Al-Jazeera, the Central Bank of Iran reported last week that the country’s annual inflation rate spiked to 77.2 percent during the period between April 21 and May 20 compared to last year. The report also found that point-to-point inflation for goods spiked to 113 percent.
And while Iran’s stock market reopened late last month after being shut down for 80 days due to the war, 40 major companies remained suspended with their latest financial reports outstanding.
“We, actually, as the United States, have a fair amount of leverage at this point, and I have no problem with letting that build,” said Victoria Coates, a member of Trump’s National Security Council during his first administration.
“They can probably limp along for a couple of months,” she continued. “But those kinds of systemic problems that they have, they compound. If you continue limping along, it becomes harder and harder to come back.”
Iran’s oil industry was dealt a major blow Monday, when Israel struck the massive petrochemical complex in Mahshahr.
“They were counting on, particularly that industry springing back to life pretty quickly when the strait was reopened so they could start getting that out. It’s one of their most lucrative exports, and that’s now gone,” she said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
But as Republicans seek to defend their majorities in the House and Senate, Trump is facing political pressure back home to wrap up the war. Democrats have seized on rising energy prices and voters’ disillusionment over the conflict.
“Another expensive conflict with no end in sight is not what the American people want or need right now,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), noting the war powers resolutions in the House and the Senate that would theoretically force Trump to end the conflict.
While a war powers resolution’s passage in the House last week was largely symbolic, four GOP lawmakers notably voted with Democrats on the measure.
Many Republicans push back against calling the Iran conflict an “endless war,” noting the ceasefire that has been in place since April.
“It’s hard for me to see this as a quagmire,” Coates said. “That said, the Iranians have a vote in all of this.”
Iran announced on Monday that it was suspending ballistic missile attacks on Israel but warned of “a harsher and more crushing response” if Israel restarted attacks in southern Lebanon.
Observers note that Iran has been working to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Israel with Lebanon.
Last week, Trump expressed his frustrations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s incursion into Lebanon during a heated phone call. The incursion was part of Israel’s effort to target the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah; however, Iran announced it was suspending talks with the U.S. after Israel’s attacks.
Tensions between Israel and Iran reached a breaking point on Sunday, after Iran launched missiles into Israel, marking the first time Tehran fired into Israel during its ceasefire with the U.S. Israel responded, hitting military targets in western and central Iran.
Trump’s reply to the back-and-forth signaled a shift in his rhetoric toward Israel, which was closely partnered with Washington at the beginning of the war.
“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” Trump, referring to Netanyahu, told the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday.
Trump also told the publication that Israel “won’t have any choice” but to accept any potential deal to end the war with Iran.
Rubin said Trump’s comments toward Netanyahu were a part of the U.S. president’s effort to “bully” his Israeli counterpart.
“He plays into Iranian conspiracies by depicting Israel as an American proxy,” Rubin said. “Instead, Trump should tell Iran: ‘You want Israel to stop whacking Hezbollah? Then talk to the Israelis directly.'”
In a statement aired on Israeli television on Monday, Netanyahu warned that if Iran “makes a mistake and resumes attacks against us,” Israel “will respond forcefully.”
A White House official confirmed that Trump and Netanyahu spoke Monday, while Netanyahu described Trump as his “friend” and their conversations as “positive” in his statement.
Rubin argued it would behoove Trump to take advantage of the Israeli and Lebanese governments sharing a common enemy in Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is more of a threat to Lebanese sovereignty than Israel,” he said.
Coates acknowledged that there is tension, particularly over Lebanon, between the U.S. and Israeli leaders, but argued Iran has not been successful in driving a wedge between them.
“They’re two very powerful personalities in very high pressure jobs,” she said. “It doesn’t mean the alliance is fracturing, or it would have fractured 10 years ago.”
Stellantis recalls more than 1 million Jeeps in U.S
Newsbreak - Chrysler's parent company, Stellantis, says it's recalling almost 1.08 million Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators in the U.S. due to a potential fire hazard. The company notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall.
The model years involved are 2021 - 2025. Stellantis explained in a statement to CBS News that the Jeeps "may have an electrical connection issue in the electric hydraulic power steering pump wiring. In rare circumstances, this may cause combustible materials to overheat, potentially leading to a vehicle fire.
The model years involved are 2021 - 2025. Stellantis explained in a statement to CBS News that the Jeeps "may have an electrical connection issue in the electric hydraulic power steering pump wiring. In rare circumstances, this may cause combustible materials to overheat, potentially leading to a vehicle fire.
Best states for working dads
WalltetHub - To help fathers manage the demands of both parenting and providing, WalletHub evaluated all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key indicators of how supportive each place is for working dads. The analysis includes factors such as average workday length for men, childcare costs, and the percentage of men in good or better health.
Best vs. Worst
| Best States for Working Dads | Worst States for Working Dads |
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. South Carolina |
| 2. Connecticut | 43. Arkansas |
| 3. District of Columbia | 44. Arizona |
| 4. New Jersey | 45. Oklahoma |
| 5. Rhode Island | 46. West Virginia |
| 6. Minnesota | 47. Alabama |
| 7. New Hampshire | 48. Mississippi |
| 8. Virginia | 49. Nevada |
| 9. Vermont | 50. Louisiana |
| 10. Washington | 51. New Mexico |
Best vs. Worst
- Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate for dads with kids aged 0 to 17 which is 3.4 times lower than in West Virginia, the highest.
- Massachusetts has the lowest male uninsured rate which is 5.7 times lower than in Texas, the highest.
- Mississippi has the lowest average annual early child-care costs (adjusted for median family income) which is two times lower than in New Mexico, the highest.
- Hawaii has the lowest share of men who couldn’t afford to see a doctor in the past year because of costs which is 2.5 times lower than in Tennessee, the highest.
Pentagon tries to redefine religions
The Hill - The Pentagon has adjusted a list of religious denominations for active service members following backlash from Mormon lawmakers in Congress. Following up on a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year, the Department of Defense announced Friday that it reduced the number of religious designations that service members can register for from 200 to 31. He said the old system was “impractical,” with many designations not being used at all.
But the updated list received criticism over the weekend from multiple Utah members of Congress, who protested that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) was not labeled under “Christian.”....
An updated list shared Monday includes just 30 faith codes, including LDS, with no specification for which ones fall under Christian denomination.
“Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the Pentagon said on X.
The updated list allows service members to identify as various Christian denominations or as Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Bahá’i or agnostic. Other past options such as atheist, pagan and humanist have been left out.
Global conflicts at highest level since WWII
NPR - Global conflicts have risen to the highest number since World War II, according to a new study by researchers at a Swedish university. There were 65 active conflicts in 2025, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program at Uppsala University, a leading source for information on global violence. Out of that total, direct conflicts between individual states doubled from the previous year, reaching eight — the highest since UCDP began collecting data in 1946. These conflicts included wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Iran and Israel; and disputes between India and Pakistan. The study also indicates that fatalities soared to approximately 244,600 in 2025, marking the highest toll since 1994. That's up from 187,000 deaths recorded in 2024.
ICE
The Intercept - ICE detainees at the notorious Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey are being attacked with pepper spray and batons and have endured “scalding hot showers that have led to burns and blisters; worms in food; and [are] being denied medical care,” according to relatives and members of Congress who have accessed the facility.
Meanwhile, federal agents and state police have tear-gassed and beaten peaceful protesters outside the jail, which is operated by for-profit prison giant GEO Group. This should be a national scandal. However, too many major corporate media outlets are downplaying the crisis at Delaney Hall or simply echoing the Trump administration’s message.
Ukraine
The Guardian
In the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskyy says he is feeling upbeat and has been grateful for military support from the US, but has a pointed message for Washington. Speaking to Luke Harding and Pippa Crerar in London, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that the priority of Trump’s second term in foreign policy had shifted away from Ukraine to conflict in the Middle East. “It’s a pity,” he said, that compared with the help given to the US’s Gulf allies and Israel after the US-Israel war against on Tehran began, Ukraine had never received “that volume of support”. What did Zelenskyy say about Trump’s relationship with Putin? He carefully praised US diplomatic efforts, despite his bruising encounter in the Oval Office and the fact that Trump has been willing to meet Vladimir Putin, saying: “I always said to President Trump that Putin is lying. He plays games with you, with the White House.” Does he see any prospect of the war ending? The military situation was the most promising it had been for Kyiv for two and a half years, Zelenskyy ssaid. “We can’t say Russia is losing this war. But we can say they are losing the initiative each day, day by day,” he added. “Victory in this war is when Russian society recognises that the war is awful, that the war is a tragedy not for someone, somewhere, but for themselves.” |
Immigration
Roll Call - A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to charge a $100,000 fee for companies seeking to employ foreign workers with an H-1B visa, ruling in part that it oversteps Congress’ taxing power. In the ruling, Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found the Trump administration’s policy was effectively a tax, and that Congress in an immigration law had not given presidents the power to tax.
Environment
SmileHub - With nearly two-thirds of Americans believing the quality of the environment in the U.S. is getting worse, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2026.
SmileHub compared the eco-friendliness of all 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to the share of renewable energy consumption to energy efficiency score.
SmileHub compared the eco-friendliness of all 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to the share of renewable energy consumption to energy efficiency score.
Best States | Worst States | |
| 1. California | 41. Kansas | |
| 2. Washington | 42. Alaska | |
| 3. New York | 43. Iowa | |
| 4. Vermont | 44. Kentucky | |
| 5. Hawaii | 45. North Dakota | |
| 6. Maryland | 46. Wyoming | |
| 7. Massachusetts | 47. Alabama | |
| 8. New Jersey | 48. Mississippi | |
| 9. Virginia | 49. West Virginia | |
| 10. Oregon | 50. Louisiana | |
Key Stats
- California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita – 9.9 times higher than Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.
- New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation – 3 times higher than Mississippi, which has the lowest share.
- South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption – 27 times higher than Alaska, which has the lowest share.
June 8, 2026
Polls
Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research - Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.
Americans remain divided about whether diversity is an essential feature of the U.S.'s identity, and agreement about other aspects of the country’s underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago. About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is highly important to the U.S.’s identity as a nation, down from 80% in 2021.
Money
CBS News - Roughly 48% of Americans said their financial situation was worse in May than a year ago, the highest share since January 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Survey of Consumer Expectations. Consumers are also less optimistic about the future. The share of households expecting their finances to improve over the next year, relative to those expecting them to worsen, fell to its lowest level since October 2022, the New York Fed said.
The findings come amid an inflation spike driven by the Iran war, which has sent oil and gas prices soaring. The May Consumer Price Index, set to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show that the annual pace of inflation accelerated to 4.2% last month, according to financial data firm FactSet. That would mark the highest level in three years.
The survey also found growing public anxiety about the state of the labor market. About 15% of Americans said they believe they could lose their jobs within the next year, 0.5 percentage points above the series' 12-month average. Meanwhile, confidence in finding a new job fell to its lowest level since December 2025.
Trump regime
NY Times - The White House is seeking to exert more control over billions of dollars in annual government grants, aiming to restrict a vast swath of funding — in health, housing, science and transportation — so that it primarily serves the purposes and organizations politically aligned with President Trump.
While the administration says that its primary goal is to safeguard taxpayer money, its proposal amounts to a major escalation in its attempt to reimagine the nation’s spending, even as Congress and the courts continue to rebuke the president for abusing such powers.
Mr. Trump’s ambitions were made clear in a roughly 400-page blueprint that was released to little fanfare on Friday. If finalized, it would require all federal grants to be approved by the president’s political appointees, who must ensure that the money would “demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities.”
Among the most notable proposals is the repeal of a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of who qualifies as a gun dealer. That rule was intended to require more firearm sellers to obtain federal licenses and conduct background checks. The administration is also proposing changes that critics say would make it harder for regulators to revoke dealers' licenses for violating federal rules.
A separate proposal from the U.S. Postal Service would allow lawful handgun owners to mail handguns under certain conditions. The change follows a Justice Department legal opinion that questioned the constitutionality of a federal restriction dating back nearly a century.
Best vacation cities
WalletHub - With nearly 72% of Americans expected to travel this summer despite significant inflation driving up travel costs, the personal-finance company WalletHub has released its report on the 2026’s Best & Worst Cities for Staycations, along with expert insights and commentary.
To determine the top destinations for staying close to home, WalletHub evaluated more than 180 cities across 41 key factors that measure both affordability and entertainment value. The study considered metrics ranging from the number of parks per capita to the average cost of restaurant meals.
Best vs. Worst
To determine the top destinations for staying close to home, WalletHub evaluated more than 180 cities across 41 key factors that measure both affordability and entertainment value. The study considered metrics ranging from the number of parks per capita to the average cost of restaurant meals.
| Best Cities for Staycations | Worst Cities for Staycations |
| 1. Orlando, FL | 173. Oakland, CA |
| 2. Cincinnati, OH | 174. Santa Ana, CA |
| 3. Las Vegas, NV | 175. Newark, NJ |
| 4. St. Louis, MO | 176. Hialeah, FL |
| 5. Honolulu, HI | 177. Laredo, TX |
| 6. Salt Lake City, UT | 178. Irving, TX |
| 7. Atlanta, GA | 179. Chula Vista, CA |
| 8. Tampa, FL | 180. Fremont, CA |
| 9. Chicago, IL | 181. Yonkers, NY |
| 10. Portland, ME | 182. Pearl City, HI |
Best vs. Worst
- Boston has the most parks (per square root of population), which is 14.1 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest.
- Honolulu has the most tennis courts (per square root of population), which is 18.4 times more than in Mesa, Arizona, the city with the fewest.
- Orlando has the most ice cream & frozen yogurt shops (per square root of population), which is 61.1 times more than in South Burlington, Vermont, the city with the fewest.
- Amarillo, Texas, has the lowest cost of house-cleaning services, which is 3.4 times less expensive than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the highest.
Senate rejects Save America Act
Newsflash - The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections.
Senators voted 48-50 against advancing an amendment that would have incorporated Trump’s top legislative priority into an immigration-focused spending bill. The vote offered the clearest sign yet that despite pressure from the president, a handful of Republican senators continue to resist advancing the bill, which critics say would unleash immense chaos ahead of elections this fall.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to offer documents, such as a birth certificate or passport, proving their citizenship when registering to vote. It would also mandate voters show photo ID when casting a ballot and restrict where voters can register, effectively eliminating voter registration drives.
Democrats and voting rights groups have assailed the bill, saying it would disenfranchise voters and upend the midterms because the new rules would take effect immediately. Trump and the bill’s GOP supporters say it’s needed to combat noncitizen voting, an extremely rare phenomenon.
Since taking office last year, Trump has made a series of attempts to shape how elections are run. An executive order that would limit voting by mail remains in effect for now as opponents challenge it in federal court, and the Department of Justice continues to seek to force states to hand over sensitive voter data, so far unsuccessfully.
The Senate amendment, offered by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also included restrictions on sports participation by transgender athletes. On social media after the vote, Graham called the SAVE America Act “one of the most consequential” pieces of legislation developed by Trump and his team.
“All Democrats voted no, and they will eventually pay a price,” Graham wrote.
Republicans also vote no
But the proposal fell short among a small group of Republicans, too. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democrats in voting no.
Collins is seeking reelection in what is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. McConnell and Tillis have both opted against seeking reelection, while Murkowski has said the bill would set up barriers for voters in her large, rural state.
Sixty votes would have been needed to advance the amendment — the same threshold to overcome a filibuster.
Climate change
The Guardian - The Trump administration has plans to shutter the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a massive US-funded network of seafloor sensors and underwater gliders. Why worry? Because a recent study found that losing this specific network would do more damage to global climate tracking than randomly losing 80% of all other ocean data combined. It plugs gaps no other nation fills, and losing it will severely degrade the data that underpins the world’s weather predictions, El Niño forecasting, and fisheries management.
Middle East
The Guardian - Israel has again attacked Iran, in apparent defiance of the US president, Donald Trump, who had said in an recent interview that “I call all the shots”, not the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The attack was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj and Tabriz. Iran also launched about 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel, in response to Israel bombing a target in southern Beirut. How has Trump responded? “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote in a social media post.
How is the wider region being affected? Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens in an area home to Prince Sultan airbase that hosts US forces. The Israeli army also said it was working to intercept a missile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who joined the Middle East war in March in support of Iran, have previously launched attacks on Israel.
The attack was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj and Tabriz. Iran also launched about 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel, in response to Israel bombing a target in southern Beirut. How has Trump responded? “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote in a social media post.
How is the wider region being affected? Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens in an area home to Prince Sultan airbase that hosts US forces. The Israeli army also said it was working to intercept a missile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who joined the Middle East war in March in support of Iran, have previously launched attacks on Israel.
Just a reminder
Sam Smith - War is not foreign policy. It is either defense against an invasion or the presumably self serving creation of an attack on a country. Trump doesn't get to do the latter and claim it as worthy foreign policy.
ICE
Headline USA - More than 80 anti-ICE demonstrators have been arrested following a series of protests at Delaney Hall in Newark, where demonstrators say they are showing up in solidarity with detainees. The protesters, some wearing gas masks and helmets, have used traffic cones, trash cans and other items as makeshift shields, and they tried to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche shared images online of bloody wounds and bruises sustained by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Cuba
Wall Street Journal - Mastercard and Visa transactions by non-U.S. foreign visitors are being suspended, hotel operators are scaling back or pulling out and one of Cuba’s biggest foreign investors is reconsidering its presence on the island. For decades, international companies accepted the risks of doing business in Cuba. Now, as the Trump administration ratchets up the pressure and the economy deteriorates, many are deciding the risks outweigh the rewards.
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