Top Stories for the Week of May 31

These are the top stories for this week

The wife of Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner told his campaign in 2025 about sexual messages he had sent to other women; Amy Gertner, whom Platner has been married to since November 2023, made the disclosure during an internal vetting process at the beginning of his campaign. In a statement, Gertner said they went through counseling and her marriage "is stronger than ever before." Source

President Trump announced at a White House dinner Wednesday night that he plans to formally nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the permanent role. Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, has led the Justice Department since April after Pam Bondi was fired. Source

The Senate voted 52-47 to pass a reconciliation package that funded ICE for the next three years. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican who voted no. Find out More

Four Republican Senators – Thom Tillis (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – joined with every Democrat to block adding the SAVE Act to a reconciliation package. See Details

President Trump named Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte as his surprise pick to replace Tulsi Gabbard as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. See Details

Protests in Southampton, England, grew over the death of Henry Nowak. Protesters accuse police of anti-white racism in the killing of Nowack, who was handcuffed and left to die after police found him allegedly stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old British Sikh man. Despite Nowack saying "I can't breathe," the police never removed the handcuffs. See Details

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will permanently end any attempt to create an "anti-weaponization" fund, as the White House simultaneously seeks to revive stalled legislation funding ICE and the Border Patrol. A June 12 hearing will determine whether the freeze is extended. Source

Trump's phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu turned heated as the president pressed Israel to scale back its Lebanon offensive, which threatens to derail the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire framework. The tension reflects a growing divide over how aggressively Israel should press its military advantage while nuclear talks remain unresolved. Source

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) announced Thursday he would vote against confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general, adding to the list of senators voicing opposition to the nomination. Fetterman cited the proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund — which a federal judge has since blocked — as a central concern. See Details

Multiple mail-in ballots were discovered burned inside a Los Angeles ballot drop box on Monday, just one day before today's statewide primary election. Authorities are also investigating vandalism at a separate L.A. voting center, raising concerns about election integrity on one of the biggest primary days in recent California history. See Details

Farmer Zach Lahn scored a significant upset Tuesday over incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa's GOP gubernatorial primary, dealing a blow to the Trump-aligned establishment candidate. Lahn will face Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor, in the fall general election. The MAHA movement, Turning Point USA, and podcasters like Tucker Carlson backed Lahn. Source

Seven Democrat-led states filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Trump administration's cancellation of a major offshore wind farm planned off the coast of New York. The states argued the administration violated federal law by terminating the project without adequate review. Source

Remains identified as Melissa Casias, 54, an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory who went missing in June 2025, were discovered by a hiker in Carson National Forest over the weekend. Casias is among 11 scientists or defense-linked personnel whose deaths or disappearances have drawn FBI and House Oversight scrutiny for potential ties to U.S. nuclear secrets. See Details

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard disclosed Thursday that her husband, Abraham Williams, has been diagnosed with a very rare sacral chordoma — a type of tumor affecting the base of the spine — and has been experiencing significant pain following a seven-hour surgery. Gabbard did not indicate whether the diagnosis would affect her duties. Read More

A shooting at a California high school graduation ceremony on Thursday killed one teenager and injured a child and two other people, law enforcement officials said. Investigators were working to identify the suspect, and the incident prompted fresh calls for stricter security protocols at public graduation events. Find out More

The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is using tax revenue from legal marijuana sales to fund a "no-strings-attached" guaranteed basic income program for select residents. The program has sparked a broader policy debate about novel uses of cannabis tax funds. Find out More

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has requested NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testify before Congress at a June 10 hearing focused on the league's massive $110 billion broadcast rights model. The move is part of a broader Republican effort to scrutinize professional sports leagues' media agreements and their potential impact on competition and consumer prices. Source

Industry sources warn that oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz may not return to pre-war levels even if the U.S. and Iran reach a peace deal. Read More

Anthropic announced Monday it has filed a confidential IPO prospectus with the SEC, positioning itself ahead of rival OpenAI, which is preparing its own filing. The Claude AI maker, now valued at $965 billion after a recent $65 billion funding round, reported a $47 billion annualized revenue run rate — up from $10 billion just last year. Source

Google parent Alphabet announced Monday it would raise $80 billion through stock sales to fund its artificial intelligence expansion, including a $10 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway. Alphabet shares fell nearly 4% on the news as investors weighed dilution concerns against the AI growth thesis. See Details

Lululemon Slashes Full-Year Forecast, Shares Sink More Than 11% After Hours
Lululemon cut its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $11–$11.15 billion — down from a prior forecast of $11.35–$11.5 billion — and slashed earnings guidance by more than $1 per share, citing design missteps, negative media coverage, and a U.S. consumer pullback. The athleisure brand also delivered a weak current-quarter outlook, sending shares tumbling 11% in extended trading on Thursday. Find out More

JPMorgan analysts said Wednesday the accelerating pace of global oil inventory depletion is likely to force a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in June, as the economic cost of the closure becomes unsustainable. The Strait has been effectively closed since the Iran war began in late February. See Details

ADP Report Showed 122,000 Private Sector Jobs Added in May, Beating Estimates
Private payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday that U.S. businesses added 122,000 workers in May, topping the 110,000 consensus estimate and signaling the strongest monthly gain since January 2025. Gains were broadly spread across eight of the ten sectors ADP tracks, with education and health services leading at 57,000 new hires. Read More

Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI model family, announced Monday it has filed confidential pre-IPO paperwork with the SEC, setting the stage for what could be a landmark public offering. The company, valued at $965 billion following last week's $65 billion funding round, is racing both OpenAI and SpaceX to the public markets. Read More

Colombia's May 31 presidential first round produced no outright winner, setting up a June 21 runoff between the top two vote-getters to succeed outgoing President Gustavo Petro. Left-wing Senator Iván Cepeda faces independent conservative Abelardo de la Espriella, whom Trump endorsed. Source

North Korea's Kim Touts New Uranium Enrichment Facility, Signals No Willingness to Negotiate
Kim Jong Un's visit to a new undisclosed nuclear fuel production plant signaled that Pyongyang has no intention of putting its weapons program on the negotiating table. Experts said the disclosure is intended to cement North Korea's status as a nuclear state and position Kim to eventually seek arms-reduction talks with the U.S. in exchange for sanctions relief. Source

Iran suspended direct message exchanges with the U.S. over Israel's intensifying strikes in Lebanon, creating the latest breakdown in ceasefire negotiations. Trump dismissed the development, posting on Truth Social that "talks are continuing, at a rapid pace," while also telling CNBC he "doesn't care" if the talks fall apart — signaling a harder line even as oil prices spiked more than 5%. Source

Rapper Vanilla Ice said he will not quit the upcoming America 250 Great American State Fair concert on the National Mall, declaring he won't let anyone tell him "he can't be proud" of the country. Multiple other artists — including Bret Michaels, Martina McBride, and The Commodores — have withdrawn from the event, citing concerns about its political ties. Source

Taylor Swift Releases "I Knew It, I Knew You," Her Original Song for Toy Story 5
Taylor Swift dropped "I Knew It, I Knew You" on Friday — her original contribution to the Pixar sequel Toy Story 5 — co-written with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and written as an anthem for the cowgirl character Jessie. Swift said she wrote the song immediately after an early screening of the film, which opens in theaters June 19. See Details

TMZ reports that Taylor Swift and her former close friend, Keleigh Teller, have grown apart, making it unlikely that the Tellers will receive an invitation to Swift's upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce. Mutual friends of both women described the situation as a "sad time," with the wedding rumored to be later this summer. Read More

Kane Parsons' "Backrooms," adapted from his viral YouTube series and distributed by A24, earned $38 million domestically on Friday alone and is projected to gross $85 to $90 million for the full weekend, shattering A24's previous best opening weekend record. The experimental horror film opened in 3,442 theaters. Source

In a detail emerging from Euphoria's series finale rollout, Sydney Sweeney told interviewers she convinced creator Sam Levinson not to remove nude scenes from Season 3 when he considered excluding them, saying "Are you kidding?" to the idea. The revelation adds texture to behind-the-scenes dynamics during what is now confirmed as the show's final chapter. Source

John Travolta revealed he has accumulated a collection of 12 berets and began wearing them after deciding "you're not an actor unless you're really a director," noting that old-school directors all wore berets. The actor said the look is part of a years-long personal reinvention effort. Source

"Top Gun: Maverick" actor James Handy was murdered. Police identified Michael Gledhill, the son of Handy's girlfriend, as the suspect. Find out More

The Los Angeles Rams acquired star defensive end Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in a major trade, adding one of the NFL's premier pass rushers to a roster already built around Matthew Stafford ahead of the 2026 season. The move sparked debate about superteam dynamics in the NFL and whether parity concerns are growing as the league mirrors NBA-style player movement. Read More

UFC's White House South Lawn event — celebrating America's 250th anniversary on Trump's 80th birthday — will feature Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria in the main event. Gaethje, positioned as a massive underdog, invoked "Miracle on Ice" energy Monday, telling reporters: "I have an opportunity to do something special and I could not ask for anything better." Find out More

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shadeur Sanders earned a $17.7 in NFLPA group licensing income during his rookie season from jerseys, trading cards, and other products. Sanders' total smashed the previous record of $9.5 million set by Tom Brady. Find out More

A spectator disrupted the fourth quarter of NBA Finals Game 1 by running onto the court at Frost Bank Center and trying to take a selfie with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. The fan was quickly removed by security, and the game continued before the Knicks prevailed 105-95. Source

Aaron Judge Injury Scare Leaves Yankees With Unanswered Questions
The New York Yankees received concerning news about a mysterious injury to superstar outfielder Aaron Judge, with the team acknowledging it is still seeking "clarity" on the nature and severity of the ailment. Judge has been a cornerstone of the Yankees' lineup, and his status is being closely monitored as the team navigates its playoff push. Source

The family of the deceased three-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux said they will donate his brain to the study of CTE. Lemiux passed away at the age of 61 from suicide. Read More

A video making the rounds on Instagram's @touronsofnationalparks page shows a woman who got dangerously close to a massive bison at a national park, then tripped and faceplanted in full view of other visitors while sprinting away. She was unharmed. Wildlife officials reminded the public that bison can run up to 35 miles per hour. Read More

Singapore Teen Assembles Mr. Potato Head in Record-Shattering 4.63 Seconds
Sixteen-year-old Singapore speedcuber Calen Seah parlayed his Rubik's Cube expertise into a Guinness World Record by assembling a Mr. Potato Head toy in 4.63 seconds, topping the previous record of 4.75 seconds. Calen said he practiced the feat roughly 400 times — and it took about 20 attempts on record day before he nailed it. Source

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell produced one of the most unusual blunders of the MLB season when a fly ball hit off his head and bounced over the outfield fence for a home run in a loss on Wednesday. The play went viral and will likely feature prominently in this season's blooper reels. See Details