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Trump pre-blames Europe for World Cup Ebola Photo Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Win McNamee/Getty Images The Trump administration, fearing international travel could turn the World Cup into an Ebola superspreader, is pressuring Europe to dramatically step up infection prevention, sources tell Axios' Alex Isenstadt. Top Trump aides are frustrated with Europe's limited travel restrictions and want it to abandon the World Health Organization's Ebola playbook in favor of Washington's tighter rules, a senior official said. The implied message: Any Ebola outbreak in the U.S. would be Europe's fault. The World Cup kicks off Thursday with a record 48 teams and 104 matches in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The State Department estimates the tournament will draw 5 million to 7 million international visitors to the U.S. — including players, staff and fans from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak is centered. 🔬 Zoom in: The State Department last week sent European countries an extraordinary request calling for travel restrictions from Central Africa, where the outbreak began. Keep reading.

Confessions of an AI lab rat Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios Axios CEO Jim VandeHei previewed his lab-rat learnings in his weekly newsletter for CEOs, Axios C-Suite, and wrote this broader version for Axios AM: I've spent the past year using AI obsessively — inputting copious amounts of personal and business data, turning myself into a lab rat for Axios and our readers. Why it matters: This experiment has shown me in unmistakable, hands-on ways the superhuman possibilities — and real-world limitations — hitting and awaiting us. In short: AI is way better, more accurate and mind-expanding than most think. (Sorry, it's true.) But it's colliding with hard human realities, making it confusing, clunky and chaotic for lots of people in its current form. How I did it: Over the past year, Axios aggressively tested AI (mainly OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code) across every layer of every department. We provided access and instruction to every employee. Most of my leadership team operates with chief-of-staff agents, and we're knee-deep in agent-to-agent prep. I personally use ChatGPT or Claude for one to two hours daily, usually in the early mornings, and control an AI personal operating system via my phone. That's connected to an always-on computer that runs several agents, including one that scans daily for CEO-relevant data and trends. I've dumped every medical record and blood test into it, and detailed my diet, workouts and supplements. It knows more about my health than my wife does! So here are my takeaways: It's way better than most think. I've spent the year with my head buried in this, while talking to the smartest people in tech, politics and business. AI is smarter than 95% of the people on 95% of topics, 95% of the time. Even for someone using it obsessively with real discipline, I'm still discovering it's way better than I thought possible. Its ability to think creatively and research deeply is extraordinary — if and only if you know how to use it. It takes real work. You can't wing it. You need to work at it daily, so AI learns you — and you learn AI. That's when the magic happens. You have to feed it copious amounts of information and persistently tell it what works and what sucks. This feedback loop creates a new form of super-knowledge about you — and super-skills for you. Most people get unimpressive results and move on, assuming it's overhyped. Don't. It's the smartest doctor I've met. I fed AI every medical record I have — MRIs, blood work, heart rate — and told it to be clinical and brutally honest. I've run most solutions past my doctor, and almost every time, he agrees. I still validate with physicians. But if I had to pick someone to diagnose something, I would turn to AI over human docs for anything complicated. Short-term job losses are overhyped. A year ago, I assumed AI's story would be subtraction: automate ruthlessly, cut costs, shrink headcount. That's real. We've done it at Axios. But over the last three months, my view shifted. The bigger opportunity isn't efficiency. It's new business lines that were economically impossible before AI. We're exploring three new revenue-generating projects that simply weren't possible without AI. I now believe many specific jobs here will change, but that we'll end up hiring more people over time than I would've thought a year ago. Business gains are overhyped, too — for now. As good as it is, AI hits internal walls when it comes to human use, security, connections to other systems and decisions about what data it can access inside companies. In most cases, it's simply not ready for deployment at scale. This problem is getting worse because agent-to-agent work is a mess. If AI transforms our business — and I think it will — agents need to work flawlessly with other agents. This is the unfolding frontier. My exec team has chief-of-staff agents, but we hit constant walls in determining what they can know, share and act on once the agents collaborate. This must be fixed before companies experience what I have at an individual level. A new class of super-worker is born. Here's the best news: We're spotting rank-and-file workers daily whose brains are wired for AI. It's been easier than expected to spot them, then train them to be AI accelerators on their team or across the company. These people are not technologists. You don't need to be an AI savant or lab rat. But every person reading this should figure out ASAP how AI can augment their work. If your company does not have AI teaching, demand it. It's affected my mind, mood and performance. I'm not a coder and rarely use AI for more than that hour or two per day, but these stories about people in Silicon Valley getting swept up in a manic AI fever — AI-pilled! — hit home for me. On the good side, I've jumped out of bed at 3 a.m. more than I care to admit, jazzed to test or explore a new idea. At 55, I've written and accomplished a lot more than any other time in my life. But you must train it to challenge and expand your thinking — not replace it. On the flip side, I find myself waking up after shorter bursts of sleep with more anxiety. Maybe it's coincidence, not causation. But I doubt it. The bottom line: We're living history. For $20 a month, any of us can experiment with exceptionally advanced AI models. Be clear-eyed about the good, bad and ugly. Most importantly, be curious. Use it daily. Read about it regularly. Figure out what parts of you can be vastly improved with AI — and then do it. Screenshot: Axios 📱 Watch a video of Mike quizzing Jim about his lab rat learnings (34 mins. ... Executive producer: Jimmy Shelton). ... Share this story. Tell us what you think: finishline@axios.com.

US says it has begun strikes against Iran following crash of Army Apache helicopter off Oman coast DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that U.S. President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-ceasefire-helicopter-hezbollah-israel-9-june-2026-50d7a8ecbb2cf33836af152679adb40e?

THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 9 1973 Secretariat wins Triple Crown in breathtaking style With a victory at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat becomes the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win America’s coveted Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1893 22 die in collapse of Ford’s Theatre, site of Lincoln assassination 1856 Handcart pioneers depart for Salt Lake City Arts & Entertainment 1956 Best-selling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell is born Cold War 1954 “Have you no sense of decency?” Sen. Joseph McCarthy is asked in hearing Vietnam War 1964 CIA report challenges “domino theory” World War I 1915 William Jennings Bryan resigns as U.S. secretary of state

We always see the same side of the Moon, no matter where we stand on Earth. James

How are Americans doing financially? In 2025, nearly a third of US adults reported being worse off than in 2024, with 91% stating that price increases were their main financial concern. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-are-americans-doing-financially/? How much debt does the US have? The US has $39 trillion in debt as of April 2026. The federal government borrows money when its spending and investments cannot be funded by federal revenue alone; this debt enables the government to pay for programs and services when funds aren’t immediately available. https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-debt-does-the-us-have/country/united-states/? One last fact The US inflation rate, a measure that considers costs for everything from healthcare to gas to food, was 3.8% as of April 2026. Transportation prices rose by 7.1% from April 2025, housing costs rose 3.6%, and food/beverage costs rose 3.1%.

A School Bus Killed a 5-Year-Old. The Crash Is Among Dozens Missing From the Bus Company’s Federal Safety Record. On the day 5-year-old Lens Joseph was killed by a Boston Public Schools bus last year, the driver had already struck a postal truck, ignored a stop sign and missed several stops, prosecutors said. When he got to Lens’ house, he dropped him off on the wrong side of the street and then ran over the kindergartner as he crossed in front of the bus. https://www.propublica.org/article/boston-school-bus-crash-record-lens-joseph-transdev? What ProPublica Found in the Genetic Code of America’s Measles Outbreaks American children lined up for the world’s first measles shots in the early 1960s, but it took nearly 40 years of shoring up immunization programs before the infamous contagion had been so thoroughly controlled that a panel of experts declared in 2000 that the United States had eliminated measles within its borders. https://projects.propublica.org/measles-outbreak-analysis-utah-texas/ Founder of Kentucky Drug Rehab Center Indicted on Fraud and Money Laundering Charges Timmy G. Robinson Jr., founder and owner of what was once Kentucky’s largest drug addiction treatment company, was criminally indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. https://www.propublica.org/article/tim-robinson-indicted-addiction-recovery-care? North Carolina Democrats Propose Changes to Block GOP Power Transfers and Secrecy Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina introduced a trio of constitutional amendments this week aimed at protecting traditional powers of the state’s governor and reforming oversight of its court system. https://www.propublica.org/article/north-carolina-legislation-governor-power? These Republican Lawmakers Challenged Abortion Bans. Then They Faced Backlash. If Eric Murphy loses his primary election on June 9, he believes he already knows one reason why. https://www.propublica.org/article/republicans-face-backlash-after-challenging-abortion-bans? In This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans Generations They were pillars of their church, congregants in a little-known denomination that sets itself apart from the world and teaches that even the most unconscionable acts can be wiped away — not just forgiven, but forgotten and never spoken of again. https://www.propublica.org/article/old-apostolic-lutheran-church-generational-sexual-abuse?

St. Pete Council OKs study to review costs, benefits of owning its own utilities Responding to the frustrations expressed by local residents, the St. Petersburg City Council has taken a major step towards potentially jettisoning its longtime relationship with Duke Energy Florida and creating its own city-run electric utility. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/06/05/st-pete-council-oks-study-to-review-costs-benefits-of-owning-its-own-utilities/? Black midwives are suing Southern states, claiming regulations make it harder to help patients Black midwives in the South, a region rife with racial disparities in maternal health access and maternal mortality, are leading lawsuits over state regulations that they say limit their ability to provide care. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/06/08/repub/black-midwives-are-suing-southern-states-claiming-regulations-make-it-harder-to-help-patients/?

The One War Trump Is Winning Is the One Against Us Trump may not be able to beat Iran, but he sure is kicking the crap out of America. Why did tens of thousands of Albanians take to the streets to protest a corrupt land deal engineered by President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, while Americans who face far greater threats from the president and his family spent the weekend barbecuing and at the beach? Why do Ukrainians fight Trump’s Russian allies even though the odds are against them? And even though the costs in life, human suffering, and economic terms are immeasurably high while Americans passively accept the far greater threat that Trump poses to our national security and that of our allies? Snap out of it, America! Give yourself a good hard slap across the face. Douse yourself with ice water. Wake the eff up! Henry Kissinger once said the most powerful force in Washington is inertia. The same could be said of the entire country. We’re too comfortable. The proof is in how disproportionate our response is to the threat Trump poses to our country. The problems are piling up under the demented and incompetent leadership of the president and his cronies. Gas prices are up. Food prices are up. Millions of Americans are unable to afford healthcare. And the evidence of far greater problems to come is abundant. We are in the midst of a national crisis that is every bit as much an existential threat to the nation and the well-being of its people as any battle we have faced since Appomattox. The president is literally decaying before our very eyes. Not only can he barely walk or stand, he cannot stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. It’s not an exaggeration. We all saw it last week in an Oval Office meeting in which he slumped in his chair and passed out while the aides around him, on live television, pretended to ignore it. Pretended, just like tens of millions of Americans do every day. It’s Weekend at Donny’s: The Oval Office Edition, and far too few people seem to give a damn. (Who’s surprised? In the last election, despite knowing Trump was our worst president ever during his first term, far more people chose not to vote than voted for either Trump or Kamala Harris.) We have seen the president unable to maintain a coherent thought. He couldn’t remember the name of the Washington Monument. He regularly can’t control his anger. He threatens wars and demands payoffs for insurrectionists around the clock. He posts AI slop glorifying himself as a god or a warrior or as a heavily-muscled football icon with half-naked young men dancing in tribute to his manliness. This weekend, on the anniversary of D-Day, he launched attack after attack on Americans and the world and not once saluted the sacrifices American soldiers and sailors made to defend the democracy he is destroying. His dimwitted lackey at the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, compounded the offense by appearing at D-Day commemoration ceremonies and attacking our allies and equating the flows of immigrants into Europe with the threat posed by our WWII enemies. Our European friends were disgusted. On Sunday, we saw Trump blow up during a Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker when she did what too few journalists do and fact-checked him in real time. He lost it. He stormed off the set. Watch the video. Read the transcript. He is not in command of his emotions. He is a threat to those around him. He belongs under the care and constant supervision of mental health professionals. Yes, he’s a madman. But, yawn. Let’s post something on X or Bluesky about it and go to a rally every couple of months. Maybe put up a yard sign. Never mind that Trump can, on his own, launch a nuclear attack where, within a couple of minutes, missiles will leave their silos. Never mind that we have already seen him launch multiple illegal wars, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives and the destabilization of the world and the global economy. Never mind that he is promising more such wars. Never mind that he is lying about their consequences and then following the lies by saying he doesn’t care what they may mean for the lives of average Americans. Never mind that he has appointed a man with zero intelligence experience to lead our intelligence community, or that he says that man’s mission is to gut our intelligence resources and help undermine faith in our elections. Never mind that his secretary of defense has done the same to the Pentagon—firing scores of talented top leaders, shutting down vital programs, and making the place less transparent to the public than ever before. Never mind that he has allied us with war criminals while undermining our crucial relationships with our friends. Never mind that he is appointing insurrectionists to sensitive national security positions. Never mind that I am only listing attacks on our national security that have occurred in the last week alone. That’s right. Each and every week, he is weakening us and strengthening our enemies. Each and every week, he is squandering resources on vainglorious, dangerous, or corrupt projects. Each and every week, we become more vulnerable to overseas threats even as he conspires to create greater ones at home—threats to our elections this fall, threats to our fundamental freedoms, threats to our way of life. He’s doing all this while gutting our healthcare and leaving it in the hands of a no-show, deranged ex-drug addict and his friends who advocate junk science. All this while raping the environment and seeking to destroy free speech at our universities and in the press. All this while stealing, stealing, stealing and ignoring the law, obstructing justice, attacking the courts, protecting pedophiles, and granting pardons to undeserving felons. Imagine you read about such attacks on any country anywhere else. You would say it was not only at war with a dangerous foe but losing, losing rapidly, losing precious ground with each passing day. But that war—a real war with a real toll waged by real enemies with help from foreign adversaries—is invisible to most Americans. Most of us, you see, can still afford to shrug it off. We’re a rich country. Most of us are not really suffering yet. We lived through his first term—except for the 1.1 million who did not because of how grievously he mismanaged the COVID pandemic. We’ve lived through a year and a half of an even more twisted version of Trump—unlike the million who have died worldwide due to DOGE-Rubio cuts to U.S. aid flows, or the perhaps 13 million more who will die in the next few years, or those who will die of Ebola and other epidemics because we have cut funding for the health services that protect us, or those lying dead in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or elsewhere in the Middle East because of wars founded on lies or at the service of a foreign power like Israel (which we have just learned is ramping up its spying efforts…against us). In Albania, they took to the streets because their country is poor and collapsing. People are going hungry and unable to get basic healthcare or enjoy services Americans take for granted. So of course, when spoiled oligarchettes like Ivanka Trump try to scoop up an island and turn it into a resort for the rich in ways that will hardly benefit Albania at all, naturally, the people are angry and won’t take it. They realize that squandered resources cost them. We’re too rich as a country to feel that yet. But watch this space. At the rate we are going, we will. In Ukraine, they fight because the alternative is to lose their country to the Kremlin and the aging war criminal at its helm. We don’t fear such things. After all, we weren’t invaded. There are no missiles obliterating our schools and hospitals. No missiles. No drones. Just Supreme Court rulings that strip away the right to vote or that grant ever greater power to the rich or more latitude to an out-of-control chief executive. Just an administration that scoffs at the Constitution, arrogates all power onto one man, and shows blind loyalty to him even as he descends into madness. No bombs going off. Just the gradual destruction of our national security apparatus. The NSC is effectively gone. Most ambassadorial appointments remain unfilled. Thousands of State Department, FBI, and DOJ jobs that protected us are gone—the ones that protected us against foreign election interference, foreign corruption, terrorism, and key nuclear threats. Some of the best and brightest at the Department of Defense have been kicked out or silenced. The same is happening in our intelligence community. The officers who remain in place have had to do so at the cost of their reputations, agreeing to fight illegal wars and violate international law. No bullets flying. How would we know if they were flying anyway? The president has his friends buying up key media outlets and his FCC and DOJ and State Department intimidating the others. The reason it was shocking to watch Trump lose it with Kristen Welker, in part, is because so few journalists are willing to do the bare minimum their jobs require. Heck, the White Correspondents’ Association—even in the face of Trump’s war on the First Amendment and unceasing attacks on its members—is going to hold its annual gala again in July to accommodate the president, the man committed to destroying truth in America. We have an election coming up. At least we think we do. That could offer the chance to reverse some of these trends. That could give us an opportunity to stand up for our rights as a people. But we know the president is mobilizing his entire government to ensure those elections are not free and fair. They are cheating right now, before our eyes. They are gerrymandering. They are seeking voter rolls. They are positioning troops and others to go into the streets. They are seeking to end mail-in voting. They are questioning legitimate election results. It may be that November is our chance to emulate the citizens of Albania and Ukraine and other freedom-loving people everywhere. Maybe. Or maybe November will be too late. Maybe when a country is facing threats like those we face today—and we’ve never faced threats like these before—maybe we should see the red lights flashing, maybe we should realize the crisis is now. Maybe every journalist should fact-check the president. Maybe every one of us should be doing more, thinking about how we can do more, giving more time and money, and taking more risks. Maybe it is time we realize the fight is not somewhere else, it is here—not at some time in the future, but that it must be now. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-one-war-donald-trump-is-winning-is-the-one-against-us/?

‘Alarm Bells’ Ringing as Key Voters Turn Against Trump The president’s luck with young female conservatives appears to be running out. Donald Trump is bleeding support ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections among a key demographic that helped him retake the White House in 2024. Support for the president among young women ages 18 to 29 shifted from 33 percent in 2020 to 40 percent ahead of Trump’s victory against Kamala Harris, a crucial shift. Those numbers would now appear to be falling again as Trump fails to deliver on his campaign promises, especially on the economy. “Promises that were made have not been delivered on at all, and I think young women are realizing that,” Savanna Faith Stone, a prominent right-wing Christian influencer, told Politico. “They’re realizing, ‘Hey, you promised to lower gas prices. You promised the economy would be better. Like, that’s why we voted for you.” Trump’s approval rating has lately plummeted to just 38 percent, with the president polling especially poorly on economic performance after his campaign pledged to reverse what he billed as gross mismanagement over four years under Joe Biden. His war on Iran, amid the wider economic uncertainty sparked by his abortive tariffs regime last year, has hit consumers especially hard. The Islamic Republic has effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane through which a fifth of global oil supply passes, since the conflict began in late February. That closure has sent gas prices skyrocketing. Estimates put the national average price per gallon around $4.19 at the latest count, up from $2.98 before Trump launched his war with the regime. Politico spoke with a host of prominent young female conservatives at Turning Point USA’s Women’s Leadership Summit, held by the organization of that name set up by late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in Texas over the weekend. “I cannot express to you the level of alarm bells that should be ringing for the GOP,” Alex Clark, a prominent conservative influencer, told the outlet of the general feeling among right-leaning women who voted for Trump in 2024. “I straight up told [the White House], ‘People want ‘fight, fight, fight Trump.’ They don’t want ‘ballroom Trump,’” she added of the president’s ongoing plans to construct a $400 million, possibly $1.4 billion new ballroom on White House grounds. “I feel like some of the magic and the spark that helped us win 2024 is missing,” she went on. The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment on this story. “President Trump is proud to have delivered on the most pro-woman agenda in American history,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “The MAGA coalition is stronger than ever, and women continue to play a powerful role in the movement.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-alarm-bells-ringing-as-young-female-conservative-voters-turn-against-trump-ahead-of-midterm-elections/? ps:So to offset this he's trying with the help of SCOTUS to gerrymander the vote!!!!!

Fuming Trump, 79, Fires Off Ominous Late-Night Election Post The president’s message is veering into darker territory. Donald Trump posted a worrying warning about the California elections while spewing unsubstantiated claims that the results will be illegitimate. In a typically deranged late-night Truth Social post, the 79-year-old continued to suggest, without evidence, that Democrats are rigging the Los Angeles mayoral and California gubernatorial primaries, while suggesting there would be “great trouble and consternation” if the Republican candidates lose. The menacing threat from Trump arrived as Democrat Nithya Raman overtook MAGA reality TV star Spencer Pratt after several days of counting mail-in ballots in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, and is now projected to advance to the runoff. Los Angeles incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has already advanced to the runoff in the all-party primary. “Has anybody been watching the CROOKED Election going on in California,” Trump posted at 11:02 p.m. ET. “Two great Republican Candidates are being cheated, and so is America, which if the Dumocrats are able to fulfill their mission, great trouble and consternation will follow. Watch this ‘Election’ closely!!!” Elsewhere, votes are still being tallied in California’s all-party primary for governor. With 72 percent of the vote counted, former Biden-era Health Secretary Xavier Becerra has advanced, while Republican former TV host Steve Hilton and billionaire Democratic climate activist Tom Steyer are battling it out for the second spot in November’s election. Just as he did in the months ahead of the 2020 election, Trump has been laying the groundwork to wrongly suggest the California elections are rigged if Republican candidates lose, while lashing out at his longtime bugbear, mail-in ballots. California has a long history of vote counting continuing for days beyond Election Day because of the high number of late-arriving mail and drop-off ballots. Historically, Democratic voters cast many more ballots by mail than Republican voters, who tend to vote on Election Day. A number of MAGA figures are also already acting like sore losers by desperately suggesting that Democrats are trying to cheat Pratt, a former star of The Hills, out of advancing in the Los Angeles mayoral election. “The Mayoral election in Los Angeles is being stolen from Spencer Pratt in real time! Where is the DOJ?” far-right influencer Laura Loomer wrote in one of several X posts attempting to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the results. On Sunday, the 79-year-old president had a monumental tantrum after being asked to provide any evidence that the elections in California are being “rigged” against Republican candidates. When pressed by NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker for proof of those unsubstantiated claims, Trump said: “All I have to do is look.” Trump then completely lost it and stormed out of the interview when Welker suggested: “That’s not evidence.” “You’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked, and so is ABC and CBS and CNN. One-sided crooked networks. Let’s call it quits, because I’ve had enough,” Trump raged. “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/fuming-trump-79-fires-off-ominous-late-night-election-post/? ps:Here we go again, and once again with no evidence!!!!!

Republicans Rage at Pentagon Pete Over ‘Repugnant’ Religion Move The self-declared “Secretary of War” has angered Mormons by suggesting that the Defense Department no longer considers LDS part of the Christian faith. Pete Hegseth has enraged top Mormon officials in the Republican Party by declaring that their faith no longer counts as Christian belief as far as the Defense Department is concerned. “It’s just repugnant to any sense of decency, any sense of our common heritage and our common belief that the government needs to not weigh in on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations,” Mike Lee, the MAGA Republican Senator for Utah and himself an adherent of the Mormon faith, said in a video tirade posted on X late Sunday. Lee began his clip by describing prohibitions on government interference with religious belief as a key tenet of the freedoms afforded to Americans under the Constitution. “I’m imploring people at the Pentagon to reconsider this—and not just reconsider it, but undo it,” he concluded. “Secretary Hegseth—tear down that wall! This is not cool! Get rid of it, get rid of it now!” The Defense Department announced Friday that it is cutting down the number of religious identities servicemembers can register on their personnel records from more than 200 to just 31. Members of the military can now identify as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Baha’i, or agnostic, but not Wiccan, pagan, humanist, or atheist. There remain 22 Christian denominations to choose from. Mormonism is not one of them. Hegseth’s press secretary, Sean Parnell, described it as a “long overdue move.” He insisted the department is not casting aspersions on the sincerity of religions removed from the list, so much as trying to streamline support for religious servicemembers. “This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief, nor is it intended to provide a list of “officially approved” religions,” he said. “Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources to best provide for warfighters of all faith groups,” he added. Ranking Mormon members of the Republican Party are having none of it, and Lee is certainly not alone in his outrage. “The Pentagon’s decision to list The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart from other Christian faiths is wrong and needs to be corrected,” Rep. Mike Kennedy, also of Utah, wrote in an X post Sunday. “[We] stand alongside many Christians of every tradition in following the teachings of Christ. We only ask to be accurately portrayed. I strongly urge the Department to correct the record,” he added. Lee’s fellow Utah senator, John Curtis, also a Mormon, slammed the exclusion on the grounds that members of his faith “are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country.” “They are also unequivocally Christian—just look at who is in the name of the Church,” he added. “It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets. I am working now to ensure a correction is made.” The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for further comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-rage-at-pentagon-pete-hegseth-over-repugnant-removal-of-mormon-church-from-dod-religion-list/?

Was Edom Originally Nomadic? Finding social complexity in desert archaeology https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-places/was-edom-originally-nomadic/? Miniature Writing on Ancient Amulets Ketef Hinnom inscriptions reveal the power of hidden writing https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/miniature-writing-ancient-amulets-ketef-hinnom/?

All About Triglycerides Written by Paul Frysh Medically Reviewed by Mahammad Juber, MD on February 19, 2026 https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/ss/slideshow-about-triglycerides?

In 1890 the Supreme Court knew exactly what religion was, which should have been the first warning. The post What is “Religion” anyway? appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

🛏️ Parting shot: Tulip beds Photo: Gayle Brooke Gayle Brooke of Lake Odessa, Mich., sent these beauties our way.

✡️ Scoop: State's antisemitism accusation Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios A new State Department report accuses Iran, Russia and China of incorporating antisemitic narratives, threats and attacks into operations in both the physical and cyber domains. Why it matters: The report, which was transmitted to Congress on May 26, is likely to increase pressure on the Trump administration to treat attacks on Jewish communities as part of a broader foreign interference challenge rather than isolated incidents of extremism. "Iran, Russia, China and affiliated non-state actors employed antisemitic symbols, graffiti, threats and online propaganda across physical and cyber domains," the report says. "The deliberate targeting of Jewish institutions, memorial sites and religious symbols is intended to provoke fear and outrage, polarize societies and erode public trust." What they are saying: "We don't comment on congressional reports or correspondence," a State Department spokesperson said. Emails seeking comment from the Chinese and Russian embassies and the Iranian Interests Section in Washington were not returned. Zoom out: Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expanded investigations, hearings and legislation aimed at countering foreign influence operations. With the rise of social media, there is growing concern that Russia, China and Iran are exploiting social divisions to weaken democratic societies from within. The report was required by Congress in the State Department's annual appropriations bill. The intrigue: The report relies largely on public sources to support its claims, citing media reports in its footnotes. But the State Department did not publicly release the report, which some congressional officials expected. Zoom in: The report alleges that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leveraged social media bots to amplify antisemitic narratives. It also details threats in the physical world, including an IRGC plot to assassinate a rabbi in Azerbaijan. On China, the report cites a post by China's consul general in Osaka, Japan, comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. — Hans Nichols

💰Scoop ... Big bet on '28 maps Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Democrats are pushing the fight over future House maps down ballot, with the super PAC Forward Majority planning to spend $30 million on two dozen state legislative races this year. 🏛️ Why it matters: The group is betting that as few as eight statehouse races could help determine who controls redistricting for six U.S. House seats ahead of 2028. 🤠 "We're in the Wild West now," said Leslie Martes, the chief executive officer of Forward Majority. "There are 7,000 legislative districts across the country. Not all of them are up this year, but you've got to make sure that you're playing in the right places with the resources that you have." ➕ Zoom in: In Texas this year, Republicans showed Democrats that redistricting didn't have to be a decennial affair, pushing through a mid-cycle redistricting that aims to net five new GOP seats. Democrats responded in kind in California, but a state Supreme Court decision blocked Virginia's aggressive redraw. The Supreme Court's Callais ruling weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, giving both parties more room to pursue aggressive redistricting strategies. 10 states ended up with new maps for 2026. Other states flirted with redraws but held back due to tight deadlines or skittish state legislatures. 📢 Zoom out: Republicans plan to pad their numbers in states like Georgia and Mississippi ahead of 2028. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is preparing to respond by squeezing more Democratic-friendly seats from blue states. But both parties need the same thing to become creative cartographers: control of the state House, state Senate and governor's mansion. That is especially important ahead of the 2030 census, when all 50 states will redraw their lines. ‼️ The intrigue: Forward Majority predicts that eight races in five states — Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — could help determine control of legislative chambers representing roughly 42 million Americans. "We think it's one to two seats in Wisconsin, one to three in Pennsylvania, and at least one in Minnesota," Martes said. Arizona and Michigan use commissions to redraw congressional maps. Forward Majority is basing this prediction on an in-house modeling system called "Tipping Points" that analyzes precinct-level demographic and political data to find its best opportunities. 😥 The bottom line: "We win and lose some of these districts by 64 votes," Martes said. — Hans Nichols

👋 Good morning! America's largest city is buzzing as the NBA Finals come to town, the Stanley Cup Final is delivering incredible drama (and lots of goals!) and the World Cup is right around the corner. Who's got it better than us? Tickets punched: No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Alabama, No. 16 West Virginia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Troy are headed to Omaha for the College World Series, which begins on Friday. In today's edition: All eyes on MSG, Korda wins another major, Zverev breaks through in Paris, USMNT's final tuneup, Vegas in the driver's seat, 4-point field goals, "Golf's Longest Day," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🏆 NBA FINALS ALL EYES ON MSG (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images) With the NBA Finals returning to Madison Square Garden tonight (8:30pm ET, ABC) for the first time in 27 years — and the president in attendance at the World's Most Famous Arena — the Knicks and Spurs will try to do the impossible: pretend it's just another game. Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports: Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals will be Josh Hart's 30th home playoff game as a member of the Knicks — the 30th time he's seen fans fill the stands at MSG for a contest that means more than most. He's got a pretty good idea of what to expect. "The Garden is going to be rocking," Hart said Sunday at the Knicks' practice session. "Obviously, in this city we love our Knicks. So we're going to come out, show love, support. The energy is going to be electric." There will be two major differences to the regularly scheduled raucous and rambunctious atmosphere, though. For one thing, Monday will mark the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since June 25, 1999 — just a few weeks after the eldest Knick on this year's roster, guard Jordan Clarkson, turned 7 years old. For another, President Donald Trump plans to attend at the invitation of Knicks owner James L. Dolan, a longtime donor to Republican parties and candidates, including the president. This will mark the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever attended an NBA Finals game. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images) What they're saying: News of Trump's attendance has generated strong reactions from some politicians and pundits. But inside the Garden, as both teams prepared for Game 3, players emphasized the importance of remaining laser-focused and tuning out the noise. "For me personally, [Villanova] Coach [Jay] Wright always talked about [how] we play for the guys in the locker room, and we don't really play to the crowd," Hart said. "So I feel like I'm able to kind of tune that out pretty well." "I think it could be [more difficult given all the attention], but isolating myself is something I've practiced over the years," said Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. "I think I'm good at it. So it's not a problem. This is similar to something media-wise like the Olympics." Game notes: Heightened security: MSG will employ a strict no-bag policy and "TSA-style screening" in anticipation of Trump's arrival, and fans have been encouraged to arrive at least two hours early. Due to security concerns, the watch party outside the arena has been canceled. Ticket prices: The get-in price for Game 3 was approaching $10,000 on Saturday before settling around $6,000 on Sunday, according to Gametime. NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted it was "frustrating" that more people can't afford to attend. Going streaking: With a thrilling 105-104 victory in Game 2 on Friday night, the Knicks logged their 13th consecutive victory. That now stands on its own as the second-longest winning streak in playoff history, trailing only the 2017 Warriors (15 straight). Backs against the wall: The Spurs are the 38th team to fall behind 2-0 in the NBA Finals. Five of the previous 37 teams came back to win the title (2021 Bucks, 2016 Cavaliers, 2006 Heat, 1977 Trail Blazers, 1969 Celtics), but none of them lost the first two games at home. Pregame reading: Wemby stopper? How Karl-Anthony Towns has bested Victor Wembanyama (Tom Haberstroh, Yahoo Sports)   🇺🇸 SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS ACROSS AMERICA Nelly reacts after her title-clinching putt barely dropped in. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles, California — Nelly Korda's sensational season continued on Sunday at Riviera Country Club, where the world No. 1 won the U.S. Women's Open by a stroke thanks to a clutch birdie on the 17th and a par putt at the last that circled the entire cup before dropping. By the numbers: Korda, who's won four of her eight starts this year, is just the third LPGA golfer in the last three decades to win the season's first two majors (2005 Annika Sorenstam, 2013 Inbee Park). She's also the first woman to win four majors in the 2020s, and is now just two points shy of earning her spot in the Hall of Fame (relevant: a major is worth two points). (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Chicago, Illinois — The USMNT lost to Germany, 2-1, on Saturday in their final World Cup tuneup — one last reality check for the Americans that offered mixed clues as to how they might fare on soccer's biggest stage. They flew to California after the game, and will train there ahead of Friday's opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium. Goal of the year? The Americans' lone goal came in the 37th minute when Antonee Robinson ripped a volley top shelf with one of the purest left-footed strikes you'll ever see. Unreal. (Al Bello/Getty Images) Saratoga Springs, New York — Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo replicated his success at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, surging into the lead down the stretch to win the 158th Test of the Champion. What could have been: No horse has won the Triple Crown since Justify in 2018, and this marked the second straight year that the Derby winner skipped the Preakness and then won the Belmont. It's a trend that will likely continue unless the Triple Crown changes its three-races-in-five-weeks schedule.   🌍 SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS AROUND THE WORLD (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Paris, France — At long last, Alexander Zverev is a Grand Slam champion, taking down Flavio Cobolli in five sets to win the French Open. His maiden major victory came in his 41st major appearance, the second-most attempts needed by a man in the Open Era to win his first major (Goran Ivanišević, 48). Women's champ: 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat qualifier Maja Chwalińska in straight sets for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the youngest woman to win the French Open since 1992 (Monica Seles), and the third-youngest woman to win a major this century (Maria Sharapova, 2004 Wimbledon; Emma Raducanu, 2021 U.S. Open). Antonelli driving the iconic Circuit de Monaco. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images) 🇲🇨 Monte-Carlo, Monaco — It's early in the season, but Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli appears to be running away with the F1 title, winning Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix for his fifth consecutive victory. With 156 points, the young Italian's lead over second-place Lewis Hamilton (90) is larger than Hamilton's lead over 10th place Pierre Gasly (26). So good, so young: Antonelli (19 years, 9 months) became the youngest driver ever to win at Monaco, smashing Hamilton's record from 2008 (23 years, 4 months). He also became the youngest in F1 history to record a Grand Slam (pole, led every lap, fastest lap, won race). (Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images) 🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico — Thousands of people flooded the sprawling Paseo de la Reforma on Saturday in an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the largest wave outside a stadium. The event was organized to support Mexico's soccer team, which plays South Africa on Thursday at Estadio Azteca in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup. Did you know? While the wave is believed to have been invented in Colorado in 1979 by a cheerleader named Krazy George Henderson, it was popularized via broadcasts of the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico. In fact, outside of North America it's referred to as "the Mexican wave."   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) 🏒 25 goals The Golden Knights and Hurricanes have combined to score 25 goals so far in the Stanley Cup Final, the most through the first three games of a Cup Final since 1981. ICYMI: The Knights nearly suffered a historic collapse on Saturday when the Canes erased a 4-0 third-period deficit — including three goals in 39 seconds!!! — to force overtime. But Vegas ultimately got the job done, winning 5-4 (2OT) to take a 2-1 series lead. 🏈 4-point field goals The UFL made headlines this spring when it introduced 4-point field goals, awarding an extra point on successful kicks from 60+ yards. After just four were made all regular season, Sunday's semifinals featured three: two by Louisville Kings kicker Tanner Brown (60 and 63 yards) and one by DC Defenders kicker Matt McCrane (61 yards). United Bowl-bound: The Kings beat the St. Louis Battlehawks, 29-20, to advance to the title game in their inaugural season. They'll face the reigning champion Defenders, who are back in the United Bowl after upsetting the top-seeded Orlando Storm, 28-22. Coming in hot. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) ⚾️ 103.7 mph Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw a 103.7 mph pitch against the Rockies on Saturday, topping his previous mark (103.6 mph) for the fastest by a starter since tracking began in 2008. Altogether, 45 of his 98 pitches were clocked at 101+ mph, setting another MLB record. Good luck, hitters: Misiorowski (7-2, 1.50 ERA) has been virtually untouchable since the start of May, compiling a minuscule 0.20 ERA over his last seven starts (1 ER in 45.1 IP). That's the lowest ERA over a seven-start span (min. 30 IP) since Bob Gibson in 1968 (0.14 ERA). ⛳️ 36 holes The road to the 126th U.S. Open concludes today with "Golf's Longest Day," as 10 sites conduct 36-hole qualifiers to fill the remaining spots for next week's championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Past U.S. Open champions Webb Simpson (2012), Lucas Glover (2009) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006) are among the notable names hoping to qualify. Notably absent: J.T. Poston was scheduled to play in a qualifier today. Instead, he won The Memorial Tournament over the weekend (while playing 33 holes on Sunday!) to secure his U.S. Open spot, earn himself a $4 million payday, and get out of playing another 36 holes today.   ⚽️ ROAD TO 2026 WORLD CUP TRIVIA (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images) The 2026 FIFA World Cup will crown the seventh men's world champion of the 21st century. Question: Can you name the six countries that won the previous six editions? Years: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022. Answer at the bottom.   🙏 YOUR TURN GOT 2 MINUTES? (Giphy) One quick favor before you go: If Yahoo Sports AM is part of your morning routine, we'd love to learn a little more about you. This short survey takes less than two minutes, and your feedback will help shape the future of the newsletter. Thank you!   Trivia answer: Brazil (2002), Italy (2006), Spain (2010), Germany (2014), France (2018), Argentina (2022)

Consumers alter spending habits as gas prices strain their budgets U.S. consumers haven’t stopped spending money since the Iran war drove up fuel prices, but many shoppers are reassessing what they buy and where, according to company executives and retail analysts. Read more. Why this matters: Location intelligence company Placer.ai saw reduced foot traffic at clothing, electronics and home furnishing stores, and more trips to grocery stores and dollar stores. Executives from American mainstays like Walmart, McDonald's and Dollar General cited overall shopper resilience as well as noticeable cutbacks by lower-income customers. The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that higher prices, not more purchases, accounted for most of the growth in Americans’ spending in April. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices Rising gas prices could mean pricier summer for US boaters ps:Actually gas prices were coming down, but came right back up to 3.999 today!!

Trump abruptly ends interview with NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ During the conversation President Donald Trump dismissed the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his campaign message of “No new wars.” At the end, Kristen Welker pressed Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Read more. What to know: Trump raised his voice and began calling Welker and the media “crooked,” attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called “the fake, dirty press.” As Welker tried to switch subjects, Trump continued on and there was cross talk between the two before Trump ended the interview. The interview, taped Friday in Wisconsin, was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear. Welker later said that she spoke to Trump after and he agreed that heavy rain had caused complications during taping and said he would do another interview in the future. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday No watch party at Madison Square Garden with Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals As America 250 approaches, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, AP-NORC poll finds Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt locked in tight race to make runoff for Los Angeles mayor Rob Sand rallies with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats aim to flip Iowa governor seat Graham Platner gets a lift from friendly Maine crowd after week of damage control in Senate campaign Former Sen. Bob Packwood, who resigned after sexual harassment scandal, dies

Israel and Iran trade strikes, threatening to drag the region back to full-scale war Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran, and Iran retaliated with waves of attacks. Read more. Why this matters: It was their first exchange of fire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached. Iran warned that the United States would be responsible for any escalation. Two regional officials said concerted diplomatic efforts were underway Monday to salvage the ceasefire between Iran and the United States. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates on the escalation A timeline of tensions between Iran and Israel over Lebanon WATCH: Iranian missiles aimed at Israel seen over Middle Eastern sky