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White House economic director downplays economic anxiety amid higher prices

(ABC News) National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett painted a rosy picture of the economy Sunday, downplaying Americans' growing pessimism about the economy amid high gas prices and rising inflation as the Iran war goes on. "Look at what's happening to real wages," Hassett told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl, claiming "really positive news" about the economy was being ignored. "On balance, real incomes, real wages are going up." The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that wages did not increase at the same pace as inflation in April; wages were up 3.6% for the year and inflation was up 3.8%.

Dulcinea

Trump responds to NYT article, says it's 'very good' administration is losing legal talent

(The Hill) President Trump on Sunday said it is “very good” that thousands of lawyers have chosen to no longer work for the administration, referring to The New York Times’s reporting on the exodus. The Times story reported that more than 10,000 lawyers working for the federal government have left since the end of 2024 to March 2026. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the outlet “wrote a story today entitled, ‘Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent,’ as though that’s a bad thing, when actually, it’s very good.”

Miles Archer

MAGA Rep Publicly Pleads for Musicians �Willing� to Play Trump Concert

(Daily Beast) In a two-minute video posted to social media on Sunday, Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee’s second congressional district, addressed Trump directly as he outlined his plan to rescue the event by flying in MAGA acts. “What we ought to do is, my suggestion, get your friend and my friend John Rich, great musician, to lead it off,” Burchett began, after denouncing the acts who cancelled as “pathetic.” “He’s got some great patriotic tunes he’s written and he sings and it’s just awesome, and let him MC the dadgum thing, and have all these folks come in, there’s plenty of acts in Nashville—people that are trying to get on, get on a big stage like this—this is a world stage,” he continued.

BlueWaveNeverEnd

They Voted for Trump. Here's How They Feel About High Gas Prices.

(New York Times) Since the president took America to war with Iran, gasoline prices have climbed to their highest levels in four years. Are his voters angry? More than two-thirds say they approve of his handling of the war and about six in 10 support his handling of the cost of living, according to the latest New York Times/Siena poll. But with the November midterm elections five months away, many Americans who backed Mr. Trump in 2024 are wrestling with pain at the pump and contemplating if it should weigh into their decisions in the fall. A fifth of Trump voters say the war is not worth the cost, and a third are unsure, the poll found.

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

Donald Trump Lashes Out at Pope Leo for Meeting With Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

(Daily Beast) President Donald Trump hit out at Pope Leo XIV on Saturday after seeing photos of the pontiff meeting with Brandon Johnson, the mayor of the pope’s hometown of Chicago. “Someone should explain to the Pope that the Mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the 79-year-old commander-in-chief wrote on Truth Social in the midst of a prolific stretch of posting. The president also posted some of the mayor’s own photos from the trip, suggesting he’s lurking on social media to monitor his political rivals.

KS Toronado

Monday's Condensed News Cartoons

Omaha Steve

Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms show off head start in Georgia as Republicans battle in runoff

(AP) Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia blasted his potential general election rivals on Sunday, casting Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley as unqualified lackeys for President Donald Trump. “It doesn’t matter which one wins,” Ossoff told an exuberant crowd at The Tabernacle, a downtown Atlanta concert venue. “They’re both Trump puppets.”

babylonsister

Getting My Mind Around Trump's IRS Deal (Part 2: Lemme Tell You About Real Weaponization)

(The Rude Pundit) When the White House announced that a deal had been reached between the Internal Revenue Service and noted rapist of children and adults Donald Trump over Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the agency for a leak of his tax returns by a now-convicted IRS contractor, the layers of fuckery were thick. I can't get my head around the idea that the president sued his own government and then came up with a deal that, for a moment, got the case dismissed and closed because everyone at the IRS and Justice Department knew that no judge or jury on earth would see this as anything other than a giant asshole being as assholish as humanly possible.

riversedge

Trump's latest reason for his new ballroom: A rooftop 'DronePort'

(USA Today) President Donald Trump unveiled yet another purported justification for his controversial plan to build a massive new ballroom and bunker under the East Wing of the White House he demolished: a rooftop "DronePort" that he says is needed to defend the nation's capital from modern threats. In a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, May 31, Trump claimed the proposed drone facility would be "perhaps, the most sophisticated anywhere in the World" that’s needed to safeguard Washington, DC, "long into the future.”

littlemissmartypants

Nvidia launches PC chip to bring AI directly to personal computers

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is in Taiwan for the Computex conference, said the RTX Spark PC chip is part of Nvidia's effort with Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab to "reinvent the PC" for the AI era, after three years of collaboration between the companies. The chip is designed to run AI agents locally rather than relying solely on cloud computing. Huang said that it was developed ⁠with Taiwan's MediaTek (2454.TW), opens new tab on the RTX Spark PC chip. "Th ...

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Louisiana Supreme Court rules against exoneree whose office was abolished

5 min ago - NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A sharply divided Louisiana Supreme Court on Monday signed off on abolishing an elected office won by a New Orleans exoneree who had spent nearly 30 years in prison for murder before his conviction was vacated. The 4-3 decisio ... (Associated Press)

Teen arrested after 3 horses stabbed multiple times at Vegas competition

26 min ago - According to Phillips, surveillance cameras in the barns captured the teen entering at least two stalls, which helped lead police to her. “Detectives located the teen at a nearby hotel and took her into custody without incident. She was transpor ... (KRQE citing KTLA)

Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, appeals court panel rules

37 min ago - By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Updated 1:19 PM CDT, June 1, 2026 Leer en español WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, a divided panel of federal appeal court judges r ... (AP)

Trump to drop his $1.8B 'slush fund' after outrage over paying his allies: report

1 hr ago - President Donald Trump will reportedly abandon plans for a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund designed to pay his allies and alleged “victims” of government “weaponization” after federal judges began firing back at a so-called ... (The Independent)

Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of 'Murdering' '60 Minutes'

2 hrs ago - Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of 'Murdering' '60 Minutes' In an explosive staff meeting, Mr. Pelley, a correspondent for the long-running Sunday news show, blasted Bari Weiss, the CBS editor in chief, and Nick Bilton, the show's new executive pr ... (New York Times)

Ceasefire very likely to end if Israeli attacks on Lebanon persist, Iranian TV says

2 hrs ago - By Yomna Ehab Mon, June 1, 2026 at 11:33 AM CDT Iran halts ceasefire talks with US according to state media, says it will close Strait of Hormuz Scroll back up to restore default view. By Yomna Ehab DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - A ceasefire agreed betwe ... (yahoo.com)

Seeking a $54 billion arsenal of killer drones, Pentagon turns to former hobbyists

2 hrs ago - A company that uses drones to analyze golf course grass. Another linked to a firm that hosts aerial light shows. And one founded by a 23-year-old former drone racing world champion. Any of them, the Pentagon says, could represent the future of warfar ... (Washington Post)

Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List

3 hrs ago - In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals. The net result of Mr. Hegs ... (New York Times (gift link))

Iran suspends peace talks over 'violation of ceasefire' in Lebanon

3 hrs ago - Iran has indicated it will suspend peace talks with the US in protest against Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, threatening the collapse of negotiations with Washington as the two sides skirmished amid a faltering ceasefire. The Iranian foreign min ... (The Guardian)

Tech billionaires are spending unprecedented sums in California races. Experts say it's the tip of the iceberg

3 hrs ago - Tech billionaires have shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars ahead of the 2 June primary election in California, in an unrivaled attempt to influence who gets to run the state that Silicon Valley calls home. The industry has used a cover-all-ba ... (The Guardian)

Ousted ICE chief Greg Bovino attacks Trump's key aide Susie Wiles for 'watering down' immigration policy

4 hrs ago - Greg Bovino, who briefly found himself the face of Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown before being dismissed, has attacked the administration over its subsequent handling of the issue. Bovino, 56, served as commander-at-large of U.S. B ... (Independent)

FBI director's girlfriend sues MS NOW, accuses cable network of 'false portrayal'

4 hrs ago - FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend has filed a lawsuit against MS NOW, accusing the news organization of using "sham" anonymous sources to "push knowingly or recklessly false allegations" that she abused bureau resources. Alexis Wilkins' suit, file ... (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-directors-girlfriend-sues-ms-now-accuses-cable-network-false-portr-rcna347899)

Anthropic confidentially files IPO prospectus with SEC

4 hrs ago - Anthropic said it confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, setting up a potentially historic share sale for investors ready to jump into artificial intelligence. “This gives us the option to go public ... (CNBC)

'Put your phone away'- Sweden urges parents to restrict phone use around children

6 hrs ago - Sweden’s public health agency has urged parents to declare parts of the home phone-free and to put their mobile away when they are spending time with their children, after research showed the impact of adult screen use on children. The agency be ... (Guardian)

8 crested ibises released in Japanese town decades after extinction in Japan

6 hrs ago - By MARI YAMAGUCHI Updated 3:29 AM CDT, June 1, 2026 TOKYO (AP) — Eight crested ibises were released into the wild in a north-central Japanese town, decades after the birds went extinct in the country. The endangered birds took off from each of t ... (AP)

Iran is stopping message exchanges with U.S., may block Hormuz, Tasnim news agency says

6 hrs ago - DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Monday that Tehran's negotiating team is stopping exchanges of messages with the United States through mediators due to attacks on Lebanon, as diplomatic ‌efforts to end the thre ... (Reuters)

We Sued ICE to Get Its Spyware Contract. The Agency Is Redacting Essentially Everything

6 hrs ago - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted with a spyware company that tells customers it ensures they can use the tool without the agency being caught doing so, according to documents obtained by 404 Media through our ongoing lawsuit again ... (404 Media)

Bus driver in deadly [Virginia] crash had previous speed-related arrest and citations

7 hrs ago - Bus driver in deadly Stafford Co. crash had previous speed-related arrest and citations Neal Augenstein | naugenstein@wtop.com June 1, 2026, 8:50 AM The bus driver in Friday’s deadly chain-reaction crash in Stafford County, Virginia, was due to ... (WTOP)

Park Service officials raised alarms over Trump administration's tennis center plan

7 hrs ago - Tennis Park Service officials raised alarms over Trump administration’s tennis center plan The documents suggest the government steered a parkland lease through an unusually fast process that favored a businessman with a financial interest in th ... (Washington Post)

American Axle employees on strike, say wages have barely increased in 18 years

10 hrs ago - by Colin Roose| News Channel3 Mon, June 1, 2026 at 6:09 AM THREE RIVERS, Mich. — United Auto Workers (UAW) members are on strike as of Monday at midnight. Nearly 1,000 employees at Dauch Corporation, formerly American Axle, are walking out on th ... (WWMT)