News From Around the Web
#1 Trump-Backed Prayer Festival on National Mall Draws Thousands: ‘We Welcome Jesus!’ - The Washington Post, Mario Nawfal, AFP News Agency, NEWSMAX, Al Jazeera English, HuffPost, and Washington Eye/Donald J. Trump on X
A crowd of thousands transformed a block of the National Mall into an evangelical-style worship service Sunday at an event backed by President Donald Trump and funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. In an eight-hour lineup, speakers including top government officials framed America as a country founded to be explicitly Christian — and in danger if its population turns from their version of that religious faith. Sitting, standing, dancing, and praising with hands raised toward a blazing sun, attendees appeared riveted as speakers took the stage during “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” Many said they were thrilled to see an event that tied the nation and its government so overtly to Christianity...
#2 Black Southern Democrats Warn That Minority-Majority Legislative Districts Are at Risk - Cheyanne M. Daniels for POLITICO, Adamjam99, ChandraP, War Correspondent, fuseboxradio, and Robin Kelly/MichMTweets on X
As Republicans across the South race to redraw congressional lines ahead of the midterms, Black Democrats warn that another sweeping challenge to Black political power is on the horizon: the erosion of representation at the local level. Last month’s Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act has kicked off the South’s political landscape being rewritten in real time. But the rush to redraw House lines ahead of November is only the beginning of the process, Black Democrats say, with a potentially yearslong effort to erase other majority Black districts in state and local politics coming soon...
#3 New York Magazine Columnist Accused of Plagiarism by Fellow Reporters, Triggers Internal Review - Lindsay Kornick for Fox News, John Podhoretz, Anthony Spano, Frederic U. Dicker, Yasmin Nair (One Tenacious B.), and PigWar on X
New York Magazine columnist Ross Barkan has been accused of plagiarism, launching an internal investigation into his past work. The accusation began on Thursday after Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell accused Barkan of lifting material from his May 9 piece on The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro for a similar piece on Shapiro's business. After Harwell highlighted the similarities between the two articles, New York Magazine updated its piece with an editor's note offering credit to the Washington Post, though Harwell explained he wasn't "entirely sure what happened." After Harwell's comments, NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn found additional examples of what appeared to be Barkan lifting similar phrases and descriptions from The Intercept and Compact Magazine on other reports...
#4 Marjorie Taylor Greene Sends ‘Revolution’ Warning to Donald Trump: ‘I’ll Make Sure of It’ - Lee Moran for HuffPost, Sanjay Tirdiya संजय तिरदिया, Doctor Zhivago, Caleb Ali, Pakistan Economic Network, and The Hill on X
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday issued a stark warning about what she believes will happen in the U.S. if Donald Trump sends American troops into Iran. “If you send in U.S. military troops into Iran, there is going to be a political revolution in America,” Greene wrote on X. “WE. ARE. DONE,” she continued. “We said no more foreign wars, and we meant it. The coalition will unite and be unstoppable. I’ll make sure of it.” End this war. It’s stupid,” added Greene, a former close ally of Trump who has since split with him over the Iran conflict, the Epstein issue, and other matters. Trump has responded by calling her a “lunatic.”
#5 Drone Strikes Uae Nuclear Plant as US and Iran Signal They Are Prepared to Resume War - AP News, Mario Nawfal, Iran International English, Merlijn The Trader, Al Jazeera English, and IsThisGrok on X
A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of renewed war as the United States and Iran signaled they were ready to fight again. There were no reported injuries or radiological release. The UAE, which has hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks. Tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway gripped by Iran, which is under a U.S. naval blockade...
#6 Suspected Insider Accounts Net $2.4 Million on Polymarket Iran War Bets With 98% Win Rate, Firm Finds - CBS News, Internet Child/probability god, Trading advisor, Carlos Moreno/Devin NFT Hunter, 60 Minutes/Midge, and Elena on X
Nine connected Polymarket accounts have raked in more than $2.4 million betting almost exclusively on U.S. military actions in what digital detectives from the data analytics firm Bubblemaps have identified as a potentially egregious case of insider trading. The anonymous accounts made winning bets on the specific dates of pivotal moments in the war with Iran: the first U.S. strikes, the removal of Iran's supreme leader, and the announcement of a ceasefire. Across more than 80 bets, the accounts had a 98% win rate, even as many wagers were made when the odds of winning were low, according to Bubblemaps co-founder and CEO Nicolas Vaiman, who shared their findings first with 60 Minutes...
#7 Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy Defeated, Julia Letlow and John Fleming Advance to Runoff, AP Projects - Gaby Vinick for ABC News, Exola Blog, UPI.com, Robert Smith, and Mitt Romney/The Truth on X
Two Republican challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, will advance to a runoff election in Louisiana's closely watched GOP primary, The Associated Press projected Saturday -- a defeat for Sen. Bill Cassidy, who had drawn the ire of President Donald Trump. Letlow had been endorsed by Trump in a three-way race that was seen as a test of the president's influence among Republicans. Letlow and Fleming will face off again in the runoff on June 27...
#8 Rep. Thomas Massie Confronts the Full Force of Trump’s Wrath in a Republican Primary - Julie Tsirkin and Scott Wong for NBC News, RVM News, ᛞDreaded Heathenᛏ, Catturd/Laura Loomer/Kate, Timothy Sullivan/Catholics for Catholics, and Jack Hunter on X
Rep. Thomas Massie, a constant thorn in the side of GOP leaders during his eight terms in Congress, is no stranger to a primary challenge. But this year, President Donald Trump’s fury with the Kentucky libertarian has reached a boiling point. On Tuesday, voters in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District will decide whether Massie becomes the latest casualty of Trump’s campaign to unseat foes inside the Republican Party as he faces off against Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation farmer who was personally recruited by the president. “People aren’t going to be voting for me or voting for him on election day,” Massie told NBC News in an interview in his Capitol Hill office. “They’re either going to be voting for me or voting against me.”
#9 Pop Star Shakira Acquitted in Spanish Tax Fraud Case - NEWSMAX, BBC News (World), ABC News, AFP News, and Reuters on X
A Spanish court acquitted Shakira in a tax fraud case, ordering the government to return more than 55 million euros ($64 million) in wrongly imposed fines, a court document seen Monday by The Associated Press said. The decision follows years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian superstar. The ruling relates to a dispute over the 2011 tax year in which Spanish tax authorities did not prove that the singer was a resident of Spain, the Madrid-based court said in its decision...
#10 Socialist Nithya Raman, Wife to ‘Modern Family’ TV Producer, Racks Up Hollywood Support in L.A. Mayor Race - Paul Bois for Breitbart, Patrick white, Stu Smith, NOfPlus, MAGA Voice/surfer girl, and Deadline/T. Loughery on X
A recent profile from Variety noted that Raman’s Hollywood connections run deep due to her husband, TV writer-producer Vali Chandrasekaran (30 Rock, Modern Family), with contributors that include Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Mike Schur, Colin Jost, Nicholas Stoller, Cord Jefferson, David Mandel, and many others. This past April, actor Adam Scott (Severance) introduced her at a backyard fundraiser in Santa Monica. “She wins because she gets shit done, and she gets shit done because she has a plan for everything,” Scott said. Noticeably absent from the scene is Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, who spent “$2 million to help Bass defeat mall billionaire Rick Caruso in 2022 and then invested $300,000 in LA4LA, an affordable housing effort in partnership with Bass’s office.”
