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Early Edition: June 3, 2026By Elisabeth JenningsPublished on June 3, 2026 Listen to Article Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S Central Command said yesterday that Iran had launched missiles and drone strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain, and on civilian mariners near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed it had targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a U.S. vessel identified as the Panaya. U.S. forces conducted strikes on an Iranian military ground control station at Qeshm Island in retaliation, according to Centcom. Iran cited the Qeshm strikes as grounds for its own attacks. This recent round of strikes came after the U.S. military said it “disabled” an oil tanker heading for an Iranian port by striking it with a Hellfire missile. Aaron Boxerman, Christina Goldbaum, and Michael Crowley report for the New York Times; CNN reports; Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
Iranian drones and missiles overnight caused injuries and severe damage to the T1 building at Kuwait International Airport, according to Kuwait’s General Civil Aviation Authority. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said that the strikes killed one person. The U.S. military said the Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait were either thwarted or failed. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said today that Kuwait and Bahrain bore “direct and clear responsibility” for the attacks, alleging their territory and facilities had been used to support U.S. military operations against Iran. Estelle Shirbon, Christina Anagnostopoulous, and Farouq Suleiman report for Reuters.
Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon yesterday killed at least 11 people, as another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon began in Washington. Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue report for AP News.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday proposed three options to the U.N. Security Council for replacing the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon when it ends on Dec. 31, all of which would maintain U.N. monitoring of the Israel-Lebanon border, support the Lebanese army, and strengthen diplomatic efforts to implement the 2006 ceasefire resolution. Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday imposed sanctions on Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex, and some of its founders, accusing them of helping the Iranian government to evade sanctions, pay for militant activities, and transfer wealth abroad. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday outlined the Trump administration’s demands for a peace deal with Iran before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz and commit to future talks curtailing its nuclear program before Washington will lift its blockade of Iranian ports or ease financial sanctions. “Any sanctions relief is conditions-based, which means it has to be in return for the reason why those sanctions were put in place in the first place, which is their nuclear program,” Rubio said. Noah Robertson and John Hudson report for the Washington Post; Felcia Schwartz reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration should not have been surprised by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in February, because years of military war games and repeated Iranian warnings had consistently identified this as Tehran’s most likely response, according to several former U.S. officials. Michael C. Crowley reports for the New York Times.
Ukraine yesterday launched one of its largest long-range drone attacks on Russia, striking targets including oil and military facilities near St Petersburg as the St Petersburg International Economic Forum opened. Russia said it downed 50 drones over the Leningrad region, and more than 350 drones in total. The strikes followed Russian attacks hours earlier on several Ukrainian cities, which killed 23 people and wounded 130 others, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kosta Gak, Anna Chernova, and Helen Regan report for CNN; Jekaterina Golubkova reports for Reuters; Valentyn Ogirenko and Anna Voitenko report for Reuters.
Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that it will repatriate its nationals seeking to leave South Africa, where attacks on African migrants have been reported in parts of the country. Mozambique said five of its citizens were killed in violence in the coastal town of Mossel Bay over the weekend, while Ghana repatriated hundreds of nationals last week. Reuters reports.
Cambodia yesterday announced it has launched a rarely used U.N. dispute-resolution process called compulsory conciliation under the UNCLOS treaty to try to settle its 25-year maritime boundary dispute with Thailand over a 26,000 sq km area in the Gulf of Thailand believed to contain up to $300 billion worth of oil and gas resources. This follows the Thai government’s announcement last month that it had unilaterally terminated its 2001 agreement with Cambodia. Reuters reports.
Meta is dialing back elements of its plan to collect employee mouse movements, keystrokes, and other actions for use as AI training data, it said in an internal memo yesterday, following weeks of angry pushbacks from staffers. New controls will allow employees to pause the data collection for up to 30 minutes at a time and request exemptions from the initiative, according to the memo. Katie Paul reports for Reuters.
Trump yesterday endorsed Abelardo De La Espriella, a right-wing candidate in Colombia’s presidential election, in a social media post. De La Espriella thanked Trump for his “decisive support,” promising to strengthen U.S.-Colombia relations “like never before.” Annie Correal reports for the New York Times.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative yesterday proposed tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from numerous trading partners following a forced labour investigation, according to a report released yesterday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that partners’ failure to address forced-labor imports creates an uneven playing field for American workers. Kimberley Kao reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Rubio said yesterday that the United States would re-engage with the global vaccine alliance Gavi after cutting funding in 2025, citing the need to address the ongoing Ebola outbreak. Patricia Zengerle and Kennifer Rigby report for Reuters.
The Supreme Court yesterday allowed Alabama to use a congressional map that eliminates one of two majority-Black districts. The justices, split 6-3 on ideological lines with conservatives in the majority, granted an emergency request filed by Republican officials seeking to use the map, which was enacted in 2023 but has never been used. Lawrence Hurley reports for NBC News.
Federal authorities are investigating where former Rep. George Santos engaged in insider trading by betting on Kalshi, a prediction market, about whether he would attend Trump’s State of the Union address in February. David Yaffe-Bellany and Sharon LaFraniere report for the New York Times.
Kurt Olsen, a White House official who aided Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, has joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Erin Banco and Andrew Goudsward report for Reuters.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday that he was withdrawing a proposal to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people claiming to be victims of unfair prosecution. “We’re not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said. Blanche also said he would leave in place an order he signed last month that would, in effect, block the Internal Revenue Service from investigating Trump, his family, and his businesses for tax violations. Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times.
Trump yesterday named Federal Housing Agency Director Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte is one of Trump’s closest political allies and has no known background in intelligence. Gregory Svirnovskiy and John Sakellariadis report for POLITICO.
Trump yesterday signed an executive order asking AI companies to give the administration access to powerful models 30 days before public release. The previous version would have required companies to allow the government to review models for up to 90 days. The order also asks national-security and cyber officials to address software vulnerabilities identified by models like Anthropic’s Mythos. Amrith Ramjumar reports for the Wall Street Journal.
The Trump administration has hired Elias Irizarry, a convicted Jan. 6 rioter who later expressed remorse, to work inside the Defense Department’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Office. Two sources characterized the work Irizarry will be doing as among the most delicate that the Pentagon performs, with all positions requiring top-secret security clearance. Several employees have raised concerns about the appointment, questioning how anyone convicted of an assault on democracy could be trusted for such a sensitive role in the U.S. government. Tara Copp and Salvador Rizzo report for the Washington Post.
The Office of Management and Budget on Friday published a 400-page proposed rule that, if finalized, 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. Tony Romm reports for the New York Times.
A group of transgender young people filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, urging a federal judge to block a criminal subpoena issued to NYU Langone. The subpoena instructs hospital officials to appear before a grand jury this month with documents “sufficient to identify each patient” under 18 who received gender-related treatments since 2020. Amy Harmon reports for the New York Times.
Several state attorneys general filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Trump administration to challenge its deal with TotalEnergies to end its U.S. offshore wind projects. “We are fighting back to stop this illegal agreement that threatens to erase over a thousand union jobs and cheat millions of New Yorkers out of clean, affordable energy,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. Clara Hudson reports for the Wall Street Journal.
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