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Today's top stories
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana lost his bid for reelection on Saturday. He is one of seven Republican senators who voted to remove President Trump from office after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Cassidy finished last in a three-way primary. His failure to advance further illustrates Trump's strong influence over the Republican Party.
- 🎧 Cassidy said this campaign should focus on the future rather than the past, but many Republican voters felt that voting to convict Trump was a betrayal, NPR's Sam Gringlas tells Up First. Cassidy attempted to repair his relationship with Trump supporters while maintaining his independent streak. But achieving both of those things could be impossible, former Louisiana Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne told Gringlas. After this year, at least five of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump will no longer be in office. Cassidy's defeat could further discourage Republican senators from breaking away from Trump, Gringlas says.
- ➡️ Tomorrow's primary in Georgia will showcase heated Republican races for governor and U.S. Senate, while Democrats are hopeful that their enthusiasm advantage can help them flip two state supreme court seats.
The World Health Organization yesterday declared a new Ebola outbreak in Central Africa to be an international public health emergency. More than 80 people have died. The outbreak started in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since spread to Uganda. Nearby countries are now on alert. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that the declaration "does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency" and advised countries against closing their borders. Ebola is harder to transmit than airborne diseases like COVID.
- 🎧 Ebola is a very serious disease that kills about half of the people it infects, according to NPR's Jonathan Lambert. Lambert closely tracks outbreaks like these and says he experienced a moment of panic when he saw the announcement because he thought he must have missed earlier reports, given the numbers seemed too big for a new outbreak. It is now known that the first suspected cases emerged in late April. This particular strain, known as Bundibugyo, is rare and standard rapid field tests often fail to detect it. At least two cases, including one death, have already been reported in Uganda's capital, Kampala. If the virus continues to infiltrate more urban and connected areas, it could spread more rapidly.
A jury in California begins deliberations today in a case involving two of Silicon Valley's biggest names: Tesla's Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The two founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit to develop artificial intelligence to help humanity. Musk left the company after a power struggle. Musk is suing OpenAI, Altman, and others, claiming that they "stole a charity," as his attorney put it.
- 🎧 NPR's John Ruwitch says that a key question in the case is whether Musk was misled into donating money, influence and connection to OpenAI in its early days. Musk argues that Altman and others violated the company's founding mission as a charitable trust and unjustly enriched themselves by creating a for-profit division that consumed the original nonprofit. The jury will need to decide whether Musk filed this lawsuit in time, as the case has a three-year statute of limitations for breach of charitable trust. The jury will have to believe Musk's allegation that he became aware of the issues fewer than three years before filing the suit in 2024. In this case, Musk is seeking a rollback of the for-profit division, approximately $150 billion in gains related to that company to be redirected to OpenAI's nonprofit foundation and the removal of Altman and another co-founder, Greg Brockman, from their leadership roles.
Four Navy pilots were "found safe" and are in stable condition after a midair collision at an air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. A bystander video shared on Facebook showed two jets colliding in mid-air, and four parachutes were visible above the crash site. Following the incident, the base canceled the remainder of the two-day Gunfighter Skies Air Show and announced that an investigation is underway.
Climate Solutions Week
NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about how communities are moving forward on climate solutions despite significant political headwinds. As the federal government halts plans to address climate change, states, cities, regions, and even neighborhoods are trying to fill the gap by cutting climate pollution and adapting to extreme weather.
Under Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, Montana recently shelved its climate plan, which was drafted in the early 2000s. State lawmakers passed legislation preventing Montana from regulating planet-warming emissions unless the federal government does so first. But as sovereign nations, Native American tribes can advance their climate initiatives independently of state and federal progress. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes have launched a plan that includes projects such as wind energy development, water conservation and ecosystem restoration to enhance climate resilience. This year, their focus is on reducing wildfire risks and creating safe havens from smoky air for the reservation's 33,000 residents. Mike Durglo Jr., former chairman of the EPA's Regional Tribal Operations Committee, says that Indigenous peoples have long cared for the natural world before the term "climate change" existed. Durglo said that he and other tribal leaders share knowledge on how to help communities become more resilient and restore a healthy ecosystem.
Watch this
Go face-to-face with the person of the moment. NPR's Newsmakers video podcast brings the biggest names in politics, business, sports, arts, and culture out of the headlines and into the interview chair to discuss the mark they're making on the world. Follow the Newsmakers podcast or subscribe to NPR's YouTube channel to get new episodes as soon as they're available.
Dana White, the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is bringing cage matches to the White House's South Lawn. The event is scheduled for June 14, President Trump's birthday. A known supporter and friend of Trump, White said that "America is a country of immigrants" during an NPR interview, despite the president's mass deportation promises.
As part of NPR's Newsmakers video podcast, White and NPR's Steve Inskeep sat down in Newark, N.J.,'s Prudential Center after White held a press conference to introduce the fighters for the White House matchups. The competitors hail from the U.S., Germany, the nation of Georgia, Brazil, France and Canada. White views the diverse lineup as a representation of a nation of people that "all came from somewhere else." The two also discussed the UFC's place in American culture, the health of its fighters and more.
Watch the conversation on YouTube, listen to the interview or read the article about their discussion.
3 things to know before you go
- After an 11-year run, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will come to an end on Thursday. NPR critic Eric Deggans breaks down how Colbert has made his mark as a TV host.
- New York magazine is reviewing the past work of its writer Ross Barkan, who faces plagiarism accusations for publishing at least three stories with similarities to other published works.
- The number of executions worldwide reached a 44-year high in 2025, according to a new report from Amnesty International. State-sanctioned killings nearly doubled in the U.S. in the span of a year.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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