Consumer sentiment hits 74-year low as Iran war bites

Kuwait intercepts Iranian missile as oil soars, Romania hit by drone

Kuwait's air defense system shot down an Iranian ballistic missile after U.S. strikes on Iranian drone sites, escalating tensions and pushing oil prices toward $100 a barrel. A Russian drone struck an apartment building in Romania, injuring civilians on NATO territory. Illinois unanimously passed the nation's first law requiring independent audits of frontier AI systems.

Consumer sentiment hits 74-year low as Iran war bites

Consumer confidence collapsed to its lowest level since 1952 as gas prices surge past $5 a gallon in the wake of the Iran conflict, hitting lower-income Americans hardest. Sonny Rollins, the jazz titan who reshaped the genre across seven decades, died at 95. Britain and Poland signed a landmark bilateral defense treaty formally naming Russia as a long-term strategic threat, while the Pentagon announced major cuts to U.S. forces in Europe.

China restricts AI researchers, UK shatters heat record, EU fines Google

China is now requiring advanced AI professionals at private companies to get government approval before traveling abroad, treating them like nuclear scientists in a major escalation of tech control. A historic heat dome shattered Britain's May temperature record by nearly 3 degrees—a margin unseen in over a century—while deaths mount across Western Europe. The EU is preparing its first major fine under new tech regulations, targeting Google for allegedly favoring its own services in search resu…

U.S. and Israel strike Iran while talks stall on nuclear deal

U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iranian vessels and missile sites Monday even as President Trump said diplomatic talks were proceeding nicely—the core contradiction being that both sides have agreed on nearly everything except the nuclear question. The average American household will pay about $1,500 in tariff costs this year. Google made its newest AI model the default for 900 million users worldwide, and the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo a global health emergency.

Hungary ousts Orbán after 16 years, Ebola crosses 1,000 cases

Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide supermajority in Hungary's election, ending Viktor Orbán's 16-year grip on power and removing Russia's most reliable EU ally. The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000 cases and reached Uganda's capital Kampala. Also: the Senate advances a war powers resolution on Iran, Cerebras raises nearly $6 billion in the year's biggest tech IPO, and the Michael Jackson biopic breaks box office records despite poor reviews.