By Christine Coleman
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
After Musicians Revolt, Trump Plans Rally With Singer of ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’
President Trump said that he would hold a rally in Washington with performances from the country singer Lee Greenwood and the tenor Christopher Macchio after most artists dropped out of a series of concerts planned by a Trump-backed group in honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence. The confusion surrounding the concerts planned for the National Mall highlights the partisan tensions around national celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/arts/music/freedom-250-trump-lee-greenwood-christopher-macchio.html
Wim Wenders Pulls Film With Teenage Nudity After Actress’s Pleas
German filmmaker Wim Wenders announced that he would withdraw a 1975 movie from circulation that included a topless scene with a 13-year-old actress. The actress, Nastassja Kinski, has stated that she had spent 15 years trying to get Wenders to cut the scene from her film debut, “Wrong Move,” but that the director refused to talk about it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/movies/wim-wenders-nastassja-kinski-nudity-topless-wrong-move.html
Arts
Kennedy Center Loses Case Against Musician Who Canceled After Trump Renaming
A federal judge in Washington tossed a lawsuit filed by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts against jazz musician Chuck Redd who canceled a performance at the venue’s annual Christmas Eve concert last year after the center’s board added Trump’s name to the building. In an order throwing out the breach-of-contract case, the judge wrote that the Kennedy Center failed to prove that Redd and a host of the institution’s holiday program had signed a contract to perform as he had in years past.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/us/politics/kennedy-center-lawsuit-tossed-trump-chuck-redd.html
Kennedy Center Tells Staff to Immediately Remove Trump’s Name From Documents
The general counsel’s office at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts told employees in a memo to “immediately” remove Trump’s name from the institution’s branding on official forms and other documents. The mandate came days after a federal judge ruled that the board’s decision to add the president’s name to the building had been unlawful.
http://nytimes.com/2026/06/04/arts/music/kennedy-center-trump-name-memo.html
Patagonia Is Suing Pattie Gonia Over Trademark Infringement: What to Know
Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company, is suing the drag queen and environmental activist Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement, arguing that they moved away from “discrete use of a persona to engage in activism” and “transformed into a commercial enterprise,” and in doing so, they are causing irreparable harm to Patagonia. Pattie Gonia said that the company was trying to take away their name permanently and “erase an activist,” and called on Patagonia to drop the lawsuit, which will hinge on the role of First Amendment rights and parody in a dispute over a brand name and services.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/us/pattie-gonia-patagonia-trademark-lawsuit.html
She Confessed to Fraud. Her Board Let Her Stay in Charge.
The final months of the fashion tech start-up CaaStle included fake audits, stock buybacks and a damage control strategy led by the chief executive who defrauded it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/business/caastle-fraud-christine-hunsicker.html
Planning Commission Votes to Advance Trump’s Plan for Towering Arch
The National Capital Planning Commission advanced Trump’s plan to build a 250-foot arch in Washington, even after receiving overwhelming public opposition to the project.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/trump-arch-dc-planning-meeting.html
Park Service Awards No-Bid Contract to Cover Bridge Statues in Gold
The Trump administration is using a no-bid contract to spruce up four statues near the National Mall. Originally estimated to cost $2.4 million, the government will now spend $5 million to restore the bronzes in time for Independence Day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/us/politics/park-service-bridge-statues-gold.html
At Interlochen, Where Jeffrey Epstein’s Shadow Still Lingers
The arts school and camp Interlochen is still contending with the fallout from its former ties to Jeffrey Epstein, an alumnus and donor accused of preying on two girls he met there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/arts/jeffrey-epstein-interlochen-michigan.html
A Mega Gallery Shrinks: Pace Cuts 50 Artists, 50 Staff
In perhaps the strongest sign yet of a major transformation in the art market, Pace Gallery plans to announce that it is reducing its roster by 50 artists and its staff by 50 people, indicating that even a prominent established gallery needs to downsize in this challenging economic climate. While high-end sales remain strong among a sliver of wealthy collectors, small and midsize galleries have, since the Covid pandemic, been consolidating, contracting or closing amid declining foot traffic and steep operating costs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/arts/design/pace-gallery-artist-cuts.html
Over 100 Artists Threaten to Sue Venice Biennale for Including Them in Awards
More than 100 artists taking part in this year’s Venice Biennale are threatening legal action against the art exhibition’s organizer if it does not remove their names from a public vote to pick the event’s best artists. The group says it is asking to be excluded from the prizes “in solidarity with” the jury of professionals that resigned in late April, several days after announcing that it would not give any awards to artists representing countries whose leaders are being investigated by the International Criminal Court.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/arts/design/venice-biennale-public-vote.html
Sports
Lawsuit Aims to Stop U.F.C. Fights at White House on Trump’s Birthday
A political activist and a Vietnam War veteran represented by an anti-corruption organization filed a lawsuit challenging what it called the “night of cage fights” that Trump planned to hold at the White House as part of the celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary. The lawsuit argues that the transformation of the grounds was never authorized by Congress and the event will serve as an extraordinary use of government space to benefit both the chief executive of U.F.C., Dana White, and Trump, who is an investor in U.F.C.’s parent company.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/us/politics/lawsuit-ufc-fight-white-house.html
Ohio State approves $100 million settlement for victims in school doctor sexual abuse case
Ohio State reached a $100 million settlement with hundreds of former student-athletes who said university doctor Richard Strauss sexually abused them. During a board of trustees meeting, school leaders approved a preliminary agreement with 279 victims of Strauss’ abuse involved in pending litigation.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7332643/2026/06/04/ohio-state-settlement-richard-strauss-sexual-abuse-case/
Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 187: The Protect College Sports Act's Coalition Problem Is The Story The Hearing Was Designed to Obscure
In his latest NIL newsletter, Darren Heitner discusses his thoughts on the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Protect College Sports Act.
https://www.linkedin.com/comm/pulse/newsletter-image-likeness-vol-187-protect-college-sports-heitner-rhrse?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Aemail_email_series_follow_newsletter_02%3BykMWg0d0QOGyZdOY82HGVQ%3D%3D&midToken=AQHuMh_Z03ruTQ&midSig=0sjlheQQZfScg1&trk=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_02-newsletter_content_preview-0-readmore_button_&trkEmail=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_02-newsletter_content_preview-0-readmore_button_-null-o3dus~mq0uaj2r~8t-null-null&eid=o3dus-mq0uaj2r-8t
FIFA staff concerned fan water-bottle ban was influenced by commercial considerations
Members of FIFA’s security and safety teams expressed concerns during internal debates over the organization’s decision to ban fans from bringing water bottles into stadiums during the World Cup. Three weeks ago, the world governing body’s public code of conduct for World Cup venues stated that fans would be permitted to bring an empty, transparent, plastic water bottle into venues during the peak of summer in North America that would be refillable at water fountains. However, the decision to reverse that policy may have been highly influenced by commercial considerations.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7331375/2026/06/04/fifa-bottle-ban-commercial-concerns/
Knicks Watch Party at Garden Is Canceled, as Game 3 Security Ramps Up
A watch party planned for outside Madison Square Garden was canceled, as fans braced for heightened security at the first home game of the Knicks’ extraordinary N.B.A. championship run, with both Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani expected to attend.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/nyregion/knicks-watch-party-msg-canceled-trump.html
Technology/Media
Supreme Court Backs F.C.C. Power to Levy Fines Against Cellphone Carriers
The Supreme Court backed the F.C.C.’s power to enforce its rules that protect consumer privacy, combat robocalls, and regulate broadcasting, a decision with implications for the government’s ability to protect consumers and the public more broadly.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-cellphone-carriers-fines.html
Trump Signs Executive Order Seeking Oversight of A.I. Models
Trump signed an executive order that asked technology companies to voluntarily give the government oversight of new artificial intelligence models before releasing them to the public, a shift for an administration that had promoted a hands-off approach to the powerful technology.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/technology/trump-executive-order-ai.html
How Many Tracks Were Used to Train Suno? AI Music Platform Fights to Keep Training Data Sealed Amid Broader Major Label Legal Battle
Amid an ugly legal battle with Sony Music and Universal Music, the AI music platform Suno is fighting to conceal exactly how many tracks were used to train its generative models.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/06/01/suno-lawsuit-training-dispute/
Anthropic Files to Go Public, Setting Stage for Huge I.P.O.
Anthropic confidentially filed for an initial public offering, joining what could be a once-in-a-generation, moneymaking moment on Wall Street. With this filing, Anthropic is expected to be among three high-profile companies preparing to go public this year, along with the rocket company SpaceX and OpenAI.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/technology/anthropic-ipo.html
Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System
The Trump administration is dismantling a $368 million deep-ocean observation system that was put in place a decade ago to monitor coastal environments, marine ecosystems, and powerful currents that affect the global climate. The system has been critical to climate and ocean research.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/climate/ocean-observatories-initiative.html
Meta Expands Safety Features for Teenagers
Meta unveiled new safety features to limit harmful content shown to teenagers on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, its first major policy change since the company was found liable in March for harming a young woman with the design of its platforms. The features will limit how frequently teenagers are shown posts about topics like nutrition, weightlifting, and anxiety in their feeds, expanding on a broader teen safety effort that Meta announced in October.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/technology/meta-safety-features-teenagers.html
CBS News Fires Scott Pelley of ‘60 Minutes’
CBS News fired Scott Pelley, jettisoning one of the network’s best-known journalists in a clash over the future of “60 Minutes,” the country’s top-rated news program. At a staff meeting he had accused the network’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, of “murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” citing the ouster last week of the program’s leadership team and two on-air correspondents. Following Pelley’s dismissal, “60 Minutes” correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim said that they would remain in their posts, ending days of speculation about whether a roiling crisis at the CBS News program would leave it entirely deprived of on-air stars. In a joint email to the show’s staff, the correspondents said they would “stay and fight” in order to “repair and preserve” the reputation of the country’s top-rated news program
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/business/media/scott-pelley-cbs-bari-weiss.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/business/media/60-minutes-cbs-stahl-whitaker-wertheim.html
SpaceX Sets Price for the World’s Largest I.P.O.
SpaceX set a price for its initial public offering of $135 a share, which would value it at $1.77 trillion and crown it the largest I.P.O. ever.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/technology/spacex-ipo-pricing.html
A University System Went All In on A.I. Now It’s Tearing Itself Apart.
California’s public universities spent $16.9 million on A.I. during a financial crisis. The result has been chaos for students and faculty.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/magazine/ai-university-college-california.html
General News
Supreme Court Clears the Way for Republican-Friendly Map in Alabama
The Supreme Court night cleared the way for Alabama to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district, a win for Republicans as they fight to hold onto their slim majority in the House. The ruling served as the first major test since the justices in April weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/us/politics/supreme-court-alabama-congressional-map.html
The House votes to end the Iran war, in a bipartisan rebuke to Trump.
The House voted to direct Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the conflict with Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war, after four Republicans sided with Democrats in a striking sign of growing opposition to a military campaign now in its fourth month.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/03/us/trump-administration-news#house-vote-trump-iran-war-powers
Senate Passes $70 Billion G.O.P. Immigration Bill
Senate Republicans pushed through their $70 billion bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown through the remainder of his term, after beating back bipartisan efforts to add language to bar or sharply restrict a federal payout fund for his political allies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/trump-fund-immigration-bill-republicans-vote.html
As Trump Pushes Deportations, a Skyrocketing Caseload Strains Immigration Courts
A federal surge has more than doubled caseloads within some immigration courts nationwide. Lawyers say the tactic is causing errors and confusion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/us/politics/immigration-courts-deportation.html
A judge criticized Trump administration policies driven by “anti-immigrant sentiments.”
A federal judge in Rhode Island struck down a slate of immigration policies enacted by the Trump administration, writing that the measures had “placed the lives of countless individuals on hold — solely by virtue of their countries of birth.”
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/05/us/trump-news#asylum-immigration-ruling
Justice Dept. Promises to Drop $1.8 Billion Fund
The Justice Department told federal judges that it would not move forward with establishing a $1.8 billion fund for people claiming to have been unfairly prosecuted by the government. The assertion was the department’s clearest statement to date that it was pulling back from a plan to use taxpayer money to make payments to people who said they had suffered “weaponization” at the hands of federal prosecutors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/us/politics/trump-fund-doj.html
Trump Keeps Immunity from I.R.S., a Victory in a Long-Running Feud
Even as they rebelled against a $1.8 billion fund for Trump’s allies, Republicans looked the other way as his administration granted him potentially lucrative tax protections from I.R.S. audits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/us/politics/trump-immunity-tax-audit.html
Losing Trust in Justice Dept., Judges Call Out Its Lawyers’ Behavior
The federal courts have long assumed that the government’s lawyers are trustworthy. Now judges across the country are criticizing their lack of candor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/justice-department-lawyers-judges-trump.html
Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence has no known background in the field.
Trump named Bill Pulte, who has pressed for investigations into the president’s foes, to serve as the acting director of national intelligence, giving him oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies. Pulte, who leads the federal housing finance agency, has no known background in intelligence, defense or national security, but he has been among the most aggressive advocates for prosecuting Democrats and others perceived by Trump as having crossed him.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/02/us/trump-administration-news#section-979029043
‘Infuriated’ Former Judges Take on Trump
In recent months, coalitions of retired judges have drawn on their distinctive positions to file forceful briefs supporting challenges to what they said was lawless conduct by the Trump administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/us/politics/the-docket-former-judges-filings.html
Trump Order Removes Job Protections From Federal Workers
Trump signed an executive order that strips job protections from nearly 8,000 federal workers who are in policy-making roles, making it easier for the administration to fire them. The order is a response to the resistance that Trump administration officials faced during the president’s first term, when senior career government officials routinely pushed back against policies that appeared to exceed legal boundaries.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/us/politics/trump-executive-order-job-protections.html
ICE Says Detainees Are ‘Worst of the Worst.’ Government Data Disagrees.
After reports emerged last month that immigrants held at Delaney Hall, a Newark detention center, were staging a hunger strike to protest conditions there, demonstrators mobilized and New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, demanded to be let in so that she could inspect the building. Federal officials rejected her demand and said that she and other Democratic officials in New Jersey should be grateful that ICE was removing killers, rapists, and other criminals. However, data obtained by The New York Times indicates that most detainees in that facility haven’t been convicted of crimes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/nyregion/delaney-hall-ice-detainees.html
White House Seeks to Impose Political Test on Billions in Federal Grants
A new proposal would allow the administration to block grants if they do not satisfy Trump’s agenda or support what it calls “anti-American” values. While the administration says that its primary goal is to safeguard taxpayer money, its proposal amounts to a major escalation in its attempt to reimagine the nation’s spending, even as Congress and the courts continue to rebuke the president for abusing such powers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/us/politics/trump-budget-grants-omb-vought.html
Trump Administration Announces Stricter Rules for Medicaid Work Requirement
A new rule by the Trump administration could make it even harder for millions of sick Americans to obtain or stay on Medicaid after work requirements start next year. The work requirement was established last summer as part of Republicans’ major tax and domestic policy legislation, and requires poor adults without disabilities to prove they worked, volunteered, or attended school at least 80 hours a month or lose their Medicaid eligibility.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/upshot/trump-medicaid-work-requirements.html
Blue States Sue Trump Administration Over Offshore Wind Deal
Seven Democratic-controlled states sued the Trump administration over its move to block a planned wind farm off the coast of New York. The lawsuit seeks to overturn an extraordinary deal that the Trump administration reached in March with the French energy giant TotalEnergies in which the government paid TotalEnergies $928 million to abandon plans to build the wind project off New York and another one off North Carolina.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/climate/new-york-lawsuit-trump-offshore-wind.html
Trump Says He Never Promised No New Wars, and Defends Compensation Fund
Trump, who campaigned on a central promise to keep the United States out of overseas wars, denied in an interview that he’d ever made the pledge.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/us/politics/trump-new-wars-compensation-fund.html
Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List
In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of nine Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals. The net result of Hegseth’s intervention is a slate of 22 nominees to be one-star admirals that bears little resemblance to the broader force these officers will help lead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/hegseth-navy-promotion-list.html
Judge Rejects Defense’s Bid to Close Charlie Kirk Hearings
The judge overseeing the trial of Tyler J. Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, rejected an effort by the defense to restrict the public from a hearing that would lay out much of the evidence in the case. It was the latest attempt by lawyers for Robinson to limit public access to one of the country’s most highly scrutinized murder cases.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-hearings-media-access.html
U.S. Is Said to Be Investigating George Santos Over Kalshi Betting
Federal authorities are investigating whether former Representative George Santos engaged in insider trading by betting on a prediction market about whether he would show up at the State of the Union address in late February. Just before the speech, Santos announced on social media that he planned to attend, but then missed the speech. Around the time of the event, Kalshi detected that Santos had bet against his own attendance
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/us/politics/george-santos-investigation-prediction-markets.html
Mullin Says ICE Training Going Back to ‘Regular Standards’
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers on that his agency would be increasing the training requirements for ICE officers to what had been their previous level, starting this summer. The scope of ICE training became a point of contention as the Trump administration hired thousands of new officers over the past year and apparently cut training requirements.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/us/politics/mullin-ice-training.html
John Bolton Reaches Deal to Plead Guilty Over Classified Information
John Bolton, a national security adviser to Trump in his first term, has reached a tentative deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to mishandling classified information when he compiled notes for a book that was harshly critical of the president. Under the terms of the plea deal, Bolton plans to plead guilty to a single count of illegal retention of classified information and pay a fine, facing anywhere from no prison time to five years of incarceration at sentencing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/john-bolton-plea-deal.html
Justice Department Tells Prosecutors to Pursue Immigrant Vote Fraud Cases
Aakash Singh, a senior Justice Department official, recently instructed prosecutors nationwide to redouble efforts to pursue criminal charges against noncitizens who have voted, a type of fraud that has animated Trump’s campaigns, but that experts say is exceedingly rare.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/immigrants-vote-fraud.html
Driven From Lenapehoking, They Hope to Return to New York
Lenapehoking, which flows through modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, was the home to the Lenape before forced removals, federal decrees, and broken treaties landed them in Oklahoma. Now, many of the descendants of the Lenape feel the pull of their ancestral homeland in the east.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/nyregion/driven-from-lenapehoking-they-hope-to-return-to-new-york.html
Trump Pardons Former Congressman Convicted of Insider Trading
Trump has pardoned Stephen E. Buyer, a former Republican representative from Indiana who was convicted of insider trading in 2023. Since he returned to the White House last year, Trump has issued a wave of pardons and commutations. Dozens of pardons have been granted to people accused of white-collar crimes, giving rise to an industry of right-wing operatives hired to bring requests for clemency to the president.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/us/politics/trump-pardon-stephen-buyer-insider-trading.html
C.I.A. Officer Found With Gold Bars Said to Have Created Fake Spy Program
David Rush, a C.I.A. officer who was found recently with $40 million of gold bars in his house, is said to have created a secret intelligence program to funnel millions of dollars from the federal government to himself. A federal judge has since ruled that Rush must remain in detention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/us/politics/cia-officer-gold-fake-spy-program.html
Kenyan Court Deals New Blow to Plans for U.S. Ebola Unit
Kenya’s high court effectively delayed by three more weeks the Trump administration’s plan to set up a quarantine unit in the country for Americans exposed to Ebola, dealing a new setback to a project that has sparked angry protests among Kenyans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/world/africa/kenya-ebola-us-quarantine-unit-court.html