作者： root

5 taken to the hospital after strong winds at NCAA tournament in West Virginia

2026-06-07 07:01:43 EDT / CBS/AP

Five people were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries sustained when a strong wind tore through an area occupied by fans at the Morgantown Super Regional NCAA baseball tournament game between West Virginia and Cal Poly on Saturday, according to the university.

https://www.facebook.com/melissa.mcbeeanderson/videos/1320026240230146/showed rain and wind that reached speeds of 40 mph tearing up a tent, with one person flying through the air while trying to hold it down as another person rolls uncontrollably down a hill.

Other fans scrambled for safety from an area known as Randy’s Ridge near the Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I was just trying to hold my weight on the pole with the cement block, and then it started sliding, and then another guy joined in, and he’s trying to hold another pole, and then a big gust of wind came,” West Virginia fan Keith Hill told WAJR radio. “It just started sliding really hard, and people got caught up in the ropes and the poles.”

The storm led to thousands of people across the nearby Pittsburgh area were without power on Saturday afternoon, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

West Virginia University police confirmed that five people were transported to a hospital.

The game was in a weather delay at the time.

“We have been in touch with health-care providers in the area to ensure those affected are supported in their recovery,” West Virginia athletics spokesperson Michael Fragale said in a statement.

West Virginia won the game 17-1 to advance to the College World Series for the first time in program history.

US troops, families adjust to new normal of Iran war

2026-06-07T10:05:21.515Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – Fourteen weeks after President Donald Trump ordered an attack on Iran, the U.S. military is adjusting to an unusual state of conflict that is not full-scale war, but also far from peace.

On ships and bases in the Middle East, U.S. troops — some recovering from injuries — operate amid exchanges of fire with Iran every few days as the Navy blockades Iran’s ports. At home, the Pentagon is scrambling to bolster production of depleted munitions as families of service members cope with the stress of extended deployments.

Counterattacks from Iran continue against U.S. allies in the region, such as Bahrain and Kuwait, which Iran targeted in a ballistic missile attack on Friday.

Trump declared his ceasefire with Iran in April, but the war has settled into a stalemate, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to shipping and Trump threatening a return to full-scale bombings of Iran if peace negotiations fail.

The threat requires U.S. troops to maintain an acute state of readiness.

That means everything from stocking bases with missiles and interceptors to scouring intelligence from drones and satellites to update lists of targets inside Iran should large-scale fighting resume.

“To maintain this constant state of ‘Level 10’ alert vigilance, to be ready to go at the drop of a hat, is a very stressful and difficult operational mission,” said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Joseph Votel, the former commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, described the current conflict phase as “a very, very dangerous period for us.” He said keeping troops ready during the ceasefire is no small challenge.

“It puts on a lot of pressure on leaders to make sure that people are still at their edge,” Votel said.

Asked for comment, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the U.S. military stands ready to support deployed troops “in every way imaginable.”

“The Department of War is proud of our incredible troops. Their courage, readiness, grit, and unmatched professionalism are why they are the greatest fighting force in human history,” Parnell said.

TOLL ON TROOPS AND FAMILIES

For U.S. troops recovering from injuries, the military’s shift to an extended wartime footing requires a profound adjustment.

U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks, 37, is among the wounded recovering from an Iranian drone attack at the start of the war that left him without a pulse for minutes.

Punctured by shrapnel that severed an artery and fractured his jaw, Hicks is also wrestling with the impact of a traumatic brain injury from the blast that could challenge him for life.

“It sounded like a small prop plane coming in quick,” Hicks told Reuters. “And then it just smashed into the building and blew up. And I remember a big bright ball of flames and lots of pressure and heat, and I was out.”

Hicks is not the only one adapting to a new normal. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he is being treated, is coping with a new surge in combat care cases years after the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, Hicks said.

Around 400 U.S. troops have been wounded during the conflict, many of them with a traumatic brain injury like Hicks. Over 90% have returned to duty, the U.S. military says. Thirteen service members have been killed in the conflict.

Families of U.S. service members also confront stress amid confusion about what is happening during the ceasefire.

Iranian state media publishes claims regularly about attacking U.S. ships and aircraft. On Friday, Iran said it fired warning shots at U.S. warships in the Gulf of Oman, an event the U.S. military denies happened.

“It’s just really scary not to know details of what exactly is going on,” said Yadira Dessaint, mother of a sergeant in the Army Reserve from California’s San Fernando Valley.

Dessaint asked not to identify her son for fear of retaliation by the U.S. military. She has protested for an end to the war, which has damaged Trump’s popularity.

Just one in four respondents in a May Reuters/Ipsos poll said the U.S. military action in Iran has been worth it.

Dessaint said her son has seen multiple attacks on his position by Iranian drones, their debris falling around him after being intercepted by air defenses.

“I tend to send a text every day: ‘Good morning, son. I love you,’” Dessaint said. “Every so often, I get ‘I love you mom’ or ‘I miss you’ or something.”

PERSISTENT THREAT

As the United States and Iran negotiate a potential deal to open the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil transited before the war, it looks increasingly likely that any agreement would extend the ceasefire while delaying some of the thorniest issues, such as Tehran’s nuclear program.

That suggests the tense standoff and the demands on the U.S. military will continue.

The signs of strain on military operations are visible in the huge expenditure of munitions for the war. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it could take years to fully replenish U.S. inventories of missiles and interceptors.

Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said it is not just inventories that are eroding.

“Wars are expensive. They grind on the equipment and the people, as well as the missiles that are shot,” Karako said.

Back in Maryland, Hicks stays in touch with fellow U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, some frustrated by deployments that are being extended as the conflict drags on.

“They’re doing a lot better now than they were. The threat is not as bad,” he said, referring to the reduced scale of fighting.

But Hicks carries the memory of six fellow soldiers who died in the Kuwait attack that injured him, including Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39.

“I was talking to Sergeant Amor when the drone hit. She was maybe 10 feet away from me,” he said. “It’s something that I’m going to have to deal with the rest of my life.”

Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel

NATO’s eastern flank races to rearm as Trump pressure exposes Western Europe’s defense gap

2026-06-07 07:00:36 EDT / Fox News

Experts say 30 years of ‘freeloading’ created enormous deficits in people, equipment, technology and know-how

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published June 7, 2026 7:00am EDT | Updated June 7, 2026 7:03am EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397669318112

Former EUCOM official blasts Spain as Eastern Europe steps up

FDD’s Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery says frontline NATO states are increasing defense spending and military capabilities while some Western European allies continue to rely heavily on U.S. security guarantees.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

This is part six of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.

As President Donald Trump presses NATO allies to shoulder more of Europe’s defense burden, countries closest to Russia are moving fastest — while some of Western Europe’s biggest economies face growing pressure to catch up.

Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former deputy director for strategy, policy and plans at U.S. European Command, said the shift is already visible across the alliance.

“Europe is clearly stepping up, but they’re stepping up by geographic variation,” Montgomery told Fox News Digital.

“If you ask me who’s doing the most, the Eastern Europeans are clearly.”

RUSSIAN DRONES TEST NATO’S ARTICLE 5 DEFENSE GUARANTEE AHEAD OF FRIDAY SANCTIONS DEADLINE

As President Donald Trump presses NATO allies to shoulder more of Europe’s defense burden, countries closest to Russia are moving fastest.(Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Montgomery pointed to the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria as countries moving aggressively to strengthen deterrence against Russia.

His assessment comes as NATO allies work toward a new defense spending benchmark agreed at the 2025 summit in The Hague, which calls on members to invest 5% of GDP in defense and security-related spending by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense requirements and 1.5% for defense-related infrastructure and security investments.

John Deni, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, said the trend shouldn’t be surprising.

“Given the threat of Russia, allies in the East are acquiring capabilities more quickly, and they’re spending even more than allies in the West,” Deni told Fox News Digital. “This shouldn’t surprise us because they’re the ones closest to the threat.”

Deni noted that many eastern allies are rapidly purchasing equipment already available on the market rather than waiting years for domestic defense programs to mature.

UK, GERMAN DEFENSE OFFICIALS DEFEND MILITARY BUILDUP UNDER RUSSIAN THREATS

President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attend the start of a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025.(Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)

The transformation is visible across NATO’s eastern and northern flanks. Poland has become one of the alliance’s largest military spenders, Romania is increasing defense investments, and Finland and Sweden have added advanced military capabilities to NATO following their accession.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Finland and Sweden Thursday at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, using them as examples of allies strengthening the alliance.

“Sweden and Finland have actually contributed because they brought their own defense industry, their own advanced technology,” Rubio said. “They have been great partners.”

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Ţoiu echoed that message in an interview with Fox News Digital following an emergency U.N. Security Council session convened after a Russian drone strike injured civilians in the Romanian city of Galați.

“We do agree with President Trump on the need to increase budgets,” Ţoiu said.

Ţoiu said Romania raised defense spending to 2% of GDP during Trump’s previous term and plans to allocate “an average of 3.4 percent” next year through military procurement and strategic infrastructure investments.

POLAND SEEKS ANSWERS AFTER PENTAGON SCRAPS PLANNED US ARMORED BRIGADE ROTATION

“Europe is clearly stepping up, but they’re stepping up by geographic variation,” Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery told Fox News Digital.(Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

“We have launched initiatives that are directed at the eastern flank because it is increasingly more clear that that needs to be protected,” she said.

She argued that Romania’s role extends beyond national defense.

“We need better deterrence, better defense capabilities there in order to ensure our responsibility in protecting not just the Romanian border, which is the longest border to the war, but also it is in the same time a European border and the border of the Allied territory,” Ţoiu said.

For frontline states, the urgency is driven by geography as much as politics. Romania shares a border with Ukraine and repeatedly has dealt with Russian drones entering its airspace. Poland has become one of NATO’s top military spenders, while the Baltic states are racing toward defense expenditures approaching 5% of GDP.

Montgomery said the eastern flank’s urgency contrasts sharply with the pace in much of Western Europe.

Among the continent’s five largest economies, and despite a slight decrease in military spending in 2025, the U.K. remains the largest investor relative to GDP, with 2.4%, trailed by Germany (2.3%), Spain (2.1%), France (2%) and Italy (1.9%), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

WHY NATO’S DEFENSE SPENDING IMBALANCE LASTED FOR DECADES

Oana-Silvia Toiu, Romania’s minister for foreign affairs, speaks during an emergency Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York on June 1, 2026, after a Russian military drone entered Romanian airspace and exploded, injuring civilians.(Lev Radin/Sipa USA)

“The Germans are the one country, I think, with a large economy that is starting to make the right kind of investments.”

Germany, he argued, could become the backbone of Europe’s future defense industrial base.

“Germany developing a large, impressive defense industrial base is good for NATO, it’s good for Western security, and it’s even good for our primes,” Montgomery said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has embraced higher defense spending and backed NATO’s new spending goals, positioning Berlin as a potential hub for Europe’s future defense industrial base as allies seek to reduce long-term dependence on the United States.

But despite rising defense budgets, experts warn Europe remains heavily dependent on American military capabilities.

Barak Seener, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said Europe still relies on the United States for many of the systems required to fight a modern war.

NATO CHIEF WARNS EUROPE CAN’T DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US AS TENSIONS RISE OVER GREENLAND

Despite rising defense budgets, experts warn Europe remains heavily dependent on American military capabilities.(Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via AP, File)

“Europe is heavily dependent on NATO for its strategic airlift and sea lift, its air-to-air refueling, its cyber capabilities, its space assets, its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” Seener said.

Without those capabilities, he warned, European forces would struggle to maintain situational awareness during a major conflict.

Montgomery said Europe faces three major challenges: expanding military capacity, rebuilding its defense industrial base and developing high-end support capabilities that have long been provided by the United States.

PENTAGON CUTS BRIGADE COMBAT TEAMS IN EUROPE AS TRUMP PRESSURES NATO ON SPENDING

Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery pointed to the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria as countries moving aggressively to strengthen deterrence against Russia.(Kuba Stezycki/Reuters)

“When you are freeloading for 30 years, you create enormous deficits in terms of people, equipment, technology and know-how,” he said.

“The primary forces to defend Europe should be European,” he said. “The United States should provide additional forces that allow maneuver and offensive operations.”

Montgomery also criticized reported Pentagon deliberations over delaying long-range strike deployments to Germany and reconsidering future Tomahawk missile sales, arguing the systems are critical for deterring Russia.

“The goal here is not to fight Russia in the Baltics or in Poland. The idea here is we want to deter Russia from even trying to attack.”

Looking ahead, Montgomery remains optimistic about NATO’s future.

Montgomery predicted Europe will continue increasing defense spending and expanding its defense industrial base, while the alliance benefits from steadier transatlantic relations.

“I think you’ll have a U.S. president that probably doesn’t provoke the Europeans as much. You’ll have Europe that’s investing more,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

U.S. Army M1 Abrams tanks take part in the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw, Poland, Aug. 15, 2025.(Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

He also predicted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte would be remembered for helping hold the alliance together through a period of significant change.

“I think five years from now, NATO will be stronger,” he said. “And I hope we have Ukraine in there.”

Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

2026年6月7日 18:13 / 联合早报

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活的负面影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹市政府提议大幅提高过夜旅客的旅游税至20%。 （路透社档案照片）

（阿姆斯特丹综合电）为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活造成的影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹拟在明年大幅提高旅游税至16%，并逐步提高至20%，以使用旅游税收打造一座更清洁、更安全、更宜居的城市。

阿姆斯特丹市政府星期四（6月4日）发布新的联合协议，划出2026至2030年的工作重点，其中包括调高过夜旅客旅游税、关闭邮轮码头、管控旅游商店，以及放弃搬迁红灯区等多项旅游业相关政策。

据荷兰新闻网报道，市政府提出，在明年将旅游税提高至16%，并在接下来以每年1个百分点的幅度增长，直到达到20%。这将使城市的旅游税收在明年达到6000万欧元（约8900万新元），并在2030年达到7500万欧元。

市政府说，这笔钱将确保游客对城市的管理、维护、执法和投资作出公平的贡献。

阿姆斯特丹已是全球旅游税第四高的城市。自2024年起，市政府向过夜旅客征收12.5%的旅游税，一日游游客则需支付15欧元。

尽管如此，阿姆斯特丹每年仍有超过2000万人次过夜旅客，以及大量一日游游客。市政府强调，虽然旅游业为城市经济作出贡献，但也给公共空间、生活质量和市政设施带来巨大压力。

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

2026年6月7日 18:13 / 联合早报

阿姆斯特丹拟逐步调高旅游税至20%

为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活的负面影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹市政府提议大幅提高过夜旅客的旅游税至20%。 （路透社档案照片）

（阿姆斯特丹综合电）为了应对过度旅游对城市环境和居民生活造成的影响，荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹拟在明年大幅提高旅游税至16%，并逐步提高至20%，以使用旅游税收打造一座更清洁、更安全、更宜居的城市。

阿姆斯特丹市政府星期四（6月4日）发布新的联合协议，划出2026至2030年的工作重点，其中包括调高过夜旅客旅游税、关闭邮轮码头、管控旅游商店，以及放弃搬迁红灯区等多项旅游业相关政策。

据荷兰新闻网报道，市政府提出，在明年将旅游税提高至16%，并在接下来以每年1个百分点的幅度增长，直到达到20%。这将使城市的旅游税收在明年达到6000万欧元（约8900万新元），并在2030年达到7500万欧元。

市政府说，这笔钱将确保游客对城市的管理、维护、执法和投资作出公平的贡献。

阿姆斯特丹已是全球旅游税第四高的城市。自2024年起，市政府向过夜旅客征收12.5%的旅游税，一日游游客则需支付15欧元。

尽管如此，阿姆斯特丹每年仍有超过2000万人次过夜旅客，以及大量一日游游客。市政府强调，虽然旅游业为城市经济作出贡献，但也给公共空间、生活质量和市政设施带来巨大压力。

Collins’s vote, Platner’s service inject Iraq War politics into key Senate race

2026-06-07T09:00:00.000Z / The Washington Post

Veteran Graham Platner is attacking Republican Sen. Susan Collins’s vote to authorize the war in his campaign to unseat her.

June 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT Today at 5:00 a.m. EDT

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, served in the Marines during the Iraq War. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

By Dan Merica and Liz Goodwin

BAR HARBOR, Maine — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted to authorize the Iraq War over two decades ago.

Graham Platner (D) served three tours in Iraq.

GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is raising alarms about an 11th hour challenger: Dan J. Sullivan

2026-06-07T10:30:08.018Z / CNN

It was three days before the filing deadline when Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan learned of an eleventh-hour Republican challenger in his high-stakes reelection race.

The challenger’s name: Dan J. Sullivan.

Sen. Sullivan says it’s not a joke.

The two-term Republican incumbent, and the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, are raising major alarms about his same-name rival, warning that it could cost them a seat by confusing the electorate and give a leg-up to his well-funded Democratic challenger, former Rep. Mary Peltola.

In an interview with CNN, the senator accused Democratic leaders of planting Dan J. Sullivan in the race with the precise hope of undercutting his campaign – an allegation top Democrats in Washington and Anchorage firmly deny.

“His whole purpose of running is to confuse Alaskans, to make him, make them think – Alaskan voters – that somehow he’s me, so they could rig the vote in favor of Mary Peltola,” Sen. Sullivan said.

Sullivan and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are pressing state officials to remove his challenger’s name from the ballot, with the senator telling CNN that he could take the matter to court if they don’t succeed administratively.

His new rival’s declaration of candidacy was stamped by the Alaska Divisions of Elections on May 29 – three days before the filing deadline. And the only thing that may distinguish the two men on the ballot is their middle initial. (The senator’s middle initial is “S.”)

“When people are going, ‘Oh, there’s two Dan Sullivans, isn’t that funny?’” an animated Sen. Sullivan said. “No, it’s cheating.”

Dan J. Sullivan, a resident of a small fishing town in southeast Alaska, has said little publicly about his campaign – and he did not return several calls, emails and texts from CNN to discuss his bid. But in his few public comments, Dan J. Sullivan insists his campaign is legitimate.

In a press release announcing his campaign, Dan J. Sullivan described careers in the US Forest Service and as an elementary school teacher. And he told his local newspaper, the Petersburg Pilot, on Thursday that he had no contact with Peltola prior to running, saying “I wouldn’t even know who to speak to.”

But Dan J. Sullivan appeared to acknowledge donating to Democrats over the years, including $130 to Peltola’s two House campaigns, while also enlisting a consultant whose clients include Democratic and progressive candidates to draft up his initial press release.

Dan J. Sullivan argued that he’s voted and supported both Democrats and Republicans in the past. And he called himself a “pragmatic Republican centrist,” contending his nascent Senate bid was motivated over the senator’s reluctance to call out President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and talk of placing his image on a$250 bill.

He dismissed concerns from the senator that the candidacy would merely confuse the electorate.

“Your responsibility as a citizen is to understand, so when you go into the voting booth, you know what you’re doing,” Dan J. Sullivan told the local newspaper. “People can read a voter information pamphlet and maybe listen to the news here and there and figure out which one is which.”

Dan J. Sullivan said he would not drop out.

“I have every right to stand up and do this,” said Sullivan, the GOP challenger. “It’s my name, my grandfather’s name: Dan Sullivan. My dad’s name: Dan Sullivan.”

The last time a Democrat won a senate race in Alaska was in 2008, when Mark Begich won by a razor-thin margin against the late-Sen. Ted Stevens, a pillar in the state and a titan in the Senate who had just been convicted on corruption charges that, after the election, ultimately were overturned.

But even as Republicans have dominated the state in the years since, Democrats this year see their best path since Begich’s triumph to flip the seat – in large part because of the souring environment over Trump’s job performance and rising costs for voters, particularly over healthcare. Democrats have already spent about $6.4 million on ad airtime in the race, compared to Republicans’ $3.4 million, according to AdImpact – with millions more on the way.

The unique circumstances in Alaska also give Democrats hope that the seat could be one of four they can flip to retake the Senate. Not only do they have a well-funded challenger in Peltola, who won the state’s lone House seat in 2022 before losing in 2024, but the state’s ranked-choice voting system also could give her a boost.

Since elections in Alaska start with an open primary, in which candidates of all parties compete and all voters are allowed to participate, the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

And with two Dan Sullivans competing in the August primary, Republicans are especially nervous that both could get into the November general election and split the vote, giving Peltola a clear advantage.

“This is dirty politics,” Sen. Sullivan said. He pointed to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“If somehow the DSCC or Schumer or Gillibrand knew about this or were okay with this or maybe even orchestrated it, my view is this would be a scandal of the highest order,” he said.

But top Democrats across Washington and in Alaska say they had nothing to do with Sullivan’s bid.

“Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” a Peltola campaign spokesperson said. “It doesn’t matter who else is on the ballot, Mary is going to win by building a broad coalition of Alaskans ready to take on the rigged system and put Alaska first.” (Peltola’s campaign declined to make her available for an interview.)

“The DSCC has no involvement with Dan J. Sullivan or his campaign,” a spokesperson for the party committee said. When asked if Gillibrand or anybody associated with her have any involvement in Dan J. Sullivan’s decision to run and his campaign, a spokesperson for the senator said “No.” A Schumer spokesperson also said “no,” when asked if the Senate minority leader or any of his associates were involved in Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign in any way.

Alaska Democratic Party executive director Jenny-Marie Stryker also said her group “is in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.”

Lauren French, spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, a top Democratic super PAC, said the group has “never” communicated with Dan J. Sullivan, “directly or indirectly” and had no involvement in his campaign.

“But we will offer some free advice to Senator Sullivan: If you’re so rattled by a real challenger that you’re throwing a temper tantrum over a retired teacher from Petersburg, you might want to spend less time whining and more time explaining to Alaskans why you voted to cut Medicaid.”

Republicans are amping up the pressure on local officials to take action against Dan J. Sullivan – and point to other circumstantial evidence to make their case against the challenger.

In a letter obtained by CNN, the National Republican Senatorial Committee asked Alaska’s lieutenant governor and elections chief to remove Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot, arguing that it threatens election integrity. And in the interview with CNN, Sen. Sullivan said if the lieutenant governor doesn’t remove his challenger’s name from the ballot, “then this will probably lead to litigation.”

The Alaska Division of Elections declined to comment, and the lieutenant governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The NRSC and Sullivan spotlighted metadata of Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign announcement, which ties the document to Amber Lee, a consultant who has publicly supported Peltola in the past.

In his interview with the Petersburg Pilot, Dan J. Sullivan, a former fifth grade teacher, appeared to confirm he enlisted Lee, contending he found her when looking up consultants online.

“I Googled looking for political consultants,” he said. “In her bio it said that she writes middle school literature. I thought: well, she’d be interesting to talk to.”

Lee did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Dan J. Sullivan’s past campaign contributions have also been flagged by the GOP, since the primary challenger appears to have given to Democratic causes and candidates in the past.

According to FEC filings, either a Daniel or Dan Sullivan in Petersburg has donated $650 to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s main fundraising platform, in recent years, including contributions earmarked for Peltola’s House campaigns in 2022 and 2024. There is no evidence of contributions to Republican campaigns from a Daniel or Dan Sullivan in Petersberg, FEC filings show.

Dan J. Sullivan told his local paper that he backs candidates in both parties, and even compared himself to Alaska’s other GOP senator, Lisa Murkowski, a swing vote in the Senate who is often at odds with Trump and out of favor with the base.

“I’m a moderate on both ends of things … I look for people that I think are going to solve some problems, get things done, I think they’re going to work with people and seem like they’re caring, and that’s why I’ve given money,” Dan J. Sullivan said.

But the senator isn’t buying it, calling his new rival a “sham candidate.”

“This is just corruption,” the senator said. “They’re trying to cheat. I mean, there’s no plausible explanation.”

法英挪拟绕开布鲁塞尔联手协调制裁以色列

2026年6月7日 19:15 / 联合早报

以色列军队装甲车星期天（6月7日）在约旦河西岸沿小巷驶近时，一枚闪光弹突然爆炸，正在拍摄的记者立即散开。自2023年哈马斯袭击以色列引发加沙战争以来，西岸几乎每天都发生暴力事件。 （法新社）

（巴黎／希伯伦综合电）由于欧盟内部迟迟无法就制裁以色列达成共识，法国正与英国、挪威等盟友磋商，准备在国家层级协调推出针对约旦河西岸施暴者的制裁措施，对以色列政府扩张定居点的政策施压。

据路透社报道，三名欧洲外交官周六（6月6日）透露，由于欧盟内部对是否制裁以色列分歧明显，成员国难以在欧盟框架下采取一致行动，各国决定推动国家层级的协调制裁，即由各国分别依据本国制裁清单执行，包括冻结相关人士在当地资产及禁止入境。

除了法国、英国和挪威，目前尚不清楚还会有哪些国家加入。大多数政府避免公开谈论具体安排，以免潜在制裁对象提前转移资产。

此次行动显示西方国家对内坦亚胡政府的西岸政策日益不满。以色列计划在耶路撒冷以东建造“E1区”犹太人定居点，这将把约旦河西岸一分为二，并将其与东耶路撒冷隔开，从而分割巴勒斯坦人寻求建立独立国家的领土。

法国、英国、澳大利亚和加拿大等七个西方国家5月22日同声指责以色列加剧西岸紧张局势。

以针对巴国人暴行愈发频繁

同时，以色列针对巴勒斯坦人的暴力行为也愈发频繁。巴勒斯坦卫生部通报，以军周五在西岸南部希伯伦市向一辆汽车开枪，导致一名七个月大的巴勒斯坦婴儿死亡，婴儿父母受伤。

婴儿祖母告诉路透社：“这起事件令人难以置信，也无法接受。”

以色列国防军发表声明称，以军当时“发现一辆汽车正加速朝他们驶来”，一名士兵向车辆开了一枪。以军承认，伤者均为平民，并称正在调查此事。

类似事件今年稍早也曾发生。今年3月，一家四口巴勒斯坦人在斋月期间深夜驾车外出时，在西岸遭以军开枪击毙，其中包括两名男童。

法英挪拟绕开布鲁塞尔联手协调制裁以色列

2026年6月7日 19:15 / 联合早报

以色列军队装甲车星期天（6月7日）在约旦河西岸沿小巷驶近时，一枚闪光弹突然爆炸，正在拍摄的记者立即散开。自2023年哈马斯袭击以色列引发加沙战争以来，西岸几乎每天都发生暴力事件。 （法新社）

（巴黎／希伯伦综合电）由于欧盟内部迟迟无法就制裁以色列达成共识，法国正与英国、挪威等盟友磋商，准备在国家层级协调推出针对约旦河西岸施暴者的制裁措施，对以色列政府扩张定居点的政策施压。

据路透社报道，三名欧洲外交官周六（6月6日）透露，由于欧盟内部对是否制裁以色列分歧明显，成员国难以在欧盟框架下采取一致行动，各国决定推动国家层级的协调制裁，即由各国分别依据本国制裁清单执行，包括冻结相关人士在当地资产及禁止入境。

除了法国、英国和挪威，目前尚不清楚还会有哪些国家加入。大多数政府避免公开谈论具体安排，以免潜在制裁对象提前转移资产。

此次行动显示西方国家对内坦亚胡政府的西岸政策日益不满。以色列计划在耶路撒冷以东建造“E1区”犹太人定居点，这将把约旦河西岸一分为二，并将其与东耶路撒冷隔开，从而分割巴勒斯坦人寻求建立独立国家的领土。

法国、英国、澳大利亚和加拿大等七个西方国家5月22日同声指责以色列加剧西岸紧张局势。

以针对巴国人暴行愈发频繁

同时，以色列针对巴勒斯坦人的暴力行为也愈发频繁。巴勒斯坦卫生部通报，以军周五在西岸南部希伯伦市向一辆汽车开枪，导致一名七个月大的巴勒斯坦婴儿死亡，婴儿父母受伤。

婴儿祖母告诉路透社：“这起事件令人难以置信，也无法接受。”

以色列国防军发表声明称，以军当时“发现一辆汽车正加速朝他们驶来”，一名士兵向车辆开了一枪。以军承认，伤者均为平民，并称正在调查此事。

类似事件今年稍早也曾发生。今年3月，一家四口巴勒斯坦人在斋月期间深夜驾车外出时，在西岸遭以军开枪击毙，其中包括两名男童。

US Supreme Court poised to rule on gun laws and transgender athletes

2026-06-07T10:13:11.229Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – Disputes involving President Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration and firing regulatory officials have drawn a lot of attention during the Supreme Court’s current term, but the justices also are poised to decide major cases concerning U.S. “culture wars” issues such as guns and transgender athletes.

The court is expected to wrap up its nine-month term by around the end of ​this month. In two major cases, it is due to rule in challenges to a U.S. law barring users of illegal drugs from owning guns and a Hawaii law that restricts the carrying of handguns on private property open to the ‌public, like most businesses, without the owner’s permission.

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It also is set to decide the legality of laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from female sports teams amid intensifying efforts by the Republican president and various states to restrict the rights of transgender people.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has moved American law steadily rightward in recent years.

GUN RIGHTS

In a nation divided over how to address persistent firearms violence including frequent mass shootings, the court has taken an expansive view of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which enshrines the right to keep and bear arms.

During January arguments in the Hawaii case, the conservative justices appeared ready to expand ​gun rights again, indicating skepticism on Second Amendment grounds toward the state’s law. Hawaii’s law requires a property owner’s “express authorization” to bring a handgun onto private property open to the public. Four other U.S. states have similar laws.

The court is expected to reject ​Hawaii’s defense of the law, according to Hayley Lawrence, a gun control advocate who serves as executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law.

“It seems to me Hawaii is going to lose 6-3,” Lawrence ⁠said.

The court, Lawrence said, also might shed further light on the legal framework it adopted in a 2022 decision in a case called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen for analyzing whether firearms control laws pass Second Amendment muster. The Bruen decision stated that any ​government regulation restricting firearms must be consistent with the U.S. historical tradition of gun regulation.

DRUG USERS

The court heard arguments in March over the legality of a federal criminal statute banning anyone who is an “unlawful user” of any controlled substance from possessing firearms or ammunition. That provision is part of ​the Gun Control Act of 1968, which outlines specific categories of people, such as felons and fugitives, who are barred from possessing firearms.

The case was brought by a Texas man who has said he uses marijuana several times a week and was charged under the law. The same law was invoked in charges brought against then-President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in 2023. The elder Biden later pardoned his son. The Trump administration is defending the law.

University of Chicago law professor Darrell Miller said the court appears skeptical of the provision that prohibits unlawful drug users from possessing a firearm but also is concerned about sweeping too broadly and undermining other ​parts of the broader law such as the part dealing with keeping guns from felons.

“The court is deciding a drug case but they have one eye on the felony possession statute,” Miller said.

TRANSGENDER ATHLETES

Trump has pursued several policies cracking down on the rights of transgender people, and the ​Supreme Court last year let his administration implement a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military while a legal challenge played out. The administration is backing the Idaho and West Virginia laws, which ban transgender athletes from sports teams for women and girls at public schools including universities.

During January arguments, ‌the conservative justices indicated ⁠they are likely to uphold these laws.

Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in sports teams that align with their gender identity, particularly at the collegiate level.

“There is vast consensus on this issue,” said William Bock, a sports law attorney at the firm Kroger Gardis Regas who supports the Idaho and West Virginia measures. “Seventy to 80 percent of the public doesn’t understand why people are fighting about this.”

Sasha Buchert, an attorney at the LGBT legal rights group Lambda Legal who represents one of the plaintiffs, expressed hope for a ruling striking down the state laws, saying the arguments in the case “went much better” than those in 2024 in a different dispute involving gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. In that case, the court’s conservatives powered a 6-3 ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on such care.

In a 2020 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that ​a federal law barring workplace discrimination protects gay and transgender employees. But ​since then, the justices have allowed restrictions on transgender rights ⁠to take effect.

For instance, the court in March blocked a series of California laws that could limit the sharing of information with parents about the gender identity of transgender public school students without the child’s permission, handing a victory to Christian parents who challenged these protections.

In addition to the military ban, the Trump administration has pursued policies barring transgender people from using their gender identities on passports and prohibiting transgender federal workers from ​using bathrooms reflecting their gender identity.

The Supreme Court already has ruled on one major LGBT rights case argued during its current term.

In an 8-1 ruling in March, it rejected a Colorado law that banned ​psychotherapists from using “conversion” talk therapy intended to ⁠change an LGBT minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The justices sided with a Christian licensed counselor in casting the prohibition as an intrusion on the Constitution’s First Amendment protections against government abridgment of freedom of speech.

IMMIGRATION CASES

Immigration policy also is enmeshed in the American culture wars. The court is due in the coming weeks to rule in two major cases involving Trump policies – his efforts to restrict birthright citizenship and to strip humanitarian protections, called Temporary Protected Status, from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants.

The arguments in those cases indicated Trump could lose on birthright citizenship, as he did in February ⁠on tariffs, but ​win on Temporary Protected Status.

Also pending is a decision in a religious rights case involving a Rastafarian man who sued Louisiana prison officials after guards shaved him bald in violation ​of his religious beliefs in a case brought under a U.S. law protecting incarcerated people from religious discrimination.

In a death penalty case, a man convicted of a 1997 murder in Alabama was spared execution after the Supreme Court in May kept in place a judicial finding that he was intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty under ​one of its precedents.

Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham