ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

June 2, 2025 -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Multiple people set on fire in attack at Colorado march for Israeli hostages, police say (CNN)
• Judge blocks Trump’s orders to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees (AP)
• DHS terminates Temporary Protected Status for 9,000 from Afghanistan living in U.S. (UPI)
• Social Security officials pull plug on 'ineffective' DOGE program that sparked mass chaos (RawStory)
• Retailers pummeled by Trump's trade war entertain more 'take-private' offers
• NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House (NPR)
• Harvard sues Trump administration to halt federal ban on enrolling international students (CNN)
• Trump shares ally's plan to 'release terrorists near homes of Supreme Court justices' (Raw Story)
• Trump administration halts scheduling of new student visa appointments (Reuters)
• CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soared (AP)

WORLD

• 'Russia's Pearl Harbor'—Ukraine Surprise Drone Attack Hits Nuclear Bombers (Newsweek)
• Children die after USAID funding cuts end lifeline for displaced communities fleeing violence (PBS)
• Mexico is electing judges for the first time in its history (KPBS)
•  Netanyahu says Israel killed elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in recent Gaza strike (CNN)
• Across Arab Mideast, a new alignment rises: An axis of cooperation  (Christian Science Monitor)
• King Charles emphasizes Canada’s ‘self-determination’ as he opens parliament after Trump’s annexation threats (CNN)
• Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee cartel violence in Mexico's Sinaloa (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Multiple people set on fire in attack at Colorado march for Israeli hostages, police say (CNN)

A man reportedly set people on fire in Boulder, Colorado, leaving multiple individuals injured, the city’s police chief said, as people gathered to show support for Israeli hostages. A suspect is in custody and police are investigating what FBI officials immediately called “a targeted terror attack”...

Judge blocks Trump’s orders to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees (AP)

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. The administration said it would challenge the ruling.

DHS terminates Temporary Protected Status for 9,000 from Afghanistan living in U.S. (UPI)

Homeland Security is ending the Temporary Protected Status program for Afghanistan with more than 9,000 nationals residing in the United States facing deportation, Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday.

Social Security officials pull plug on 'ineffective' DOGE program that sparked mass chaos (RawStory)

A key Social Security program mandated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was ordered shut down on Friday for not only being "inefficient" but also creating chaos for those applying for their benefits and those who process claims.

Retailers pummeled by Trump's trade war entertain more 'take-private' offers

Following sneaker-maker Skechers' take-private deal earlier this month, other retailers are expected to clinch their own deals to escape the market chaos that has caused company valuations to seesaw, according to interviews with investment bankers and M&A lawyers.

NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House (NPR)

NPR and three Colorado public radio stations filed suit Tuesday morning in federal court against the Trump White House over the president's executive order that purportedly bars the use of Congressionally appropriated funds for NPR and PBS.

Harvard sues Trump administration to halt federal ban on enrolling international students (CNN)

Harvard University is opening a new front in its legal battle against the Trump administration, filing suit in federal court Friday in response to the government’s move to revoke the school’s ability to enroll international students.

Trump shares ally's plan to 'release terrorists near homes of Supreme Court justices' (Raw Story)

Donald Trump has been lashing out at the Supreme Court since it handed him a loss on the issue of immigration, and on Saturday he went as far as to distribute a MAGA lawyer's plan to "release 'terrorists' near the homes of Supreme Court justices."

Trump administration halts scheduling of new student visa appointments (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration has ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants as the State Department prepares to expand social media vetting of foreign students, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soared (AP)

Most workers would need to work two or three lifetimes to earn what an S&P 500 CEO made last year

WORLD

'Russia's Pearl Harbor'—Ukraine Surprise Drone Attack Hits Nuclear Bombers (Newsweek)

A surprise Ukrainian drone attack is being described as "Russia's Pearl Harbor" by some commentators online after 41 military aircraft were hit on Sunday... The attack has prompted Russian military experts to demand a strong and swift response, including "tactical nuclear strikers" on Ukraine.

Children die after USAID funding cuts end lifeline for displaced communities fleeing violence (PBS)

Under the dappled light of a thatched shelter, Yagana Bulama cradles her surviving infant. The other twin is gone, a casualty of malnutrition and the international funding cuts that are snapping the lifeline for displaced communities in Nigeria’s insurgency-ravaged Borno state.

Mexico is electing judges for the first time in its history (KPBS)

 Mexico is completely overhauling its legal system. In September, the ruling Morena party made changes to the Mexican constitution so that judges, from the Supreme Court down to local jurisdictions, will now be elected officials.

Netanyahu says Israel killed elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in recent Gaza strike (CNN)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that a recent airstrike killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’ elusive de facto leader in Gaza, the latest in a string of assassinations that have dealt a serious blow to the group’s top brass but are yet to break its grip on power.

Across Arab Mideast, a new alignment rises: An axis of cooperation  (Christian Science Monitor)

After a decade-and-a-half of turmoil and division, the Arab world is emerging united – with the Gulf-led bloc of Arab states on the rise.  In place of Iran’s waning “Axis of Resistance,” which once stretched from Iraq to Lebanon, a new moderate alliance is burgeoning in the Middle East: an axis of cooperation.  Rather than militias, this new axis – anchored by the bloc of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt – is run by government technocrats and pragmatists who put stability, cross-border economic cooperation, and prosperity first.

King Charles emphasizes Canada’s ‘self-determination’ as he opens parliament after Trump’s annexation threats (CNN)

King Charles III used a significant speech in Canada’s parliament on Tuesday to underscore the country’s sovereignty following pressure from US President Donald Trump.

Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee cartel violence in Mexico's Sinaloa (AP)

For years, exotic pets of cartel members and circus animals have been living in a small refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa’s capital. However, a bloody power struggle erupted last year between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into crippling levels of violence and leaving the leaders of the Ostok Sanctuary reeling from armed attacks, constant death threats and a cutoff from essential supplies needed to keep their 700 animals alive…. The aid organization left Culiacan Tuesday and transported the animals hours across the state in hopes that they’ll escape the brunt of the violence….