[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Honoring the many:

Veterans gathered Friday in Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment of World War II that eventually led to the collapse of Adolf Hitler’s regime.

Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades, and historical reenactments.

Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died.

Here's our Stars and Stripes front page from June 6, 1944. Today is the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings. pic.twitter.com/B4XNOAFBBR

— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) June 6, 2025

Second news item

Like he hasn’t already been bombing the hell out of Ukraine:

Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at Kyiv overnight, killing four people, after Vladimir Putin had vowed to respond to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb attack on some of the Kremlin’s nuclear-capable bombers.

Missiles and drones hammered the Ukrainian capital leading fires to rage through residential buildings and forcing the local metro system to close after a train was hit.

Four killed, 20 injured.

Sure, Vlad, whatever you say:

Russia’s defence ministry said that its forces had carried out the overnight attacks in response to what it called Ukrainian “terrorist acts” against Russia. The Kremlin later described its three-year invasion of Ukraine as “existential” for Russia, casting it as nothing short of a battle for the “future” of Russia.

Third news item

A new policy throughout the country is happening, and it’s a great:

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is continuing to take steps toward banning phones inside its schools. The school division announced Friday that all phones and mobile devices will no longer be allowed in the classroom.

The policy will go into effect during the fall of the 2025-26 school year.

This means that all phones must be turned off and stored away throughout the school day. All middle schools and several high schools have already begun implementing the policy, and DCPS noted they are seeing positive changes.

Fourth news item

Shameful. Shameful. Shameful:

Trump’s efforts to weaken the bill reportedly include:

Urging Lindsey Graham’s office to insert waivers: These waivers would give Trump the discretion to choose which individuals or entities to sanction, rather than making sanctions mandatory.

Requesting changes to the bill’s language: Specifically, turning the word “shall” into “may” where it appears in the text, which would remove the mandatory nature of the sanctions.

Reasons for Trump’s stance:
Preference for presidential authority: Administrations often seek legislative language that grants the president more authority in decision-making, particularly concerning foreign policy actions.

Focus on peace talks with Ukraine: The push to weaken the sanctions package has stalled the bill’s progress as Trump has been emphasizing efforts to bring about peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Impact of these actions:
Congressional aides have expressed concern that removing the mandatory nature of the sanctions would render the bill “toothless”.
Despite bipartisan support for the bill in the Senate, Senate Republican leadership is reportedly waiting for a “green-light” from the White House before moving forward with a vote.

Fifth news item

Supreme Court rules on “reverse discrimination“:

The Supreme Court on Thursday revived a lawsuit from an Ohio woman who claimed she was the victim of reverse discrimination because her employer denied her a promotion because she is straight.

In a unanimous decision in the case of Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the high court tossed out a ruling by a federal appeals court that dismissed Marlean Ames’ claims because she failed to clear a higher bar applied to members of a majority group in order for her employment discrimination case to proceed. The justices concluded that a “background circumstances” requirement cannot be squared with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and sent Ames’ case back to the lower courts for further proceedings.

This:

Charlie is exactly right. The text of Title VII prohibits discrimination — not just discrimination against historically marginalized groups. We should all be treated the same.

Unanimous decision. Justice Jackson wrote the opinion. That's what judicial consensus looks like. https://t.co/PI4zCU1SbU

— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 5, 2025

Sixth news item

Oh, come on:

The University of Michigan is using private, undercover investigators to surveil pro-Palestinian campus groups, including trailing them on and off campus, furtively recording them and eavesdropping on their conversations, the Guardian has learned.

The surveillance appears to largely be an intimidation tactic, five students who have been followed, recorded or eavesdropped on said. The undercover investigators have cursed at students, threatened them and in one case drove a car at a student who had to jump out of the way, according to student accounts and video footage shared with the Guardian.