From the desk of Rich Stephens
News for the week ending 6-7-26
Below find the expanded text from tonight’s broadcast. For corrections or additions, contact Rich directly.
The Story Not Told
I want to start with a story I can’t tell. In Texas, 19 year old Karmelo Anthony is on trial for the stabbing murder of then 17 year old Austin Metcalf. The Cold Take is based on primary sources. But this judge has closed the courtroom to any form of video or audio recording and limited physical access. It is my very strong opinion that this should not be allowed in an age where we can live stream legal proceedings for full transparency. Especially in cases that are politically or racially charged, blocking access fuels fire of speculation and conspiracy. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Politics
Army Veteran Running for Sheriff After Murder Charge Dismissed in Daughter’s Abuse Case
Aaron Spencer, an Army veteran in Arkansas, is running for Lonoke County sheriff after his arrest in the 2024 fatal shooting of the man charged with sexually abusing his daughter.
The case began before the shooting. According to a June 4 dismissal order in Lonoke County Circuit Court, Michael Fosler had been charged on September 4, 2024, with 43 sexual-related offenses involving Spencer’s minor daughter. Two of the counts were Class Y felonies. Fosler was released on a $50,000 bond with no-contact conditions.
On October 8, Spencer woke up and found his daughter missing. The court order says Spencer told investigators he realized what he thought was his daughter in bed was actually a stuffed animal with her hoodie on it. His wife called 911 while Spencer left to look for Fosler and his daughter.
Spencer found Fosler’s truck, pursued it, and hit the back of the vehicle. According to the order, Spencer said he saw his daughter trying to get out of the passenger side, believed Fosler grabbed her, and opened fire after Fosler lunged toward him.
Spencer was later charged with second-degree murder.
The case was dismissed because of missing dash-camera evidence. Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. found the dash camera and internal memory card had potential exculpatory value and would have been the only objective evidence of the encounter. The judge wrote that the loss or destruction of the evidence impaired Spencer’s ability to defend himself and his right to a fair trial.
Wilson said dismissal is “an extraordinary and extreme remedy,” but found law enforcement conduct was “so egregious” that dismissal was warranted.
Spencer’s campaign is built directly around those failures. His campaign site describes him as an Airborne veteran, husband, and father, and says his family’s experience with “a broken justice system” showed him how vulnerable families can be when the system fails to protect them.
Voters have already responded. In the March 3 Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff, Spencer received 5,400 votes. Incumbent Sheriff John Staley received 2,676. David Bufford received 2,012.
That gave Spencer 53.5% of the vote in a three-way race. He beat the sitting sheriff by 2,724 votes and received more votes than both of his opponents combined.
Lonoke County Circuit Court dismissal order in State of Arkansas v. Aaron Spencer
Lonoke County Clerk unofficial 2026 primary election results
Aaron Spencer campaign website
Florida Property Tax Amendment Heads to Voters
Florida lawmakers passed a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday that would sharply expand the state’s homestead property tax exemption and send the issue to voters.
The measure, CS/HJR 1-F, is titled “Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” The House passed it 75–26, and the Senate passed it 30–9. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it still needs voter approval. Florida constitutional amendments require at least 60% support to pass.
Governor Ron DeSantis called the special session on property tax relief and announced the proposal on May 27. His office said the plan would create immediate homestead relief and a schedule for full elimination through general law.
“Today in Tampa, I outlined the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan that will eliminate taxes on homesteads,” DeSantis said. “Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the past seven years and is expected to reach an astounding $83 billion by 2032.”
Under the enrolled amendment, the non-school homestead exemption would increase to $150,000 beginning January 1, 2027, and $250,000 beginning January 1, 2028. The increase would not apply to school district levies.
New Florida residents would be treated differently. Anyone who establishes a new Florida homestead on or after January 1, 2027, and had not maintained permanent residence in Florida by December 31, 2026, would receive a $50,000 non-school exemption at first. Beginning with the fifth year, that homeowner would become eligible for the larger exemption.
The measure also lowers the annual assessment increase cap for certain non-homestead residential and other real property from 10% to 5% beginning January 1, 2027, for levies other than school district levies.
The amendment creates a framework for additional reductions. Counties and municipalities would be able, through a uniform procedure set by the Legislature, to increase the exempt amount up to all remaining assessed value. Special districts could do the same only by voter referendum.
Senate President Ben Albritton said the Senate wanted “an amendment that is significant and straightforward.” Senator Bryan Avila said the amendment provides relief for Florida families while protecting businesses and safeguarding local funding for education, law enforcement, infrastructure, and other essential government functions.
The opposition was also documented in the legislative record. Representative Robin Bartleman offered an amendment to protect voter-approved children’s services levies from the exemption structure. Representative Anna Eskamani offered an amendment requiring the Legislature to fund public safety services if local governments could not fully fund them because of the amendment. Representative Ashley Gantt offered a similar amendment for veterans-related services. All three amendments failed.
The final House vote was 75–26. The final Senate vote was 30–9. The question now goes to Florida voters.
Governor DeSantis Property Tax Proposal
CS/HJR 1-F Bill Page
CS/HJR 1-F Enrolled Text
Florida Senate Press Release
House Final Vote
Senate Final Vote
Florida Constitutional Amendment Rules
Supreme Court Lets Alabama Use 2023 Congressional Map for Now
The Supreme Court on Tuesday let Alabama move forward, for now, with the congressional map enacted by the Legislature in 2023.
The order came in three related redistricting cases: Allen v. Milligan, Allen v. Singleton, and Allen v. Caster. The Court granted Alabama’s emergency applications and stayed a May 26 order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
The district court had blocked Alabama from using the 2023 congressional districting plan in the 2026 elections. In that order, the three-judge court said the 2023 plan intentionally discriminated against Black voters based on race in violation of the Constitution.
The district court said it could not require Alabamians to cast ballots under a plan “tainted by intentional race-based discrimination.” It ordered the state to continue using the race-blind map used for Alabama’s 2024 elections and May 19, 2026, primary elections.
The Supreme Court disagreed, at least for now. In an unsigned order, the Court said Alabama was likely to succeed on the merits. The Court said the district court did not apply the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais and did not give enough weight to the state’s lawful districting criteria, including keeping the Gulf Coast community together and avoiding the pairing of incumbents.
The Court also said Alabama had shown irreparable harm and that the equities and public interest favored the state. It cited the rule that lower federal courts should not alter election rules on the eve of an election.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor said the Court had two paths: one using a tested map that protected Black Alabamians’ right to vote, and another using what she called a “never-before-used congressional map” that “intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians.” She wrote that the majority chose the second path.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the order “a major victory for Alabama and for the principle of self-governance.” Marshall said the Supreme Court confirmed Alabama’s congressional maps are “constitutional and lawful under the Voting Rights Act.”
The Legal Defense Fund, which represents plaintiffs in the Milligan case, said the order allows Alabama to use its 2023 map and pauses the district court ruling for now. LDF said the district court has set the case to be ready for retrial no later than January 2027.
This is not a final merits ruling. It is an emergency stay that lets Alabama use the 2023 congressional map while the case continues.
Supreme Court Order
May 26 District Court Order
Alabama Attorney General Statement
Alabama Emergency Stay Announcement
Legal Defense Fund Statement
New York Bill Would Replace “Paternity” and “Filiation” With “Parentage”
New York lawmakers passed a bill that would replace several legal terms tied to mothers and fathers with gender-neutral language across state law.
The bill is A8382A in the Assembly and S9316 in the Senate. The official summary says it “replaces the terms father, mother, and filiation to gender neutral language.” The bill passed the Assembly on March 19 and passed the Senate on June 2 by a vote of 38 to 23, with one senator absent and one excused.
The official status lists the bill as “Passed Senate & Assembly.” It has not been marked as delivered to the governor or signed by the governor.
The bill changes language across the Family Court Act, Civil Practice Law and Rules, Domestic Relations Law, Executive Law, Judiciary Law, Social Services Law, General Obligations Law, Vehicle and Traffic Law, Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, and Education Law.
The sponsor memo says the purpose is “to adjust language in the law to a more inclusive and gender-neutral form, substituting ‘parentage’ for ‘paternity’ and ‘filiation.’” The memo says “paternity” is “strictly gender-related” and refers to the male parent of a child, while “parentage” focuses on the legal parent-child relationship.
The bill text makes that change repeatedly. In one Family Court Act section, existing definitions of “mother” and “father” are removed and replaced with definitions for “parentage,” “parent,” and “alleged parent.” “Parentage” is defined as a determination that a person is the legal parent of the child. “Parent” means an individual who has established a parent-child relationship created or recognized under the act or other law.
Other sections replace “paternity” with “parentage,” “putative father” with “alleged parent,” and “mother and putative father” with “parties.” In pregnancy-related support language, the bill changes “mother” to “gestating parent” and “father” to “non-gestating parent.”
The bill also changes the legal language around orders of filiation. Under the current text, if a court finds that “the male party is the father,” it makes an order of filiation declaring paternity. The bill would instead say that if the court finds the alleged parent is the parent of the child, it shall make an order of parentage.
The bill is not signed yet. If signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, it would take effect on the first day of November after becoming law.
New York State Senate: A8382A official bill page
New York State Assembly: A8382A bill text
New York State Senate: S9316 official bill page
Current Events
Four Charged After Federal Agents Find Cross-Border Cocaine Tunnel in San Diego
Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced Monday, June 1, that four people were charged after investigators uncovered a cross-border tunnel from Tijuana, Mexico, to a retail storefront in Otay Mesa.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said the Homeland Security Task Force investigation centered on a store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry called Buy 4 Less. Prosecutors said the tunnel was about 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep, and 4.5 feet high, with reinforced walls, electricity, ventilation, and a rail system.
The defendants are Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez and Jose Jimenez of San Diego, and Antonio Cortez and Brandon Escalante Sandoval of Mexico. Hernandez Lopez is charged with conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel and conspiracy to import controlled substances. All four are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
According to prosecutors, HSI Tunnel Task Force investigators watched the Buy 4 Less location from December 2025 to May after suspicious activity. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the location had little customer traffic, and apparent employees were seen moving suitcases and other items in ways that did not match a normal retail operation.
On May 29, agents observed activity involving vans, trucks, deep freezers, and suspected counter-surveillance near Buy 4 Less and a mechanic shop on Coolidge Avenue. San Diego County sheriff’s deputies stopped three vehicles. Federal agents later reported finding 851 packages weighing about 1,029.60 kilograms, or 2,269.87 pounds. Samples field-tested positive for cocaine.
After the seizure, agents searched Buy 4 Less and found the U.S. exit point of the tunnel concealed under the floor of a storage room. Prosecutors said the tunnel was accessed by a hydraulic lift and ran roughly 1,064 feet from the store to the U.S.-Mexico border before continuing toward its entry point in Mexico.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said, “For these defendants, it wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. It was lights and sirens.”
HSI San Diego’s acting special agent in charge said the investigation and seizure were “a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.” Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre said, “Criminal organizations continue to look for ways to exploit our border, but they underestimate the determination of the men and women protecting it.”
Prosecutors said 99 subterranean passages have been found in the Southern District of California since 1993. Of those, 28 were considered sophisticated. The last operational tunnel discovered in the district was in 2022.
U.S. Attorney’s Office: Four Charged with Trafficking More Than $45 Million Worth of Cocaine through Sophisticated Cross-Border Tunnel
ICE: Homeland Security Task Force uncovers sophisticated cross-border tunnel, seizes $45 million worth of cocaine
Judge Orders Contempt Hearing, Keeps Preliminary Hearing Open in Tyler Robinson Case
On Monday, June 1, Judge Tony Graf held a virtual hearing in the case against Tyler James Robinson.
The court first addressed Robinson’s motion for an order to show cause. The defense asked the court to require Utah County Attorney Jeff S. Gray and Deputy Utah County Attorney Chris Ballard to appear and show cause why they should not be held in contempt for alleged violations of the court’s pre-trial and trial publicity order.
Judge Graf said the defense had made a sufficient preliminary showing under Utah law to justify further proceedings. He said that ruling does not constitute a finding of contempt.
An evidentiary hearing will now take place during the previously scheduled June 12 proceeding. The judge said the hearing will determine whether the evidence establishes the elements of contempt, including whether the Utah County Attorney’s Office and its representatives knew what the publicity order required, had the ability to comply, and intentionally failed or refused to comply by making specific statements to media outlets.
The court declined to order the Utah County Attorney’s Office to produce the discovery requested by the defense. Each side will have one hour and thirty minutes to present evidence, and the court will issue a ruling later.
Judge Graf then addressed Robinson’s request to close portions, if not all, of the preliminary hearing and seal preliminary hearing exhibits. The parties agreed that the public and media should not be allowed to inspect or copy exhibits except as they are published in court during the hearing.
The court denied the request to close the preliminary hearing itself. Judge Graf said the public and media have a presumptive right to access court proceedings, including preliminary hearings. He said Robinson’s motion did not identify specific evidence that would create a realistic likelihood of prejudice to his right to a fair trial.
The judge also said other tools remain available to protect the defendant’s rights, including a larger jury pool, detailed juror questionnaires, and thorough voir dire.
The next hearing is scheduled for Friday, June 12, at 9:00 a.m. It will be held in person, and the judge said he anticipates Robinson will be present. The court said the order-to-show-cause evidentiary hearing will be heard first, followed by argument on the remaining motion.
FBI Kills Suspect After Bakersfield Hostage Standoff
A hostage standoff in Bakersfield ended Wednesday morning after FBI personnel killed the suspect and rescued the remaining hostages from the Chase Bank building at 1515 17th Street.
Bakersfield Police Department Assistant Chief Jeremy Blakemore said police began receiving calls at about 12:59 p.m. Tuesday involving a suspect with an explosive device who had entered the building. Police said the suspect barricaded himself on the second floor and took several hostages.
The hostages were employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Police said other employees and patrons fled the building, and officers began evacuating surrounding businesses while negotiators communicated with the suspect.
Police said the suspect claimed he had explosives attached to himself and said additional explosives were attached to some hostages. Blakemore said law enforcement confirmed that based on their own observations.
During negotiations, police secured the release of two hostages. The first was released at 3:59 p.m. The second was released at 8:24 p.m.
Blakemore said negotiations later stalled, and the suspect refused to release any more victims. Bakersfield Police requested FBI assistance, and the FBI assumed operational control at about 9:02 p.m.
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel identified the suspect as Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41. Patel said Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 and was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL. He also said Searles-Harris had a criminal history involving weapons and was a registered sex offender.
Patel said Searles-Harris tied up five hostages on the second floor, but there were 10 hostages total. Two were released during negotiations, and all 10 were physically unharmed.
The FBI said SWAT teams, crisis negotiators, bomb technicians, victim specialists, and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team responded. Patel said the Hostage Rescue Team deployed from Quantico and took over the scene around 2:00 a.m.
At about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Patel said the Hostage Rescue Team “neutralized” Searles-Harris.
Officials said one hostage was diabetic and had been communicating with authorities by phone until the phone died. Patel said law enforcement had been able to get medicine to her, but officials believed the situation had become a potential loss-of-life issue if they did not act.
Officials said multiple IEDs presented a concern, but testing continued after the rescue. Patel said law enforcement had concluded “at this point in time” that the devices were not a concern.
Police said it did not appear that Kern County Superintendent of Schools employees were specifically targeted. The reason the building was targeted remains under investigation.
Officials also said they were aware of at least one YouTube video allegedly made by the suspect. Police said it was part of the broader investigation into motive.
YouTube Video: Bakersfield hostage standoff press briefing
NIH Researchers Charged With Smuggling Monkeypox Into the United States
Two researchers with the National Institutes of Health were charged Tuesday in federal court with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan identified the defendants as Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both researchers at NIH’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. Prosecutors said Munster, 53, is a citizen of the Netherlands and Chief of the Virus Ecology Section, Laboratory of Virology. Kwe, 38, is a citizen of Cameroon and a research fellow in Munster’s section.
According to the Justice Department, both men worked on “emerging viral pathogens” and how those pathogens “cross the species barrier.” Prosecutors said they worked at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, the highest level of biosafety precautions for research on known and potential human pathogens.
The charges stem from a January 25 arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s McNamara Terminal. Prosecutors said Munster and Kwe had traveled from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where a monkeypox outbreak was occurring.
Customs and Border Protection officers inspected and interviewed the two researchers after seeing them traveling with a large black plastic case. Prosecutors said Munster and Kwe falsely told CBP officers that the case contained diagnostics and testing equipment.
According to the DOJ, a later investigation by CBP and FBI agents found 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers inside the case. As of the complaint date, the FBI had tested 20 of the 113 vials. Seventeen contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained chickenpox virus, and two contained only human DNA.
“These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Let that sink in,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said.
FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said the allegations were serious and involved “the dangerous and unlawful smuggling of deactivated Mpox virus into the United States and alleged efforts to mislead our federal agents.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Marcus L. Sykes said any deliberate effort to conceal and smuggle biological materials without authorization “is a breach of the public’s trust and could have placed the public at risk.”
CBP Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon said the agency has “zero tolerance” for anyone who attempts to exploit research frameworks, circumvent border enforcement, or deceive investigators.
Munster and Kwe face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Prosecutors noted that a complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt, and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
DOJ Press Release
HHS-OIG Enforcement Action
FBI Statement
FBI Detroit Statement
Justice Department Announces Ohio Fraud Charges and New FBI Fraudster List
The Justice Department announced Thursday, June 4, a new federal-state fraud enforcement partnership in Ohio, new fraud charges, and the launch of an FBI list focused on wanted fraud defendants.
DOJ said the announcement included federal and state charges against 9 defendants for alleged participation in more than $42 million in fraud, detention orders for three defendants in a separate $15 million romance-fraud case, two more defendants awaiting extradition, and the creation of the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list.
The announcement was made in Columbus, Ohio, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, federal prosecutors, and Ohio officials. In the press conference, Blanche said federal and state partners were announcing charges “against 14 defendants allegedly involved in fraud schemes targeting over $50 million here in Ohio.”
The largest case described by DOJ was an alleged behavioral-health fraud scheme in the Southern District of Ohio. Four defendants were charged in connection with an alleged over $30 million scheme involving therapeutic behavioral services and psychotherapy for children and young adults attending summer camps, church groups, and recreational programs.
DOJ said the defendants allegedly conspired to submit false and fraudulent claims for services that were medically unnecessary and not provided as represented. After one company failed to renew its credentialing with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and could no longer submit Medicaid claims for mental-health services, DOJ said the defendants allegedly conspired with another co-defendant to continue the billing through a different entity.
In that case, DOJ said investigators seized three bank accounts with $469,000 and 14 vehicles worth $800,000, including six Mercedes Benz vehicles, a Bentley, a BMW, a Jaguar, a Maserati, two Land Rovers, a GMC, and a McLaren.
DOJ also said Ohio’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged Robert Haley, 63, of Cincinnati, in Butler County Common Pleas Court in an alleged over $12 million scheme to fraudulently bill Medicaid for therapeutic behavioral services that were not provided to children in Butler County after-school programs.
In a separate Southern District of Ohio case, four defendants were charged in an alleged scheme to defraud the government of more than $1.4 million in COVID-relief funds. DOJ said the defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications and forgiveness applications on behalf of businesses, including healthcare providers.
The Northern District of Ohio also announced a separate alleged romance-fraud case. DOJ said Jamal Abubakari, Kamal Abubakari, and Amanda Joy Opoku-Boachie were ordered detained this week in connection with an alleged over $15 million romance scam. Frederick Kumi and Daniel Yussif are awaiting extradition.
According to DOJ, the indictments allege the defendants targeted older Americans from about July 2024 to April 2026 through dating websites and social media. Prosecutors said the defendants used AI-driven video platforms and fictitious female personas, then persuaded victims to send money through false stories about inheritances involving money, gold, or diamonds. DOJ said more than 130 victims were defrauded, and seized assets in Ghana are estimated at more than $3 million.
The Ohio announcement also included a data-sharing agreement between DOJ’s Fraud Division and the Ohio Secretary of State. DOJ said the agreement gives the Fraud Division access to Ohio corporate registrant data to help identify ownership links between clinics, labs, billing entities, and other structures used to obscure control in healthcare and other fraud schemes.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the FBI’s new Most Wanted Fraudsters list. The FBI said the list is intended to publicly identify people charged with defrauding the American people. Patel said, “Today we are launching the vice president’s historic initiative of the ‘Most Wanted Fraudsters’ list.”
In a written statement, Patel said the Ohio healthcare-fraud takedown involved multiple healthcare companies and four individuals who allegedly robbed taxpayer-funded Medicaid. He said investigators seized seven bank accounts worth $600,000 and 14 vehicles worth millions.
The Justice Department said the work supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Justice Department: Fraud Division Announces Federal–State Partnership in Ohio to Prosecute Fraud
Justice Department Video: Fraud Division Announces Federal–State Partnership in Ohio to Prosecute Fraud
YouTube Video: Ohio Fraud Enforcement Press Conference
FBI: FBI Announces New Wanted List Dedicated to Fraudsters
FBI: Statement from Director Kash Patel on Most Wanted Fraudsters List and Ohio Healthcare Fraud Announcement
Rapid Response 47 X Post
World News
French Interior Minister Says More Than 890 Arrested After PSG Celebrations
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal on Saturday, May 30, to win the Champions League final on penalties. UEFA’s official match record lists the final as 1–1 after extra time, with PSG winning the shootout 4–3.
After the match, celebrations in Paris and other French cities were followed by violence, looting, and attacks on police, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
In a May 31 press conference, Nuñez said authorities had made 780 arrests nationwide, including 480 in Paris. He also said 57 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
On Monday, June 1, Nuñez updated the numbers during an interview on France Inter. He said there had been more than 890 arrests, up more than 45% from the previous year, and 178 injured members of the internal security forces.
Nuñez described the incidents as urban violence, attempted looting, store looting, and attacks against law enforcement. He said the government had expected disorder and had deployed an exceptional security operation with orders for firm intervention.
Paris-specific judicial numbers were harder to confirm from primary sources. Reports citing the Paris prosecutor’s office said 277 people were placed in police custody after the night of May 30–31, including 195 adults and 82 minors. I did not find the original prosecutor communiqué.
The viral X videos can be treated only as leads. I could not verify the two specific posts from a primary source, and I did not find an official police or prosecutor statement tying those exact clips to a time, place, or case.
The narrow verified story is this: after PSG’s Champions League win, the French interior minister said unrest led to more than 890 arrests nationwide and 178 injured law enforcement personnel.
UEFA Match Report
PSG Match Report
Nuñez May 31 Press Conference Clip
Nuñez June 1 France Inter Interview
California CEO Arrested in Iran Sanctions Case
A California CEO was arrested Wednesday on a federal criminal complaint accusing him of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California identified the defendant as Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast. Prosecutors described him as a dual U.S.-Iranian national and the founder, owner, and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd., or FPR, a Tehran-based computer networking company.
Ghomi is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He was expected to make his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Santa Ana.
Prosecutors say Ghomi used FPR for more than a decade to procure U.S.-origin networking equipment for customers in Iran without a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
According to the affidavit cited by the DOJ, Ghomi used his own eBay and PayPal accounts from 2011 to 2023 to make hundreds of purchases of computer-networking equipment and directed the goods to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates. In 2023, prosecutors say he personally negotiated the purchase of U.S.-origin networking equipment from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska, routing it through a UAE front company and on to FPR in Iran.
The DOJ says that from 2014 to 2018, Ghomi arranged the smuggling of more than 250 metric tons of networking equipment into Iran through freight forwarders and intermediaries in Dubai. Prosecutors say the shipments were designed to disguise Iran as the true destination.
Prosecutors allege Ghomi and his co-conspirators tried to conceal the conduct by keeping his name off shipping paperwork, omitting invoices from shipments bound for Iran, hiding U.S.-origin equipment inside larger shipments, and using UAE front companies.
The DOJ says FPR’s customers included hundreds of Iranian companies and government entities. Prosecutors say the company supplied U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 2017 to 2023, and to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and affiliated military and defense-electronics entities from 2014 to 2022.
The DOJ also alleges Ghomi laundered proceeds from the business into the United States. Prosecutors say that from 2011 to 2024, he moved more than $15 million from Iran into U.S. bank accounts and a construction escrow account, while falsely reporting the funds to the IRS as foreign inheritance.
Prosecutors say Ghomi’s federal tax returns reported almost no income, with his highest reported income in any year listed as $20,684. The DOJ also says he claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit in seven tax years.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Ghomi is accused of aiding “our declared enemies” by selling U.S.-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of sanctions law. Essayli said prosecutors would seek an appropriate prison sentence and seizure of Ghomi’s assets, including what he called a $35 million Newport Beach mansion.
Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office, said the arrest reflects a commitment to disrupt the illegal flow of American technology to foreign nations.
A complaint is only an allegation, not evidence of guilt. If convicted, Ghomi faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Finance
Markets
Markets retreated across the board this week. The Dow had the least dramatic change, a drop of 166 points and closed at 50,866.
The S&P 500 lost 2.6%, falling 197 points to close at 7383.
NASDAQ lost 1263 points, representing a 4.7% loss. That index closed at 25,709 on Friday.
Gold lost 5.23%, a $240 loss and futures trading closed at $4353 / ounce.
Sports
Chicago Bears Advance Stadium Plan in Hammond, Indiana
The Chicago Bears have taken their clearest step yet toward leaving Chicago.
On June 5, Bears Chairman George McCaskey and President Kevin Warren said the team’s board voted to advance a stadium project in Hammond, Indiana.
The Bears said the exact site has not been selected, but Indiana has already created the legal framework for the project.
Senate Bill 27 created the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to acquire and finance facilities. It also allows Hammond to impose an admissions tax and create a stadium development district.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun welcomed the Bears, saying the state looks forward to building a partnership “as strong as the ’85 Bears defense.”
The move is already drawing national pushback.
In March, Congressman Greg Casar and Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Home Team Act. The bill would require professional sports owners to give local communities a chance to buy a team before it moves across state lines or into a new metropolitan area.
Casar’s office specifically named the Bears, saying the team was threatening to leave Chicago after more than 100 years because of Indiana subsidies.
The Bears have not finalized a relocation. But their own board has voted to move the stadium plan forward in Hammond, and Indiana is already treating it like a real pursuit.
Chicago Bears statement from George H. McCaskey and Kevin Warren
Indiana Senate Bill 27
Indiana Governor Mike Braun statement
Rep. Greg Casar press release on the Home Team Act
Rep. Greg Casar statement on X
ESPN post on X
F1 Monaco Grand Prix Weekend
The 2026 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix is going on this weekend, but I record on Sunday morning, so the race is happening while I’m recording. Kimi Antonelli will start on pole, followed by Max Vertappen, and then the two Ferraris. There’s hope with the new regulations that this year won’t just be another Monaco parade, but we will see. If Antonelli hangs on, his first 5 wins will have come sequentially, something that’s never been done in Formula 1.
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals head back to New York where the Knicks have a chance to take the championship on their home court. The Knicks won the first two games in San Antonio with game 3 Monday night at 8:30 on ABC.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Las Vegas Golden Knights lead the Hurricanes 2 games to one with game 3 coming in Las Vegas Tuesday June 9 at 8pm.
MLB Updates
In the MLB, the Yankees sit just one game behind Tampa Bay for control of the AL East but starting catcher Austin Wells joined sluggers Stanton and Judge on the IL. Atlanta still has a 9.5 game lead in the NL East, and the Brewers sit 5 games on top of the NL Central. But in the NL West, after going 2-8 in their last 10, the Padres are now 8 games ahead of the division leading Dodgers.
Rich Stephens
The Cold Take