After losing Kennedy Center case, Trump throws tantrum, calls for judge’s impeachment
After losing Kennedy Center case, Trump throws tantrum, calls for judge’s impeachment
The president appeared quite outraged after a federal court ruled that he had to follow the law regarding renaming the Kennedy Center.
Shortly before Christmas, Donald Trump’s handpicked allies, mindful of the president’s obsession with self-glorification, claimed that they had renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, adding the Republican incumbent’s name to the venue.
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex officio member of the center’s board who was excluded from voting on the name change, quickly filed suit, arguing not only that the process was improper, but that the entire gambit was illegal for the simplest of reasons: A name change required congressional approval, and that had not happened.
With this in mind, it wasn’t too big of a surprise when U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Friday that Team Trump’s gambit was obviously illegal and gave the Republican operation 14 days to undo what it had done.
On Friday afternoon, when much of the world was waiting for the president to shed light on his plans for the war in Iran, he instead published a 580-word tirade to his social media platform, whining at great length about the judge’s ruling and suggesting that he was prepared to give up on his Kennedy Center ambitions altogether. From the online rant:
[B]ased on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center, almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country, we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it. […]
I have instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management.
In other words, if the courts say Trump has to follow the law, he’ll stomp his feet, take his ball and go home.
On Saturday morning, the president kept going, publishing a 721-word harangue that went after the judge’s wife, before telling the public that the nation’s “Court System is RIGGED.”
For good measure, on Saturday night, the Republican added that the judge and his wife “should be ashamed of themselves,” before concluding, “Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED.”
The key phrase in that sentence was “numerous other.” Two months into Trump’s second term, he became the first modern American president to explicitly call for the impeachment of a sitting federal judge for ruling in a way the White House didn’t like, and the scope of his vision quickly grew.
“We have bad judges, we have very bad judges,” Trump said last spring. “These are judges that shouldn’t be allowed.”
A group of congressional Republicans apparently interpreted Trump’s appeal as a directive and got to work introducing impeachment resolutions against judges who ruled contrary to the White House’s preferences. At last count, GOP lawmakers have filed impeachment resolutions against eight federal judges, and as radical as the crusade is, House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed the effort earlier this year.
It stands to reason that Cooper could face an impeachment resolution of his own, despite national polling that found 70% of Americans are opposed to impeaching federal judges over rulings the president doesn’t like.
Israel kills 8 in Lebanon after Trump said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to de-escalate
Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday reportedly killed eight people, including a father and his son and daughter.
BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed eight people, including a father and his son and daughter, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to dial back fighting.
Israel threatened on Monday to strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, causing panic in the Lebanese capital as thousands fled to safer areas and Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel. Israeli forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in 26 years, but Beirut has been mostly spared over the past six weeks, apart from two targeted attacks on the city’s southern suburbs in May.
Trump announced later Monday, after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicating with the Lebanese militant group through mediators, that “there will be no Troops going to Beirut.”
Lebanon’s State-run National News Agency reported Tuesday that an Israeli drone strike hit a car on the road linking the southern town of Marjayoun with the city of Nabatiyeh, killing James Karam, a dentist from the nearby Christian town of Qlayaa, along with his daughter and son. The Lebanese army said two soldiers were lightly wounded when a separate drone targeted them on a road outside the city.
A drone strike on the village of Jibchit killed two Syrians who worked at a plant nursery, the agency reported, while another on the nearby village of Toul killed two people. A third strike hit a car near the village of Harouf, killing one person.
NNA also reported that an Israeli airstrike on Monday killed six in the southern village of Marwaniyeh.
Hezbollah said Tuesday its fighters fired anti-tank missiles on Israeli troops who were pushing into the southern village of Hadatha, about 4 miles from the Israeli border. Sirens sounded in several areas in northern Israel, the military said in a statement, adding that “a suspicious aerial target” was identified in the area in which Israeli soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon, and that no injuries were reported.
Despite a Washington-brokered ceasefire reached in April, the two sides have continued to exchange strikes after Israel targeted areas in Lebanon, saying it was for self-defense.
The latest exchanges came as a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, where Lebanese negotiators are set to seek a full ceasefire that will prevent future attacks. The Israel-Lebanon talks that began in April in Washington were the first in more than three decades between the countries, which have no formal diplomatic relations.
The fighting presents a major obstacle to the emerging deal to extend the ceasefire in the Iran war that erupted after the United States and Israel struck the Islamic Kingdom on Feb.28. Tehran wants any agreement to include a complete ceasefire in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has rejected direct talks, counting on pressure from Iran.
The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,433 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million people. According to Netanyahu’s office, at least 27 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. Two civilians have also been killed in northern Israel.
Israel’s military said late Monday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon. It added that seven more soldiers were wounded in the incident, three of them severely.
Hezbollah’s use of hard-to-detect fiber-optic drones has been deadly for the Israeli military, which is struggling to respond.
Xavier Becerra advances in California governor race to replace Newsom
Jun. 5, 2026, 8:08 PM EDT By Julianne McShane
Xavier Becerra will advance to the general election in California’s gubernatorial race.
Becerra was barely leading the field when The Associated Press reported Friday he would go on to the general election. In second place with roughly 67% of the votes counted was former Fox News host Steve Hilton, trailed by billionaire businessman Tom Steyer.
The top two vote-getters will move on to the November general election.
Becerra previously served as the Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, was California attorney general from 2017 to 2021 and was a member of Congress for more than 20 years. He made a late-in-the-race surge in polling at 25% in late May, after coming in at 5% in early March.
The race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom became wide open after former Vice President and California Sen. Kamala Harris and the state’s senior senator, Alex Padilla, chose not to run. The race was further shaken when some candidates who were gaining popularity became embroiled in scandals. Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, viewed as a potential front-runner, dropped out after facing sexual misconduct allegations, while former Rep. Katie Porter came under scrutiny over allegations that she bullied staffers.
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Steyer is a billionaire and hedge fund investor who launched a Democratic bid for presidency in 2020, branding himself as a progressive climate activist.
British-born Hilton is a registered Republican who received backing from President Donald Trump. In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump wrote that Hilton “will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!), and we will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN.” California has not elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was first elected in 2003.
The next governor of California will inherit a range of challenges, including an unstable state budget, an affordability crisis and the fallout from ongoing clashes with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Julianne McShane
Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky.
Sophie Cunningham turned heads off the court before dominating Angel Reese, Spurs-Knicks ticket price & Saban!
Sophie Cunningham finished with a +11 off the bench as Indiana dominated Atlanta on both ends of the floor
Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com.
We did it! We made it to another Friday. To the first weekend of June. Whew. Everyone can exhale now.
And hey! For June, we have a pretty loaded weekend on tap.
NBA Finals (for those interested)
Stanley Cup
Super Regionals
Memorial tournament
Belmont Stakes
Honestly? It's not the worst lineup you'll see this summer. We're also experiencing a rare June cold front down here in Florida, which is nice. By "cold front," I mean it's 82 instead of 92, but that makes a big difference this time of year.
So, yeah, we're rolling right now. A lot of momentum. Let's pump out one final class this week and get on outta here.
Welcome to a Friday Nightcaps — the one where Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark dominate Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream, both on and off the court. You'll see.
What else? I've got the best of the rest from a loaded week of #content, Scottie ripping his caddie a new one after a water ball off the tee, and more Nick Saban talk in June.
HERE'S WHY NICK SABAN AND NOTRE DAME'S PETE BEVACQUA ARE WRONG ABOUT NIL RUINING COLLEGE FOOTBALL
OK, grab you a veggie burger for National Veggie Burger Day — throw it straight into the trash and get a Bubba Burger instead — and THEN settle in for a Friday 'Cap!
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Caitlin and Sophie set the tone and take Game 1
Let's spin the wheel and start with ... the WNBA! That's right.
Look, I normally wouldn't do it, but when Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Angel Reese are all on the floor at the same time, I sort of have to. I'm nothing if not a sucker for the Google Algo.
The Fever won the first game of something called "The Commissioner's Cup" last night over Reese and the Dream. For those who don't know, that now makes Caitlin Clark 6-1 against Reese since the infamous finger-point in college, which I'm sure will delight most of you.
There were a few newsy moments from the game, most notably this little sequence in the first half that I reckon will now be used whenever an Angel Reese fan tries to say she's better than Caitlin Clark:
Lordy. Not great! Why is Angel Reese anywhere near the three-point line? Seems silly to me, but I admittedly ain't the biggest basketball fan.
The box score tells me that Reese finished with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds), while Clark finished with 17 but shot just 6 of 17 from the floor. For those interested in the +/- stat, Reese was a -2, while Caitlin was a +2.
They all paled in comparison to Sophie, who finished with eight points off the bench and a +11 on the court.
WNBA'S SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM'S LATEST VIRAL ATTIRE CELEBRATES HER LOVE OF BBQ, CORNHOLE GOLF COURSE & HOT STEAKS!
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) plays in the first half against the Seattle Storm at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 17, 2026. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
That's our girl! Remember where you met Sophie Cunningham first, boys and girls. Right here, in these spaces, last year.
She became famous last summer when she defended Clark after a hard foul, and it's been off to the races ever since.
Perhaps we should've known she was primed for a big game when she got to the arena dressed like someone ready to bash some skulls.
Choose your fighters, America:
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM BELTS OUT A GARTH BROOKS CLASSIC IN HER SHREDDED JORTS AT INDY BAR, PGA BEER PRICES & MEAT
