Top 5 US news stories
June 5 2026
Senate Passes $70 Billion Immigration Bill After Quelling GOP Revolt
Anthropic Flags Self-Improving AI Risk, Urges Slower Development
U.S. Officials Weigh Taking Equity Stakes in AI Firms
Columbia Scientists Edit Human Embryo DNA With New Precision
Commercial Satellite Imagery Sharpens Ukraine's Drone Strikes on Russia
Senate Passes $70 Billion Immigration Bill After Quelling GOP Revolt
Senate Republicans on Friday passed a $70 billion bill to fund President Trump's immigration crackdown for the remainder of his term, sending the measure to the House on a 52-47 vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to oppose the bill, joining all Democrats. Passage came after Republican leaders worked to resolve internal disagreement that, according to the source reporting, had built for weeks over recent moves by Trump that some lawmakers viewed as diverging from the party's political interests. Republicans advanced the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill after Democrats declined to support further funding without new restrictions on the conduct of federal agents. Because reconciliation bills are open to unlimited amendments, Democrats forced an hourslong series of votes Thursday and early Friday in an effort to modify the measure, all of which failed. The House was expected to move quickly to pass it.
NYT
Anthropic Flags Self-Improving AI Risk, Urges Slower Development
Anthropic is calling on leading artificial intelligence labs to consider slowing the pace of development, warning that AI systems are advancing so quickly that they may soon improve themselves without human intervention. In a blog post Thursday written by a company co-founder and the head of its internal research institute, Anthropic said the ability to slow global AI development would likely be a good thing and disclosed internal data showing how rapidly its most advanced models are improving. The company said model advances appear to be moving toward "recursive self-improvement," a point at which AI systems can improve on their own and which some researchers view as a potential marker of danger.
Anthropic reported that more than 80% of the code merged into its codebase as of May 2026 was authored by its Claude models, up from low single digits before early 2025. It said Claude's success rate on the most open-ended tasks reached 76% in May 2026. Its most advanced internal system, which it calls Mythos Preview, averaged a roughly 52x speedup on a recurring training-code test by April 2026, and an external evaluator measured the model working for at least 16 hours. Claude Opus is Anthropic's most capable publicly available model, while Mythos is a more advanced frontier model the company has not released to the public.
Citizen Journal uses an Anthropic AI model in its production workflow.
WSJ / Anthropic
U.S. Officials Weigh Taking Equity Stakes in AI Firms
Senior U.S. officials have held preliminary discussions with major artificial intelligence companies about the federal government potentially acquiring shares in their firms, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman first pitched the concept to President Trump in early 2025 and has discussed it again with senior administration officials in recent weeks as a way to distribute the economic benefits of AI more broadly, two of the people said. Discussions have centered on having the firms voluntarily cede the shares to the government, with returns potentially directed to public purposes such as a dividend paid to all American households. The deliberations come as OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for what are expected to be among the largest initial public offerings in history. A person familiar with the matter said Anthropic is not having conversations with the administration about providing equity to the government.
NOTUS
Columbia Scientists Edit Human Embryo DNA With New Precision
Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with what they describe as unprecedented accuracy, an advance that could eventually allow embryos to be engineered for particular characteristics. The team used a technique called base editing to replace individual genetic letters in DNA sequences without the damage often seen with the earlier gene-editing tool CRISPR. Supporters say the technology could one day let parents safely repair disease-causing mutations, while some ethicists warn it could also be used to select desired traits, a practice they compare to eugenics. Dieter Egli, the Columbia geneticist who led the research, called for a public conversation about the benefits and risks of altering embryonic DNA. He said scientists can provide data for the discussion but should then let others weigh the broader questions.
NYT
Commercial Satellite Imagery Sharpens Ukraine's Drone Strikes on Russia
Images from commercial satellites have improved the speed and precision of Ukraine's drone strikes over the past six months, according to technology providers and people involved in the missions. Near-real-time, high-definition imagery from satellites operated by Colorado-based Vantor is delivered directly to soldiers' phones, tablets and laptops, along with software that helps users identify and investigate targets. In one mission about 10 kilometers from the front line in southeastern Ukraine, a unit used the imagery to spot armored vehicles of the type used by senior Russian officials parked around a building hidden by tree cover. After surveilling the site from orbit for three days, the soldiers determined it was a Russian planning location and struck it with an attack drone. The providers and mission participants said the rapid delivery of geospatial intelligence has cut the time needed to locate and strike Russian assets by as much as 90%.
WSJ
JUNE 5, 2013: EDWARD SNOWDEN DISCLOSES U.S. GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS
On this day, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing extensive U.S. government surveillance of phone and internet communications, including data from major tech companies under the Prism program. The disclosures sparked sharply polarized reactions, with some Americans hailing him as a whistleblower defending civil liberties and others condemning him as a traitor who endangered national security. Facing criminal charges, Snowden fled the United States and ultimately received asylum in Russia, where he has remained in effective exile.
Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:
citizen journal offers three flagship products: a daily national news summary, a daily Kansas news summary, and local news and school board summaries from 34 cities across 5 states. Use the links in the header to navigate to national, kansas, and local coverage. Subscribe to each, some, or all to get an email when new issues are published for FREE!
Brought to you by (click me!)
Sources
