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Israeli troops crossed the Litani River and pushed deeper into Lebanon, raising the stakes for regional diplomacy just as U.S. officials continue searching for a broader agreement with Iran. Oil markets are beginning to question whether a breakthrough is really within reach, while an exodus of federal lawyers is quietly reshaping Washington from the inside.

Elsewhere, Berkshire Hathaway made its first major acquisition under Greg Abel, SoftBank overtook Toyota as Japan's most valuable company, and scientists uncovered new clues about why cancer may spread differently with age.

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Israeli forces pushed north across Lebanon's Litani River on Monday, seizing Beaufort Castle and destroying bridges used by Hezbollah — Israel's deepest incursion into Lebanon in over 25 years. France responded by calling an emergency UN Security Council meeting, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly criticizing the expansion as US-mediated talks continued.

Netanyahu vowed to expand Israel's hold further, aiming toward the Zahrani River, roughly 10 kilometers north of current positions. Iran has insisted any comprehensive regional deal must include an end to Lebanon fighting — a precondition that makes a diplomatic breakthrough increasingly difficult while Israeli armor is still advancing.

President Trump posted on Truth Social Monday telling critics of his Iran strategy to "sit back and relax," insisting Tehran "really wants a deal" even as analysts say talks have made little progress since April. Bruegel think-tank economist Guntram Wolff warned markets are "way too optimistic" about a diplomatic breakthrough.

Oil traders sent crude up 2% on Monday as Lebanon's fighting deepened, signaling that the market is starting to price in the pessimists' view rather than the White House's. Goldman Sachs separately flagged demand-side risks from weak April oil sales in China and Western Europe, estimating roughly 2 million barrels per day of potential downside.

More than 10,000 federal attorneys have departed the Trump administration, thinning out agencies and swelling the ranks of state AG offices and advocacy groups. The exodus stretches across the Justice Department, regulatory bodies, and inspector general offices.

The drain shifts legal firepower from the executive branch to the institutions most likely to sue it. Agencies short on lawyers struggle to defend rules in court, write new ones, or prosecute complex cases. That gap tends to widen the longer it sits.

China's worst coal-mining disaster in 15 years involved secret tunnels and unregistered workers, exposing illegal practices the country had largely buried over the past decade. The timing is awkward, with Beijing busy trumpeting its pivot toward green energy.

The United States launched strikes on Iranian military targets, while Kuwait reported intercepting missiles and drones during a wave of regional military activity linked to the conflict. The developments underscored the risk of a wider escalation across the Gulf even as diplomatic efforts to secure a longer-term agreement between Washington and Tehran continued.

A massive explosion killed dozens of people in a rebel-held village in Myanmar, with reports indicating the blast occurred in an area affected by ongoing fighting between resistance forces and the military. The incident adds to the humanitarian toll of Myanmar's civil conflict, which has displaced millions and left large parts of the country beyond the control of the central government.

Timothy Severo will replace Matthew Petracca as lead prosecutor in the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey over his "86 47" social media post, per a Justice Department filing that didn't explain the switch. Prosecutor swaps mid-case are unusual and tend to invite scrutiny — on tactics, on internal disagreement, or both.

Lawmakers are back from Memorial Day recess facing the exact problems they left: immigration funding, opposition to a new Justice Department fund, and questions about Iran war oversight. Recess is over. The math on every one of those fights hasn't moved.

The United States has presented a proposed roadmap aimed at reducing tensions between Israel and Lebanon, outlining steps intended to strengthen security and prevent further escalation along the border. The proposal comes amid continued regional efforts to contain the conflict and lower the risk of a broader confrontation.

PROTECT RETIREMENT SAVINGS

The financial system is changing quickly.

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Berkshire Hathaway announced a $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison — one of new CEO Greg Abel's first major strategic moves since replacing Warren Buffett earlier in 2026. Abel is betting US housing demand will recover despite elevated mortgage rates, expanding Berkshire's footprint in a sector that already includes Clayton Homes and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

Jensen Huang unveiled Nvidia's long-awaited Arm-based PC chip, debuting in new laptops from Dell, Microsoft, HP, ASUS, and others. It plants Nvidia squarely in territory long owned by Intel and AMD, and gives Windows-on-Arm its biggest commercial push yet.

SoftBank surged 10% Monday to overtake Toyota as Japan's most valuable company, driving the Nikkei 225 past 67,000 for the first time in history. Founder Masayoshi Son's pledge of €75 billion in AI infrastructure investment to France — announced the same day — underscored SoftBank's transformation from diversified conglomerate to AI kingmaker.

NASA confirmed that an exploding meteor caused the sonic boom heard across several states over the weekend, rattling houses around Boston. Bright fireballs that big are rare enough that NASA's quick confirmation likely saved local 911 lines from a long night.

Stanford researchers merged two microscopy techniques to build a new instrument capable of imaging nanostructures inside living cells at the highest resolution achieved so far. Better resolution inside live cells means biologists get to watch processes unfold rather than infer them from static snapshots.

Researchers found that cancer may be more likely to spread during middle age than in old age because biological changes in the body create conditions that can help tumors metastasize more easily. The findings suggest that age-related shifts in tissues and the immune system may influence not just the risk of developing cancer, but also how aggressively it spreads.

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to secure a place in the NBA Finals. San Antonio will now face the New York Knicks, who are making their first Finals appearance since 1999.

Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar rallied from two sets down to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, where he'll face Alexander Zverev; João Fonseca also advanced, becoming the first Brazilian man in the Paris quarters since Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. Jakub Mensik joined the draw as the youngest Czech man in a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Ivan Lendl in 1980.

Finland captured the Ice Hockey World Championship after Konsta Helenius scored the winning goal in the title game, securing another major international trophy for the hockey powerhouse. The victory capped a successful tournament for Finland and marked a breakout moment for one of the country's most promising young players.

Sam Levinson confirmed that tonight's Season 3 finale of HBO's "Euphoria" doubles as the series finale, closing the Zendaya-led drama after three seasons. Levinson said the story of addiction and its consequences "feels like the end," wrapping one of the defining shows of the streaming era.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai will head the main competition jury for the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, running June 12-21 with a lineup packed with world premieres. Shanghai remains China's flagship cinema event and a key window into what Beijing will and won't let on screen.

Grammy-winning filmmaker Kachi Benson is exploring his grandfather's role during Nigeria's Biafran War through a new documentary that examines both family history and the conflict's lasting legacy. The project reflects a broader effort to preserve personal stories from a war that continues to shape conversations about identity, memory, and national history in Nigeria.

TAKE CONTROL

When major market events happen, fund managers often rebalance portfolios—sometimes without direct input from investors.

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What it is: After decades perfecting domestic surveillance, China is now exporting both the ideology and the technology of state control to governments around the world. The pitch: stability, modernization, and a turnkey toolkit for watching your own population.

The detail: From the Solomon Islands to Nepal, Chinese firms and officials are helping foreign governments build out camera networks, data systems, and the legal architecture to use them. The model bundles hardware with training, financing, and a political philosophy that treats public order as the highest civic good.

Why it matters: For decades, the West assumed connectivity would push authoritarian states toward openness. China is testing the opposite — that the same technology, deployed differently, can entrench control and make it portable. Countries adopting the Chinese stack inherit not just cameras but the assumptions behind them.

What to watch: Whether democracies in the same neighborhoods counter with competing offers. Whether U.S. export controls expand to cover surveillance components. And whether any client government hits a backlash severe enough to rip the system back out. The technology is easier to install than to remove.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team