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A jailbreak in rural Alabama set off a multi-county manhunt, while a federal court ruling and a controversial Pentagon decision put military personnel policy back in the spotlight.

We'll also look at Berkshire Hathaway's major housing-market bet, a promising cancer-vaccine breakthrough, and why a centuries-old fortress in southern Lebanon has become a flashpoint in an increasingly fragile regional conflict. Forward this to a friend who wants the world in five minutes.

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Four men broke out of a Dallas County jail in Alabama after overpowering guards, triggering a multi-county dragnet by Monday afternoon. Two of the escapees were back in custody by midday. The hunt for the other two stretched into the evening.

The breakout adds to a run of high-profile escapes from smaller county facilities across the South. Staffing shortages and aging infrastructure are now front and center as Alabama lawmakers eye the next budget cycle.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed female and Black officers from a Navy promotion list, a move the Times reports was tied to his opposition to diversity initiatives rather than anything in the officers' records. Navy promotion boards are traditionally walled off from political interference, which makes the secretary's direct edits an extraordinary break from precedent.

Civilian meddling in flag-officer slating has long been radioactive at the Pentagon, where uniformed leaders guard merit-based selection fiercely. Expect challenges from the officers affected, and scrutiny from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

A federal appeals court issued a split ruling Monday that allows currently serving transgender troops to remain in uniform while permitting the services to block new enlistments. The majority called the broader ban "arbitrary, and based on animus," but stopped short of striking it down.

It's a partial setback for the Trump administration's push to remove transgender personnel from the ranks. Both sides have signaled the fight isn't over, with further appellate action and a possible Supreme Court petition on the table.

Two former Syrian officers went on trial in Vienna accused of torture, in Austria's first prosecution targeting officials of the former Assad regime. The case gives Syrian witnesses now scattered across Europe a rare public forum to confront the men they say tormented them.

Colombia's first-round presidential vote on Sunday produced no outright winner, with conservative Abelardo de la Espriella taking 43.7% and leftist senator Iván Cepeda winning 40.9%. A June runoff will decide between two candidates representing sharply divergent visions for a country still navigating its post-conflict era.

Tough-on-crime candidate Aberaldo de la Espriella pulled ahead in the first round of Colombia's presidential election, setting up a runoff against Iván Cepeda, an ally of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro. The result points to a sharp ideological showdown over security, drug policy, and the future of Petro's reform agenda.

The Trump-led EEOC is seeking to overturn rules designed to identify and combat employment discrimination that have been in place for decades. Agency leadership argues the existing framework has caused discrimination against white workers, framing the rollback as a civil rights correction.

Utah Judge Tony Graf rejected a defense bid to close preliminary hearings in the Charlie Kirk murder case against defendant Tyler Robinson, though he did restrict access to some evidence. Open proceedings give the public a rare front-row seat to a case that has gripped national attention.

The Minnesota Republican Party drew sharp criticism after holding a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin at its state convention, prompting Attorney General Keith Ellison to call the gesture an "act of profound cruelty" to George Floyd's family. Chauvin remains in federal prison for Floyd's 2020 murder.

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Barry Diller's People Inc. extended an offer for casino giant MGM Resorts at $48.30 per share. The bid sets up a potential reshaping of one of the largest hospitality and gaming operators on the Las Vegas Strip.

The AI buildout is driving intense demand for networking and servers, and HPE is among the clearest beneficiaries as enterprise customers expand data center capacity. The stock's record gain shows how far AI capex is rippling beyond the chipmakers.

A small group of large technology companies has accounted for an outsized share of recent stock market gains, drawing comparisons to the narrow market leadership seen near the peak of the dot-com era. The trend has renewed debate over whether enthusiasm around AI is creating risks beneath an otherwise strong market.

A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, used in combination with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda, is showing strong results against melanoma recurrence in early data. Researchers say the results mark a significant advance in applying mRNA technology beyond infectious disease.

NASA says its X-59 quiet supersonic jet is ready for its first sound-barrier crossing this month, a milestone in the agency's effort to fly faster than sound without producing a window-shaking boom. Success could reopen the door to commercial supersonic flight over land.

The Department of Commerce issued guidance closing a major loophole that allowed overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies to buy advanced AI chips without export licenses. Hundreds of thousands of AI servers may have already been shipped through Malaysia-based subsidiaries before the rule took effect.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called his MVP year a "failure" after OKC's title defense ended in a Game 7 loss to the Spurs. Injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell exposed SGA, whose shooting fell from 55.3% in the regular season to 40.9% in the series.

The Philadelphia Eagles traded receiver A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick, ending a long-running offseason saga. Brown reunites with coach Mike Vrabel as New England tries to defend its AFC crown.

The Los Angeles Rams acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in a historic trade, going all in on a Super Bowl push. The deal hands LA one of the league's most disruptive edge rushers and reshuffles the NFC contender ladder.

Pop star Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner married at London's Old Marylebone Town Hall, the same registry office used by Paul McCartney, Sylvester Stallone, and Lena Dunham. The low-key civil ceremony continues the venue's run as Britain's celebrity wedding factory.

Taylor Swift revealed "I Knew It, I Knew You" — an original song co-written with Jack Antonoff for Pixar's Toy Story 5 — describing it as a return to her country roots. Digital single drops June 5; Toy Story 5 opens in theaters June 19.

Veteran correspondent Scott Pelley erupted at an internal CBS News meeting, accusing editor in chief Bari Weiss and new "60 Minutes" executive producer Nick Bilton of dismantling the long-running Sunday show. The clash exposes deepening editorial fault lines inside the newly reorganized network.

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What it is: Beaufort Castle is a 900-year-old Crusader fortress perched on a cliff above the Litani River in southern Lebanon — seized by Israeli forces on Sunday after days of intense fighting. Israel occupied it from 1982 to 2000 during its first Lebanon war; retaking it now marks the deepest Israeli advance into the country in 26 years.

The detail: Prime Minister Netanyahu directly ordered troops to "deepen and expand" their hold beyond the Litani River after the castle's capture — a move that goes beyond tactical advantage. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam accused Israel of a "scorched-earth policy", with destroyed villages across southern Lebanon suggesting plans for an extended presence rather than a strike-and-withdraw operation.

Why it matters: The Litani River has been a de facto red line in Lebanese-Israeli tensions for decades — crossing it is a threshold, not a maneuver. Hezbollah's response, rockets reaching Haifa's outskirts and killing an IDF medical officer, shows the group still has capacity to escalate even under sustained Israeli pressure.

What to watch: Direct Israel-Lebanon talks are scheduled to resume in Washington on Tuesday, but Netanyahu's expansion order complicates any diplomatic path. A nominal ceasefire has technically been in place since April 17 — the gap between that paper agreement and what's happening on the ground has never been wider.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team