KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Sunday, May 31st. The time is 6 AM Central. I'm Keli, with Hast.
HAST Good morning. We're leading with what the president told Reuters about Iran — and what the rest of the newsroom did with that statement.
KELI The dispatch at Inkwell flags this: On the record, the president said to Reuters that he personally has to be involved in picking Iran's next supreme leader, and he named Venezuela as the model — where he says he personally installed Delcy Rodriguez after the capture of Maduro in January. He added that "the attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates." The editorial takeaway is plain: the president of the United States told a major wire service he was selecting another country's government. Most coverage treated it as a war update. That framing misses the structural shift — we're not reading about intervention anymore; we're reading about direct appointment. Watch for three things in the coming days: whether Congress holds hearings on what "being involved in the appointment" means legally, whether international coverage picks up the Venezuela precedent he cited himself, and whether the Iranian government responds to being told their succession is now a U.S. decision. That's the counter-read.
HAST Still heavy on the Gulf. Iran and the US report another round of strikes around the Strait of Hormuz — the third escalation wave we've seen in a week. Al Jazeera reports U.S. bombers hit Qeshm and Goruk; Iran says it's responding to the earlier strikes. Kuwait is reporting missile and drone attacks in its waters. France has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting, citing Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Tehran's position remains that talks with Washington continue, even as both sides move ordnance.
KELI Different front now. Colombia held its presidential first round last night, and it's headed to a runoff. The tough-on-crime outsider, Aberaldo de la Espriella, took the lead. He'll face off against Iván Cepeda, who's aligned with the outgoing president, Gustavo Petro. The second round is set for June 21st. Early read: voters shifted toward the harder line on crime, which tracks with what we're seeing in other Latin American races — the Petro coalition underperformed despite incumbency.
HAST Lighter footing for this one. Poland's seaside resort town of Hel — yes, Hel — is getting its bus service number back. The 666 bus route was previously scrapped after Christian groups objected to the number. It's been revived. The BBC notes this is the third time we've covered the story, so there's something about the naming that keeps landing for European outlets.
KELI Before we close, a history note.
HAST On this day in 1973, the U.S. Senate voted to cut off funding for bombing campaigns inside Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
KELI That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back this evening. From Inkwell.