5 Big News Stories Overnight - Tuesday, June 9, 2026

U.K.: Billions in aid handed to terrorists and criminals

The Telegraph investigation finds:

Terrorists, hostile states and gangsters have been given more than £28bn of taxpayers’ money, including through aid payments, according to a secret government report.

The Telegraph can reveal details of a dossier showing that billions of pounds went to organised crime, with millions going to Russia and Islamic State.

It demonstrates that foreign aid and Covid relief loans were appropriated on a vast scale by Britain’s enemies, with the money beyond reach and those who took it unpunished.

More than £28bn ended up in the hands of those wishing to harm Britain between 2015 and 2021, according to the report, which was commissioned and produced by the Cabinet Office but was buried during the previous government.

OpenAI confidentially files for US IPO as AI boom drives investor frenzy

France 24 reports:

ChatGPT maker OpenAI confidentially filed for a US initial public offering recently, the company said on Monday, joining rival Anthropic in a push towards the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.

OpenAI did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, and said a timeline has not yet been determined. "It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," it said in a statement. Reuters had reported that the AI giant is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a stock market debut that could come as early as September.

At that valuation, OpenAI would set the stage for a trio of trillion-dollar-valuation companies debuting rapidly, which together are seen as the most consequential test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in the last 10 years.

Iran’s Attack on Israel Reveals New and Aggressive Regional Ambitions

WSJ reports:

Iran’s series of ballistic-missile salvos aimed at Israel signal Tehran’s desire to project power across the region, put Washington on the defensive and demonstrate that it retains significant strike capabilities despite the intense air campaign waged against it by the U.S. and Israel.

Tehran’s leaders appear to be gambling that missile attacks and President Trump’s desire to keep a possible peace deal on track will pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back his offensive against the Iranian allied-Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, after Israel launched an airstrike in Beirut on Sunday.

After a series of tit-for-tat exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran, Tehran said Monday it had ceased its attacks but warned that they would resume and could widen if Israel continued to strike, including in southern Lebanon. Israel also ended its attacks on Iran but would continue to operate against Hezbollah, including in the south, a person familiar with the matter said.

Texas: Ken Paxton’s Former Lawyer Endorses His Democratic Opponent

The New York Times reports:

A Houston lawyer who defended Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas against criminal charges, and represented him during his 2023 impeachment trial, has endorsed Mr. Paxton’s Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate race, James Talarico.

The lawyer, Dan Cogdell, said Mr. Paxton had “lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.” Mr. Cogdell argued that Mr. Talarico prioritized “unity over division” and could bring together Democrats and some Republicans, and that “we need that right now.”

Mr. Cogdell announced the endorsement on Monday in a podcast interview with Mr. Talarico that was recorded last month — the day after Mr. Paxton won the Republican primary over Senator John Cornyn.

Washington: Republicans hope Trump retreats on Pulte to save spy law

Politico reports:

The Trump administration and congressional Democrats are locked in a high-stakes stalemate that’s dramatically increasing the likelihood that a major government surveillance program will expire.

Democrats have coalesced behind an ultimatum: They won’t support a reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as long as Bill Pulte, an ally of President Donald Trump with no national security experience, remains acting director of national intelligence. The White House is standing by Pulte, at least publicly, while accusing Democrats of holding the spy power “hostage” and putting the country’s “national security at risk.”

Congressional Republicans are largely leaving it to the administration to figure out a path forward after Trump’s decision to tap Pulte as Tulsi Gabbard’s temporary successor derailed an earlier agreement to extend the key spy authority for three years.

PHOTO: Faraz, Unsplash