Morning Briefing — June 6, 2026

World News

US military shoots down Iranian drones near Strait of Hormuz, strikes radar sites — The US military said it shot down four Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and then struck coastal surveillance radar sites in response, threatening a fragile ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran. CBC

Air leak on ISS forces astronauts to shelter for two hours — A worsening air leak aboard the International Space Station prompted five astronauts to take shelter and prepare for possible evacuation for roughly two hours on Friday as Russia attempted to fix a crack on its portion of the orbital lab, NASA said. CBC

Trump cancels Freedom 250 concerts after artists pull out — President Donald Trump has cancelled the planned Freedom 250 concerts on the National Mall marking the US 250th anniversary after many original artists dropped out, promising instead to hold what he called the greatest rally ever. CBC

Iran threatens retaliation if Israel strikes Beirut again — Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that if Beirut were attacked by Israel, Tehran would consider the ceasefire broken and its armed forces would respond. The comments came as US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon took place in Washington and Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least eight people. CNN

US Senate passes $70B immigration enforcement bill — The Senate passed legislation early Friday to fund President Trump's immigration enforcement agencies after weeks of delays, having dropped a controversial $1.776 billion settlement fund tied to January 6 supporters that had threatened to derail the bill. NPR

Visa rejections and Iran war keep fans away from World Cup — High visa application fees, steep US rejection rates and the ongoing war with Iran are combining to deter foreign fans from attending the 2026 World Cup matches in North America, Al Jazeera reports. Al Jazeera

Xavier Becerra advances to California governor general election — Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has advanced to California's gubernatorial general election after the Associated Press called the race Friday, setting up a contest with Republican Steve Hilton. Fox News

Business

Canadian economy adds 88,000 jobs in May, easing recession fears — Canada's economy added 88,000 jobs in May, the first significant employment gain since November 2025, driven largely by construction (26,800 jobs) and information, culture and recreation (19,300 jobs). The figures help offset earlier job losses and may quiet talk of a technical recession after two quarters of GDP contraction. CBC

Carney says world is in an 'energy crisis' and Canada must help solve it — Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed Canada's technical recession this week, characterising the economy as in a 'settling-in' period, and told New York business leaders that Canada can help solve a global energy crisis while strengthening trade talks with the US. CBC

World food prices slip in May but remain near three-year high, FAO says — The FAO Food Price Index averaged 130.8 points in May, 0.2% below April's revised figure but 2.9% higher than a year earlier, remaining near its highest level since January 2023. Vegetable oil prices fell for the first time this year, while cereals and sugar rose, with wheat up for a fourth straight month on smaller export harvest prospects. Reuters

Alphabet raises $80 billion to fund AI spending, with $10B from Berkshire — Google parent Alphabet is raising $80 billion through a package of equity offerings to fund growing AI spending plans, including a $40 billion at-the-market share program, $30 billion in underwritten offerings, and a $10 billion deal with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Bloomberg

Broadcom's AI chip outlook disappoints, dragging chip sector lower — Wall Street rotated out of chipmakers after Broadcom's underwhelming AI chip sales forecast tested the AI trade. Broadcom shares fell the most since January 2025, dragging the semiconductor sector gauge down 2.2%, though about 360 S&P 500 firms rose as investors moved into other industries. Bloomberg

Money-market funds top $8 trillion as investors seek shelter — Amid uncertainty about interest rates, the Iran war and energy prices, the record pile of cash held in US money-market funds has topped $8 trillion, Bloomberg reports, as retail investors choose to sit out a market trading near record highs. Bloomberg

Ambassador Bridge owners plan cross-border concrete expansion into Canada — The wealthy family behind the Ambassador Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan is planning to expand its controversial concrete empire across the border into Canada, according to records reviewed by CBC News. CBC

Technology

Nvidia unveils new AI processor for PCs, sending Dell and HP higher — Nvidia shares climbed more than 6% after CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the RTX Spark Superchip at Computex in Taipei, a new processor for personal computers. Dell Technologies and HP rose more than 10% and 8% respectively, while Intel fell more than 6% as its PC chip dominance is challenged. CNBC

EU unveils digital sovereignty plan with new Chips and Cloud/AI Acts — Brussels introduced a broad plan to strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty, including a follow-up to the EU Chips Act and a Cloud and AI Development Act. The package aims to reduce reliance on US and Chinese tech providers while supporting domestic cloud, AI and semiconductor capacity. Financial Times

Up to half of planned US AI data centres may miss 2026 targets — Analyses indicate 30-50% of roughly 140 planned US data centres targeting 16 GW of capacity may miss 2026 timelines or be cancelled outright, with multi-year waits for transformers, batteries and grid connections, plus local opposition over energy and water use, as primary bottlenecks. Financial Times

Anthropic confidentially files for US IPO — AI company Anthropic, the maker of Claude, filed confidentially for an initial public offering, less than a week after raising $65 billion in funding at a $965 billion valuation. The filing comes as several major stock index providers have changed rules excluding unprofitable companies. CBC

Focused Energy raises $240M for laser fusion as AI power demand surges — Fusion start-up Focused Energy raised a $240 million Series A round to advance its laser-powered fusion technology, bringing total private capital to about $300 million plus $200 million in grants. Investor interest in fusion is growing as AI data centres intensify demand for clean, reliable power. TechCrunch

STMicroelectronics doubles data centre revenue target on AI demand — STMicroelectronics shares rose after the company raised its data centre revenue target to $1 billion for 2026, double its earlier estimate, with the possibility of another doubling in 2027. The shift shows the AI infrastructure boom is broadening beyond Nvidia to a wider semiconductor supply chain. Barron's

Ohio suspends data centre tax incentive amid grid backlash — Ohio suspended a major tax incentive for data centres after projected exemption costs surged sharply, and residents are pushing a ballot measure that could ban hyperscale data centres statewide, illustrating the rising political cost of AI infrastructure expansion. Associated Press

Renewable Energy

UK's 7th carbon budget will deliver £865bn in economic benefits, CCC says — The UK's seventh carbon budget will deliver an estimated £865 billion in economic benefits, including £445 billion in savings on oil and gas imports, although major investments are needed to capture those rewards. Figures are presented relative to a 'no net-zero' counterfactual. Carbon Brief

Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for first time — Renewables overtook coal in global electricity generation across 2025, marking the first time coal accounted for less than a third of global power, according to Ember analysis covered by Carbon Brief. Growth in clean power has now tipped fossil fuel generation into outright decline despite rising demand. Carbon Brief

Wind and solar saved UK from £1.7bn of gas imports since Iran war began — Carbon Brief analysis finds that record wind and solar output have spared Britain from £1.7 billion of gas imports since the start of the Iran war, with March 2026 alone saving £1 billion as renewables broke generation records. Carbon Brief

BHP files leak: world's biggest miner war-gamed delays to climate plans — Internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC's Four Corners reveal that BHP has halted or delayed projects to cut emissions in its Western Australian iron ore operations, and has explored pushing major climate investments into the next two decades despite public commitments to decarbonise. Guardian

Solar, wind and EVs have ruled out worst-case climate scenario, scientists say — Climate scientists say the transition from fossil fuels to clean technologies means the long-feared RCP8.5 'business-as-usual' scenario is now implausible. The best case is slipping out of reach, but a roughly 3.5°C warming pathway is now more likely than the previous 5°C extreme. Yale Climate Connections

BloombergNEF: 4.5 TW of new wind and solar expected globally by 2030 — BloombergNEF projects 4.5 terawatts of new wind and solar installations over the next five years, a 67% increase on the preceding period, with even the US set to add 336 GW of wind, solar and storage in 2026-30 despite policy headwinds. BloombergNEF

Canada's 2026 wildfire season off to slow start but risks mount — Officials report 65 active wildfires across Canada with six out of control and about 18,935 hectares burned so far, less than 5% of the 10-year average, but forecasts of above-normal temperatures for June-August and persistent drought in the west mean fire danger is building, with B.C. facing the highest sustained risk. CBC

Soil Science

Flesh-eating New World screwworm confirmed in Texas calf — The USDA confirmed the first US detection of New World screwworm in decades after the parasite was identified in larvae in the umbilical area of a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. A 20 km infested zone, quarantines and accelerated sterile-fly releases have been deployed to prevent establishment of a pest that could cost the cattle economy billions. CNN

Texas quarantine zone established as screwworm response ramps up — The Texas Animal Health Commission issued a Modified Executive Director Order on June 5 designating Zavala and Uvalde counties as Infested Zone 01, restricting movement of warm-blooded animals out of the area without inspection and movement certificates as federal and state teams coordinate response. Texas Animal Health Commission

US farm groups warn of 150% fertilizer price spike — A joint letter from US farm organisations highlights a 150% surge in fertilizer prices and calls on the Trump administration for immediate relief for a struggling US farm economy already pressured by trade disputes and weather extremes, AgWeb reports. AgWeb

FAO projects 2% drop in 2026/27 world cereal production — In its latest cereal supply report, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said it expects world cereal production, including milled rice, to shrink 2% to 2.98 billion tons in 2026/27, with production of all major cereals anticipated to decline from 2025's record levels — wheat seeing the largest fall and maize and barley the smallest. Reuters/FAO

FAO launches $2.5bn global appeal to put agriculture back in food crisis response — FAO's first Global Emergency and Resilience Appeal seeks $2.5 billion to assist more than 100 million people across 54 countries in 2026, arguing that each dollar invested in a farmer's field produces about $3 in local food value yet only 5% of relevant funding currently supports food production. FAO

New review: regenerative practices boost soil carbon but results vary by region — A review of hundreds of studies finds that regenerative agriculture practices reliably raise soil organic carbon and improve soil function, but with wide variation across climates, soil types and farming systems. Researchers caution that headline-grabbing yield or carbon gains tend to be exceptional rather than typical. Regenerative Agriculture Summit

Soil microplastics found to reshape microbial genes, threatening ecosystem stability — A new scientific review led by Jiangsu University concludes that microplastics in farmland soils — accumulated from plastic mulch, sewage sludge and irrigation — alter microbial gene activity, nutrient cycling and earthworm health, with implications for soil fertility, climate regulation and long-term agricultural sustainability. The Microbiologist

Study finds soil nitrogen secret that can double forest regrowth — Research published in Nature Communications by University of Leeds-led scientists shows that nitrogen availability in soil plays a major role in how quickly tropical forests regrow after clearance, with nitrogen-fixing trees accelerating carbon sequestration during reforestation. ScienceDaily

Cover photo by Mikelya Fournier on Unsplash.