Good morning! Today’s edition is 649 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Wizards win NBA draft lottery

• Correspondence Dinner shooter plea

• Career change tips

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Today’s Big Story

Ukraine's Stolen Children

• The European Union sanctioned 16 officials and seven centers on Monday, accused of helping Russia abduct and forcibly assimilate Ukrainian children. More than 130 individuals and entities are now under EU travel bans and asset freezes over the abductions.

• Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, about 20,500 children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred to Russia or Russian-held territories. Many are stripped of their Ukrainian identity, given Russian passports, and put up for adoption. Others are sent to military camps for indoctrination or combat training. Only around 2,200 have been returned. Among those sanctioned is the head of the Red Carnation camp in occupied Crimea, accused of shaping the "political and ideological views" of Ukrainian children held there. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for personal responsibility over the abductions.

• The EU also hosted a 47-country coalition on Monday to increase diplomatic pressure on Russia. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže invoked the Genocide Convention: "Russia is trying to erase their identity — it's one of the features of the genocide crime."

Quick Hits

• President Trump said Monday he wants to suspend the federal gas tax "for a period of time" as gas prices top $4.52 a gallon, up more than 50% since the U.S.-Iran war began in February. Doing so would require Congressional approval and cost the government roughly $500 million a week. Republican lawmakers in both chambers said Monday they'll introduce suspension bills, while several Democrats had already done so. (More)

• Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old California teacher charged with trying to kill President Trump at last month's White House Correspondents' dinner, pleaded not guilty Monday in Washington. Allen, armed with guns and knives, sprinted through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on April 25, exchanging gunfire with a Secret Service agent. A grand jury later added a charge for shooting the agent. His next hearing is June 29. (More)

• The Washington Wizards won the NBA draft lottery Sunday, earning the top pick in the June 23 draft. Washington had the league’s worst record of 17-65 this season and hasn't held the No. 1 pick since selecting John Wall in 2010. The top candidates include BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Duke's Cameron Boozer, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson. (More)

• A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found Facebook repeatedly allows scam ads targeting seniors to run even after removing near-identical versions. The top 30 scam accounts generated 215 million ad impressions over the past year, 73% reaching users over 65. Meta says it removed 159 million scam ads last year. Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit Monday making similar allegations. (More)

• US existing home sales rose just 0.2% in April to an annual rate of 4.02 million units, well below the historic norm of 5.2 million. Sales have hovered near that pace since 2023. The median home price hit an all-time April high of $417,700, up 0.9% from last year. Mortgage rates and tight inventory continue to freeze out buyers, with the market in a slump since 2022. (More)

• Iran hanged a 29-year-old aerospace engineering student on Monday on espionage charges he said were fabricated. Erfan Shakourzadeh, a graduate student at Tehran's Iran University of Science and Technology, was convicted of collaborating with the CIA and Israel's Mossad. Rights groups said he was tortured into a false confession. He is the fifth person executed on espionage charges since the US-Iran war began in February. (More)

Extra Credit

Detained cartel boss had 7 tigers on his property.

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