Hard Numbers: Newsom goes national, CDC reinstates DOGE’d employees, & More

​California Governor Gavin Newsom at the Clinton Elementary School in Compton, California, USA, on June 5, 2025.

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks as he announces the Golden State Literacy Plan and deployment of literacy coaches statewide, at the Clinton Elementary School in Compton, California, USA, on June 5, 2025.

REUTERS/Daniel Cole

8: California Governor Gavin Newsom posted an eight-minute video on social media Tuesday night in which he berated US President Donald Trump for sending federal troops into Los Angeles to support local police amid protests and riots against immigration enforcement. Newsom has been increasingly positioning himself as a national-level opponent of Trump.

450: The US Centers for Disease Control has reinstated 450 employees who were terminated in the recent rounds of DOGE-led layoffs, which cut 10,000 federal health workers. The reinstated employees work in a range of areas, including STD prevention, global health, environmental health, and lead poisoning prevention.

30 billion: Canada needs to invest at least $30 billion in its critical minerals industry by 2040 if it hopes to meet rising demand stoked by the green energy transition. Critical minerals such as lithium and copper are key components of electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels. Industry leaders say permitting needs to be streamlined as well.

4: Formula 1 driver Max Verstappenwill attempt to win a record fourth consecutive Canadian Grand Prix when the race roars through the notoriously brake-heavy course on Montreal’s Île Notre-Dame this Sunday.

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Tensions in the Middle East escalate as Israel launches a surprise military strike against Iran, prompting international concern and speculation about broader conflict. In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer calls Israel’s strike on Iran “a huge success for the Israelis” and a significant blow to Iran’s regional influence.

Iranian policemen monitor an area near a residential complex that is damaged in Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2025.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto

Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities Thursday night, causing “significant damage” at the country’s main enrichment plant, killing leading Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists, and sparking fears that the Middle East is on the verge of a wider war.

A tank on display at a park in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025, two days ahead of a military parade commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.

Kyodo via Reuters Connect

The official reason for this weekend’s military parade in Washington DC is to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Army – but the occasion also just happens to fall on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.