The Supreme Court allowed removal of Venezuelans’ temporary protected status in the United States. TPS is a legal designation involving countries affected by war, natural disaster, or other catastrophe, giving recipients deportation protection and access to work permits. The Trump administration terminated TPS for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians in April. 

Separately, the U.S. has sent 68 immigrants from Honduras and Colombia back to their countries in the first government-funded flight of what the administration is calling voluntary deportations. – Reuters, The Associated Press
Related Monitor story: Last month, we looked at how controversial immigration actions are possible partly because the president is enforcing existing, but rarely used, laws.

The U.K. and the EU agreed on a post-Brexit “reset.” A series of deals announced Monday will ease border checks on food exports, extend fishing rights for EU vessels in U.K. waters, and strengthen defense collaboration. Both sides also agreed to make it easier for young Europeans to live, study, and work across borders. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to jump-start a sluggish economy four years after the United Kingdom left the 27-member bloc. His political foes attacked the deal as favoring the European Union, a reminder of the divisions stirred by Brexit. – Staff

The U.S. Justice Department charged a lawmaker. The immigration debate has reached a showdown over separation of powers. The Justice Department says it’s charging a New Jersey congresswoman with assault following a confrontation at an immigrant detention center in Newark. While members of Congress are allowed to conduct oversight at immigration facilities by law, “that is not at issue in this case,” U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said on Monday. Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver called the accusation against her “purely political.” – Staff 

Russia banned Amnesty International. Authorities called the group an “undesirable organization,” a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations – including sharing its reports on social media – a criminal offense. The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists, and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. – The Associated Press

The head of CBS News said she will step down. Wendy McMahon told staffers in a memo, “It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” Ms. McMahon called the past few months challenging. In October, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS alleging the network deceptively edited an interview with Kamala Harris. The case entered mediation in April. Also last month, Bill Owens, executive producer of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program, said he was leaving over concerns about editorial independence. – Reuters

Another round of tornadoes struck the central U.S. At least four tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma and Nebraska on Monday evening, thousands lost power in several states, and homes were destroyed. The National Weather Service has warned of thunderstorms on the Plains, heavy mountain snow in the West, and dangerous heat in the South. St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson suggested inviting in neighbors if their homes were in questionable condition. “It’s going to take your help,” he said during a May 18 news conference, “to get through this next wave of storms.” – AP

After George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020, many Americans started to reexamine their communities and themselves. Five years later, many of those efforts toward recognition and solidarity have dissipated. But cities, towns, and streets across America have changed in ways both better and worse. In Kansas City, Missouri, residents still confront a wall of racial separation, but haven’t given up on progress. “If evil can perpetuate itself,” says Chris Goode, who owns Ruby Jean’s Juicery, “so, too, can the fight against it.”

Behind President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful tax bill” lies some ugly budget math. Tariffs and taxation of the wealthy may raise only 10% of what the United States needs in cuts. Cuts by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, are proving less effective as well in reducing the ongoing deficits. Hard choices are looming. Our senior economics correspondent, Laurent Belsie, looks at the numbers.

Some of Pakistan’s madrassas, or Islamic seminaries, have developed a reputation of being “nurseries of extremism,” radicalizing young, disenfranchised men. The madrassa system has been linked to high-profile members of the Taliban, and is blamed for bolstering the insurgency in India-occupied Kashmir. As the India-Pakistan conflict brings these schools back into the spotlight, Pakistan is trying to improve their quality with new regulations.

The Defense Department’s school system for children of U.S. service members is a source of pride for many military parents. But as these schools ban books the Trump administration doesn’t like, a small and growing chorus of protest underscores increasing concern that they’re being used as a political proving ground – and that education will suffer. A group of parents filed a lawsuit last month against the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, alleging the military is “quarantining” library books in a manner that amounts to censorship.

A gang-member-turned-tour-guide in Nairobi, Kenya, wants others to know that with the right support, any life can change for the better. He shared his story with staff writer Erika Page. “In the streets, I had been a big fish,” he told her. “When I got to prison, I was a small fish. There you only have two options. It changes your life, or you grow worse. I thought of my mom. It had been seven years since we had been in contact. I wasn’t ready to become worse. ... I made up my mind. I decided to change.”

Much of Europe seemed surprised Sunday night after the big election victory of Nicuşor Dan as Romania’s next president. It shouldn’t have been. Yes, a hard-right nationalist candidate appeared to be ahead in the polls. But the tipoff that Mr. Dan would win was right there in his campaign slogan: “Honest Romania.”

With a doctorate in mathematics, the independent politician had done his math. Last year, a poll of young Romanians ages 18 to 24 showed that 72% see corruption as their country’s main problem in the next decade. That strong desire among young people for honest and transparent government helped push voter turnout in the election to a record level.

In a victory speech, Mr. Dan, the mayor of the capital, Bucharest, said the election proved the “incredible power” of Romanian society. He should know. He was once an anti-corruption civic activist, fighting against illegal real estate projects. In a 2021 survey, Romania ranked first within the European Union for bribery offered for public services.

Now as incoming president, Mr. Dan plans to ensure that rule of law puts “public institutions back at the service of the citizen.” Among other reforms, he wants to digitize the tax authority to ensure fair taxation and end political favoritism by modernizing state-owned companies, which he says are “monopolized by interest groups.”

Romania is not alone among southeastern Europe countries in dealing with young voters who want graft-busting leaders. Surveys of youth have found similarly high levels of anti-corruption fervor in the region. Such sentiments help build a core defense against Russia’s attempts to restore its imperialist influence. Trust in democracy starts with trust in the honesty of leaders.