Good Evening,
It's Wednesday, June 4th. |
Putin Plans to Retaliate
President Trump said Russia planned to retaliate against Ukraine for its surprise attack over the weekend, after speaking to President Vladimir V. Putin on the phone for more than an hour on Wednesday, as the NYT reports. |
Trump Steel Tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that’s set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further, as the AP reports. |
Iran’s Supreme Leader Rejects U.S. Nuclear Deal Offer
Iran’s supreme leader effectively rejected a U.S. proposal that allows temporary uranium enrichment in the country before ending it completely, forcing the White House to reconsider its approach as tensions mount over Iran’s nuclear program, as the WSJ reports. |
Executive Education
Sharpen your ability to lead, manage, and communicate in high-stakes environments with the CSIS Accelerator Series. Over six months, participants build critical skills in hands-on seminars led by CSIS experts and top coaches. For the 2025 program, CSIS is offering a reduced tuition rate for displaced federal employees. Learn more and apply by June 4. |
Audio Briefs
CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers, and commentaries—in their own words.
Listen here: "Russia’s Battlefield Woes in Ukraine" with CSIS's Seth G. Jones and Riley McCabe. |
In That Number
33,400
At least 33,400 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in three Canadian provinces due to active wildfires that are sending smoke drifting across the border into northern U.S. states and all the way across the Atlantic to Europe.
Source: CBS |
Critical Quote
“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”
—President Donald Trump |
iDeas Lab
New CSIS analysis unpacks Operation “Spider's Web”—a groundbreaking drone offensive that blends low-cost technology, precision targeting, and strategic planning to expose the vulnerabilities of powerful militaries and redefine the future of strategic warfare.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.![]() ![]() ![]() |
Optics
(Photo credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images.) South Korean President Lee Jae-myung takes an oath during his inauguration at the National Assembly on June 4, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. |
Recommended Reading
"Combating State Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention" by CSIS’s Jon B. Alterman and Jason Rezaian. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 9:30 a.m., the CSIS Stephenson Ocean Security Project hosts a conference to discuss ways that global security challenges arise from marine resource competition.
Later, at 2:00 p.m., the CSIS Defense and Security Department welcomes General Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the United States Army Forces Command, to discuss Army force readiness, emerging threats, and more.
Earlier, at 10:30 a.m., Brookings discusses new economic statecraft strategies for policymakers in the United States and Europe. |
Video
CSIS's Victor Cha walks through the implications of U.S. troop withdrawal, explains the history of U.S. troop commitment in Korea since 1953, and discusses President Trump's inaction over North Korea's provocations. Watch the full video here. |
Podcasts
In this episode, we discuss House Republicans’ proposed moratorium on state and local AI laws, break down AI-related appropriations across the executive branch, and unpack the safety issues and safeguards of Anthropic's newest model, Claude Opus 4.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
I always welcome your feedback and am grateful for it! As I’ve been posting tracks this week from the new Grateful Dead 60th anniversary album, “The Music Never Stopped,” I’ve received some very high quality and, yes, even scholarly feedback. Early this morning, I heard from a senior and respected Deadhead who addressed my comment from yesterday that I love the late 1980s version of the Dead. The senior Deadhead correctly pointed out that the band’s very best years were the early '70s and late '70s. I’ve been schooled and I wholeheartedly agree!
The anniversary record culls tracks from many different eras of the band’s performances and I love them all. My favorite year is probably 1977, and the collection offers up a ripping version of “Brown Eyed Women” from March 1977 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. |
| I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz |
