• Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has officially declared a new state of emergency for Hungary in a Facebook video that was posted on Tuesday. Orban stated that the war in Ukraine poses “a constant threat to Hungary” and that the state of emergency would allow the Hungarian government to respond more efficiently to difficulties that arise due to the war.
• The state of emergency will allow the Hungarian government to pass laws without the involvement of the Parliament and will offer them the opportunity to temporarily digress from existing laws. This is the third state of emergency that Orban has passed while in office. Previously, Hungary dealt with a state of emergency due to the European refugee crisis as well as one declared due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Emese Pasztor of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union criticizes Orban and his government stating that another introduction of a special legal order “will become the new normal, which will threaten the fundamental rights of all us, and rule by decree will further diminish the importance of the Parliament.”
• A few have criticized the introduction of another special legal order stating that it makes Orban’s government too powerful considering that his party, the Fidesz party, already holds a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. Orban has stated in the Facebook video that the first measures will be announced on Wednesday. 

• An Iraqi citizen living in the U.S. has been arrested by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on Tuesday after he told a confidential FBI source that he had plans to assassinate former President George W. Bush. 
• Shihab Ahmed Shihab shared that he had plans to smuggle four former Baath party members into the U.S. where the men would obtain firearms for carrying out their assassination on the former president. The assassination plot was meant to be a retaliation against Bush for his connection to the 2003 invasion of Iraq which killed many Iraqis.
• Shihab first entered the US in September of 2020 on a visitor visa that the FBI Affidavit stated was obtained through “a corrupt Iraqi American contractor at the U.S. embassy.” He worked various jobs in Indiana and Ohio and traveled to Dallas in February to survey the neighborhood and home of the former president. 
• A spokesperson for Bush shared that the former president “has all the confidence in the world in the United States Secret Service and our law enforcement and intelligence communities.” Shihab is charged with aiding and abetting a plot to murder a former U.S. official and with attempting to bring an individual into the country illegally. He awaits his hearing on Friday.

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• Salvador Ramos, an 18 year old, entered Robb elementary School in Uvalde, Texas with a handgun and shot dead 14 children and a teacher before being taken down by an officer. 
• The incident occurred at 11:32 am on Tuesday May 24th, 2022. Two reporting officers have also been injured trying to capture the shooter. Ramos has been reported dead as well.  
• Ramos had also killed his grandmother right before driving to the elementary school. 
• Investigation is still taking place as the school is trying to make sure all the other students are accounted for and handed off to their parents safely. 
• President Biden is to speak on the school shooting this evening. Just this year, 2022, alone, there have been 27 school shooting incidents in the United States thus far. 

• Starbucks is leaving Russia and closing its 130 locations after fifteen years of operating there. McDonalds, Exxon Mobil and other companies made similar moves in recent weeks.
• Starbucks will pay its estimated 2,000 employees for the next six months, while also helping them find new jobs. The company has not disclosed the financial impact of these actions.
• The decision to leave Russia was made in March, with the CEO at the time, Kevin Johnson, stating that the company condems “the horrific attacks on Ukraine by Russia and our hearts go out to all those affected.”
• The US placed many economic sanctions on Russia after they invaded Ukraine, some of which make it more difficult for western companies to operate there.

• While visiting Japan, US President Joe Biden stated that the United States would militarily intervene if China were to attack Taiwan, while also drawing a parallel to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
• Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges that Taiwan is a part of China, however, this is one of the most direct statements made by a US president regarding the repercussions if an invasion were to take place.
• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressed “strong dissatisfaction” to Biden’s comments, stating that “China will take firm action to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests.”
• The US does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but provides weapons to the island, while also maintaining formal ties with China.

• A powerful thunderstorm in Southern Canada caused over 900,00 homes to lose power. Ontario’s power company Hydro One claims it would take several days to reconnect every home. 
• The strong winds of the storm destroyed trees, disrupted traffic, damaged homes, and saw emergency services swarmed with calls for help. 
• Among the casualties are four people who were killed by falling trees as well as a woman who died due to a boat capsizing in the Ottawa River.
• Firefighters and utility workers removed tangled power lines and phone poles in media circulating in Canada. The town of Uxbridge, which lies just north of Toronto, declared a state of emergency as the storm left “significant damage in its wake.”