At the top of the Obama Presidential Center, in its sunlit Sky Room is where you’re meant to take it all in. The panoramic views are impressive: Surrounding the campus is Chicago’s South and West Sides, as well as the ultramarine of Lake Michigan. But, more than that, it’s a moment to pause after scaling several floors of history and Barack Obama’s political legacy — not-too-distant memories for many. Overhead, a monumental artwork by the artist Idris Khan gives the illusion of continued ascent. Words from President Obama’s famed remarks in Selma, Alabama, are stamped and overlapping, sloping upwards as a swath of blue until they reach a rim of light. In Selma, and elsewhere, the former president often spoke about collectively shaping destiny. And that seems to be the final note as you climb up through the museum: the unwritten, wide-open future. On June 19, coinciding with Juneteenth, the highly anticipated center will finally open to the public. It’s been in the works for more than a decade, and cost $850 million to build — a number that kept growing, becoming by far the most expensive presidential library in history.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/style/obama-presidential-center-first-look-inside
French-Iranian artist and activist Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel “Persepolis” brought home the struggle of the Iranian people to millions around the world, has died. She was 56. A statement from the Élysée Palace announcing her death Thursday lauded Satrapi’s work, saying her work “captivated a global audience.” “Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure in French culture and an artist deeply committed to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim,” the Élysée said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/style/marjane-satrapi-persepolis-author-dies-intl
A case of flesh-eating New World screwworm has been detected in South Texas, the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. It is the first time this parasitic fly – whose larvae feed exclusively on the tissue of warm-blooded animals – has been detected in US livestock in decades. Although it is not a food safety issue, an infestation can be a food production issue. It could cost the economy billions and raise the price of beef a time when Americans are already paying record high prices. The USDA says its National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, tested a sample from the case in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, and confirmed Wednesday that it was New World screwworm. The agency has activated personnel on the ground in Texas to contain and eradicate the parasite, including a 20-kilometer infested zone and implementation of quarantines, movement controls and surveillance in the area. It’s also expediting targeted release of sterile flies, which are used to overwhelm fertile flies in the area to limit spread.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/03/health/new-world-screwworm-case-texas
More than a dozen GOP lawmakers defied their own leadership — and President Donald Trump — by voting with Democrats to approve a major bill to deliver billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine while imposing steep sanctions on Russia. The House voted 226 to 195 to approve the package, which cracks down on Russia with new oil and gas sanctions, in its first big pro-Ukraine measure of Trump’s second term. Speaker Mike Johnson has urged his members to oppose the measure, arguing in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that they should give Trump space to negotiate with Russia, according to a person in that meeting.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/politics/house-vote-ukraine-russia-bill