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🇧🇾 Belarus frees prisoners as sanctions ease on potash exports. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko abruptly pardoned 123 political prisoners. They include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and jailed protest leader Maria Kolesnikova. Their release followed two days of talks with American envoy John Coale in Minsk. In return, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarus’s vital potash fertilizer exports. Belarus once supplied about 20% of global potash shipments before Western penalties bit. Officials say more than 200 prisoners have been freed since 2024 as part of this outreach. Rights advocates warn that over 1,000 detainees remain jailed.

🇭🇺 Hungarian crowds protest alleged child abuse in state care. Tens of thousands marched in Budapest as opposition leader Klára Dobrev accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government of covering up child abuse. Demonstrators filled Kossuth Square outside Parliament, carrying stuffed animals and children’s shoes. The protest followed reports of systematic abuse in state juvenile institutions and children’s homes. Dobrev demanded an independent inquiry and resignations in the Ministry of Human Resources. Orbán’s Fidesz party denied a cover-up and blamed what it called isolated failures. Advocates say complaints were ignored or buried over the years. They argue the scandal exposes how weakened checks and balances have become.

🚨 Brown University reels after deadly campus shooting. Police locked down Brown University in Providence after a shooter killed two people and wounded nine on campus. Officers in tactical gear swept dormitories and classroom buildings for hours. Authorities said the gunfire erupted near a quad as students prepared for final exams. Brown President Christina Paxson urged students to shelter in place while investigators searched for a suspect. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley described scenes of students fleeing libraries and laboratories. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state police joined local detectives processing evidence. Families across Rhode Island rushed to campus, refreshing phones for any scrap of news.

🎓 History of college shootings shadows new tragedy. An updated list of deadly college shootings shows exam weeks sharing space with active shooter drills. The chronology starts in 1966 with the University of Texas tower attack. It highlights the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, where a student killed 32 people and wounded 17. Another entry recounts the 2008 Northern Illinois University shooting that left five dead in a lecture hall. More recent cases include attacks at Umpqua Community College and Santa Monica College. Researchers note many gunmen had documented mental health or disciplinary problems. The list’s release after Brown University’s tragedy sharpens calls for campus safety reforms.

🎂 Dick Van Dyke hits 100 with a hometown parade. Comedy legend Dick Van Dyke marked his 100th birthday with a parade in his Illinois hometown. The performer is best known for The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Poppins. He told fans that staying curious and moving daily helped him reach triple digits. Van Dyke’s career spans more than 75 years on stage, television and film. He has collected Emmy, Tony and Grammy awards while remaining a familiar face in reruns. Younger viewers discovered him through late career cameos and a masked singer performance. Friends say his longevity offers rare continuity in an industry built on reinvention.

🧴 Jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $40M in talc case. A Los Angeles jury ordered Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) to pay $40M to two women. They alleged decades of talc powder use caused their ovarian cancer. Jurors reviewed competing expert testimony on asbestos contamination and medical causation. Johnson & Johnson has faced tens of thousands of similar suits worldwide. The company stopped selling talc based baby powder in 2023 after falling demand. Executives insist independent studies show the products are safe and promise an appeal. Plaintiffs’ lawyers point to an earlier $966M California verdict as evidence juries are turning.

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That’s all for today!

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