National News at a Glance

Spending Millions, Democrats Scramble to Salvage Big Races in a Blue State

National Democrats, confronting political chaos across Southern California, are pouring millions of dollars into congressional races to avert a self-inflicted disaster that could undermine their chances at taking control of the House. After months of optimism that the state’s June 5 primary would position them to pick off seven Republican-held districts in November, Democrats are now trying to ensure that they do not hurt themselves because of their crowded slates of candidates. The party’s fear is that the vote will be splintered, allowing Republicans to dominate some primaries. The party and allied groups are spending more than $4 million on just three campaigns.

Trump Says Times Used Fake Source

President Donald Trump falsely accused The New York Times on Saturday of making up a source in an article about North Korea, even though the source was in fact a senior White House official speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room. The president was referring to an article about the summit meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea. Trump posted on Twitter to denounce part of the article saying “a senior White House official told reporters that even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.”

Alan Bean, 4th Person to Walk on the Moon, Dies at 86

Alan Bean, who became the fourth man to walk on the moon and turned to painting years later to tell the story of NASA’s Apollo missions as they began receding into history, died Saturday at Houston Methodist Hospital. He was 86. His death was announced by his family in a statement released by NASA. Bean stepped onto the lunar surface preceded by Pete Conrad, the mission commander of their Apollo 12 flight, in November 1969. He is survived by his second wife, Leslie, and by a son, Clay, and a daughter, Amy Sue, from his marriage to his first wife, Sue.

‘Reparations Happy Hour’ Invites White People to Pay for Drinks

In Portland, Oregon, organizers of the “Reparations Happy Hour” invited black, brown and indigenous people to a bar and gave them $10 as they arrived, a small but symbolic gift mostly funded by white people who didn’t attend. While it was far from the full reparations sought by some as penance for the horrors of slavery and racial injustice, organizer Cameron Whitten said there was one similarity: It made attendees feel as if their pain was understood. Brown Hope, a local organization, wanted people of color in a mostly white city to gather, discuss policy issues and plan potential action.

Google Doesn’t Hate Owls. It Just Loves Cats.

Burrowing owls, a species of “special concern," seem to be on the menu for feral cats in Shoreline Park, Mountain View, California. Environmentalists say the cats' base might be the local Google campus, the Googleplex. An employee group there called GCat Rescue traps the cats around the Googleplex. Kittens and friendly adults are put up for adoption. Less-friendly adult cats are neutered and released. GCat’s website says it has placed 148 cats for adoption. It does not say how many have been released. The city’s wildlife biologist said he was worried about the cats’ “significant impacts” on protected species, “especially burrowing owls.”

The Places in the United States Where Disaster Strikes Again and Again

In the last 16 years, parts of Louisiana have been struck by six hurricanes. Areas near San Diego were devastated by three particularly vicious wildfire seasons. And a town in eastern Kentucky has been pummeled by at least nine storms severe enough to warrant federal assistance. These places are part of a small fraction of the United States that has suffered most of the damage from major natural disasters. About 90 percent of the total losses across the United States occurred in ZIP codes that contain less than 20 percent of the population, an analysis from the Small Business Administration found.