The Strait is Closed Again, Says Tehran. Feeling Nauseous, Marketeers? Blame Trump’s Whiplash and Israel’s Provocacias

June 20, 2026

This back-and-forth is making me seasick, man 

As global shipping, oil markets, and diplomatic efforts to end the wider Middle East conflict are all directly impacted by the uncertainty over whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or not, Iran's latest announcement underscores how fragile the ceasefire deal remains, particularly as fighting linked to Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate.

Trump ‘totally fabricated’ claim she begged him for a photo, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni says

June 19, 2026, 7:20 AM PDT / Updated June 19, 2026, 10:32 AM PDT

By Claudio Lavanga and Elmira Aliieva

ROME — This time, Giorgia Meloni was quick to fire back: “Italy and I never beg.” Clearly irked at President Donald Trump’s suggestion that she had “begged” him for a photo at the Group of Seven summit earlier this week, the Italian prime minister said this was “totally fabricated.”

Back to Square One: War Wins This Round, the Deal is Off

June 18, 2026

"Told you so, Donny boy!"

The hope for peace lasted only a few days before the Israelis and Iran's proxies shattered it completely. Staff members for U.S. Vice President JD Vance were already at Joint Base Andrews, prepared to fly to a critical diplomatic summit in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. They just needed to implement a peace deal with Iran that everyone knew was not in Israel's favor. For the first time in this joint American-Israeli venture, which has shocked the world with its bloodshed, Israel was seemingly abandoned by "The Boss." Then, Vance's trip was abruptly canceled.

Trump administration quietly shifts $352M in federal funds for White House ballroom

Story by Joseph Gedeon in Washington
• 2h ago • 3 min read
The Guardian

Donald Trump’s administration has quietly redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the president’s controversial White House ballroom project, despite repeated promises by Trump that the construction would be financed by private donations

AP Exclusive: Bernie Sanders unveils plan to give the public direct ownership of AI companies

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Updated 1:00 PM PDT, June 17, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — As artificial intelligence companies reshape the economy and race toward trillion-dollar valuations, Sen. Bernie Sanders is proposing a sweeping transfer of wealth and power from the industry to the American public. The legislation, shown first to The Associated Press, would create a sovereign wealth fund overseen by an independent commission and financed through a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the largest AI companies. Sanders estimates that the tax would create a nearly $7 trillion fund that would generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually in direct payments to Americans and programs such as health care, education and housing.

China Shock 2.0: Surging Chinese exports threaten Europe’s economy, raising concern at G7 summit

By PAUL WISEMAN, 

ELAINE KURTENBACH and 

DAVID MCHUGH
June 15, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — For eight years, the United States has waged economic war on China, slapping big taxes on Chinese products before they enter America.
But the campaign hasn’t dented China’s industrial prowess.
The world’s second biggest economy is exporting more products than ever. It’s just redirecting them away from the U.S. tariff wall and toward more open markets in Europe and elsewhere in Asia.

The Middle East Power Paradox

How the Iran War Will Transform 

America’s Military Role

Dana Stroul

July/August 2026 

Published on June 16, 2026

Throughout the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Washington has relished the display of its conventional military superiority. President Donald Trump’s administration has boasted of its quantitative achievements: before the April 8 cease-fire, the United States alone flew more than 10,000 air sorties, hit over 130,000 targets, and intercepted 1,700 Iranian missiles and drones. According to U.S. Central Command, the campaign demolished more than 85 percent of the facilities that Tehran used to produce missiles and drones, sank the majority of Iran’s naval vessels, and eliminated 70 percent of its missile launch infrastructure.

CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7

Published Wed, Jun 17 2026

1:29 PM EDT Updated 5 Hours Ago
Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Key Points

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI coalition at a closed-door meeting at the G7 summit on Wednesday.
• Around a dozen tech execs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, joined heads of state to discuss opportunities and challenges around AI.
• Recent releases of powerful AI models with advanced cyber capabilities prompted fresh concerns from businesses and governments around digital security weaknesses.

After Months of War, Trump Says Iran Has Right to Nuclear Program

Hafiz Rashid

June 17, 2026/2:55 p.m. ET

Trump now says it’s just “common sense” for Iran to have a nuclear program

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President Trump said Wednesday that Iran could have its own nuclear program.

“It is a little hard that when you say that somebody wants it, other people have it, other adjoining states have it, and you’re not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. It’s always a little tough. You have to use a little common sense,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

French intelligence agency drops far-right AI war firm Palantir

by Joe Glenton 17 June 2026 in Analysis, Global Reading Time: 3 mins read

France’s internal security agency has ended its contract with AI war firm Palantir. Prime minister Sebastian Lecornu said French rival firm ChapVision would work with the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) moving forward.

AXIOS: U.S. and Iran sign deal ahead of schedule, sources say

Barak Ravid

The U.S. and Iran have remotely signed their memorandum of understanding to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and the agreement is now in effect, two U.S. officials told Axios.

Trump upends careful compromise on intel chief, plunging GOP into disarray

By Sarah Ferris, Ted Barrett, Kevin Liptak
Updated 43 min ago

Geneva — Republicans on Capitol Hill believed they’d found a way to dump President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for temporary intelligence chief — while defusing a major fight with Democrats over a significant national security bill. Then came Trump’s middle-of-the-night missive from Switzerland.

Israel launches fresh airstrikes in Lebanon; Trump says he could still restart war

By Steve Holland and Jihed Abidellaoui

Wed, June 17, 2026 at 9:30 AM PDT

REUTERS

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/NABATIEH, Lebanon, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his new ceasefire agreement with Iran was not final and he could resume the war if he is unsatisfied, even as Israel launched fresh airstrikes in Lebanon where fighting threatens the wider truce.

Read the 14-point draft agreement between the US and Iran

The agreement between Iran and the US lays out the terms of the ceasefire between the bitter rivals, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, some financial relief for Iran and a reiteration from Tehran that it will never produce a nuclear weapon, according to a draft copy of the text obtained by CNN

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, Mostafa Salem

The 14-point memorandum of understanding has not yet been officially released but a copy of it was obtained by CNN from a US official. A diplomat who saw it at the G7 summit in France this week confirmed its contents, as did two other diplomatic sources with knowledge of negotiations.

The Iran War Permanently Altered the Global Economy

The global order has been altered, and economies are unlikely to simply pick up where they left off before the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran.

By Patricia Cohen

Patricia Cohen, who is based in London, writes about 

global economics and geopolitics.

June 16, 2026

The framework deal between the United States and Iran sets the stage for an end to the bursts of violence and debilitating disruption of energy deliveries and trade in the Persian Gulf. But don’t expect economies around the globe to simply pick up where they left off before the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb. 28.

The war has set in motion changes that will be hard to reverse.

Trump’s DoJ intervenes to back Elon Musk in datacenter pollution lawsuit

Justice department urges judge to throw out suit brought by NAACP over xAI’s methane-gas turbines in Mississippi
Dara Kerr
The Guardian

Wed 17 Jun 2026 00.01 BST

The Trump administration is coming to the defense of Elon Musk in a lawsuit over claims that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, is polluting residential neighborhoods in north Mississippi. The justice department told a federal court late on Monday to throw out the case.

Trump moves oversight of special education and civil rights out of the Education Department

 
By ANNIE MA, June 16, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is further dismantling the Education Department, moving oversight of special education and civil rights to other agencies.

Live Updates: Deal with U.S. requires Israeli forces to leave Lebanon, Iran says

By Duarte Dias, Khaled Wassef
Updated on: June 16, 2026 / 12:55 PM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• President Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of Israel's "minor war" against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday, voicing frustration that the parallel conflict was complicating his efforts to end the war with Iran.
• Iran's foreign minister said any Israeli forces remaining in southern Lebanon, or any Israeli strikes on the country, would constitute a violation of the U.S.-Iran deal. Israeli officials said Monday that troops would stay in Lebanon, as "Trump's agreement does not bind us."
• A signing ceremony is expected Friday in Switzerland to formalize the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, which should spark a second phase of direct talks on the future of Iran's nuclear program and other contentious issues.