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Vice-president says Israeli cabinet members shouldn't attack the country's only powerful ally' left; Iran says it will impose fees on strait of Hormuz - key US politics stories from Thursday 18 JuneJD Vance has sharply rebuked Israeli government critics of the US deal with Iran, saying the cabinet members should remember that two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars".The US vice-president, asked about a report that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming over the agreement, told reporters at the White House: If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world." Continue reading...

The Group D clash between the United States and Socceroos has been hyped as next step in a heated rivalry but the nations are on similar football journeysListen to the hyperbole spewed by the loudest voices, and the World Cup clash between co-hosts the United States and Australia in Seattle is the latest contest in a heated sporting rivalry streaked with disrespect and even downright hate.Indeed, the sometimes spiteful clash between the teams in a friendly last year serves as a preview for what is now one of the marquee matches in the pool stage, and set to determine the winner of Group D. Continue reading...

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Attack brings to at least 211 number of people killed as Trump administration targets alleged narcoterrorists'The US military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing three people, as the Trump administration wages a months-long campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.The latest attack brings the number of people the US military has killed in boat strikes to at least 211 since the Trump administration began targeting people it calls narcoterrorists" in early September. Continue reading...

Wyndham Clark leads after day one at Shinnecock Hills while Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy are in the chasing packGood news! Round 1 of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills will resume at 9:05 a.m. ET." So says the official tweet. That's just over 15 minutes away.Weather delay in the golf but they're playing at the Oval. Should be the other way round surely? Continue reading...

Judge's order finds officials probably retaliated for Salah Sarsour's advocacy for Palestinian rightsA federal judge has ordered the release of the president of Wisconsin's largest mosque, after finding that immigration officials probably detained him in retaliation against his public advocacy for Palestinian rights, suppressing his first amendment rights in the process.The US district judge James Patrick Hanlon's order on Thursday marked a sharp rebuke against Trump officials, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who had tried to paint Salah Sarsour as a national security threat. Continue reading...

After Mauricio Pochettino's passionate half-time speech last October, the USA shaped up and started on the path to a rematch against the Australians in SeattleHaji Wright's finish was cool, but Mauricio Pochettino's reaction was cooler. It was the 35th minute of the US men's national team's friendly against Australia last October, and the Coventry City striker had just equalized after Jordan Bos put the Socceroos up earlier in the half. Wright celebrated by walking calmly away, while his coach had a blank expression on the sideline.Pochettino's mind may have been on Australia's aggressive approach, including one challenge that forced Christian Pulisic out of the match midway through the first half. Or he may have been focused on his team's reaction. Continue reading...

Drivers feel some relief but prices still a dollar more per gallon overall since before US-Israel attack on Iran

Move to dismantle $368m sea observatory initiative faced opposition from experts and lawmakersThe Donald Trump administration has reversed its decision to dismantle a $368m deep-sea observation system following an outcry from lawmakers and ocean experts.On Thursday, the National Science Foundation announced that it would halt plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, stating: effective immediately, [it] will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance". Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of fans packed lower Manhattan after team's historic NBA championship win Continue reading...

The memorandum of understanding signed in Versailles lays bare US failure and the pointlessness of this illegal warDonald Trump's wishful thinking, as much as Benjamin Netanyahu's persuasion, was responsible for their illegal war on Iran. The US president wanted regime change, the eradication of Tehran's ballistic missiles programme, to prevent it from ever building a nuclear bomb, and demilitarisation of its proxies. He announced that he would accept nothing less than unconditional surrender.The memorandum of understanding with Iran which Mr Trump signed on Wednesday - in Versailles; perhaps not the best augury of lasting diplomatic achievement - was evidence that even he can only deny reality for so long. Given the human and broader costs of the war, a deal to end it has been long overdue. But the text exposes the sheer pointlessness of this conflict. Continuing the war might have led to worldwide depression", the US president said, though his concern is for the impact on the pockets of his voters rather than the poorest and hungriest globally. A disgruntled base and the looming midterms have forced him into compromises loathed by Republican hawks. Mike Pence, his former vicepresident, said that it smacks of appeasement". Continue reading...

Media-shy financier Stephen Feinberg has quietly amassed extraordinary influence over US military spendingThe only available video over the last 15 months of the official who really wields power in Donald Trump's Pentagon is a cartoon animation. Released in May on X by the US government, it shows a silver haired figure in a grey suit lighting up a cigar and sitting at a massive wooden desk with a nameplate: DEPSECWAR FEINBERG.Stephen Feinberg, the 66-year-old billionaire founder of private equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, has served as the deputy undersecretary of defense since March 2025. His boss, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, makes frequent appearances working out with troops or insulting reporters at press conferences, and posts often on social media. But Feinberg does not show his face. He has been obsessively media shy for decades, and is so reclusive that since his confirmation hearing he has not testified to a single committee on CapitaI Hill, has held no press conferences and given no interviews. His press spokesperson left the government months into his tenure and has not been replaced. Continue reading...

Donald Trump is claiming his Iran peace plan is a victory for Washington, despite the 14-point agreement revealing significant concessions to Tehran. Under the deal, Iran will reopen the strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets, while talks will continue over the fate of Iran's nuclear programme. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour Continue reading...

With sanctions-relief and a US promise to avoid further meddling, the conflict has been settled on Tehran's termsDonald Trump is running fast to escape the catastrophic war on Iran that he and Benjamin Netanyahu started four months ago. He is saying anything that appears to suit the moment. In fact, he clearly feels he can now ditch his friend, the Israeli prime minister. He is offering Tehran's military regime a $300bn rebuilding fund, an end to economic sanctions and a promise not to interfere in its internal affairs. All this is declared a major win". If so, fine. The next 60 days of negotiations will be tortuous and unpredictable. But at least they are pointing in a plausible - and hopefully irreversible - direction.For once, a US president seems ready to accept defeat in a potentially forever war before it gets out of hand. Iran is not to be another Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq. More than that, in the course of the past week, Trump seems to have soured on America's closest ally. Furious at Netanyahu's ceaseless bombing of Lebanon, he remarked: You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody" - somebody to kill, that is - because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they're not all Hezbollah". For all this moral grandstanding, Trump's military forces, along with Israel, have killed more than 3,300 Iranians, according to the country's authorities - among them more than 100 children in a girls' school - and injured many more.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

A prospecting company's search for gold has the town of Lone Pine and Indigenous leaders on edge, as the Trump administration greenlights new projects across the American westLone Pine, population 1,882, lies along a stretch of California highway framed by the vast Inyo mountains and a sweeping desert landscape of sagebrush and dunes.It's the type of small town tourists drive through en route to Death Valley; where hikers get a motel room between Pacific Crest Trail treks. But amid the quiet downtown strip of bars and shops, there are signs of a battle brewing under the town's sleepy surface. Continue reading...

Cook is at the center of a supreme court case focused on whether Trump's firing of her from the Fed board was legalThe Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook faced more than $1.3m in legal and security fees after coming under attack from the Trump administration, according to ethics disclosures that were filed on Wednesday.The White House targeted Cook last summer as Donald Trump ramped up his unprecedented campaign to push the Fed to cut interest rates. Continue reading...

Funds meant for Secret Service were transferred to project president promised would be financed by private donations

Merlin Lu faces felony and misdemeanor charges after police released images of a suspect fleeing the sceneA 21- year-old man who admitted to setting fire to a cross in Chicago's Grant Park last week is now in police custody on hate crime charges, per Chicago police.Merlin Lu was arrested and charged with four felony and four misdemeanor counts related to the incident on 9 June. Continue reading...

Federal agency to use herbicide to clear lands for replanting after 2021 Caldor fire - but public reaction to plan is fierceKatherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe - water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months.She recently moved back to live out her retirement along the lake's north shore. But she doesn't like what she has found upon her return: a US government plan to spray multiple types of herbicides, including the cancer-linked glyphosate weed killer - within national forest property that abuts the community's cherished lake. Continue reading...

Moderna seeks FDA approval of its new shot, mFlusvia, as option for 50 and olderUS health advisers are debating a new kind of flu vaccine Thursday, the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the Covid-19 pandemic.Moderna is seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its new shot , dubbed mFlusiva, as an option for people 50 and older. The FDA advisory committee meeting is a step toward a final decision ahead of the winter flu season. Continue reading...

In US statecraft and warcraft, the president and Pete Hegseth are now saying previously quiet parts out loudThe Department of Defense will soon officially become the Department of War, if Republicans get their way. Key committees in the House and Senate have approved the name change, and Donald Trump is eager to sign it into law. The rebranding is candid and ominous, offering a future of heightened zeal for killing, maiming and destroying.Christened in 1949, the Department of Defense unified the military branches with the Pentagon as their headquarters. Since then, presidents have routinely promoted each new war as vital for the defense of the United States and its values, a pretense that has pervaded mainstream media and political discourse.Norman Solomon is an American journalist, media critic, left-leaning progressive activist, and former US Congress candidate Continue reading...

A proposed $8bn renovation of the hub has critics wondering if it's another example of the US president bolstering his legacy at taxpayers' expenseA proposed $8bn renovation of Penn Station in New York City has sparked questions from local leaders who want improvements to the western hemisphere's busiest transit hub but wonder what it will look like, who will pay for it and what role Donald Trump will play.The station, which was once considered one of New York City's most beautiful landmarks, is now seen by many as an ugly infrastructure that is hard to navigate, dark and claustrophobic. Continue reading...

New York police department say teenager thrown to the ground when horse bolted away from its driverA teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police.The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3pm, according to the New York police department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab. Continue reading...

The Minnesota Lynx point guard's creativity has made an impact in her first pro season and has fans racing to watch her highlight reelsFor dedicated WNBA fans, every morning begins with the same question: what did Olivia Miles do this time? A no-look pass through three defenders? A crossover that sends another grown woman staggering out of frame? Statue of Liberty layups launched from angles that flout Euclidean geometry? You just never know with this wonder woman. The rush she gives fans makes a double espresso feel like a nightcap.No player in the WNBA has brought more joy to the season's opening month than Miles, who has quickly emerged as one of the league's most compelling talents. Fifteen games into her professional career, the 23-year-old North Jersey native has already established herself as the engine of the Minnesota Lynx offense, pacing the team in average scoring (19.0) and assists (5.7) while sinking more than half her shot attempts. In a 99-83 road win against a short-handed Los Angeles Sparks team on Wednesday night, Miles poured in a season-best 31 points on a blistering 80% percent shooting in just 26 minutes. Continue reading...

While the stock market booms for the rich, cost of living is soaring for everyone elseSince 2020, the stock market has more than doubled. Americans who own substantial financial assets are reveling in economic success. For everyone else, the economy feels very different. This summer, the average family will spend nearly $800 just to keep their home cool, almost 40% more than in 2020 and up 10.5% since last summer.Americans now carry more than $1.2tn in credit card debt. Nearly 60% say they are living paycheck to paycheck. One in six households is behind on its utility bills. Every year, utilities disconnect electric service more than 13m times. Nearly 40% of lower-income households struggle to pay their energy bills.Mark Wolfe is an energy economist and serves as the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the co-director of the Center on Energy Poverty and Climate. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy at George Washington University Continue reading...

President hails major win' for US as he attempts to exit war having failed to achieve regime change in Tehran. Plus: an investigation into the murky world of OnlyFans managers'Good morning.Donald Trump has signed a 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a major win" for the US - even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a worldwide depression".How have US Republicans reacted to the deal? Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, appeared to soften his view of the deal after a very lengthy and productive" conversation with the the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. But his fellow senator Ted Cruz, who has backed the war, said: History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal." And Senator Bill Cassidy declared: Reagan is rolling over in his grave."Why is Ukraine newly concerned about Belarus? Russian spy drones flying into Ukraine from Belarusian airspace have sharply increased since the beginning of the year, leading to Kyiv reinforcing fortifications on its northern border. What concerns Ukrainian and European officials is that Moscow appears to be attempting to integrate Minsk ever more closely into its war efforts, including through joint nuclear exercises earlier this year. Continue reading...

Jordan Matthew, who has no lifeguard training, rescued a young boy and two women from the dangerous currentA shuttle driver recently used his bare hands to rescue three tourists ensnared by a potentially deadly rip current off the southern Louisiana coast, actions which state officials hailed as heroic".In an interview published on 15 June, Reliant Shuttle driver Jordan Matthew told Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana that he had just dropped off a group of tourists from Oklahoma at a beach on Grand Isle days earlier when one of them frantically flagged him down. Continue reading...

The three-martini lunch allowed us to mix business and pleasure, a phenomenon that is missing during the AI boomAs a 46-year-old executive who now has both people and AI agents reporting to me on the org chart, I think corporate America needs to revive a much-mocked relic of mid-century American business life: the three-martini lunch.In 1978, Gerald Ford called the ritual the epitome of American efficiency", asking: Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?" He meant it as a joke, but in 2026, I think it should be our strategic plan. Continue reading...

A leaked version of the agreement shows the US is in a weaker position than before the warNo one gets a Nobel peace prize for ending a war he started, let alone for a pointless war of aggression that set back the causes that supposedly prompted the conflict. No amount of Donald Trump's spin can obscure the fact that his newly announced deal with Iran is one big lesson in why this war should never have been launched.The text of the deal, a 14-point memorandum of understanding, underscores its emptiness. The tyrants of Tehran are undoubtedly celebrating. Continue reading...

The Socceroos and United States both made a fast start to their campaign - here is what the Group D rivals must do to maintain momentum in SeattleBack Nestory Irankunda: the 20-year-old was expected to be an impact player at this World Cup, coming on as a substitute to affect matches against tiring opposition. A player of the match performance when starting against Turkey showed how Irankunda has become one of the Socceroos' most important players. While still learning his wing-craft, his speed and determination without the ball are vital in a Socceroos outfit seemingly happy to give their opponents' possession, and his ability to make the most of transition and direct opportunities - as seen for his opening goal against Turkey - can be a superpower. Continue reading...

Fabio Cannavaro's White Wolves entered Mexico City to take on the world No 13 side but their valiant efforts ended in defeatFabio Cannavaro has continued with the 3-4-3 that served Uzbekistan well in qualifying. Khusanov is the only man in the starting XI to play in one of Europe's top five leagues. The promising playmaker Fayzullaev is on the cusp of bigger things at stanbul Baakehir, where he is teammates with the proven goalscorer Shomurodov. Everyone else in the squad is drawn from clubs in Uzbekistan, Iran, or the UAE.1 Yusupov; 18 Abdullaev, 5 Ashurmatov, 2 Khusanov; 13 Nasrullaev 7 Shukurov, 6 Mozgovoy, 24 Karimov; 22 Fayzullaev, 11 Urunov, 14 Shomurodov. Continue reading...

President signs memorandum at Palace of Versailles where Germans were humiliated after losing first world war. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 17 June at a glanceThe Trump administration declared a major win" but likewise the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, proclaimed a great victory" as the text of the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding became public.Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge." Irna, Iran's official state news agency, released a photograph of Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, holding up a Persian-language document apparently showing his signature alongside that of Trump. According to Reuters, Ghalibaf told state TV: Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable." Continue reading...

This liveblog is closed. For the latest on the Middle East crisis, follow our new liveblog here.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump also denied (again) that the memorandum of understanding includes a $300bn fund for Iran, and denied that he had asked the Gulf states to commit funding.It's false," Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. You can invest if you want. What am I going to do, say no one is ever allowed to invest? We're not investing, we're not putting up 10 cents and people can decide to do it. That's up to them."In short, what it does is it opens the strait of Hormuz immediately ... It also provides a framework whereby if the Iranians give us what we need - on stopping the funding of terrorism, on no longer pursuing a nuclear weapon - then they can get some benefits, be re-invited into the world economy. Continue reading...

Clouds of dark smoke and ammonia rose from cold storage and freezing facility in Boyle Heights near downtownThe solar panel-covered roof of a 500,000 sq-ft cold storage facility in Los Angeles caught fire Wednesday, sending up thick clouds of dark smoke and ammonia, leading city officials to order nearby residents to shelter in place.About 110 firefighters responded in the afternoon to a blaze at the cold storage and freezing warehouse owned by Lineage in the Boyle Heights neighborhood near downtown, according to spokesperson Jennifer Middleton of the Los Angeles fire department. Both the city and Los Angeles county deployed firefighters and hazmat teams to contain the fire. Continue reading...

White House joined suit to stop city of Evanston, Illinois, from compensating victims of housing discrimination

Parents of children with autism are turning to a controversial stem cell treatment backed by the US Health Secretary. A growing number of clinics in the US are charging parents tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell therapy, which is being given to children as young as 18 months old. The Guardian's chief reporter Ed Pilkington tells Kai Wright about his months-long investigation into the providers of these treatments, and their connections to the health secretary ,Robert F Kennedy Jr. He also spoke with figures in the science community who fear the FDA may be loosening its rigorous restrictions on stem cell treatment for autism

New York judge imposes life without parole after emotional statements at Rex Heuermann's sentencing

Officers responding to call about screaming woman', who was celebrating Knicks win, shot dog named JamesonAs the Los Angeles police department faces mounting scrutiny after officers shot and killed a two-year-old golden Saint Bernard doodle, the city's political leaders have backed calls for an investigation into the incident.On Saturday, LA police officers responded to a radio call about a screaming woman" in the Canoga Park neighborhood, about 30 miles (48km) from downtown, which turned out to be celebratory noise in reaction to the New York Knicks's long-awaited championship win. Continue reading...

Four states file alongside FTC, claiming WPath made deceptive claims about gender-affirming care for minorsThe Federal Trade Commission and four states sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health on Wednesday, in the latest push by Donald Trump's administration and others to limit gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The suit alleges the group, known widely as WPath, made deceptive claims about gender-affirming care for minors and that its members profited off the claims. Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas filed along with the FTC. Continue reading...

Lawmakers cite rushed timeline and public input despite pressure to redraw districts after supreme court opinionGeorgia Republicans declined to redraw the state's congressional map during a special session, defying calls from Donald Trump for widespread redistricting in the wake of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.We believe that it's important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input," said Jon Burns, the Georgia house speaker. Continue reading...

Open markets committee says economic activity is expanding at a solid pace' in first meeting under new chair Kevin WarshUS stock markets dropped Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and signaled a possible rate hike before the end of the year.The Fed was widely expected to keep rates at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, where it has remained since December. The decision was unanimously supported by the Fed's voting committee. Continue reading...

Groups cite detainee maltreatment and degradation of surrounding land as reasons to close facility permanently

Move will allow Trump's controversial pick, Bill Pulte, to assume role and remain in place for at least several weeks

A small plane crashed on a highway and caught fire in Laredo, Texas, on Tuesday night. Police and bystanders frantically tried to smash the cockpit window to free people inside. Police say six people were onboard. Five were injured and one was killed. The plane had left San Jose del Cabo in Mexico and was bound for Austin, Texas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration

Victims' families spoke in court as Heuermann was imprisoned for killing spree that spanned decadesRex Heuermann, the Manhattan architect who methodically planned and carried out the murders of eight women over at least 17 years on Long Island, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole.The sentence, the maximum the New York law allows, was handed down by Judge Timothy Mazzei after a morning of grueling victim's family impact statements on the effect Heuermann's murder spree had on the children and relatives of his victims. Continue reading...

Dig at Boston site reveals ammunition intriguing finds from 1775 clash that launched revolutionary war in earnestGenerations of Boston families played and picnicked on the grassy, sloping lawns of the Bunker Hill Monument.Musket balls and other artifacts from one of the American Revolution's most consequential battles were buried just below their feet the whole time. Continue reading...