June 17, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 110.

• Reports say a leaked copy of the memorandum of understanding that the U.S. and Iran are expected to formally sign on Friday includes provisions on re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, ending U.S. and U.N. sanctions on Iran, providing financial incentives of up to $300 billion to Iran if it meets certain benchmarks, withdrawing U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf region, and establishing a 60-day period for further negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. [more]
• U.S. officials have suggested that the language included in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding does not necessarily reflect the full agreements made between the parties and that negotiators agreed to language in the memorandum that allows Iran to "say what they need to say for their domestic politics." [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | One person was killed, and one other was wounded, when a gunman opened fire at the ChristianaCare Wilmington Hospital in Delaware yesterday afternoon. Police say the suspect in the incident, a yet-unidentified 23-year-old man, was arrested later in nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and that the shooting is believed to have been targeted and isolated. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Newly released Commerce Department data indicates that U.S. retail and food service sales rose 0.9% in May – up from a revised 0.4% gain in April. On a year-over-year basis, sales were up 6.9% for the month. [full report] [more]

U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY | President Donald Trump said today that he is delaying the nomination of Jay Clayton to be the director of national intelligence, and will, instead, keep U.S. housing official Bill Pulte in the acting DNI role for now in a bid to pressure Congress to pass a federal voter ID bill. [more]

U.S. REPARATIONS | Joining an existing lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department yesterday asked a judge to block a first-of-its-kind reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, that offered $25,000 reparation payments to Black residents who faced race-based housing discrimination in the 20th century due to the city’s policies or practices. in court filings, the Justice Department officials characterized the program, which has already distributed more than $7 million in payments, as "racially discriminatory." [more]

U.S. EDUCATION | Continuing efforts to move forward with plans to dismantle the Department of Education, the Trump administration announced yesterday that two of the Department's functions will now be delegated to other agencies, with the enforcement of civil rights in education moving to the Justice Department and special education oversight moving to the Department of Health and Human Services. [more]

MINNESOTA | Federal prosecutors announced the criminal indictment yesterday of 15 people in Minnesota charged with conspiring against the federal government through a range of actions intended to block arrests and deportations during the federal immigration enforcement surge in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area early this year. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said the defendants were all members of "antifa" – an umbrella term for various left-wing activist groups. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE | Newly appointed Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to oversee his first meeting of the monetary policy board today and to hold a highly anticipated news conference afterward. Reports note that the Fed is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at today's meeting. [more]

U.S. DRUG WAR | The U.S. military's Southern Command launched strikes on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean yesterday, killing one person and leaving two survivors. Reports note that at least 208 people are known to have been killed in similar U.S. strikes on small boats since last September. [more]

POLAND AND GERMANY | As part of efforts to strengthen European military cooperation amidst heightened tensions with Russia and strained ties with the U.S., Poland and Germany are set to sign a new defense agreement today in Warsaw. Reports note that, unlike bilateral treaties that each of the countries have signed with France and the U.K. in recent years, the Poland-Germany agreement is an inter-ministerial agreement focused on the practical aspects of military cooperation and does not include mutual defense declarations. [more]

TAIWAN, CHINA, AND KENYA | Taiwanese officials accused Kenya of human rights abuses today for allegedly deporting Taiwanese nationals attending a global oceans conference in Mombasa at the behest of China. Kenyan Foreign Ministry officials defended the deportations, saying Kenya "recognizes only one China" and that persons holding a Taiwanese passport "would ordinarily not be allowed through our borders." [more]

HAITI | Amidst the Caribbean island nation's ongoing surge in gang violence in which an estimated 2,300 people have been killed this year, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with various officials in Haiti yesterday and visited the headquarters of the new U.N. Security Council-approved international gang-suppression force. [more]

RUSSIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA | Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a two-day summit that opens today in Kazan to discuss, according to Russian officials, global and regional issues and efforts to increase Russia-ASEAN ties in areas such as trade, investment, and industrial cooperation. [more]

BRAZIL AND VENEZUELA | Brazil's Justice Ministry said yesterday that police have arrested 25 people in a crackdown on the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua after it developed ties with Brazilian organized crime groups. [more]

U.K. AND RUSSIA | British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as "reckless" and "deeply concerning" an incident yesterday in which a Russian warship fired warning shots near a British yacht in the English Channel. No injuries resulted from the incident, which Russian officials say occurred after the yacht failed to respond to warnings to change course. [more]

AI INDUSTRY | In an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company plays a key role in artificial intelligence infrastructure, suggested that "new social norms" are needed to help society adapt to the age of AI and said there is a role for some government regulation and safety standards for AI. [full interview report] [more]

WORLD CUP | In Argentina's opening match of the FIFA men's World Cup yesterday, Lionel Messi scored three goals and moved into a tie with Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the career scoring record at the men’s World Cup, having scored 16 goals across his record-setting six World Cup appearances. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahān, died during childbirth. In her memory he built the Taj Mahal, the most famous building in India. [more history]