June 27, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday that his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a U.S. air base in Qatar and warned against further attacks in his first public comments since U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and announcement of a ceasefire agreement with Israel. [more]
• Reports cite government sources as saying the Trump administration has discussed the possibility of as much as $30 billion in funding for Iranian civilian-energy nuclear programs and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds as potential measures to induce Tehran's involvement in nuclear-related talks. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Revised Commerce Department data released yesterday indicates that the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product, shrank at a 0.5% annual rate from January through March of this year – down from the department's earlier estimate of a 0.2% decline. The quarterly decline is the first time in three years that the economy contracted, and reversed the 2.4% increase seen in the last three months of 2024. [full Commerce Department report] [more]

U.S. SPENDING PLAN | The tax and spending plan currently under consideration in the Senate was complicated further yesterday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Medicaid provider tax changes and provisions barring certain immigrants from health care programs violate chamber rules that bar policy matters from budget reconciliation bills. [more]

U.S. SUPREME COURT | As it ends its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to deliver several rulings today, including ones involving birthright citizenship and the authority of judges to issue nationwide injunctions, the right of parents to exclude their children from lessons involving LGBTQ storybooks in public schools, the mapping of a second Black majority congressional district in Louisiana, and age-verification requirements for accessing certain online content in Texas. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Among this year's Carnegie Corporation "Great Immigrants, Great Americans" honorees are: composer and conductor Tania León, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management professor Simon Johnson, New York Times journalist and Paris Bureau Chief  Roger Cohen, former San Francisco Ballet prima ballerina Yuan Yuan Tan, Voto Latino CEO María Teresa Kumar, and comedian/artist Kareem Rahma. [full 2025 honoree list] [more]

U.S. IMMIGRANT DETENTION | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Johnny Noviello, a Canadian man being held by immigration officials in South Florida died while in federal custody this week and that the cause of death remains under investigation. Reports note that Noviello was facing deportation due to a drug conviction and that he is one of eight ICE detainees to have died in custody this year. [more]

U.S. MEDICAID | With a 6-3 ruling announced yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states can block the country’s biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings. [more]

U.S. GLOBAL HEALTH FUNDING | In a recorded speech this week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the U.S. is suspending its support of the global vaccine alliance Gavi – a public-private partnership including WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and the World Bank. Reports note that Gavi vaccination programs have saved an estimated 18 million lives and that the U.S. had pledged $1 billion in funding for the organization through 2030. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said yesterday that an agreement on trade with China had been signed earlier this week, but provided no details on the deal and failed to clarify if it was different from the framework agreement announced two weeks ago. In a statement today, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the two countries had "further confirmed the details of the framework." [more]

U.S., GUATEMALA, AND HONDURAS | U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said yesterday that the U.S. has signed new agreements with Guatemala and Honduras to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the United States. [more]

CANADA | In a move analysts say is a critical step in reducing Canada's dependence on the United States amidst trade tensions between the two countries, the Canadian Senate passed the One Canadian Economy Act yesterday, giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government new powers to streamline approval processes and bypass certain provisions of federal laws for projects that could boost the economy. [more]

BRAZIL | The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled yesterday that social media companies must actively monitor content that involves hate speech, racism, or incitation to violence and act to remove it, and that the companies can be sued for hosting illegal content if they refuse to remove it after a victim brings it to their attention. [more]

HUNGARY | Prime Minister Viktor Orban today warned of "legal consequences" for organizing or attending a Budapest Pride march in violation of a ban on the LGBTQ-supporting event planned for this weekend. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | Ahead of a July 9 agreement deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump, E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that she could not rule out a potential failure of tariff talks with the U.S., and that "all options remain on the table." [more]

CHILE | According to a recent study by researchers at Chile's CLAPES UC research center at Universidad Catolica, Chile is losing an average of 2.6% of its gross domestic product, about $8.2 billion a year, due to rising crime. [more]

BASEBALL | As the top fan-vote recipients, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge were elected as starters yesterday for the July 15 MLB All-Star Game. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1871, the yen – first minted in 1869 – was adopted as Japan's official monetary unit when the government suspended the exchange of Tokugawa coinage and clan currency notes issued by feudal lords since the 16th century. [more history]