Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects the US to stand by its trade commitments with Europe after Donald Trump’s administration launched a tariff investigation into Germany’s drug pricing.
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, including two Democrat justices, ordered outside scrutiny of Soros-backed DA Larry Krasner's office over unreliable post-conviction concessions in murder cases.
The US and Iranian delegations both delayed plans to travel to Switzerland for the opening round of negotiations.
Trump confirmed he had a testy call with his Israeli counterpart, in which he bashed him as "f—ing crazy" following attacks in Lebanon.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for international talks about exchange rates as part of the European Union’s resolve to address its deepening trade deficit with China.
Two U.S. officials told Axios on Friday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, but clashes continued even after it was supposed to be in effect.Hezbollah sources told Reuters the group would observe the ceasefire, but a spokesperson for Israel's military declined to confirm its participation.Why it matters: The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah led to the postponement of U.S.-Iran talks planned for Friday. U.S. officials hope the talks can now be launched.The conflict has displaced more than one million people and Israel is still occupying a swath of southern Lebanon. The U.S.-Iran deal includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, but Israeli officials have raised doubts about their commitment to any such truce. Political allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have openly attacked the deal.Tehran claimed Israel's attacks in Lebanon on Thursday morning were a violation of the U.S.-Iran MOU.Driving the news: A senior U.S. official told Axios the renewed ceasefire in Lebanon was mediated by the U.S. and Qatar and went into effect at 4pm local time (9am ET). But in the hour after the ceasefire was supposed to come into effect, the Israeli military conducted strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah launched drones towards northern Israel.What they're saying: "Netanyahu approved it 100%," the senior U.S. official said. Netanyahu's office has not confirmed that, and the military spokesperson, Efi Defrin, said the ceasefire was a matter for political leadership and he could not confirm.Defrin stressed that Israeli forces would stay in southern Lebanon and operate against threats.Two Hezbollah sources told Reuters the group considered the truce to now be in effect.How it happened: On Thursday afternoon, President Trump, the speaker of Lebanon's parliament and the Israeli ambassador to Lebanon all expressed commitment to the ceasefire in Lebanon. But several hours later, on Thursday night, Hezbollah conducted several attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, killing at least 4 Israeli soldiers. Israel responded with massive strikes on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.That led to the postponement of the U.S.-Iran talks, which were to be held in Switzerland.A spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry confirmed the postponement and said the conditions for negotiations had yet to be met. "Holding the said meeting in Switzerland is not urgent, but we are planning to hold a meeting in the coming days," he said.Go deeper: Trump tells "The Axios Show" there are "no limits" to his power after Iran war
Former president nevertheless said in an interview that he was happy to see a ceasefire with Iran and hopes it holdsAnalysis: Iran peace deal makes clear how far US has been forced to retreat since 2025Barack Obama has said that after 15 weeks of war with Iran, the US is now “worse off” than before the conflict started in February.“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off,” the former US president told NBC News in an interview that aired on Friday. Continue reading...
Head of Federal Housing Finance Agency who investigated Trump’s enemies takes over top intelligence roleTimeline of Bill Pulte’s appointment as acting director of national intelligenceBill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, became the acting director of national intelligence (DNI) on Friday, following a tug-of-war between Donald Trump and Washington lawmakers over the short-term future of the cabinet intelligence post.Tulsi Gabbard, the outgoing DNI, initially planned to leave her post on 30 June, but Trump shortened her tenure to Friday. Senators planned to confirm Jay Clayton, the president’s DNI nominee, by Friday, which would have denied Pulte an opportunity to serve as acting director. But Trump abruptly called off on Wednesday a Senate confirmation hearing for Clayton and directed him not to appear in front of Senate lawmakers. Continue reading...
President Donald Trump fired off a social media attack Friday morning as he was buried under an onslaught of criticism hurled his direction regarding the tentative peace deal he reached with Iran.According to the 14-point memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, the United States would help Iran gain access to a $300 billion redevelopment fund, lift all sanctions, and unfreeze billions of dollars of restricted Iranian funds. The tentative deal has received criticism – particularly from hawkish conservatives – that Iran would be better positioned from the deal than they were prior to the war.Trump fiercely refuted critics’ assessments.“The War has diminished Iran! It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???”In a subsequent social media post made just minutes later, Trump insisted that his administration did not fold to Iran’s demands, and that, in actuality, the inverse had happened.“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED!” Trump wrote. “We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”