June 17, 2026 - Messi Makes History at Sixth World Cup

We've not yet seen the official Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran, the final version of which is to be signed on Friday in Switzerland - but you can read a draft in today's newsletter. If the reported terms hold, Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. In exchange, the U.S. will help create a $300 billion fund for Iran's rehabilitation and economic development.

The Wall Street Journal editorial page calls this a "retreat" - language I borrowed for yesterday's poll question, asking whether Trump folded too soon. The result was close but affirmative: 51.4 percent to 48.86 percent. I was in that slight majority.

Even the New York Post, no dove on Iran, is questioning a promise Tehran has made and broken before regarding its nuclear ambitions - noting the gap between what it says and what it does.

I’m readying my post mortem along these lines: The administration never made an effective case that Iran posed an imminent threat. But Netanyahu found himself in the right place at the right time, finally persuading an American president to attempt regime change based on an outlook that the Iranian people would rise up. They didn't. Our military hit every target, but regime change doesn't come from the air alone - it takes troops on the ground, a commitment Trump would not make. As gas prices rose with the midterms on the horizon, America’s lack of patience became Iran’s best weapon.

Now, Trump appears to have had it with Netanyahu ("Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.") Iran's missile program is degraded but not obliterated. Same for its nuclear capability – and we don't have the "dust." The leadership has changed but not the regime. The U.S. is about to pay war reparations. And Iran wins simply by not losing.

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Lionel Messi made World Cup history by becoming the first player to appear in six tournaments and celebrated the milestone with his first World Cup hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria, exactly 20 years after his World Cup debut.

Al Jazeera

Al Arabiya English obtained the 14-point draft Memorandum of Understanding expected to be signed Friday between Washington and Tehran, calling for an immediate end to the war, a US naval blockade lift, at least $300 billion in reconstruction financing, sanctions relief and Iran's pledge never to produce nuclear weapons.

Al Arabiya English

Federal authorities arrested five people accused of plotting to attack the White House UFC event with explosive-laden drones and gunfire, after investigators uncovered online planning, weapons stockpiles, and extremist rhetoric that officials say pointed to a coordinated mass-casualty attack.

NBC News

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is under a federal tax-related investigation that began last year and involves subpoenas and witness interviews, a probe Newsom claims is politically motivated while the Justice Department says originated from whistleblower reports rather than Trump-appointed leadership.

CNN

Drawing on more than three million pages released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act and over 40 new interviews, a Times investigation reconstructs Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 arrest and his volatile weeks at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, concluding that his death was most likely the result of suicide amid systemic failures and missed warning signs, rather than an elaborate murder conspiracy.

The New York Times

Five months after President Trump vowed that a new White House ballroom and bunker would be funded entirely by private donors, internal contractor records obtained by The Washington Post show the project’s cost has ballooned to an estimated $600 million, with more than half expected to be paid by taxpayers.

The Washington Post

A Russian warship, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots from rifles near a UK-registered yacht carrying a couple in their 60s in the English Channel on Tuesday after the small motorless boat drifted toward the frigate in foggy conditions south of the Isle of Wight.

BBC

Most Americans view fundamental freedoms such as voting, free speech, and religious liberty as central to the nation's identity, but a new AP-NORC poll finds widespread concern that those same rights are increasingly under threat amid growing political and social divisions.

Associated Press

Lawrence, Kansas has embraced Algeria’s World Cup team with an outpouring of community support—from learning the Algerian national anthem to hosting fan events—transforming the college town into an unlikely home base for the North African squad ahead of its showdown with Argentina.

Axios

Pageant contestant and former cheerleader Jordon Hudson’s sweeping public-records requests and threatened legal action over reports she was banned from UNC football facilities are creating fresh controversy around her boyfriend, Tar Heels' coach Bill Belichick, and his turbulent effort to rebuild North Carolina’s football program.

USA Today