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<\/p>\nPresident Donald Trump says Iran requested a meeting that would happen Tuesday in Qatar, but Tehran says nothing\u2019s scheduled. Trump\u2019s social media post Monday comes as he tries to preserve an increasingly fragile interim deal as hostilities mount in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
And with the White House souring on Israel\u2019s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Trump shocked many by pushing an alternative: Let Syria fight the Iran-backed militant group instead \u2014 something Syria\u2019s president says he has no interest in doing.<\/p>\n
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A small motorboat passes anchored vessels in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, June 17, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)<\/p>\n
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FILE – Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship, May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, File)<\/p>\n
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President Donald Trump walks carrying an umbrella alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, right, at East Potomac Park golf course, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n
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FILE – A demonstrator carries an American flag upside-down near the White House during a protest taking place on the day of a military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, June 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the Supreme Court is wrapping up a term focused on Trump\u2019s expansive claims of presidential power with big decisions beginning Monday.<\/p>\n
Here’s the Latest:<\/p>\n
Trump wanted the justices to throw out a jury\u2019s finding that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her. The high court, in a typically brief and unexplained order, declined to take up the case.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s lawyers had argued that allegations leading to the verdict were propped up by \u201chighly inflammatory\u201d evidentiary rulings, including those that allowed the testimony of two other women who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago. Trump has denied all three women\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s attorneys also framed the case as a distraction from Trump\u2019s unique duties as president, though the verdict came before his return to the White House. A jury also awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million after a second defamation trial. Trump also appealed that ruling, which is not yet before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Oil prices have inched up amid escalating tensions, with Tehran launching fresh drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait in response to new U.S. airstrikes over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 58 cents to $73.18 a barrel early Monday, up from about $72 before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 73 cents to $69.96 a barrel.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s still plenty of risk regarding ship safety in the Strait of Hormuz following the latest attacks on vessels. ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a commentary Monday that oil traders have been \u201ctoo optimistic\u201d about the timeline for a recovery in Persian Gulf supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis complacency is odd and clearly leaves significant upside risk if the supply recovery proves slow \u2014 or if we see significant re-escalation,\u201d the commentary said.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
Most Black Americans \u2014 73% \u2014 say their race or ethnicity is \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to how they see themselves, according to the new AP-NORC poll. Only about half of Black adults say that being an American is highly important to their personal identity.<\/p>\n
About half of Hispanic Americans say their race or ethnicity is highly important to them, compared to 22% of white Americans.<\/p>\n
Vincent Harris, a 60-year-old in California who participated in the poll, says his identity as a Black man rises above other attributes for him because of how Black men are treated in America.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are scared of Black men just because we are Black and we are male. And that\u2019s crazy,\u201d Harris said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t even take you for who you are as a person; they just look at your race.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a social media assist from President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson is looking this week to ease the divisions in his Republican ranks and make progress on key legislative priorities before this fall\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n
Johnson sent lawmakers home early last week and went to the White House after GOP tumult prevented the House from voting on two spending bills and a measure dealing with veterans\u2019 benefits. Meanwhile, the list of legislative priorities only grew with Trump requesting another $87.6 billion, mostly to cover the war with Iran.<\/p>\n
Johnson emerged from his White House visit with a coveted Trump social media post telling Republicans to quit voting down procedural rules that allow for final votes on their legislative priorities. \u201cNo more grandstanding, please!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n
Before Trump\u2019s message, Republican and Democratic lawmakers were openly doubting whether the House would even return this week.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
The former House Speaker and the University of California, Berkeley, are partnering to form a new nonpartisan academic institute they say will be dedicated to strengthening democracy.<\/p>\n
Pelosi says she wants to \u201cstrengthen our democratic institutions and forge a future that serves the public good.\u201d The Democrat is leaving Congress after representing San Francisco for nearly 40 years and is planning a busy retirement. She\u2019ll co-teach a course on Congress at the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy, which will launch in January and has already received more than $35 million in philanthropic commitments.<\/p>\n
The university says the institute aims to strengthen America\u2019s democratic institutions; overcome challenges to society, the economy and the planet; promote human and civil rights; and ensure political leadership that represents the full spectrum of perspectives and backgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
Kara Swisher is expanding her influence from tech journalism to politics. She\u2019s known for her fearless interviews with tech leaders including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Now her podcasts including \u201cOn with Kara Swisher\u201d and \u201cPivot\u201d are gaining traction as political platforms, reflecting the growing importance of digital media.<\/p>\n
Swisher is hardly the only podcaster talking politics. Conservatives like Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson and some liberals like the former Barack Obama aides who host \u201cPod Save America\u201d have larger audiences. They\u2019re all dwarfed by Joe Rogan. But Swisher has few rivals who can match her technology expertise and connect those observations to the broader political debate.<\/p>\n
Swisher told The Associated Press from her Washington home that she gets called by all the presidential candidates and she\u2019s \u201cgoing to get to all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
The new AP-NORC poll also finds that Republicans are much likelier than Democrats or independents to say being an American is \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to their personal identity.<\/p>\n
At the same time, young adults are less likely than older people to say this is important to their identity. Matt Stafford, a 39-year-old centrist in Massachusetts who participated in the poll, said he is proud to be American, even if U.S. politics frustrate him. He has a bald eagle tattooed on his back to represent the U.S. and \u201call the things we\u2019re supposed to stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite that pride, he\u2019s frustrated: \u201cI love America, but our biggest problem is how we\u2019re pushing both sides \u2014 like the left and the right \u2014 to the extremes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said Monday on social media that Iran had requested a meeting with U.S. counterparts, to be held Tuesday in Doha, Qatar. Iranian officials said no such meeting was scheduled.<\/p>\n
The U.S. president has tried to preserve an increasingly fragile interim deal as hostilities have mounted in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, which could cause oil prices to rise and undermine Trump\u2019s claims to voters that inflation in America was easing.<\/p>\n
Trump on Monday celebrated that U.S. oil futures were trading at roughly $69 a barrel, a decrease that he credited to the interim deal with Iran.<\/p>\n
Even though the president has previously said oil prices and domestic political concerns were not influencing his approach to Iran, Trump has repeatedly focused on lower oil prices with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a key victory.<\/p>\n
The president falsely claimed that oil prices at $69 a barrel are lower than they were before the war. \u201cThis is less than it was prior to the start of the Denuclearization of Iran!\u201d Trump said on social media.<\/p>\n
Oil futures in the U.S. were trading at a range of roughly $65 to $66 before the war began in late February.<\/p>\n
Americans have grown less proud of the country\u2019s history and the way its democracy works over the last decade, according to a new AP-NORC poll.<\/p>\n
The poll found Americans\u2019 pride in the U.S. on several key attributes has dropped since 2017, including the nation\u2019s military and its political influence around the globe.<\/p>\n
The findings point to a broad decline in patriotic sentiment over a period that included most of President Donald Trump\u2019s first term, the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and Trump\u2019s return to the White House.<\/p>\n
Much of the falling positivity comes from Democrats, who have become increasingly disenchanted with the country since Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s president said Monday that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar, as negotiations with the United States were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.<\/p>\n
Masoud Pezeshkian \u2019s mention of the funds appears aimed at selling the Iranian public on the interim deal, particularly as its grip on the Strait of Hormuz has been tested by efforts to open Oman\u2019s territorial waters to both inbound and outbound traffic from the Persian Gulf. Iran\u2019s attacks and threats stopped cargo ships and tankers from moving through the strait, in which about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed in peacetime, creating a global energy crisis.<\/p>\n
The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite its location in Iran and Oman\u2019s territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route near the Omani side, drawing retaliatory American airstrikes and concerns that negotiations to reach a formal end to the war could be disrupted. Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
Trump on Sunday surveyed several of his construction projects around the nation\u2019s capital, suggesting afterward that his redevelopment of the East Potomac Golf Links would enable it to host a premier tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events,\u201d Trump posted on social media.<\/p>\n
Trump toured the course with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, various aides and the golf course architect Tom Fazio and his son, Gavin Fazio. The president\u2019s redevelopment of the course is subject to a lawsuit in U.S. District Court.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear when the course could host any major tournaments, as locations are chosen several years ahead of the events. Locations for the U.S. Open are scheduled through 2051, though there are available spots in 2043, 2046 and 2048. The PGA Championship is set through 2035.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court is wrapping up a term focused on Trump\u2019s expansive claims of presidential power.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, fire the heads of most independent agencies at will and remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor are among the remaining eight cases the justices are expected to decide this week, beginning Monday.<\/p>\n
The court also is weighing, in cases from West Virginia and Idaho, whether to uphold laws in roughly half the states that prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on their public school and college sports.<\/p>\n
Two election-related cases remain, over state laws that allow a grace period for the receipt of mailed ballots, provided they are sent by Election Day, and limits on political party spending in support of candidates for Congress and president.<\/p>\n
Also outstanding is a dispute over geofence warrants that collect the location history of cellphone users to find people near crime scenes. Critics say the practice is a fishing expedition that violates civil liberties.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
As the White House has soured on Israel\u2019s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, U.S. President Donald Trump has shocked many in the region by pushing an alternative: Let Syria fight the Iran-backed militant group instead.<\/p>\n
He has suggested that the battle-hardened and Islamist-led insurgents who overthrew Syria\u2019s autocratic President Bashar Assad a year and a half ago and formed a new government would do a better job of rooting out Hezbollah than the Israeli army.<\/p>\n
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said he has no interest in doing so, and has asserted that Trump\u2019s comments were misconstrued. But Trump has doubled down on the idea.<\/p>\n
Although it remains unclear how serious the White House is about the proposal, the prospect of a Syrian invasion has raised alarms in Lebanon \u2014 and also in Israel, which regards al-Sharaa\u2019s Islamist-led government with suspicion and has seized control of a strip of southern Syria since he took power.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n
A small motorboat passes anchored vessels in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, June 17, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n FILE – Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship, May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, File)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump walks carrying an umbrella alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, right, at East Potomac Park golf course, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n FILE – A demonstrator carries an American flag upside-down near the White House during a protest taking place on the day of a military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, June 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The life and influential career of record executive Clive Davis will be honored at his funeral Monday. Davis’ memorial service will be closed to the public but will be livestreamed by the synagogue.<\/p>\n It isn’t known which stars will attend to pay their respects. Davis launched the careers of numerous stars, including Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and Kenny G, and influenced others such as Carlos Santana, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.<\/p>\n Davis died June 22 in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 94, a few weeks after he had been hospitalized for an upper respiratory issue.<\/p>\n Dionne Warwick, Kenny G and Gayle King were among the stars seen walking into the service Monday morning. No details were released about who might speak or perform at the service.<\/p>\n For more than 50 years, Davis convened a pre-Grammy Awards gala attended by some of the biggest names in music the night before the awards ceremony.<\/p>\n At this year’s gala, former President Barack Obama praised Davis, a record company lawyer who rose to become one of music’s most influential figures. While many record execs saw their influence wane as they grew older, Davis’ seemed to grow. He breathed new life into the careers of established artists such as Aretha Franklin and Santana, and helped launch Keys and several early \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d winners’ careers, including Kelly Clarkson’s.<\/p>\n He is survived by his four children, sons Fred, Doug and Mitchell, daughter Lauren, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.<\/p>\n Dionne Warwick arrives at the funeral services for Clive Davis at Central Synagogue in New York, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Adam Gray)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Saxophonist Kenny G arrives at the funeral services for Clive Davis at Central Synagogue in New York, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Adam Gray)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Gayle King arrives at the funeral services for Clive Davis at Central Synagogue in New York, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Adam Gray)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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