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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin listens in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, June 29, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
FILE – A person holds a sign about protecting voting rights during a protest near the White House, May 11, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., arrives to speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
J. Scott Applewhite\/AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite<\/p>\n
A mockup of President Donald Trump’s proposed Triumphal Arch stands at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Monday, June 29, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n
Jen Golbeck\/AP Photo\/Jen Golbeck<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been 123 days since the U.S. and Israel launched the Iran war, and the world again awaits another round of some sort of talks as President Donald Trump and Iranian officials disagree over what and even how they’ll communicate. Trump\u2019s special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner plan meetings with Qatari mediators.<\/p>\n
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A new AP-NORC poll shows Republicans and older, white adults are especially likely to say they fly the American flag, while younger Democrats and Black adults are more likely to say they don\u2019t fly it, reflecting deeply divided views on what patriotism means.<\/p>\n
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And on this final day of a Supreme Court term centering on Trump\u2019s expansive claims of presidential power, the justices have upheld the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s effort to deny the right to the children of noncitizen parents. Follow live updates on the rulings.<\/p>\n
Lacking tough rules, federal officials seek voluntary enforcement on cyberscams<\/p>\n
The AP found no evidence to suggest these companies were doing anything illegal. However, the patterns of abuse AP identified raise questions about how vigorously they are enforcing their own terms of service, which prohibit illegal activity.<\/p>\n
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Some other countries have new laws imposing financial penalties if companies don\u2019t do more to protect consumers from scams. In Washington, lawmakers and government officials have been asking American tech companies to cooperate on a voluntary basis to cut scammers off from U.S. infrastructure.<\/p>\n
AP\/\u2018FRONTLINE\u2019 investigation shows how US tech is abused for global scams<\/p>\n
The technology of American companies is being used to power a revolution in the cyberscam industry, playing key roles in the industrialization and globalization of fraud in ways that have not been clear until now, an AP\/\u201cFRONTLINE\u201d investigation has found.<\/p>\n
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Most public scrutiny of the technology that fuels scams has focused on the social media that platforms victims see, but the infrastructure exploited to commit fraud begins much farther upstream, the investigation showed.<\/p>\n
Watchdogs say satellite internet, AI and internet infrastructure companies along the digital supply chains that fraudsters abuse have the technical capacity to do more to protect consumers but lack the legal, regulatory and business incentives to crack down on a crime the Federal Trade Commission estimates cost Americans nearly $200 billion in 2024.<\/p>\n
Court will consider striking down assault weapons bans in Connecticut and the Chicago area<\/p>\n
A Supreme Court that has expanded gun rights will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n
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The justices said Tuesday they will take up appeals asking the court to strike down bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in the Chicago area and Connecticut.<\/p>\n
Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states, covering major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, but Democrats have supported renewing it in response to a series of mass shootings and states have continued to pass their own laws.<\/p>\n
The case is expected to be heard in the fall.<\/p>\n
Republican Tom Kean Jr. said he was treated for depression during absence from Congress<\/p>\n
New Jersey Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. revealed Tuesday that he spent months away from Congress being treated for depression.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be,\u201d he said on the House floor.<\/p>\n
Kean, whose battleground district includes Trump\u2019s Bedminster golf club, missed more than 100 votes in Congress this year. His reappearance comes after he won an uncontested primary on June 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I stand before you healthier, stronger and excited to return to the work that I love,\u201d Kean said.<\/p>\n
Kean\u2019s office has said he\u2019s still running for reelection against Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot. Democrats have targeted the district as a prime pick-up opportunity.<\/p>\n
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Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump\u2019s proposed limits<\/p>\n
The Court \u2019s ruling released Tuesday upholds a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.<\/p>\n
The justices relied on a long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, and more recent federal laws in ruling that anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions, is a citizen.<\/p>\n
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\u25b6 Read more about Tuesday\u2019s Supreme Court rulings<\/p>\n
US job monthly openings hold at a surprising 7.6 million despite Iran war shock<\/p>\n
May\u2019s job openings were surprisingly strong in the data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing American labor market resilience to the war\u2019s economic shock. Forecasters had expected employers to post just 7 million openings in May.<\/p>\n
Rebounding from a miserable 2025, U.S. employers have added nearly 114,000 net jobs a month on average this year, up from just 9,700 in 2025, the weakest outside a recession since 2002.<\/p>\n
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Because of baby boomer retirements and Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown, fewer people are competing for work, and the United States doesn\u2019t need as many jobs as it used to keep the unemployment rate stable. Economists say the so-called \u201cbreak-even\u2019\u2019 rate of hiring could be as low as zero jobs a month, down from perhaps 150,000 a year or so ago.<\/p>\n
Supreme Court backs state laws banning transgender girls from sports<\/p>\n
The Court \u2019s conservative majority added to its repeated rulings against transgender Americans by deciding that bans in Idaho and West Virginia don\u2019t violate the Constitution or the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.<\/p>\n
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The ruling seems certain to extend to the dozens of other Republican-led states that have banned female transgender athletes. Left unresolved are lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that permit transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity.<\/p>\n
About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people ages 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Read more about Tuesday\u2019s Supreme Court rulings<\/p>\n
US envoys arrive in Qatar for meetings on Iran, with tensions high over Hormuz<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner plan meetings with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran, following more crossfire in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
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They won\u2019t directly negotiate with Iranian diplomats, instead using mediators as go-betweens, said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar\u2019s Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n
Iran was also sending a delegation to Qatar, but has no plans to meet with the American side at any level, Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. His statement left open the possibility of messages being passed through the Qataris.<\/p>\n
Who flies the American flag for holidays \u2014 and who never flies one, according to an AP-NORC poll<\/p>\n
American views of \u201cOld Glory\u201d are divided by politics, age and race, according to a new survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research<\/a> ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebration.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Whether people see it as a unifying or divisive symbol tracks with other deep divisions among Americans, who see their country\u2019s history and accomplishments very differently. About 7 in 10 Republicans and about 6 in 10 Americans ages 60 and older fly the flag at least during holidays. About 6 in 10 Democrats and independents, on the other hand, say they \u201cnever\u201d fly the U.S. flag. That includes the vast majority, 75%, of Democrats under 45.<\/p>\n Only about 3 in 10 Black adults say they ever display the American flag, compared with about half of white and Hispanic adults.<\/p>\n The survey of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n What the Supreme Court\u2019s Cook ruling means for Federal Reserve independence<\/p>\n The Supreme Court on Monday said the Federal Reserve, unlike any other agency in Washington, has a measure of independence from the presidency and day-to-day politics. But the court didn\u2019t define to what extent.<\/p>\n The case is the latest round in an unprecedented fight between the Fed and Trump. More political interference at the Fed could upend financial markets around the world, which closely follow its interest rate moves.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly demanded that the central bank cut its key interest rate to lower borrowing costs for homeowners, businesses, and even the government itself. Trump sought to fire a Fed governor, Lisa Cook, last August after accusing her of mortgage fraud \u2014 a charge she denies.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the president cannot fire the seven members of the Fed\u2019s board of governors without a clear cause. The decision endorses the Fed\u2019s independent structure even as the court eliminated such protections for leaders of other agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, whom the president can fire at-will.<\/p>\n Trump nominates acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling as permanent chief<\/p>\n Trump said Monday he will nominate Keith Sonderling to be the secretary of labor, elevating him from the agency\u2019s acting director two months after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid abuse-of-power allegations.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Sonderling, a lawyer who has held a variety of acting positions and leadership roles across Trump\u2019s government, was previously the deputy labor secretary and a Republican member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country, and I know he will do an incredible job in his new role,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post<\/a> announcing Sonderling\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n Sonderling\u2019s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.<\/p>\n