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![\"Netherlands'](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c160e889da3b3e3399b58cc2bb83a1ba_Netherlands_WCup_Soccer_56263.jpg.webp\")
<\/p>\nNetherlands’ Nathan Ake practices for the World Cup soccer tournament, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 in Riverside, Mo. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/p>\n
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Netherlands’ Noa Lang, left and Brian Brobbey take a hydration break during practice for the World Cup soccer tournament, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 in Riverside, Mo. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Netherlands team members practices for the World Cup soccer tournament, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 in Riverside, Mo. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump said Thursday he has called off new military strikes on Iran, hours after threatening to escalate the war. <\/p>\n Trump had threatened major strikes on Iran and to seize control of its oil and gas industries as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to full-scale war. <\/p>\n The threats to seize Iran\u2019s Kharg Island oil terminal came after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East.<\/p>\n Here’s the latest:<\/p>\n Trump says he\u2019s called off new military strikes on Iran hours after threatening to escalate the 3-month-old war.<\/p>\n The president said in a social media post Thursday that he made the move \u201cbased on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also suggested that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire, writing that \u201cdiscussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,\u201d approved by United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details.<\/p>\n Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on a cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.<\/p>\n Kharg Island has emerged as a focus of the war launched by the United States and Israel. The Persian Gulf island is home to a terminal through which Iran exports most of its oil.<\/p>\n Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg \u2014 or a ground invasion \u2014 would severely curb Iran\u2019s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n An assault would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf infrastructure. That would further drive up oil prices that already threaten the world economy.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n It looks from afar more UFO than UFC.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s the kind of contraption that has carried space aliens to the White House to force a meeting with America\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n But come closer and you\u2019ll see the contours of the eight-sided cage, 30 feet in diameter and shaped like the MMA league\u2019s signature Octagon.<\/p>\n Overhead looms The Claw, a four-sided mass that arcs more than 90 feet into the air and features lights, speakers, thick snakes of wiring and four large screens so fans not seated right next to the Octagon can follow the fighting in the cage below.<\/p>\n And surrounding all that are risers filled with gray folding chairs forming a temporary arena expected to seat 4,000-plus for the seven UFC fights being staged on Sunday to celebrate the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence\u2019s signing.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned in a social media post Thursday that \u201cwrong strategies and impulsive decisions\u201d would wreak havoc on energy markets and \u201ccreate an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s monthslong stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.<\/p>\n The Pentagon Force Protection Agency\u2019s hazardous materials team was responding to an unknown issue and parts of the Pentagon were under a shelter-in-place order while officials investigate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance,\u201d Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Thursday. \u201cThe Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area.\u201d<\/p>\n The Arlington County Fire Department also sent units, including its hazardous materials team, according to a posting on its X account. Questions to the media office were referred to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n A 25-year-old student in northern Iran says Iranians are fearing \u201cchaos\u201d amid the war with the U.S. and Israel and multiplying crises at home.<\/p>\n The student, who lives in the city of Babol, said many Iranians are struggling to afford groceries in the face of mass job losses and triple-digit food inflation. He spoke on the condition of anonymity out of security fears.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is going wrong and there is no hope among the people,\u201d the student added.<\/p>\n The student first spoke to The Associated Press before the war when he participated in widespread anti-government protests. He now says his chief concern is that Iran \u201cmaintain territorial integrity and deterrence\u201d in the face of attacks by the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n \u2014 Amir-Hussein Radjy<\/p>\n U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post that the U.S. would extract funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset the costs of damage to American allies as well as any tolls Iran imposes on ships seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Beyond the deadlock over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran\u2019s nuclear program. Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are peaceful. The U.S. and Israel fear Tehran\u2019s stockpile of highly enriched uranium could be used to build an atomic weapon. That was a main reason they cited for going to war Feb. 28.<\/p>\n After bipartisan pushback to Pulte\u2019s temporary appointment as director of national intelligence, Trump said last week that he would not permanently nominate him to the position. But Democrats, and some Republicans, want his appointment pulled immediately and for Trump to nominate a replacement that can be confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, though, Trump announced that Pulte would not only take over as acting director \u2014 he\u2019d also start earlier than expected, on June 19.<\/p>\n One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump\u2019s ambassador to Canada and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations.<\/p>\n \u2014 Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro and Seung Min Kim<\/p>\n Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement for director of national intelligence. But he said he needs more time to do so.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republican leaders have \u201cmade our views known\u201d to the White House.<\/p>\n Trump has said he\u2019s interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson said the president has made it very clear that Pulte will serve a \u201cvery short term \u2014 a sort of renovation role\u201d to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be \u201crenovated and downsized.\u201d<\/p>\n But Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said in a letter to the president that Pulte is a \u201cuniquely poor choice\u201d to serve even in the acting capacity.<\/p>\n A rare lapse in a law that allows the United States to gather intelligence abroad appears likely after the House failed Thursday to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Trump \u2019s refusal to name a permanent head of the nation\u2019s intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, even though Pulte has little experience for the job. Democrats say they won\u2019t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte\u2019s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.<\/p>\n The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool. The law expires Friday at midnight.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n Markwayne Mullin said he wouldn\u2019t get into specifics on why the Somali referee was prevented from entering the U.S. to officiate at the World Cup. But Mullin said the government wasn\u2019t going to admit people believed to have \u201ccriminal ties.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to get into why we denied this individual, but there\u2019s a reason why this person was denied,\u201d Mullin said during a news conference.<\/p>\n Mullin said the department is also in close consultation with FIFA and explains their decisions in a case like this.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk to FIFA and their directors constantly. Anybody that was denied, we made the case for and showed them why they were denied,\u201d Mullin said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a phenomenal job on getting as many people cleared as we could, but some people just can\u2019t clear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n American strikes on Iran that lasted into Thursday morning appeared more intense and widespread than the day before.<\/p>\n Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had the previous day.<\/p>\n It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. attacks had \u201ceffectively rendered the ceasefire … meaningless,\u201d without saying it was abandoning it.<\/p>\n Kharg Island \u2014 located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia \u2014 is the beating heart of Iran\u2019s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It\u2019s important because Iran\u2019s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.<\/p>\n It was unclear how serious Trump was about his threat to seize it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy preference has always been to take Kharg Island,\u201d Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox News. \u201cI don\u2019t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its close proximity \u2014 about 33 kilometers (21 miles) \u2014 to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired.<\/p>\n Trump indicated in the interview that he remains averse to sending U.S. forces into Iran. \u201cWe could walk in there tomorrow. We could take soldiers \u2014 I don\u2019t want to have boots on the ground. But if I wanted to we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuba\u2019s representative to the United Nations, Ernesto Sober\u00f3n, reacted Thursday to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s visit the previous day to the U.S. naval base at Guant\u00e1namo Bay in eastern Cuba.<\/p>\n \u201cThe future of #Cuba \u2014a sovereign and independent country\u2014 belongs solely and exclusively to the Cuban people and government,\u201d Sober\u00f3n wrote in a social media post.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who believes that Cuba\u2019s future lies in other hands is completely and utterly mistaken,\u201d added the diplomat, who accompanied his message with a photograph of Hegseth in front of his troops, officially released by the United States.<\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s visit to the eastern portion of the island, which is controlled by the United States, comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Havana.<\/p>\n The opening of the Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River that President Trump previously threatened to block has been delayed due to \u201coutstanding issues.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement released Thursday ahead of a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says \u201cCanada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid for the week ending June 6 rose by 4,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That\u2019s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still considered a healthy level. It\u2019s also more than the 216,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.<\/p>\n Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.<\/p>\n The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose by 4,250 to 219,000.<\/p>\n The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending May 30 jumped by 24,000 to 1.8 million, slightly more than analysts predicted.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n The president on Thursday said the U.S. would hit Iran \u201cVERY HARD TONIGHT,\u201d threatening in a social media post to \u201cassume total control\u201d of Iran\u2019s oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island, in the \u201cnot too distant future.\u201d<\/p>\n The post came after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before.<\/p>\n Iran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had a day before.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump, is facing growing resistance from protesters in Albania.<\/p>\n Thousands of protesters are taking to the streets in nightly protests, blowing whistles and holding up cardboard cut-outs of flamingos \u2014 one of the protected migratory bird species that could see their habitats threatened by the proposed luxury resort.<\/p>\n The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.<\/p>\n But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania\u2019s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of longtime Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a government watchdog\u2019s request for a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from forging ahead with a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.<\/p>\n But the judge ended a hearing by issuing a \u201cfair warning\u201d to Trump\u2019s administration: \u201cDon\u2019t play possum with this court,\u201d U.S. District Judge Richard Leon told a government attorney.<\/p>\n Leon ruled from the bench in favor of the administration, which argued that the watchdog\u2019s lawsuit is moot because acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, said he accepts Blanche\u2019s representation for now.<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn\u2019t the final word on the fate of the government\u2019s \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund.\u201d Leon said he will consider a separate request by the plaintiffs \u2014 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington \u2014 for a preliminary injunction that would block payouts from the fund on a more permanent basis.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n A rare lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad is growing more likely after Trump resisted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to immediately name a permanent head of the nation\u2019s intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, Federal Housing Finance Regulator Bill Pulte, even though he has little experience for the job. Democrats say they won\u2019t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the president withdraws Pulte\u2019s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.<\/p>\n The House will try early Thursday to approve a short-term FISA extension, but passage is unlikely. The Senate may follow suit, hoping to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool.<\/p>\n The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary. The law expires on Friday at midnight.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s planned UFC fight on the White House\u2019s South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working onsite daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations.<\/p>\n The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America\u2019s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction \u2014 seven mixed martial arts matches \u2014 on Sunday.<\/p>\n That is, if a judge doesn\u2019t halt the proceedings, which is sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.<\/p>\n The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court, and, in it, laid out the operations for the event.<\/p>\n \u201cWell over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,\u201d the document read, adding that the money came from the UFC and groups affiliated with it.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/p>\n A small motorboat passes anchored vessels in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Thursday, June 11, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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