https://newrepublic.com/post/212003/trump-iran-right-nuclear-program

>President Trump said Wednesday that Iran could have its own nuclear program.

>“It is a little hard that when you say that somebody wants it, other people have it, other adjoining states have it, and you’re not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. It’s always a little tough. You have to use a little common sense,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trump leaves door open to Iran enriching: "It's a little hard when other people have it, other adjoining states have it, and you're not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. You have to use a little common sense." pic.twitter.com/oVfBz4nuI8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 17, 2026
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2067289874030276702

>It seems to be a sharp departure from Trump’s previous claims during the war. After months of insisting that the purpose of the war was to get rid of any nuclear capability, demanding “zero enrichment,” Trump is now saying that the country can use nuclear power for electricity.

>One wonders what Republicans in Congress—let alone the international community—will think of Trump’s latest concession. If a final peace deal between Iran and the U.S. doesn’t have any restrictions on the country’s nuclear program, it will be effectively worse than the 2015 JCPOA agreement with Iran.

>That agreement was drafted not only between the U.S. and Iran, but the other members of the U.N. Security Council, including China, Russia, the U.K., and the European Union. This deal was negotiated without Congress even being aware of the details. Iran will likely be receiving $300 billion in reconstruction funds, and now they might have a nuclear program too. What did the Trump administration accomplish?

https://nypost.com/2026/06/18/us-news/biden-gets-left-behind-at-obama-center-opening-wheres-my-granddaughter/

They just left him there.

Former President Joe Biden was awkwardly left lingering by himself on stage at the grand opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, tepidly waving at the crowd after the ceremony ended.

A gleeful Obama had waltzed off the stage to the music, followed by a smiling former first lady Jill Biden, while the 46th president stood there seemingly dazed all by himself.

For reasons that aren’t clear, the 83-year-old went over to the podium and took off his sunglasses before staring into the crowd with a puzzled look on his face.

“Where’s my granddaughter?” he shouted.

The former president then seemingly started to make his way off-stage before footage of the event cut off.

Biden’s rare public outing was reminiscent of parts of his presidency, when he was seen wandering after events with a confused look on his face.

https://idahonews.com/news/local/federal-judge-blocks-idahos-transgender-bathroom-law-as-legal-challenge-continues

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a request for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of H.B. 752, a new Idaho law that would have threatened transgender people with up to five years in prison for using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity instead of their biological sex at birth.

H.B. 752 had been set to take effect July 1. The court’s order limits enforcement of the law, protecting access to some restrooms while the legal challenge continues.

Signed into law earlier this year by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, H.B. 752 prohibits people in Idaho from using sex-designated public restrooms not matching their sex at birth in public. The law applies to government-owned buildings and private businesses open to the public, including libraries, rest stops, malls, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues, hospitals and other businesses. It would make a first offense a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a second offense a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Idaho Fraternal Order of Police and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association opposed H.B. 752, saying there is no “clear or reasonable way” to determine a person’s sex at birth during a field contact without “invasive and inappropriate” questioning or searches.

In April 2026, six transgender Idaho residents filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging H.B. 752, arguing it violates constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and privacy. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Idaho, Lambda Legal, Munger, Tolles & Olson and the Alturas Law Group in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. This ruling grants their May request for a preliminary injunction.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/13/clean-air-act-diesel-pardon-trump-00960608

Troy Lake offered a stunning confession during dinner with his new neighbor, Wyoming political consultant Jeff Daugherty: Lake would soon report to a federal prison.

Daugherty was stunned again when he learned Lake’s crime was conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act, a felony. The Justice Department and EPA said Lake, a mechanic and small business owner, had disabled pollution control monitors on hundreds of commercial diesel trucks. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison — an unusually strong punishment for this type of environmental crime.

“I’m not going to lie, it was an emotional dinner,” Daugherty said. “We had just met these people, but already felt this horrible pity for them.”

Daugherty, a political consultant and local lobbyist, decided he would get Lake a presidential pardon, despite having no idea how to do that. Cut to last November, when President Donald Trump granted Lake clemency.

“In my 39-plus years at EPA, I never heard of a pardon — Clean Air Act or otherwise — for an environmental crime,” said Gary Jonesi, a career enforcement official who started the nonprofit group CREEDemocracy after retiring from EPA last year.

That may soon change. A growing list of people convicted for Clean Air Act violations are hoping to replicate Lake’s success, with help from Daugherty and Colorado attorney Stewart Cables, arguing they were only trying to help truck owners who couldn’t afford or wait for repairs.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/14-point-draft-us-iran-deal-2026-06-17/

>1. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.
>2. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs.
>3. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent.
>4. Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-unfair-iran-lack-ballistic-missiles-if-other-countries-have-them-2026-06-17/

>PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it would be unfair for Iran not to have ballistic missiles if other countries have them.
>"I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some," Trump told reporters in Paris.


>"If Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have some, I would say in relative proportion, I think it's okay."
Trump also said the United States would leave its military in the Gulf "for a while" after Washington struck a deal with Tehran to end its nearly four-month conflict in the region.