Top Stories for the Week of June 14th

These are the top stories for this week.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Department of Justice is investigating him and his wife. The probes involve Newsom’s staff and his wife’s taxes and date back to the Biden administration. Source

President Trump turned 80 today with a historic UFC event on the White House South Lawn, dubbed UFC Freedom 250, featuring two championship bouts as part of the America250 celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The event included roughly 5,000 spectators on the South Lawn and an additional 85,000 in the surrounding President’s Park. Source

The FBI foiled an alleged multi-phase attack on the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House, arresting at least five individuals tied to a plot involving explosive drones and a sniper team targeting the 80,000-person crowd. Investigators uncovered a Signal chat with at least 23 alleged co-conspirators, including 19-year-old Tycen Proper of Ohio, who allegedly spent graduation money on ammunition and firearms. Source

President Trump personally signed the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding during a dinner with French President Macron at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night, confirming what Vice President Vance had digitally co-signed days earlier. The 14-point MOU calls for an immediate ceasefire, including Lebanon, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, and 60 days of nuclear negotiations — though critics say major questions remain unresolved. Source

Vice President JD Vance is no longer traveling to Switzerland for talks after Iran sought guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon would end before resuming negotiations. Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the Burgenstock meeting will not take place, leaving the formal signing of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding in limbo. Read More

A B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after its 11:20 a.m. takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday, killing all eight people aboard — including government contractors and uniformed military personnel, with Boeing confirming two of its employees were among the dead. Officials said “initial indications are that the crash was not survivable” and that an investigation could take up to six months to complete. See Details

Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Monday that the Senate will attempt to pass a stand-alone extension of FISA’s Section 702 surveillance authority, rebuffing Trump’s demand to link it to the SAVE America Act. Thune called letting the critical national security tool remain lapsed a “serious mistake,” while Trump escalated by calling for the Senate parliamentarian to be fired. Read More

Unease among Senate Republicans hardened into open opposition Wednesday as details of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding surfaced, with Sen. Bill Cassidy calling it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades” and other hawks arguing the deal fails to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The White House is dispatching Vice President Vance — seen as the chief negotiator and most vulnerable political target — to defend the agreement publicly. Read More

The Senate rejected a motion Tuesday to discharge a war powers resolution directing President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran, with the vote failing 47-48. Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and Bill Cassidy crossed party lines to support the measure, while Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman voted with Republicans to block it. See Details

Vice President Vance told reporters Thursday that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding is “bearing fruit,” citing oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The vice president also pushed back against critics within the GOP and from Israel, defending the deal’s terms as the administration faces mounting questions about the 60-day window to finalize the agreement. Read More

President Trump told reporters at a bilateral meeting with UAE leaders at the G7 that he would not mind submitting the U.S.-Iran peace deal to Congress for a vote, framing it as a way to secure bipartisan validation. Senate Majority Leader Thune separately said Republican leaders are pressing the administration to share the text of the memorandum of understanding. Read More

President Trump threw Senate Republicans’ plans into disarray Wednesday by canceling the confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, his nominee for Director of National Intelligence, demanding Congress first approve a voter ID requirement as part of renewing the FISA surveillance law. The abrupt move left an empty committee room and exposed fractures between the White House and GOP Senate leadership over the scope of executive control over nominations. Find out More

Podcaster Joe Rogan voiced fresh frustration Saturday with President Trump, questioning whether his administration is delivering on campaign promises and expressing doubt about the Iran deal. “What the f— are we doing?” Rogan said, though he acknowledged the White House UFC fights would be “sick” despite concerns about staging a June event in D.C. heat. Source

Trump called for the impeachment of Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island on Monday, after Reed criticized Trump’s decision to exit the Obama-era JCPOA and called the new Iran agreement a “birthday gift” that cost Americans “hundreds of billions of dollars.” Reed had described the deal as arriving just in time for Trump’s 80th birthday at the expense of prolonged economic pain. See Details

President Trump slammed critics of his Iran deal as “fools” after Senate Republicans such as Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voiced opposition to the agreement. Source

Attorneys for Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, withdrew plans to use a psychiatric defense at trial. Source

All 12 people aboard a Skydive Kansas City aircraft were killed Sunday when the plane failed to gain altitude after takeoff near Butler Memorial Airport, with the pilot believed to have attempted an emergency landing on a highway before going down. The NTSB opened a formal investigation Monday, saying the process will take months and no conclusions will be drawn prematurely. See Details

Attorneys for Luigi Mangione, charged with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, announced Wednesday they will assert he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of the killing — a legal claim that, if successful, could reduce a murder charge to manslaughter under New York law. The case has drawn intense public attention amid ongoing debate over the U.S. health insurance industry. Read More

Federal authorities have arrested five individuals in connection with the alleged explosive-drone and sniper plot targeting the White House UFC Freedom 250 event, with Signal chat logs revealing that at least 23 users discussed the pre-operational plans. The plot called for explosive drones to force an evacuation and steer crowds toward snipers, with suspects then planning to storm the White House gates. Source

The Trump Justice Department joined a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to halt a housing reparations program in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, arguing that the program constitutes unconstitutional race-based discrimination in the distribution of public funds. The DOJ’s intervention escalates a broader administration effort to dismantle diversity and equity programs at the state and local level. See Details

A judge ordered the 16-year-old stepbrother charged with the murder of Anna Kepner to remain in prison pending trial. Read More

The FBI issued an urgent cybersecurity warning about “Kali365,” a new phishing campaign targeting Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive users through convincing fake login portals. Federal officials urged organizations to immediately verify multi-factor authentication settings and alert employees to suspicious credential requests. Read More

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave its target rate unchanged at 3.50%-3.75% at Wednesday’s meeting, with CME FedWatch showing a 97% probability of a hold. All eyes are on new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s inaugural press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET and the updated dot plot, which may signal whether the Fed will abandon its prior easing bias amid inflation that hit a three-year high of 4.2% in May. See Details

The Federal Reserve voted to hold its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its June meeting, the first chaired by Kevin Warsh since taking over from Jerome Powell, but the central bank’s updated projections — including several members signaling a potential rate increase later this year — sent stocks sliding and bond yields surging. Warsh notably abstained from submitting his own rate forecast, adding to investor uncertainty about his monetary policy direction. See Details

SpaceX’s historic Nasdaq debut on Friday set a new IPO record, with shares opening at $150, rising to $176 during trading, and closing at $161 — a valuation of $2.1 trillion. The offering made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire and is expected to open the door for Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs later this year. Source

U.S. crude oil futures dropped nearly 5% to around $80 per barrel Monday — their lowest since March — as the Iran peace deal raised hopes for the Strait of Hormuz reopening and resumed Gulf oil flows. Analysts at ANZ cautioned that the energy shock is “far from over,” warning prices could hover near the “low $90s” into Q3 as global inventories remain depleted. Find out More

Despite the cancellation of the Switzerland signing ceremony, oil prices continued to fall on Friday as markets anticipated a final deal would eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The prospect of renewed Iranian crude exports has already pushed West Texas Intermediate crude well below $80 per barrel from highs above $100 earlier this year. See Details

SpacX’s IPO continued to soar as it overtook Amazon to become the world’s fifth-largest company. Read More

Fox Corporation officially closed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, the streaming hardware and platform giant, in a deal that dramatically expands Fox’s distribution reach into connected TV households. The acquisition is seen as a strategic response to the accelerating shift from linear cable to streaming and gives Fox a powerful data and advertising platform with over 90 million active accounts. Source

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared Monday that the IDF will remain in its southern Lebanon security zones and will respond “with full force” to any Hezbollah attack, directly defying an expected element of the U.S.-Iran peace framework. Prime Minister Netanyahu said he and Trump “do not always see eye to eye,” marking the most significant public rift between the two leaders since the war began. Source

President Trump rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s strikes in Lebanon, which Trump argued put a peace deal with Iran at risk. Source

Conservative political parties gain ground in Latin America as the fear of crime grows among voters. See Details

Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone offensives of the war Thursday, sending more than 500 drones toward Moscow and striking the city’s largest oil refinery for the second time in a week, hours after President Zelenskyy told reporters he had held an “important coordination call” with President Trump and French President Macron that he said could “bring about significant change.” Russia said its air defenses intercepted the majority of the drones, but multiple drones struck civilian and industrial targets. Source

A woman who was thrown off a 130-foot bridge with her bungee cord attached was found alive on the ground by emergency responders before dying from her injuries. Read More

Taylor Swift has commissioned a massive custom stage being secretly constructed under heavy security at Rock Lititz, a production facility in Lititz, Pennsylvania, for her July 3 wedding event at Madison Square Garden, sources told TMZ. Rock Lititz previously built the video columns for Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, and sources confirmed the stage is “under lock and key with security guards patrolling the area.” Find out More

A wave of New York’s most famous Knicks fans publicly celebrated the franchise’s first championship in 53 years, with Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan, and Mariska Hargitay among those marking the historic moment. Ben Stiller, who documented the playoff run throughout, called it “one of the happiest” moments of his life. Source

Toy Story 5 is tracking for a domestic opening weekend of $145 to $175 million when it opens June 19, which would make it the largest debut in the 31-year franchise’s history and the biggest opening of 2026, according to Variety. The Pixar sequel, directed by Andrew Stanton and featuring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprising their roles, follows the toys as their owner becomes addicted to a kiddie smart tablet. Find out More

Tom Holland all but confirmed his secret marriage to Zendaya in a new Esquire cover story, telling the interviewer that when AI-generated fake wedding photos circulated, family members were not fooled because “they were all there.” Holland’s remark, followed by “that’s all you’ll get on that,” is the first direct confirmation from the actor after months of reports stemming from Zendaya’s stylist and the actress’s own ring-flashing moment at a Hollywood awards show. Read More

Pixar’s Toy Story 5, which opens wide nationwide today, earned enthusiastic early reactions from critics and fans ahead of what is projected to be a record-breaking opening weekend. The film follows Woody and Buzz’s story in a world where children prefer screens over toys, and reviewers praised its emotional third act. Read More

Grammy-nominated music producer Tay Keith, known for producing hits for major rap and hip-hop artists, was found dead Thursday afternoon at his Nashville, Tennessee, home, authorities said. He was 29 years old; no cause of death was immediately announced as police investigated the circumstances. Read More

Actor Ronnie Schell, who played the beloved Duke Slater on Gomer Pyle, USMC, and had recurring roles on That Girl, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dukes of Hazzard, died Friday in Los Angeles of natural causes at age 94. Schell, a U.S. Air Force veteran, continued performing standup comedy in Las Vegas until shortly before his death. Read More

Guillermo Rodriguez, the beloved security guard and on-air personality from Jimmy Kimmel Live!, has signed on to compete in Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, TMZ first reported. Rodriguez joins a cast that already includes reality stars Maura Higgins and Ciara Miller and social media personality Jackson Olson of the Savannah Bananas. Source

New York Knicks owner James Dolan announced the team accepted an invitation to visit the White House to celebrate winning the NBA championship. The Knicks are the first NBA champions to visit the White House while Donald Trump is President. See Details

Lionel Messi notched the first hat trick of his World Cup career Tuesday, powering Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in Kansas City and tying German legend Miroslav Klose’s all-time men’s World Cup scoring mark of 16 goals. The performance also marked Messi’s 200th cap for Argentina and made him the squad’s oldest-ever World Cup scorer — exactly 20 years after becoming their youngest. Source

Cape Verde produced the tournament’s biggest upset yet, holding reigning European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw thanks to a heroic performance from 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who made seven saves and denied Spain despite its 734 completed passes and 27 shots. Belgium edged Egypt 1-0, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay drew 1-1, and Iran tied New Zealand 2-2 in four draws across Monday’s Group Stage. Find out More

The New York Knicks celebrated their first NBA Championship in 5 years with a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Read More

Texas Tech quarterback Brandon Sorsby will enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft. A judge blocked the NCAA from suspending Sorby after Sorby admitted to placing $90,000 wagers, including games involving teams he played for, during his college career. See Details

The New York Knicks’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs was the highest-rated NBA Finals since 1998, as the series-clinching Game 5 peaked at 33 million viewers. Source

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is off to a spectacular start for American broadcasters, with the U.S. team’s 4-1 win over Paraguay drawing more than 27 million total viewers across all platforms — a record for a men’s World Cup game on English-language TV in the U.S. — and Mexico’s opening win drawing more than 19 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Source

Scottish soccer fans descending on Boston for World Cup matches proved so enthusiastic about beer that the Sam Adams Boston Taproom sold four times its normal volume of Boston Lager over a recent four-day stretch — and completely ran out, requiring an emergency delivery on Saturday morning. Multiple other bars also sold out, with one Irish pub manager saying, “We tripled St. Patrick’s Day.” Find out More

Animal control officers and firefighters in Connecticut teamed up to rescue a baby raccoon that had become trapped in a storm drain, lifting the tiny animal out safely after a careful extraction effort. The rescue was captured on video and has quickly become a feel-good moment on social media. See Details

State troopers arrested a 33-year-old Florida man after they pulled him over and discovered 34 open White Claw containers in the vehicle. Source

The Wildwood Zoo in Marshfield, Wisconsin, is asking residents to report any sightings of Violet, a skunk who escaped from her enclosure. Officials are urging the public to contact them rather than try to approach the animal themselves — a wise suggestion under any circumstances involving a skunk. Source