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  • Tropical Storm Chantal will be the first system of hurricane season to impact the US Tropical Storm Chantal meanders off the Southeast coast on Saturday morning. Tropical Storm Chantal formed off the Southeast coast early Saturday morning, becoming the third named system of the Atlantic hurricane season, according to the National Hurricane Center. While the storm is the first of the season to impact the United States, it isn’t a major threat to land, but could drench parts of the Southeast and create risky beach conditions through the weekend. The center of the storm was about 100 miles away from Charleston, South Carolina, Saturday afternoon and will continue to slowly creep toward the coast into early Sunday morning. The storm will strengthen some through Saturday night, but is expected to make landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm potentially during the earliest hours of Sunday morning. Landfall will likely occur somewhere between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A tropical storm warning was in place Saturday for portions of the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts. The latest forecasts suggest the storm will kick off several rounds of thunderstorms that could drop more than 2 to 4 inches of rain on parts of the Carolinas, with isolated amounts of up to 6 inches by Monday. The system is expected to bring 1 to 2 feet of storm surge in areas of onshore winds. Additionally, rough surf and rip currents will continue to plague much of the Carolina coastline through the holiday weekend. Outside of the Southeast, most of the country will see ideal conditions for July 4th weekend, particularly in the Northeast and West, where calm, mostly clear skies are expected. The Southeast is likely to dry out by Tuesday. Texas and the Upper Midwest could continue to see strong to severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail through the weekend. Torrential rainfall triggered deadly flooding in Texas early Friday morning as rivers rushed beyond their banks and flooded nearby campgrounds and homes.
  • Thailand’s prime minister suspended over leaked phone call with former strongman Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra walks through Government House after a cabinet meeting in Bangkok on July 1, 2025. Thailand’s embattled prime minister was suspended from duty Tuesday and could face dismissal pending an ethics probe over a leaked phone call she had with Cambodia’s powerful former leader. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 38, has only held the premiership for 10 months after replacing her predecessor, who was removed from office. Her suspension brings fresh uncertainty to the Southeast Asian kingdom, which has been roiled by years of political turbulence and leadership shake-ups. Thailand’s Constitutional Court accepted a petition brought by a group of 36 senators who accused Paetongtarn of violating the constitution for breaching ethical standards in the leaked call, which was confirmed as authentic by both sides. The court voted to suspend Paetongtarn from her prime ministerial duties until it reaches a verdict in the ethics case. Paetongtarn will remain in the Cabinet as culture minister following a reshuffle. Paetongtarn has faced increasing calls to resign, with anti-government protesters taking to the streets of the capital Bangkok on Saturday, after the leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen over an escalating border dispute sparked widespread anger in the country. The scandal prompted the Bhumjaithai party, a major partner of the prime minister’s government, to withdraw from the coalition last week, dealing a major blow to her Pheu Thai party’s ability to hold power. Paetongtarn is also contending with plummeting approvals ratings and faces a no-confidence vote in parliament. Related article How a leaked phone call between a former strongman and a young leader could topple a government In the leaked call, which took place on June 15, Paetongtarn could be heard calling former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen “uncle” and appeared to criticize her own army’s actions after border clashes led to the death of a Cambodian soldier last month. The Thai prime minister could be heard telling Hun Sen that she was under domestic pressure and urged him not to listen to the “opposite side,” in which she referred to an outspoken Thai army commander in Thailand’s northeast. She also added that if Hun Sen “wants anything, he can just tell me, and I will take care of it.” Her comments in the leaked audio struck a nerve in Thailand, and opponents accused her of compromising the country’s national interests. Following the ruling, Paetongtarn said she accepts the court’s decision and that her intention “was truly to act for the good of the country.” “I want to make it clear that my intentions were more than 100% sincere — I acted for the country, to protect our sovereignty, to safeguard the lives of our soldiers, and to preserve peace in our nation,” she said in a press conference Tuesday. “I also want to apologize to all my fellow Thais who may feel uneasy or upset about this matter,” she added. Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both cooperation and rivalry in recent decades. The two countries share a 508-mile (817-kilometer) land border – largely mapped by the French while they occupied Cambodia – that has periodically seen military clashes and been the source of political tensions. In the wake of the scandal, Paetongtarn tried to downplay her remarks to Hun Sen, saying at a press conference she was trying to diffuse tensions between the two neighbors and the “private” call “shouldn’t have been made public.” The prime minister said she was using a “negotiation tactic” and her comments were “not a statement of allegiance.” Paetongtarn became prime minister last year after the Constitutional Court ruled that her predecessor Srettha Thavisin had breached ethics rules and voted to dismiss him as prime minister. The same court also dissolved the country’s popular progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the 2023 election, and banned its leaders from politics for 10 years.
  • Bryan Kohberger agrees to plea deal to avoid death penalty in Idaho student killings FILE - Bryan Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho Bryan Kohberger, the 30-year-old accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in their apartment in 2022, has agreed to a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in his quadruple murder case. The plea deal consisted of pleading guilty to four counts of murder in exchange for the government not pursuing the death penalty, a person familiar with the deal confirmed to CNN. Shannon Gray, attorney for family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, also confirmed the deal to CNN. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Kohberger was slated to go on trial in August, and prosecutors indicated they would pursue the death penalty. “The issue is they are trying to cram the plea for July 2, only giving the families a day to get to Boise,” Gray said Goncalvez’ family described the announcement as “very unexpected” in a post on Facebook. They said they were “furious at the State of Idaho.” “They have failed us. Please give us some time,” reads the post. The deal brings a possible end to the years-long legal proceedings against Kohberger, which have seen his trial date delayed multiple times due to disputes about evidence and witnesses, as well as a change of venue from Latah County to the state capital of Boise. “We cannot fathom the toll that this case has taken on your family,” read the letter, signed by Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson, according to the Idaho Statesman, which said it viewed the letter. “This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family. This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.” Kohberger, previously a PhD student of criminology at the University of Washington, was charged with killing the four students in January 2023. Authorities say Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21 were fatally stabbed in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho. An assistant at the Kootenai County Public Defender’s office told CNN “no comment” about the news of the plea deal. Last week, a judge rejected a bid from Kohberger’s defense to delay the trial and dismissed the defense’s request to propose an “alternate perpetrator” theory. The judge had also barred Kohberger’s defense from entering an official alibi – since no one could vouch for where he was during the time of the killings.
  • America’s incredible stock market rebound is complete as S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs The S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Friday closed at all-time highs. The US stock market on Friday hit an all-time high, its first since mid-February. It marked the culmination of a remarkable recovery on Wall Street since the S&P 500 was flirting with bear market territory in early April. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, to close at a record 6,173.07. It marked the first new record high since February 19. Markets almost didn’t hit that record on Friday — they turned south in the late afternoon after President Donald Trump said the United States is ending trade talks with Canada because of a new digital services tax America’s northern neighbor imposed on companies. Trump said a new tariff on Canada would be announced within a week. That soured sentiment on Wall Street — but not enough to keep stocks lower. Stocks resumed their march higher one hour before the closing bell and rallied to finish the week. The Nasdaq Composite also hit a record high Friday, gaining 0.5%. It marked the first all-time high since December 16. The Nasdaq has become synonymous with Big Tech, and the AI boom has fueled a tech rally in recent months. The smaller Nasdaq 100, made up of top tech stocks, set a record earlier this week. The Dow rose 432 points, or 1%. It had been up as much as 580 points earlier in the day. The blue-chip index, dragged down by UnitedHealth, which has tumbled 39% this year, plus Apple, Merck and Nike, still has about 1,200 points, or 2.7%, left to gain before it hits its all-time high. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each posted their biggest weekly gain in six weeks. The S&P 500 has been on a wild round trip: The index shed $9.8 trillion in market value from its previous record on February 19 to its low point on April 8, before recovering all of those losses across the past two and a half months. A wild ride On April 8, when stocks were on the verge of plunging into a bear market, few Wall Street experts were predicting that the market would come close to a record high just 80 days later. Related article Trump is ending trade talks with Canada It’s been an incredible journey over the past several months. Trump alarmed traders with historic tariffs that economists said could reignite inflation and plunge the economy into a recession. The Trump administration then doubled down on those tariffs, culminating in the president’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement. That sent tariffs for dozens of nations surging — some as high as 50%. US tariffs on China eventually eclipsed 145% for some products, effectively creating a blockade on America’s second-biggest trading partner. On April 9, heeding warnings from the stock, currency and especially the Treasury markets, the administration paused its “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days, sending markets surging. Last month, the Trump administration reached frameworks for trade deals with the United Kingdom and China, giving investors a sense that the most punishing trade policies were in the past, and more trade deals could be forthcoming. “The sell-offs should never have happened,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management. “There was no need for that. It was a completely manufactured crisis.” Markets got another boost Friday after China signaled it would reopen its rare earth market to the United States. The news came just hours after White House officials said the two sides had reached a deal — a major breakthrough following weeks of negotiations. Despite a 10% universal tariff that remains in place, in addition to 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum, and 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts, markets have largely looked past trade in recent weeks, focusing instead on other reasons for optimism or concern. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said he believes trade negotiations with other countries could be “wrapped up” by Labor Day, providing a more relaxed framework for inking deals than the original July 9 deadline. Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business that the United States has 18 “important trading partners” that it is seeking to make deals with. “If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 … then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,” he said, without specifying the countries. A boom in AI, fueled by surging sales for Nvidia’s chips and a Republican-led effort to deregulate the industry, has been one of the primary catalysts that have fueled stocks and helped investors move beyond the trade war. Hopes for a rate cut from the Federal Reserve, backed by reasonably strong economic numbers and low inflation, have also helped stocks in recent months. Markets had temporarily grown jittery after the House passed Trump’s sweeping tax cut and domestic policy agenda last month. But demand for Treasury bonds has remained surprisingly strong, giving investors confidence that foreign countries and investors will continue to support America’s debt, allowing the country to borrow unimpeded. “Investors get the joke now,” said Hogan. “We’re going to hear something, whether it’s on Air Force One or on Truth Social, that we’re going to have to take with a massive grain of salt.” Challenges ahead Stocks face several challenges in the coming weeks and months. If Congress reaches a stalemate in the domestic policy bill, which includes a provision to raise the debt ceiling, America could once again come close to defaulting on its debt because it is unable to borrow enough money to pay back its creditors. And if few (or no) more trade deals are forthcoming, tariffs could rise again as soon as July 9 as the 90-day reciprocal tariff pause expires. The prospect of war breaking out in the Middle East remains a concern after a fragile truce between Israel and Iran was reached this week. And existing tariffs threaten to raise prices in the coming months, which could hurt economic growth. Stocks face less existential threats, as well. Valuations are surging well above earnings expectations. The S&P 500’s price-to-earnings ratio has surged past 23, a relatively high number that means stocks have become quite expensive compared to their profit expectations. Markets were celebrating at the close today. But it’s not clear how long the party will last
  • After a stunning NYC primary, national Democrats try to embrace Zohran Mamdani’s energy, if not always his ideas Edward-Isaac Dovere Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election in New York on June 25. New York CNN — New Yorkers aren’t the only ones trying to wrap their heads around Zohran Mamdani. Democratic Party operatives and elected officials around the country are both flabbergasted and inspired by the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning success in Tuesday’s mayoral primary. In text chains and private conversations, they are scouring election precinct data from parts of Queens and the Bronx some had never heard of before and trying to understand how Mamdani might affect races all over the country. Mamdani, a three-term state assemblyman, is poised to win pending a ranked-choice tally after his top rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded the race Tuesday. Many Democrats on Wednesday publicly embraced the enthusiasm Mamdani generated with younger voters by focusing on the affordability crisis gripping New York and many other places across the country. They also tried to avoid associating too closely with Mamdani proposals like freezing rent or opening government-run grocery stores that they think could get easily caricatured. “Running a city myself, I’m not sure all those ideas are actionable and practical in the way they sound on a TikTok video, but that aside, he met people, he listened to people,” said Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, weeks after she romped in her own primary against her own city Democratic Party chair. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York City natives who lead their parties’ caucuses in each chamber of Congress, quickly issued statements saying they had spoken to Mamdani and praising the campaign he ran. They stopped short of endorsing him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak at a press conference at the US Capitol on June 11 in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who flipped a House seat in the New York suburbs last year, lit Mamdani up as “the absolute wrong choice for New York” and derided his campaign as “built on unachievable promises and higher taxes.” Rep. Tom Suozzi, from a neighboring district on Long Island, said he still had “serious concerns” about Mamdani. President Donald Trump, a Queens native, posted Wednesday that Mamdani was a “100% Communist Lunatic,” echoing Republicans who say they’ll try to elevate him as a Democratic symbol. Rep. George Latimer, a freshman from the New York suburbs who beat a Mamdani-aligned Democrat in his own primary last year, said he worries about Democrats in tough districts being associated with the mayoral candidate and his platform. “It’s going to be tough for front-liners because they’re in districts that have a lot of Republicans in it that would look at a Democrat and want to hear the narrative, ‘Oh, this guy’s radical,’” he said. In her swing corner of the nation’s biggest swing state, Cognetti thinks New York City politics only registers so much. She can already see Republicans salivating, though. “I’m sure the ads are already being cut by the Republicans,” she told CNN, “but to me the lesson for the Democratic establishment is we need to stop thinking that the ads from 2006 are going to work in 2026.” The rush by some to write Mamdani off or distance from him is a way to more losses, Cognetti argued. “If 2024 wasn’t a wake-up call,” she said, “this needs to be.” One possible lesson: Focus on affordability Mamdani engaged thousands of new voters, expanding the electorate and encroaching into many neighborhoods and demographics where progressives had long struggled, with his ideas to help residents stay in one of the country’s most expensive metro areas. To pay for his ideas, he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy, something New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said is a non-starter. “For folks who are not happy about the cost of living in this city, you can point to a lot of people with traditional experience,” said Kal Penn, the actor and activist who worked briefly in the Obama White House and is a Mamdani family friend, standing at Mamdani’s election night party on Tuesday. Actor Kal Penn and Zohran Mamdani stand side by side while addressing the crowd at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn New York on May 4. “No disrespect to them — a lot of them are my friends, and I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done together,” he added. “But that question of where to take the party and why certain things aren’t working, I think what you’re seeing is the solution to that, which is really bold ideas that are scalable, talking to people with respect, including as many people as possible in that movement, knocking on as many doors.” Democrats will need to win seats in much tougher terrain than New York City to flip the House or cut into their deficit in the Senate in next year’s midterms, or to make the 2028 presidential election go better than last year, when Donald Trump won every swing state. That’s the wrong way to look at what happened, argued Tommy McDonald, a Democratic ad maker who’s worked on multiple winning economic populist campaigns. “In primaries and general elections, voters have rewarded people that are focused on concerns of class and issues that make their lives better,” McDonald said. “That’s a pretty consistent gain whether you’re talking about people who are deciding whether to sit on their couch or vote, who are deciding between primary fields of a lot of candidates, or the narrow sliver of the electorate that’s deciding whether to vote for Democrats or Republicans.” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has embraced a more aggressive, populist stance himself since Trump’s second win, said this is what he has heard Democrats asking for, whether at home in Connecticut or as he’s been traveling to places like North Carolina and Missouri for town halls. “I know that this feels like a shock to a lot of folks but it doesn’t seem like rocket science. He’s focused on reordering economic power, he’s dynamic, and he’s a new voice. Check, check, check,” Murphy said of Mamdani. Voters “want you to have a couple of new ideas. They don’t mind that some of that could sound a little dangerous. It’s almost like a calling card at this point to have some ideas that are out of the 20-yard line.” The furor and speculation doesn’t appear to have reached everyone in Democratic politics. Asked for comment about the primary, one House member granted anonymity to speak candidly responded: “Who is Zohran?” Echoes of AOC But the last time a New York election evoked so much shock nationally was in 2018, when a near-unknown democratic socialist beat New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary. Now one of the best-known progressives in the country, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed and campaigned with Mamdani in the primary. This June 2018 photo shows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrating with supporters at a victory party in the Bronx after upsetting incumbent Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowly in New York City. John Liu, a state senator from Queens and former city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani in the final stretch, pointed out that he himself is not a socialist but that he is excited to see the likely Democratic nominee try for all his big ideas. “What is socialism exactly? The reality is that there are leaders like Zohran who think that government can and must do more. And I think at the end in its basic essence, that’s probably what socialism is, even though it’s still a nasty word for a lot of people. It’s just about having government understand people and do more for people,” Liu said. “Government’s certainly doing a lot of things for people who don’t really need the help. You know, the, the multi-billionaires have gotten a huge break in this country and in this city.” Even New York Democrats who were not with Mamdani — including those whose feelings about Cuomo ranged from skepticism to disgust — urge those same counterparts around the country to take a breath. “It shows that there’s a lot of foment in the party, a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the party and the country and the city are,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan-based congressman long seen as a liberal lion of the city who endorsed one of Mamdani’s other opponents and is already being talked about by several prominent New York progressives as the next target for a primary challenge. He has since endorsed Mamdani. “We don’t know how far the party is going to go. This is one election for one person,” Nadler said. One New York-based Democratic consultant also urged party leaders not to rush their reads on Mamdani’s win. The consultant noted that the winner of the primary four years ago was also held up as a model for the Democratic Party’s future, embraced by then-President Joe Biden and called “a rock I can build a church on” by then-House Democrats’ campaign chair Sean Patrick Maloney. Now, Eric Adams is running for reelection as an independent. His likely Democratic opponent in the fall will be Mamdani. And Biden and Maloney are both out of office.
  • After a stunning NYC primary, national Democrats try to embrace Zohran Mamdani’s energy, if not always his ideas Edward-Isaac Dovere Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election in New York on June 25. New York CNN — New Yorkers aren’t the only ones trying to wrap their heads around Zohran Mamdani. Democratic Party operatives and elected officials around the country are both flabbergasted and inspired by the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning success in Tuesday’s mayoral primary. In text chains and private conversations, they are scouring election precinct data from parts of Queens and the Bronx some had never heard of before and trying to understand how Mamdani might affect races all over the country. Mamdani, a three-term state assemblyman, is poised to win pending a ranked-choice tally after his top rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded the race Tuesday. Many Democrats on Wednesday publicly embraced the enthusiasm Mamdani generated with younger voters by focusing on the affordability crisis gripping New York and many other places across the country. They also tried to avoid associating too closely with Mamdani proposals like freezing rent or opening government-run grocery stores that they think could get easily caricatured. “Running a city myself, I’m not sure all those ideas are actionable and practical in the way they sound on a TikTok video, but that aside, he met people, he listened to people,” said Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, weeks after she romped in her own primary against her own city Democratic Party chair. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York City natives who lead their parties’ caucuses in each chamber of Congress, quickly issued statements saying they had spoken to Mamdani and praising the campaign he ran. They stopped short of endorsing him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak at a press conference at the US Capitol on June 11 in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who flipped a House seat in the New York suburbs last year, lit Mamdani up as “the absolute wrong choice for New York” and derided his campaign as “built on unachievable promises and higher taxes.” Rep. Tom Suozzi, from a neighboring district on Long Island, said he still had “serious concerns” about Mamdani. President Donald Trump, a Queens native, posted Wednesday that Mamdani was a “100% Communist Lunatic,” echoing Republicans who say they’ll try to elevate him as a Democratic symbol. Rep. George Latimer, a freshman from the New York suburbs who beat a Mamdani-aligned Democrat in his own primary last year, said he worries about Democrats in tough districts being associated with the mayoral candidate and his platform. “It’s going to be tough for front-liners because they’re in districts that have a lot of Republicans in it that would look at a Democrat and want to hear the narrative, ‘Oh, this guy’s radical,’” he said. In her swing corner of the nation’s biggest swing state, Cognetti thinks New York City politics only registers so much. She can already see Republicans salivating, though. “I’m sure the ads are already being cut by the Republicans,” she told CNN, “but to me the lesson for the Democratic establishment is we need to stop thinking that the ads from 2006 are going to work in 2026.” The rush by some to write Mamdani off or distance from him is a way to more losses, Cognetti argued. “If 2024 wasn’t a wake-up call,” she said, “this needs to be.” One possible lesson: Focus on affordability Mamdani engaged thousands of new voters, expanding the electorate and encroaching into many neighborhoods and demographics where progressives had long struggled, with his ideas to help residents stay in one of the country’s most expensive metro areas. To pay for his ideas, he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy, something New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said is a non-starter. “For folks who are not happy about the cost of living in this city, you can point to a lot of people with traditional experience,” said Kal Penn, the actor and activist who worked briefly in the Obama White House and is a Mamdani family friend, standing at Mamdani’s election night party on Tuesday. Actor Kal Penn and Zohran Mamdani stand side by side while addressing the crowd at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn New York on May 4. “No disrespect to them — a lot of them are my friends, and I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done together,” he added. “But that question of where to take the party and why certain things aren’t working, I think what you’re seeing is the solution to that, which is really bold ideas that are scalable, talking to people with respect, including as many people as possible in that movement, knocking on as many doors.” Democrats will need to win seats in much tougher terrain than New York City to flip the House or cut into their deficit in the Senate in next year’s midterms, or to make the 2028 presidential election go better than last year, when Donald Trump won every swing state. That’s the wrong way to look at what happened, argued Tommy McDonald, a Democratic ad maker who’s worked on multiple winning economic populist campaigns. “In primaries and general elections, voters have rewarded people that are focused on concerns of class and issues that make their lives better,” McDonald said. “That’s a pretty consistent gain whether you’re talking about people who are deciding whether to sit on their couch or vote, who are deciding between primary fields of a lot of candidates, or the narrow sliver of the electorate that’s deciding whether to vote for Democrats or Republicans.” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has embraced a more aggressive, populist stance himself since Trump’s second win, said this is what he has heard Democrats asking for, whether at home in Connecticut or as he’s been traveling to places like North Carolina and Missouri for town halls. “I know that this feels like a shock to a lot of folks but it doesn’t seem like rocket science. He’s focused on reordering economic power, he’s dynamic, and he’s a new voice. Check, check, check,” Murphy said of Mamdani. Voters “want you to have a couple of new ideas. They don’t mind that some of that could sound a little dangerous. It’s almost like a calling card at this point to have some ideas that are out of the 20-yard line.” The furor and speculation doesn’t appear to have reached everyone in Democratic politics. Asked for comment about the primary, one House member granted anonymity to speak candidly responded: “Who is Zohran?” Echoes of AOC But the last time a New York election evoked so much shock nationally was in 2018, when a near-unknown democratic socialist beat New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary. Now one of the best-known progressives in the country, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed and campaigned with Mamdani in the primary. This June 2018 photo shows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrating with supporters at a victory party in the Bronx after upsetting incumbent Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowly in New York City. John Liu, a state senator from Queens and former city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani in the final stretch, pointed out that he himself is not a socialist but that he is excited to see the likely Democratic nominee try for all his big ideas. “What is socialism exactly? The reality is that there are leaders like Zohran who think that government can and must do more. And I think at the end in its basic essence, that’s probably what socialism is, even though it’s still a nasty word for a lot of people. It’s just about having government understand people and do more for people,” Liu said. “Government’s certainly doing a lot of things for people who don’t really need the help. You know, the, the multi-billionaires have gotten a huge break in this country and in this city.” Even New York Democrats who were not with Mamdani — including those whose feelings about Cuomo ranged from skepticism to disgust — urge those same counterparts around the country to take a breath. “It shows that there’s a lot of foment in the party, a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the party and the country and the city are,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan-based congressman long seen as a liberal lion of the city who endorsed one of Mamdani’s other opponents and is already being talked about by several prominent New York progressives as the next target for a primary challenge. He has since endorsed Mamdani. “We don’t know how far the party is going to go. This is one election for one person,” Nadler said. One New York-based Democratic consultant also urged party leaders not to rush their reads on Mamdani’s win. The consultant noted that the winner of the primary four years ago was also held up as a model for the Democratic Party’s future, embraced by then-President Joe Biden and called “a rock I can build a church on” by then-House Democrats’ campaign chair Sean Patrick Maloney. Now, Eric Adams is running for reelection as an independent. His likely Democratic opponent in the fall will be Mamdani. And Biden and Maloney are both out of office.
  • After a stunning NYC primary, national Democrats try to embrace Zohran Mamdani’s energy, if not always his ideas Edward-Isaac Dovere Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election in New York on June 25. New York CNN — New Yorkers aren’t the only ones trying to wrap their heads around Zohran Mamdani. Democratic Party operatives and elected officials around the country are both flabbergasted and inspired by the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning success in Tuesday’s mayoral primary. In text chains and private conversations, they are scouring election precinct data from parts of Queens and the Bronx some had never heard of before and trying to understand how Mamdani might affect races all over the country. Mamdani, a three-term state assemblyman, is poised to win pending a ranked-choice tally after his top rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded the race Tuesday. Many Democrats on Wednesday publicly embraced the enthusiasm Mamdani generated with younger voters by focusing on the affordability crisis gripping New York and many other places across the country. They also tried to avoid associating too closely with Mamdani proposals like freezing rent or opening government-run grocery stores that they think could get easily caricatured. “Running a city myself, I’m not sure all those ideas are actionable and practical in the way they sound on a TikTok video, but that aside, he met people, he listened to people,” said Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, weeks after she romped in her own primary against her own city Democratic Party chair. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York City natives who lead their parties’ caucuses in each chamber of Congress, quickly issued statements saying they had spoken to Mamdani and praising the campaign he ran. They stopped short of endorsing him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak at a press conference at the US Capitol on June 11 in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who flipped a House seat in the New York suburbs last year, lit Mamdani up as “the absolute wrong choice for New York” and derided his campaign as “built on unachievable promises and higher taxes.” Rep. Tom Suozzi, from a neighboring district on Long Island, said he still had “serious concerns” about Mamdani. President Donald Trump, a Queens native, posted Wednesday that Mamdani was a “100% Communist Lunatic,” echoing Republicans who say they’ll try to elevate him as a Democratic symbol. Rep. George Latimer, a freshman from the New York suburbs who beat a Mamdani-aligned Democrat in his own primary last year, said he worries about Democrats in tough districts being associated with the mayoral candidate and his platform. “It’s going to be tough for front-liners because they’re in districts that have a lot of Republicans in it that would look at a Democrat and want to hear the narrative, ‘Oh, this guy’s radical,’” he said. In her swing corner of the nation’s biggest swing state, Cognetti thinks New York City politics only registers so much. She can already see Republicans salivating, though. “I’m sure the ads are already being cut by the Republicans,” she told CNN, “but to me the lesson for the Democratic establishment is we need to stop thinking that the ads from 2006 are going to work in 2026.” The rush by some to write Mamdani off or distance from him is a way to more losses, Cognetti argued. “If 2024 wasn’t a wake-up call,” she said, “this needs to be.” One possible lesson: Focus on affordability Mamdani engaged thousands of new voters, expanding the electorate and encroaching into many neighborhoods and demographics where progressives had long struggled, with his ideas to help residents stay in one of the country’s most expensive metro areas. To pay for his ideas, he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy, something New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said is a non-starter. “For folks who are not happy about the cost of living in this city, you can point to a lot of people with traditional experience,” said Kal Penn, the actor and activist who worked briefly in the Obama White House and is a Mamdani family friend, standing at Mamdani’s election night party on Tuesday. Actor Kal Penn and Zohran Mamdani stand side by side while addressing the crowd at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn New York on May 4. “No disrespect to them — a lot of them are my friends, and I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done together,” he added. “But that question of where to take the party and why certain things aren’t working, I think what you’re seeing is the solution to that, which is really bold ideas that are scalable, talking to people with respect, including as many people as possible in that movement, knocking on as many doors.” Democrats will need to win seats in much tougher terrain than New York City to flip the House or cut into their deficit in the Senate in next year’s midterms, or to make the 2028 presidential election go better than last year, when Donald Trump won every swing state. That’s the wrong way to look at what happened, argued Tommy McDonald, a Democratic ad maker who’s worked on multiple winning economic populist campaigns. “In primaries and general elections, voters have rewarded people that are focused on concerns of class and issues that make their lives better,” McDonald said. “That’s a pretty consistent gain whether you’re talking about people who are deciding whether to sit on their couch or vote, who are deciding between primary fields of a lot of candidates, or the narrow sliver of the electorate that’s deciding whether to vote for Democrats or Republicans.” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has embraced a more aggressive, populist stance himself since Trump’s second win, said this is what he has heard Democrats asking for, whether at home in Connecticut or as he’s been traveling to places like North Carolina and Missouri for town halls. “I know that this feels like a shock to a lot of folks but it doesn’t seem like rocket science. He’s focused on reordering economic power, he’s dynamic, and he’s a new voice. Check, check, check,” Murphy said of Mamdani. Voters “want you to have a couple of new ideas. They don’t mind that some of that could sound a little dangerous. It’s almost like a calling card at this point to have some ideas that are out of the 20-yard line.” The furor and speculation doesn’t appear to have reached everyone in Democratic politics. Asked for comment about the primary, one House member granted anonymity to speak candidly responded: “Who is Zohran?” Echoes of AOC But the last time a New York election evoked so much shock nationally was in 2018, when a near-unknown democratic socialist beat New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary. Now one of the best-known progressives in the country, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed and campaigned with Mamdani in the primary. This June 2018 photo shows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrating with supporters at a victory party in the Bronx after upsetting incumbent Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowly in New York City. John Liu, a state senator from Queens and former city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani in the final stretch, pointed out that he himself is not a socialist but that he is excited to see the likely Democratic nominee try for all his big ideas. “What is socialism exactly? The reality is that there are leaders like Zohran who think that government can and must do more. And I think at the end in its basic essence, that’s probably what socialism is, even though it’s still a nasty word for a lot of people. It’s just about having government understand people and do more for people,” Liu said. “Government’s certainly doing a lot of things for people who don’t really need the help. You know, the, the multi-billionaires have gotten a huge break in this country and in this city.” Even New York Democrats who were not with Mamdani — including those whose feelings about Cuomo ranged from skepticism to disgust — urge those same counterparts around the country to take a breath. “It shows that there’s a lot of foment in the party, a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the party and the country and the city are,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan-based congressman long seen as a liberal lion of the city who endorsed one of Mamdani’s other opponents and is already being talked about by several prominent New York progressives as the next target for a primary challenge. He has since endorsed Mamdani. “We don’t know how far the party is going to go. This is one election for one person,” Nadler said. One New York-based Democratic consultant also urged party leaders not to rush their reads on Mamdani’s win. The consultant noted that the winner of the primary four years ago was also held up as a model for the Democratic Party’s future, embraced by then-President Joe Biden and called “a rock I can build a church on” by then-House Democrats’ campaign chair Sean Patrick Maloney. Now, Eric Adams is running for reelection as an independent. His likely Democratic opponent in the fall will be Mamdani. And Biden and Maloney are both out of office.
  • After a stunning NYC primary, national Democrats try to embrace Zohran Mamdani’s energy, if not always his ideas Edward-Isaac Dovere Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election in New York on June 25. New York CNN — New Yorkers aren’t the only ones trying to wrap their heads around Zohran Mamdani. Democratic Party operatives and elected officials around the country are both flabbergasted and inspired by the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning success in Tuesday’s mayoral primary. In text chains and private conversations, they are scouring election precinct data from parts of Queens and the Bronx some had never heard of before and trying to understand how Mamdani might affect races all over the country. Mamdani, a three-term state assemblyman, is poised to win pending a ranked-choice tally after his top rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded the race Tuesday. Many Democrats on Wednesday publicly embraced the enthusiasm Mamdani generated with younger voters by focusing on the affordability crisis gripping New York and many other places across the country. They also tried to avoid associating too closely with Mamdani proposals like freezing rent or opening government-run grocery stores that they think could get easily caricatured. “Running a city myself, I’m not sure all those ideas are actionable and practical in the way they sound on a TikTok video, but that aside, he met people, he listened to people,” said Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, weeks after she romped in her own primary against her own city Democratic Party chair. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York City natives who lead their parties’ caucuses in each chamber of Congress, quickly issued statements saying they had spoken to Mamdani and praising the campaign he ran. They stopped short of endorsing him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speak at a press conference at the US Capitol on June 11 in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who flipped a House seat in the New York suburbs last year, lit Mamdani up as “the absolute wrong choice for New York” and derided his campaign as “built on unachievable promises and higher taxes.” Rep. Tom Suozzi, from a neighboring district on Long Island, said he still had “serious concerns” about Mamdani. President Donald Trump, a Queens native, posted Wednesday that Mamdani was a “100% Communist Lunatic,” echoing Republicans who say they’ll try to elevate him as a Democratic symbol. Rep. George Latimer, a freshman from the New York suburbs who beat a Mamdani-aligned Democrat in his own primary last year, said he worries about Democrats in tough districts being associated with the mayoral candidate and his platform. “It’s going to be tough for front-liners because they’re in districts that have a lot of Republicans in it that would look at a Democrat and want to hear the narrative, ‘Oh, this guy’s radical,’” he said. In her swing corner of the nation’s biggest swing state, Cognetti thinks New York City politics only registers so much. She can already see Republicans salivating, though. “I’m sure the ads are already being cut by the Republicans,” she told CNN, “but to me the lesson for the Democratic establishment is we need to stop thinking that the ads from 2006 are going to work in 2026.” The rush by some to write Mamdani off or distance from him is a way to more losses, Cognetti argued. “If 2024 wasn’t a wake-up call,” she said, “this needs to be.” One possible lesson: Focus on affordability Mamdani engaged thousands of new voters, expanding the electorate and encroaching into many neighborhoods and demographics where progressives had long struggled, with his ideas to help residents stay in one of the country’s most expensive metro areas. To pay for his ideas, he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy, something New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said is a non-starter. “For folks who are not happy about the cost of living in this city, you can point to a lot of people with traditional experience,” said Kal Penn, the actor and activist who worked briefly in the Obama White House and is a Mamdani family friend, standing at Mamdani’s election night party on Tuesday. Actor Kal Penn and Zohran Mamdani stand side by side while addressing the crowd at a rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn New York on May 4. “No disrespect to them — a lot of them are my friends, and I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done together,” he added. “But that question of where to take the party and why certain things aren’t working, I think what you’re seeing is the solution to that, which is really bold ideas that are scalable, talking to people with respect, including as many people as possible in that movement, knocking on as many doors.” Democrats will need to win seats in much tougher terrain than New York City to flip the House or cut into their deficit in the Senate in next year’s midterms, or to make the 2028 presidential election go better than last year, when Donald Trump won every swing state. That’s the wrong way to look at what happened, argued Tommy McDonald, a Democratic ad maker who’s worked on multiple winning economic populist campaigns. “In primaries and general elections, voters have rewarded people that are focused on concerns of class and issues that make their lives better,” McDonald said. “That’s a pretty consistent gain whether you’re talking about people who are deciding whether to sit on their couch or vote, who are deciding between primary fields of a lot of candidates, or the narrow sliver of the electorate that’s deciding whether to vote for Democrats or Republicans.” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has embraced a more aggressive, populist stance himself since Trump’s second win, said this is what he has heard Democrats asking for, whether at home in Connecticut or as he’s been traveling to places like North Carolina and Missouri for town halls. “I know that this feels like a shock to a lot of folks but it doesn’t seem like rocket science. He’s focused on reordering economic power, he’s dynamic, and he’s a new voice. Check, check, check,” Murphy said of Mamdani. Voters “want you to have a couple of new ideas. They don’t mind that some of that could sound a little dangerous. It’s almost like a calling card at this point to have some ideas that are out of the 20-yard line.” The furor and speculation doesn’t appear to have reached everyone in Democratic politics. Asked for comment about the primary, one House member granted anonymity to speak candidly responded: “Who is Zohran?” Echoes of AOC But the last time a New York election evoked so much shock nationally was in 2018, when a near-unknown democratic socialist beat New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary. Now one of the best-known progressives in the country, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed and campaigned with Mamdani in the primary. This June 2018 photo shows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrating with supporters at a victory party in the Bronx after upsetting incumbent Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowly in New York City. John Liu, a state senator from Queens and former city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani in the final stretch, pointed out that he himself is not a socialist but that he is excited to see the likely Democratic nominee try for all his big ideas. “What is socialism exactly? The reality is that there are leaders like Zohran who think that government can and must do more. And I think at the end in its basic essence, that’s probably what socialism is, even though it’s still a nasty word for a lot of people. It’s just about having government understand people and do more for people,” Liu said. “Government’s certainly doing a lot of things for people who don’t really need the help. You know, the, the multi-billionaires have gotten a huge break in this country and in this city.” Even New York Democrats who were not with Mamdani — including those whose feelings about Cuomo ranged from skepticism to disgust — urge those same counterparts around the country to take a breath. “It shows that there’s a lot of foment in the party, a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the party and the country and the city are,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan-based congressman long seen as a liberal lion of the city who endorsed one of Mamdani’s other opponents and is already being talked about by several prominent New York progressives as the next target for a primary challenge. He has since endorsed Mamdani. “We don’t know how far the party is going to go. This is one election for one person,” Nadler said. One New York-based Democratic consultant also urged party leaders not to rush their reads on Mamdani’s win. The consultant noted that the winner of the primary four years ago was also held up as a model for the Democratic Party’s future, embraced by then-President Joe Biden and called “a rock I can build a church on” by then-House Democrats’ campaign chair Sean Patrick Maloney. Now, Eric Adams is running for reelection as an independent. His likely Democratic opponent in the fall will be Mamdani. And Biden and Maloney are both out of office.
  • Iran's nuclear ambitions were "obliterated" in US strikes, Hegseth says Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon today. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, today, after the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to destroy the country's nuclear program. How world leaders are reacting to the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities Concerned by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, world leaders have reacted after the United States struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. UK: Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged Iran “to show restraint and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis” in a post on X, insisting that the UK did not participate in the US strikes. Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier urged Iran to return to the negotiating table after the US’ strikes, calling Iran’s nuclear program “a grave threat to international security.” France: Foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France had noted the US strikes overnight “with concern,” adding that it had not participated. “France has repeatedly expressed its very firm opposition to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. France is convinced that a lasting resolution to this issue requires a negotiated solution within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he continued. “It remains ready to contribute to this in collaboration with its partners.” Germany: Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the German cabinet met on Sunday after American bombs were dropped on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “The Federal Chancellor and the ministers of the Security Cabinet will consult closely with their partners in the EU and the USA on further steps during the course of the day. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his call on Iran to enter into immediate negotiations with the USA and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he said. Russia: Russia’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the US strikes, calling it an “irresponsible decision” that “flagrantly violates international law,” despite Moscow having repeatedly violated international law in its ongoing, unprovoked war in Ukraine. “We call for an end to aggression and for increased efforts to create conditions for returning the situation to a political and diplomatic track,” the ministry said, warning that the US strikes mean “a dangerous round of escalation has begun,” which risks “further undermining” security in the region China: A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said: “China strongly condemns the US attack on Iran and the nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This move by the US seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and exacerbates tensions in the Middle East.” “China calls on the parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiations. China is willing to work with the international community to pool efforts, uphold justice, and make efforts to restore peace and stability in the Middle East” it added. Turkey: Turkey’s foreign ministry said it has “consistently warned about the risk of the conflict, sparked by Israeli aggression, spreading throughout the region and destabilizing the security environment” in a statement Sunday, saying the US strike “has elevated that risk to its highest level.” “Tukey is deeply concerned about the potential consequences of the US attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The current developments could escalate the regional conflict into a global one. We do not want to see this catastrophic scenario materialize. We call on all relevant parties to act responsibly, to cease the attacks immediately, and to refrain from actions that could lead to further loss of life and destruction. The only way to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program is through negotiations,” the statement read. The European Union: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said “stability must be the priority” and “respect for international law is critical.” She said: “Now is the moment for Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution. The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis.” European Council President Antonio Costa said he was “deeply alarmed by the news arriving from the Middle East.” He said: “Diplomacy remains the only way to bring peace and security to the Middle East region. Too many civilians will once again be the victims of a further escalation. The EU will continue engaging with the parties and our partners to find a peaceful solution at the negotiating table,” he added. Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney said the “situation in the Middle East remains highly volatile” and stressed that “stability in the region is a priority.” He called on parties to return to the negotiating table to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis which “should lead to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.” Japan: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said “a de-escalation as soon as possible is more important than anything” but that “at the same time, Iran’s nuclear weapons development must be stopped.” He told reporters in Tokyo on Sunday that “we are closely monitoring the situation there with grave concern.” Pakistan: A foreign ministry spokesperson said Pakistan condemns the US attacks, saying it is “gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region,” but stated Iran “has the legitimate right to defend itself.” It said: “The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond. We emphasize the imperative need to respect civilian lives and properties and immediately bring the conflict to end.”
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