An early assessment challenges Trump and Netanyahu’s assertions that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been “obliterated.” Zohran Mamdani leads the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Plus, international doctors don’t know if they’ll make it to the U.S. in time for their residency programs’ start date.
Here’s what to know today.
Strikes on Iran only set nuclear program back by a few months, sources say
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to remain intact into a second day despite a rocky start when both countries accused the other of breaching the agreement. President Donald Trump lashed out as he left the White House yesterday morning to attend a NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” he said.
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The Trump administration and the president’s allies have touted the success of U.S. strikes last weekend on Iran’s major nuclear sites. Vice President JD Vance outlined a foreign policy doctrine he dubbed “the Trump doctrine” at the Ohio Republican Party dinner last night. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attacks “obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons,” echoing language used by the president.
But an initial assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency concludes that the strikes were not as effective as Trump has suggested. Actually, the strikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites set the country’s program back by only three to six months, according to three people with knowledge at the report. “This assessment is already finding that these core pieces are still intact,” one source said of the facilities. “That’s a bad sign for the overall program.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the findings of the intelligence assessment, first reported by CNN, were “flat-out wrong” and leaked by “an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community.” She added, “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
A White House official said defense officials are still studying the impact of the bombing.
Another big question that has so far gone unanswered is whether Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium has been destroyed or accounted for, a source said.
More on the Middle East conflict:
- Iran’s often obstinate diplomacy, over-reliance on regional militants and shoddy security left it vulnerable and paved the way to defeats.
- Three people accused of spying for Israel have been executed in Iran, Iranian media outlet Tasnim reported. More than 700 people accused of involvement in an Israeli spy network have been arrested over the last 12 days, according to Iranian state-aligned media.
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Cuomo concedes to Mamdani in New York mayoral primary
State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is leading first-choice votes in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary with about 44% as of last night, ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on 36%.
The lead was enough for Cuomo to concede to Mamdani even though it’ll take a week, possibly longer, to find out who will win the nomination in the ranked-choice election.
City Comptroller Brad Lander, who had encouraged his voters to rank Mamdani second, claimed 12% of first-choice votes, with all other candidates getting less than 5% apiece.
Mamdani’s popularity surged in the race’s final weeks as he touted a progressive vision for the city that includes rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, free city buses and more. If elected in November, the 33-year-old state lawmaker from Queens said his tenure would be a “model for the Democratic Party” and promised to reject “Donald Trump’s fascism.”
Cuomo said in his concession speech that Mamdani ran a “highly impactful campaign” that resonated with voters. He also didn’t shut down the possibility of an independent bid in the general election.. Read the full story here.
FBI agents diverted to immigration efforts go back to their old jobs
Counterterrorism agents with the FBI who were ordered to focus on immigration cases were told to go back to their old job amid worries about potential threats from Iran, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Guidance was issued over the weekend reassigning agents who work on counterterrorism, counterintelligence and cyber issues but had been sidetracked by immigration duties. The FBI said it does not confirm or deny operational changes.
All four sources said the move was related to the possibility of Iran retaliating against the U.S. over recent military strikes against nuclear sites. And for months, current and former FBI officials have warned that asking agents to help DHS officers track down undocumented immigrants, which is not traditionally an FBI role, would mean other crucial national security threats could get less attention. With the FBI already stretched thin, employees said shifting agents’ responsibilities can have major impacts. Read the full story here.
More politics news:
- New data shows that the Trump administration has detained only 6% of the undocumented immigrants known to ICE to have been convicted of homicide and 11% of those known to have been convicted of sexual assault.
- A top Justice Department official told subordinates they would need to consider ignoring court orders the day before deportations carried out under the Alien Enemies Act, according to a whistleblower.
- The DOJ accused a federal judge of “unprecedented defiance” of a Supreme Court decision regarding the deportation of migrants to “third countries” they have no connection to.
- Senate Republicans are facing tense divisions over updates to the House-passed budget bill for Trump’s agenda. Adding to the pressure is Trump, who threatened “no one goes on vacation” if a bill isn’t on his desk by July 4.
- Democrats elected Rep. Robert Garcia of California as their leader on the House Oversight Committee, one of the party’s key roles to take on Trump.
- The 19-year-old DOGE staffer nicknamed “Big Balls” has left the Trump administration.
What to watch for in the NBA draft
When the Dallas Mavericks make the first pick in the NBA draft tonight, few fans expect a surprise. The Mavs are in need of a new star, and the likely No. 1 pick, 18-year-old Duke forward Cooper Flagg, is considered by many to be a generational talent.
The first surprise of the night might be whether the Philadelphia 76ers use their No. 3 pick to draft Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, whose stock has fallen recently because of concerns over his play and his refusal to work out for teams during the pre-draft process. If the 76ers pass, Bailey’s slide could set off a chain reaction of moves. There are also a handful of teams, including the Boston Celtics and the recently crowned champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, that could make a trade tonight. Here are the top storylines heading into tonight’s draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Also in attendance tonight will be Khaman Maluach, the Duke center from South Sudan whose future appeared in flux just a few months ago. Then, a little-known division of the NBA stepped in.
Read All About It
- The 32-year-old man accused of being an accomplice in the car bombing outside a California fertility clinic last month died while in federal custody.
- The defense team in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial rested its case without calling any witnesses to the stand, pushing the trial forward into what’s likely to be the final phase.
- A federal judge declared in a major ruling that artificial intelligence developers can train on published books without authors’ content.
- The 19-year-old Dreamer who was arrested by ICE following a traffic stop said she was “scared and felt alone” during the two weeks she spent in a detention center.
- McDonald’s faces a national boycott in response to its decision to dial back some of its DEI programs for employees.
Staff Pick: International doctors in visa limbo
The last month has brought a seesaw of emotions for international doctors accepted to medical residency programs in the U.S. First, the Trump administration paused the distribution of J-1 visas, which most overseas doctors need to attend their programs. Then it placed a travel ban on 12 countries and partially restricted entrance for another seven.
Just as many doctors began to fear they would miss the start of their residencies on July 1, the Trump administration lifted the J-1 pause, while rolling out new procedures to scrutinize visa applicants’ social media activity.
My reporting found that many doctors still haven’t been able to schedule visa appointments because their embassies haven’t reopened slots. Others have obtained appointments, but their applications have been held up by the vetting process. All the while, hospitals are concerned that the doctors they’re counting on to care for patients might never make it to the U.S. — Aria Bendix, health reporter
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