Republished June 24, 2025 - 8:04 PM
Original Publication Date June 23, 2025 - 9:06 PM
Ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to hold as Trump vents frustration with both sides
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to hold Tuesday after initially faltering, and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with both sides, saying they had fought “for so long and so hard” that they do not know what they are doing.
But even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel had brought Iran’s nuclear program “to ruin,” a new U.S. intelligence report found that the program has been set back only a few months after U.S. strikes over the weekend, according to two people familiar with the assessment.
The early report issued Monday by the Defense Intelligence Agency was described to The Associated Press by two people familiar with it. They were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The report also contradicts statements from Trump, who has said the Iranian nuclear program was “completely and fully obliterated." The White House called the assessment “flat-out wrong.”
After the truce was supposed to take effect, Israel accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace, and the Israeli finance minister vowed that “Tehran will tremble.”
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Early US intelligence report suggests US strikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence report suggests that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months after U.S. strikes and was not “completely and fully obliterated” as President Donald Trump has said, according to two people familiar with the early assessment.
The report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday contradicts statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities. According to the people, the report found that while the Sunday strikes at the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, the facilities were not totally destroyed. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. has held out hope of restarting negotiations with Iran to convince it to give up its nuclear program entirely, but some experts fear that the U.S. strikes — and the potential of Iran retaining some of its capabilities — could push Tehran toward developing a functioning weapon.
The assessment also suggests that at least some of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, necessary for creating a nuclear weapon, was moved out of multiple sites before the U.S. strikes and survived, and it found that Iran’s centrifuges, which are required to further enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, are largely intact, according to the people.
At the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant, where U.S. B-2 stealth bombers dropped several 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, the entrance collapsed and infrastructure was damaged, but the underground infrastructure was not destroyed, the assessment found. The people said that intelligence officials had warned of such an outcome in previous assessments ahead of the strike on Fordo.
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Gaza health authorities say Israel kills 44 waiting for aid as war's death toll passes 56,000
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44, witnesses and hospitals said, as health authorities announced the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000.
Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds heading toward desperately needed food, killing hundreds in recent weeks. The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
In central Gaza, three witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire as people advanced east toward aid trucks south of Wadi Gaza.
“It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people, “even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded.”
Hossam Abu Shahada said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward. He described a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people tried to escape.
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Andrew Cuomo concedes New York City Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani as the 33-year old member of the state Assembly had a significant lead in the race Tuesday night.
Cuomo’s concession came as the race’s outcome will be decided by a ranked choice count after neither Democrat got a clear majority in the vote.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist member of the state Assembly, started to pull ahead with more than an estimated 80% of ballots counted.
Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, said Mamdani “won” and that “we are going to take a look and make some decisions.”
“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said.
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Temperature in New York City reaches 100 degrees as eastern US swelters under extreme heat wave
NEW YORK (AP) — Extensive triple digit heat, broken temperature records and oppressive humidity piled up into a steaming mess as the heat dome crushing the Eastern half of the nation sizzled to what should be its worst Tuesday.
New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) a little after noon, the first time since 2013. Then Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston joined the 100 club. More than 150 million people woke up to heat warnings and forecasters at the National Weather Service expected dozens of places to tie or set new daily high temperature records Tuesday. The dangerous heat sent people to the hospital, delayed Amtrak trains and caused utilities to urge customers to conserve power.
“Every East Coast state today from Maine to Florida has a chance of 100 degree actual temperature,” said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist.
Fryeburg, Maine, also hit 100, for the first time since 2011.
“Getting Maine to 100 degrees is infrequent,” Maue said.
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs confirms he won't testify and praises the trial judge for an ‘excellent job’
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs told the judge at his sex trafficking trial that he's doing an “excellent job” as he confirmed Tuesday that he won’t testify.
Combs made the comment to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian after being asked about testifying.
The question was posed by the Manhattan jurist after the prosecution rested following a more than six-week-long presentation of evidence against the hip-hop maven. Later in the afternoon, the defense rested without calling any witnesses.
In a routine occurrence after prosecutors rest at criminal trials, Combs’ lawyers made arguments to toss out the charges, arguing the charges weren’t proven. The judge said he'll rule at a later date.
Prosecutors have called 34 witnesses to try to prove sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that resulted in Combs’ September arrest, including two ex-girlfriends of Combs who testified they felt coerced into marathon sex events with male sex workers that were called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
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NATO chief praises Trump for making Europe 'pay in a BIG way' on defense ahead of summit
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised President Donald Trump for making Europe “pay in a BIG way,” as leaders gathered in the Netherlands on Tuesday for a historic summit that could unite them around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 member countries of the security alliance.
The U.S. president, while en route, published a screenshot of a private message from Rutte saying: “Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.”
“Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,” Rutte wrote. NATO confirmed that he sent the message.
Rutte appeared unconcerned that Trump aired it, telling reporters: “I have absolutely no trouble or problem with that because there’s nothing in it which had to stay secret."
Trump arrived early in the evening after injecting uncertainty over whether the U.S. would abide by the mutual defense guarantees outlined in the NATO treaty. “Depends on your definition,” he said. Rutte said he has no doubt about the Article 5 guarantee, which says an armed attack on one member is an attack on all.
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Man charged with supplying chemicals to Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber dies in custody
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Washington state man who was charged with aiding the bomber of a fertility clinic in Southern California died Tuesday in federal custody, just weeks after his arrest, prison officials said.
Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to Guy Edward Bartkus of California, the bomber, who died in the May 17 explosion.
Park, of suburban Seattle, was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles Tuesday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.
The two men connected in fringe online forums over their shared beliefs against human procreation, investigators said. The blast gutted the clinic in Palm Springs, east of Los Angeles, and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, with officials calling the attack terrorism. The facility was closed, and no embryos were damaged.
Park shipped 180 pounds (about 82 kilograms) of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in January and bought another 90 pounds (about 41 kilograms) and had it shipped to him days before the explosion, investigators said. Park purchased ammonium nitrate online in several transactions between October 2022 and May 2025, according to a federal complaint.
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US stocks approach their all-time high as oil prices tumble
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose toward their all-time high on Tuesday after oil prices eased further on hopes that Israel’s war with Iran will not damage the global flow of crude.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.1%, following up on big gains for stocks across Europe and Asia, after President Donald Trump said late Monday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire.” The main measure of Wall Street’s health is back within 0.8% of its record set in February after falling roughly 20% below during the spring.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 507 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.4%.
The strongest action was again in the oil market, where a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell 6% to settle at $64.37. Brent crude, the international standard, had a similar drop.
The fear throughout the Israel-Iran conflict has been that it could squeeze the world’s supply of oil, which would pump up prices for gasoline and hurt the global economy. Iran is a major producer of crude, and it could also try to block the Strait of Hormuz off its coast, through which 20% of the world’s daily oil needs passes on ships.
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Texas will put warning labels on some foods, but its additives list has inaccuracies
DALLAS (AP) — A new Texas law promoting the Trump administration's “Make America Healthy Again” agenda requires first-ever warning labels on foods like chips and candies that contain dyes and additives not allowed in other countries.
It could have far-reaching effects on the nation's food supply, but a review of the legislation shows it also misrepresents the status of some ingredients that would trigger the action.
The law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday requires foods made with any of more than 40 dyes or additives to have labels starting in 2027 saying they contain ingredients “not recommended for human consumption” in Australia, Canada, the European Union or the U.K. But a review shows that nearly a dozen of the targeted additives are either authorized in the cited regions — or already restricted in the U.S.
The law, which will send the food industry scrambling to respond, is laudable in its intent, but could lead to incorrect citations and potential legal challenges, a consumer advocacy group said.
“I don’t know how the list of chemicals was constructed,” said Thomas Galligan, a scientist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Warnings have to be accurate in order to be legal.”
News from © The Associated Press, 2025