NTD Good Morning

U.S. Vice President JD Vance was in Lucerne, Switzerland on Monday giving an update on negotiations with Iran. He said that ‘a lot of good progress’ has been made and that a ‘very good foundation’ has been set for a successful final deal. Vance said that four key points have been made, including establishing a mechanism for keeping the Hormuz Strait open, coordinating a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an agreement on IAEA inspections, and a process for technical negotiations.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced he is stepping down, less than two years after he led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory. Starmer says the nomination process will begin on July 9th and a new leader will be chosen before Parliament returns in September. Andy Burnham is considered the frontrunner to replace Starmer, after recently winning a Parliament seat in a special election that boosted his standing within the party.

Lawmakers are heading back to Washington, D.C. on Monday, to tackle issues like election integrity, affordable housing, and leadership in the intelligence community. The affordable housing bill, is backed by both Democrats and Republicans, and is expected to pass the House this week, after passing the Senate last week.

Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Switzerland to meet with Iranian negotiators has been postponed. This comes as Israel carries out retaliation strikes in Lebanon, saying it targeted Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure. Israel says four soldiers were killed in the fighting and accused Hezbollah of repeated ceasefire violations. The U.S. military has also begun lifting its naval blockade of Iran, with Vice President Vance saying Central Command has allowed over a dozen ships through so far.

President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to three service members during a White House ceremony on Thursday. The President honored retired Marine Major James Capers Jr., Army Major Nicholas Dockery, and Marine Colonel John Ripley. The medal recognizes service members who performed acts of extraordinary heroism in combat. President Trump saying the nation owes its freedom to service members willing to face extraordinary danger in defense of the country.

During the FIFA World Cup on Thursday, host country Canada defeated Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver, the country’s first ever victory in a World Cup game. In Los Angeles, Switzerland scored 4 late goals to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1. Meanwhile, Mexican and South Korean supporters gathered together in Guadalajara ahead of their Group A showdown, with Mexico taking home the win with a score of 1-0. Team USA will be facing Australia on Friday in Seattle.

The United States and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding to end the nearly four-month-long war, and it is now in effect. The agreement calls for an "immediate and permanent" end to hostilities between the two nations. The two sides will enter a 60-day negotiation period aimed at reaching a final peace deal and determining the future of Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement also says Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore commercial traffic through the key waterway without tolls during the 60-day period.

Senators on Capitol Hill are working to hold Chinese Communist Party officials accountable for forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. A committee on Wednesday advanced a bipartisan bill to sanction these perpetrators. They would be sanctioned, blocked from transacting with any U.S. person or entity, and have their U.S. properties frozen. Lawmakers are also calling for an official investigation to determine the scale and scope of the inhumane practice.

Five men were arrested in connection with an alleged plot targeting the White House UFC Freedom 250 event. The suspects will likely be prosecuted outside Washington. Federal authorities say the group planned to use explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation before opening fire on fleeing attendees. The five suspects have already made initial court appearances and are scheduled to return to federal court on Thursday.

G7 leaders welcomed the deal between the United States and Iran and praised President Donald Trump for achieving a diplomatic breakthrough. In a meeting with Egyptian President El-Sisi, Trump warned Iran of the consequences if they don’t get along, saying the United States would continue "shooting at them and dropping bombs on their heads." This comes as Trump vows to release the text of the deal.

Results are in for primary elections in several states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama and Washington, D.C. Billionaire Rick Jackson won the Republican nomination for Georgia governor, beating Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who was backed by Trump. Also in Georgia, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) won his party’s Senate run-off and will face Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in November. In Oklahoma, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) secured the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat, while Alabama Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) won the Republican Senate runoff.

The FBI says it has disrupted a plot to deploy drones and snipers targeting last weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. It comes amid a string of threats against Trump and senior officials. Vice President JD Vance condemned the plot while urging people to tone down rhetoric encouraging violence. The investigation into the alleged plot is still ongoing, and the Secret Service says there are still suspects at large and that they will keep working until everyone has been identified and held accountable.

At the G7 summit in France, President Trump dismissed claims of $300 billion in funds to rebuild Iran on Tuesday, saying the U.S. is ‘not investing any money in Iran.’ The president denied the claim twice during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar. Trump also said that he is ‘not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.’ The President also said he wants to focus on Ukraine, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7.

Gas prices fell below $4 a gallon on Sunday for the first time since mid-April. The drop comes as hopes for a possible end to the war in Iran improve market sentiment. President Trump also said that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen without tolls, and that the U.S. blockade on Iran would be lifted. A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Switzerland.

Eight people are dead after an Air Force B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California. Officials at the base say the aircraft was conducting a local test flight tied to a radar modernization program. The victims included military personnel, government civilians and contractors. Investigators have not determined what caused the crash and say the review could take months.

President Trump says a peace deal between the United States and Iran has been reached. In a post on Truth Social, the president announcing what he called the ‘toll-free opening’ of the Strait of Hormuz and the ‘immediate removal’ of the U.S. naval blockade. Iran has signaled it may delay implementing parts of the agreement until the formal signing takes place. The agreement also sets a 60-day framework to address Iran’s nuclear program, including its highly enriched uranium stockpile.

Several lawmakers have raised concerns about the lapse of FISA section 702, which gives the government the ability to collect data on foreign nationals located outside of the U.S. A vote to renew the authority failed on the House floor last week as Democrats protesting the president's choice to allow Bill Pulte to serve as a temporary Director of national Intelligence. The president also seeks to include two non-voting issues, banning men from women’s sports and transgender surgery for children.

American singer and comedian Oliver Tree is among six people killed after two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro. Authorities say the aircraft crashed on Sunday in the city’s western zone, killing everyone on board. An Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi, was also among the victims. Rio's military fire department says one of the helicopters came down in the parking lot of an electric car dealership, igniting a fire. Officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the collision.

The World Cup has arrived in America, as the U.S. men’s national team gets ready to kick off its first group-stage match against Paraguay on Friday at the Los Angeles Stadium. In Mexico City on Thursday, celebrations filled the Estadio Azteca after Mexico defeated South Africa, 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match. The South Korean team also defeated the Czech Republic in their opener in a 2-1 victory.

President Trump announcing a major breakthrough in the conflict with Iran, saying the war is effectively over. The president says that Iran has agreed never to have a nuclear weapon, and that a peace deal could be ready as soon as this weekend. Iran says it has not reached a final decision on an agreement. If the deal is confirmed, it would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the war.

The government’s FISA Section 702 spy powers bill lapsed on Friday, after Democrats used the extension vote as a way to protest President Trump’s temporary pick to serve as the Director of National Intelligence. Several lawmakers have raised concerns about the authority being used to spy on Americans. President Trump made Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as his official pick to serve as the DNI. Bill Pulte will still serve as temporary director until Clayton is confirmed.

Tensions continue to simmer in the Middle East, as U.S. Central Command says U.S. forces have completed an additional round of defensive strikes against multiple targets in Iran at President Trump’s direction. On Thursday morning, President Trump posted on Truth Social saying that the U.S. will continue with strikes in Iran, and that the U.S. will be hitting Iran ‘very hard tonight.’

One day after President Trump signed a Republican-only bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies, he calls on Congressional Republicans to immediately advance and pass a third budget bill to supplement the Department of War and an election integrity bill. The goal is to give the pentagon $350 billion for developing America's Golden Dome and manufacturing stealth fighters and stealth bombers. Trump is also calling for lawmakers to include in the party line package the SAVE America act to ‘protect our Elections for Generations to come.’

The New York Knicks, pulling off the biggest comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106. The Knicks were down 29 points at one point, but slowly made up the deficit in the second half, with OG Anunoby tipping in a rebound with 1.2 seconds left on the clock, sealing the victory for New York. Game 5 is on Saturday, and would secure the championship for New York if they win. If necessary, game 5 will be held on Tuesday.

A week after the primaries in California, gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is now advancing to the general election in November. Hilton is holding nearly 25% to Democrat Xavier Becerra’s 28%, with 88% of the votes counted. In Maine, voters nominated Graham Platner to take on incumbent Senator Susan Collins. Polls have painted a tough picture for her against Platner, with her trailing behind in most surveys conducted since March.

President Trump, on Wednesday, bashing Iran for taking too long in negotiations and vowing to make them ‘pay the price.’ It comes after the two sides exchanged new attacks after Trump blamed Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter. It’s not currently clear what this will mean for Iran so far.

House Republicans passed a major $72-billion immigration enforcement and border security package, that would fund ICE and CBP through the end of Trump’s term. The measure passing mostly along party lines in a 214-to-212 vote. Democrats unanimously opposing the bill, arguing it expands immigration enforcement without additional reforms or oversight. The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

Nithya Raman will now face incumbent Karen Bass in November in the Los Angeles mayoral race, beating out Spencer Pratt. The Associated Press called the race on Monday with 93% of the votes in. Raman posted a statement on X expressing her appreciation to voters who supported her, saying she is ‘incredibly honored’ for the opportunity. Early election results favored Pratt, a former reality TV star, but mail-in ballots counted days after the election propelled Raman to a narrow second place.

President Trump has confirmed that two crew members were rescued after a U.S. Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The cause of the crash is not currently known. This as Israel and Iran return to a ceasefire after the president demanded that both sides ‘stop shooting.’ Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that Israel only attacked Iran following Hezbollah's attack on Israel, declaring that Israel has the full right to self-defense and will exercise that right whenever necessary.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy J.r announced a major expansion of the administration’s nutrition education initiative on Monday, saying 19 additional medical schools have no pledged to require at least 40 hours of nutrition education beginning in the fall. Federal officials say the initiative is aimed at combating chronic disease by placing greater emphasis on prevention and nutrition in healthcare. Kennedy say the nutrition pledges are voluntary, and the government is not forcing schools to adopt any specific curriculum.