Monday morning news: June 16, 2025

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Iran-Israel war » Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, as Israel and Iran traded missile strikes once again on Sunday.

Iranian missiles have broken through Israeli defenses, striking buildings deep inside the country.

Israel hit targets in Tehran including the Defense Ministry and sites it says are tied to Iran’s nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday further explained the decision to launch the mission aimed at taking out Iran’s nuclear program.

US nuclear negotiations with Iran had reportedly stalled, and Netanyahu says it was clear to him that the talks were going nowhere.

NETANYAHU:  I could wait and wait and wait until they officially declared that the talks were off or they, uh, you know, and we'd officially declare that we're gonna attack them.

Israel says that would have fully surrendered any element of surprise and given Iran more time to continue enriching uranium.

UN nuclear officials have warned that Iran was one small technical step away from enriching at weapons grade levels.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel (Michael) Leiter

LEITER:  This, uh, uh, uh, series of strikes is not going to end today or tomorrow, but only at a period of time, which may take weeks when we are absolutely certain that the nuclear infrastructure with the intention of weaponizing and threatening Israel is terminated.

Iran months ago launched a direct ballistic missile attack against Israel. And Israeli leaders say they won’t wait until Iran is capable of launching nuclear warheads.

Hundreds of civilians are believed to have been killed on both sides since Friday.

President Trump says the United States military was not involved in the Israeli mission in Iran, but notes that Israel is armed with the best American-made weapons. He’s urging Teheran to surrender its nuclear program and negotiate an end to the conflict.

Manhunt for political murderer » Lawmakers are still reeling from the shooting that killed one Democratic Minnesota state legislator and her husband and severely wounded another and his wife.

Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar said Sunday:

KLOBUCHAR:  Our delegation in Minnesota from, uh, the most conservative Republican to the most liberal Democrat, we all joined together and said, we condemn this political violence.

The attack killed Hortman, her husband Mark, and gravely wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

Law enforcement continued the search Sunday for the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

The attacks come amid a recent flurry of political violence, including two assassination attempts against Donald Trump last year.

250th anniversary military parade » Thousands gathered in Washington over the weekend for a military parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

President Trump and other top officials paid tribute.

TRUMP:  We commemorate an event that did not just change American history, but change the history of the entire world with the creation of America's army on June 14th, 1775.

The procession featured more than 6,000 soldiers, more than a 100 Army tanks, Apache Gunships, Black Hawk Helicopters and more.

Vintage Army equipment was also on display, including WWII era B-25s from the Army Air Corp.

Immigration protests » An organized nationwide protest brought thousands into the streets in cities across the country over the weekend…

AUDIO: Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go

…demonstrating against President Trump’s immigration policies, and immigration law enforcement.

AUDIO:  It feels to me like we are losing the thread of democracy in our country. That, that it's unraveling before our eyes.

Many marched holding American flags, others with Mexican flags.

Once again, some of those protests turned violent.

Police in LA deploying tear gas to protect themselves, the public, and property. Some threw objects, including chunks of concrete at officers and fired commercial grade fireworks at them.

Democrats still demanding investigation over Padilla incident » On Capitol Hill,  Democrats are still demanding an investigation after California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference with Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem and handcuffed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom:

NEWSOM: I hope we look at what happened to Senator Padilla, not through the blue or red lens. But through your own set of eyes.

But Republicans say they watched the footage with their own eyes. And they say it was clear that Padilla was aggressively charging toward the podium, that Padilla’s identity was not clear to Secret Service and FBI agents guarding the event, and that he resisted as they tried to remove him.

House Speaker Mike Johnson:

JOHNSON: I think that that behavior at a minimum is, um, it rises to the level of a censure. I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that that is not what we are going to do.

Secretary Noem calling the interruption disrespectful.

But she says the two have since opened a line of communication.

Gas prices » Gas prices are lower than they were two weeks ago, according to the national Lundberg Survey. But its publisher, Trilby Lundberg says, don’t get used to it, given the conflict in the Middle East.

LUNDBERG:  Our latest survey shows a drop of a nickel in the national average price of gasoline. Regular grade now at $3 21 cents, but it's already old news because on Friday a shot came to the oil markets with a move up of about $5 per barrel just from the day before.

She says that means about 12 cents per gallon if it were at the pump and that prices are expected to climb in the days ahead.

I'm Kent Covington.

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