Tuesday morning news: June 9, 2026

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Iran, Israel pause strikes » Israel and Iran on Monday ended the flare-up that led to both countries trading attacks.

As the munitions fell silent, the question became: Can talks to end the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran get back on track? President Trump hopes so, saying in a social media post “final negotiations on peace are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” adding “things should move quickly.”

But Ebrahim Azizi, a top leader in the Iranian government—interpreted through a translator—is casting doubt on that.

AZIZI: We do not see a serious will to reach a framework that could actually be implemented… We do not have any trust at all, and with this lack of trust, it’s not possible for negotiations to continue.

A deeper dive into the conflict with Iran is just a few minutes away here on The World and Everything In It.

FISA reauthorization in jeopardy » Democrats say President Trump needs to make another pick for acting director of national intelligence or they won’t reauthorize a key foreign surveillance program.

Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, the U.S. government can analyze foreign texts, calls, and emails without a warrant. But FISA expires this week, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Trump needs to remove acting DNI Bill Pulte to have a chance of Democratic support.

JEFFRIES: Donald Trump, as he often does, tosses a hand grenade into those sensitive negotiations by elevating Bill Pulte as a director of National Intelligence -- someone who's a political hack, a malignant clown. And he's woefully unqualified to serve in any position in the federal government.

Critics accuse Trump of appointing someone who will be loyal to him but lacks meaningful national security experience.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is confident that even if Pulte isn’t pulled, lawmakers will pass a FISA extension.

JOHNSON: We're going to pass FISA this week because it would go dark and it would be a calamitous situation for the country. So I'm working to put that coalition together.

Pulte already heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Trump says Pulte’s proven himself to be a good manager.

Texas works to eradicate screwworm » The U.S. Department of Agriculture is mobilizing emergency operations to combat a parasite that’s threatening the cattle industry and has now spread beyond Texas, the state where it first emerged last week.

Four cases of the new world screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae eat live flesh, have emerged in Texas, affecting three calves and a goat. The USDA says it’s also now spread to a dog in a neighboring county in New Mexico.

Combating the pest involves deploying millions of sterile flies into the area to disrupt the screwworm’s reproduction cycle. Texas Governor Greg Abbott:

ABBOTT: The USDA is now importing and dispersing those flies in South Texas and will recalibrate to deploy those sterile flies as needed and where needed.

Until now, the screwworm had not emerged in the U.S. for decades.

Some Democrats pin the blame on President Trump’s cost-cutting effort known as DOGE, claiming it cut funding for screwworm monitoring in Central America.

But Ag. Secretary Brooke Rollins is blaming the Biden Administration, saying the pest came in along with a flood of illegal migrants thanks to Biden’s lax border policies.

Philippines earthquake kills dozens » Terror in the Philippines:

SOUND: [Screaming]

Those are the sounds of parents, teachers, and students panicking and running for their lives as an earthquake hit right as a high school in the southern Philippines was holding a flag-raising ceremony.

The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, killed dozens of people and left hundreds more hurt. Several buildings either collapsed or sustained heavy damage. The quake also triggered a tsunami, which left behind damage.

Raman advances to runoff » Two former political allies will square off in the November election for Los Angeles mayor.

After close to a week of mail-in ballot counting, far-left city council member Nithya Raman advanced to the November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

Though the race is technically non-partisan, both Bass and Raman are Democrats. Raman initially endorsed Bass for reelection, but then decided to mount a challenge, critiquing Bass’s handling of homelessness, among other issues.

The result knocks Spencer Pratt out of the running. Pratt is a Republican and former reality TV star whose candidacy generated national attention. He looked like he had a solid chance of making the runoff on election night, but kept losing ground to Raman as officials counted mail-in ballots.

Trump formally nominates Blanche for AG » The White House has officially sent the Senate the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general. 

WORLD’s Travis Kircher has more:

TRAVIS KIRCHER: Blanche has been the acting AG since early April, following the resignation of Pamela Bondi. Before that, he was serving as deputy attorney general.

Blanche was also once President Trump’s personal lawyer, defending the president when Trump faced criminal charges.

In his time as acting head of The Justice Department, Blanche has faced criticism for defending a DOJ settlement that would’ve created a compensation fund for those claiming they were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden Administration. That fund ended up getting scrapped after bipartisan backlash.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley says he’ll support Blanche and move quickly on the nomination, though it’s not clear just when confirmation hearings could be scheduled.

For WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

And I’m Mark Mellinger.

Coming up, the financial footprint of Qatar. Plus, a modern celebration of America’s 250th.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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