And the Interesting Thing is on June 15
Israel and Iran Trade Missile Strikes as Conflict Rages for Third Day
Israel and Iran traded missile strikes on Sunday, as the conflict between the countries raged for a third day.
Here’s what we know this morning:
· Israeli authorities said that at least 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the strikes overnight, including six people killed in a missile strike on a suburb of Tel Aviv and another four in a strike in the northern part of the country.
· The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted critical installations in Tehran, including Iran’s defense ministry. Iranian officials said residential buildings had also been hit.
· Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed that eight senior military figures of its aerospace force, were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, bringing the number of Iran’s high-ranking military commanders confirmed killed since Friday to 14. The IDF says that it has killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists and experts. Previously, the Israeli military said it killed six during the initial wave of strikes.
· Israel’s military on Sunday morning issued an evacuation order telling Iranians to avoid being near weapons production sites “or facilities that support weapons production,” warning that it was preparing to attack them. "The Israeli military will strike these sites and will continue to peel away the Iranian snake’s skin in Tehran and everywhere — targeting nuclear capabilities and weapons systems," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
· The two countries’ leaders exchanged threatening rhetoric overnight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of attacks that Iran “cannot even imagine,” while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that “should the aggression continue, the offensive operations of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will grow more forceful and expansive.”
And the interesting thing is, President Trump took to Truth Social at 12:30 this morning to post that the U.S. "had nothing to do with the attack on Iran" last night. "If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," he said. "However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict!!!" the president added. This is reminiscent of the president promising to end the Russian-provoked war in Ukraine on “day 1” of his second term. Deal making, especially in the Middle East, is just not that easy.
President Holds Massive Military Parade in DC, Millions Attend “No Kings Day” Rallies Across the Country
Despite threats of lightning and storms for the Washington, DC metro area, and amidst acts of political violence and massive protests throughout the country, President Trump’s miliary parade went on as scheduled Saturday evening. Ostensibly held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, it was also no coincidence that the event fell on the president’s 79th birthday.
Since the president teed up the idea for the first military parade of this size in Washington since the 1991 Gulf War victory parade, it has come under fire over concerns about politicizing the U.S. military (which only grew after the president delivered highly partisan speeches recently at West Point and Fort Bragg) and the cost—the Army projected the event will cost taxpayers up to $45 million.
Here's a breakdown of the military personnel and equipment that took part in the parade:
Approximately 6,600 soldiers
Six M1A1 Abrams tanks
Two World War II Sherman tanks
Eight CH-47 helicopters
16 UH-60 Black Hawks
Four WWII-era P-51 aircraft
Following the parade, the president delivered remarks, praising the U.S. Army as "the greatest, fiercest and bravest fighting force ever to stride the face of this earth," adding, "You make us strong, and tonight, you have made all Americans very proud."
He recounted the history of the Army's founding in 1775 and some of the daring missions American soldiers have undertaken to defend the nation. "Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did too."
While the U.S. Secret Service estimated more than 200,000 people to attend, the crowd was far below that. The U.S. Park Service will likely provide a crowd estimate, but media coverage showed empty bleachers and relatively small crowds on the National Mall.
Earlier in the day, millions of Americans took to the streets of U.S. cities and towns in a wave of protests against the parade and Trump administration policies. Large crowds were reported in 50 states, with turnout in major cities, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco amongst others—larger than anticipated. All told, organizers of the “No Kings” marches said they had drawn more than 5 million participants in 2,100 cities and towns in the U.S.
While most rallies passed peacefully, there were reports of clashes between police and protesters during a rally in Los Angeles, where days-long fiery demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have been ongoing for more than a week. Authorities said 1 person was killed and 3 critically injured in Salt Lake City after gunshots were fired and a 21-year old man in Culpeper, Virginia, was arrested for allegedly "intentionally" accelerated his SUV into the dispersing crowd. At least one person was hit, according to police, but they said they hadn't received reports of any injuries.
And the interesting thing is, while most members of the president’s cabinet joined him on the dais for the parade, most Republican members of Congress were not in attendance.
Those who did attend were some of his most obsequious followers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who served in the Army, was seated on the riser with Trump, as was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who has been a frequent target of the president early in his second term told reporters that he has “never been a big fan of goose-stepping soldiers and big tanks and missiles rolling down the street. “So, if you ask me – I wouldn’t have done it.” He added, “We were always different than the images you saw of the Soviet Union and North Korea. We were proud not to be that…And I’m not proposing that that’s the image we would want to project. But I’m worried about the image, that it isn’t necessarily the best image to show.”
Two Minnesota State Lawmakers Shot in their Homes, One Killed, in “Targeted Act of Political Violence”
Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded in politically motivated shootings—both lawmakers were Democrats—early Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz said. Authorities are still searching for the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter
Former House Speaker Hortman, 55, and her husband Mark, 58, were shot in their Brooklyn Park home, while Hoffman, 60, and his wife Yvette were shot about 5 miles away in their Champlin home. Investigators say they believe the suspect was dressed as a police officer.
Inside his vehicle, authorities found a chilling manifesto and a hit list naming approximately 70 Democratic politicians and pro-choice activists—including Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and State Attorney General Keith Ellison; the list also referenced abortion providers.
The assassination comes amid growing concerns about political violence in the U.S. following the recent killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last month, the arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family in April, the attempted assassination of Trump last summer and the 2023 attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Ironically, the Minnesota shootings happened on the 8th anniversary of a gunman shooting up a congressional baseball practice and seriously wounding House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
And the interesting thing is, the president told ABC News this morning that he "may" call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at some point. The president, who condemned the violence, called the Democratic governor a "terrible governor" and "grossly incompetent" in an interview with ABC News' Rachel Scott. "Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too.”
White House Orders Immigration Officials to Pause Arrests at Farms, Restaurants and Hotels
The New York Times is out with new reporting that White House has directed immigration officers to pause arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels, after the president himself expressed alarm about the impact of aggressive enforcement.
According to the Times, Tatum King, an official with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, wrote regional leaders on Thursday: “effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.” The email went on to explain that investigations involving “human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are OK.” But it said — crucially — that agents were not to make arrests of “noncriminal collaterals,” a reference to people who are undocumented but who are not known to have committed any crime.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the guidance. “We will follow the president’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” Tricia McLaughlin, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement.
The shift suggests the president’s pledge of mass deportations has limits if it threatens industries that rely on workers in the country illegally. Trump posted on his Truth Social site Thursday that he disapproved of how farmers and hotels were being affected.
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” he wrote. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
And the interesting thing is, the president told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he was going to issue an order soon to help shore up the workforce. He said farmers have told him that some employees, while not citizens, “turned out to be, you know, great, and we’re gonna have to do something about that. We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back.” Forbes reports that the president has used at least 1,880 seasonal immigrant workers at Mar-a-Lago and other golf clubs since 2008. His winery has hired 31 since the year started. These workers are on short-term temporary H-2A agricultural and H-2B hospitality visas—status that would very well put them at considerable risk of deportation if they weren’t working at the president’s facilities. These workers make between $14.17 and $23.01 an hour working as servers, cooks, groundskeepers, and more.
That’s all for today. See you back here again tomorrow!
And Happy Father’s Day out there to all the dads!