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U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding likely to be signed next week

2026-06-11 17:11:00 EDT / CBS News

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Updated on: June 11, 2026 / 6:40 PM EDT / CBS News

A letter of intent or memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran is likely to be signed early next week, opening the way to further negotiations about an enduring U.S.-Iran agreement, two sources familiar with the diplomatic efforts said.

The signing of the memorandum would kick off 60 days of talks to negotiate details of a U.S.-Iran agreement. That time period could be extended as needed, according to multiple sources.

First steps include ensuring “freedom of trade” by demining and opening the Strait of Hormuz. In principle, Iran would commit to a lockout of 15-20 years during which it would not enrich uranium and would dismantle its nuclear sites. In exchange for taking these steps, Iran would receive financial relief staggered over time and sequenced to correspond with compliance.

The U.S. intelligence community does not assess that Iran has a nuclear weapon or sought one, but rather, that it sought to be at the threshold of one. The regime also refused to allow International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear inspectors into Iran to verify what it claimed was the peaceful nature of its program. Israeli intelligence has a different assessment.

On Thursday, President Trump said on Truth Social, he had “canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening” because the final points of a potential deal have been approved by “all parties involved,” including the U.S. and Middle East countries, which he listed, though Iran was not among them.

The president said a “time and place” for a signing would be “announced shortly.” He’s expected to travel next week to a gathering of the world’s largest economies at the G7 summit in France, where the disruption to global trade caused by the war was expected to be a key topic.

Mr. Trump mentioned the signing during an unrelated Oval Office event Thursday afternoon and said he would not be present for it, but Vice President JD Vance would attend. The president said it could take place as early as this weekend in Europe. The vice president’s office referred questions to the White House, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The strait will open as soon as we have it signed,” the president said.

Shortly after Mr. Trump’s post on the potential deal, the Fars News Agency, associated with the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted a “knowledgeable source close to the Iranian negotiating team” who denied the president’s claim about an agreement on an initial deal and stated that “no text of the initial memorandum of understanding with the United States has been approved.”

Israel has not yet commented, but the president said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as several Arab leaders.

The understanding between the U.S. and Iran would include having United Nations inspectors from the IAEA dispose of what Mr. Trump refers to “nuclear dust” and to inspect the nuclear sites. Last June the U.S. and Israel bombed three nuclear sites, at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The enriched nuclear material is assessed to be under the rubble at those locations.

In the Oval Office, the president said of Iran, “They will not have a nuclear weapon — they’ve agreed to that,” adding that Iran would also not purchase or develop a nuclear weapon “in any way shape or form.”

The war in Lebanon involving Iranian proxy Hezbollah is mentioned in the memorandum, but details are scarce, multiple sources told CBS News. Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon in March after Hezbollah launched rockets across the border, and just this past week, Israel bombed outside of Beirut. The violence threatened to disrupt U.S. attempts to get the Lebanese and Israeli governments to normalize relations and work together against the Hezbollah militia.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and laid out some of the parameters for a deal. He said that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow international ships to sail through “without being fired upon without paying a toll.”

He also told the panel that in phase 2, Iran must commit to “very specific negotiations on highly enriched disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere.” He added that Iran must “agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations, and or cancelation of enrichment in activity.”

Sanctions relief for Iran, he said, would be “associated with their commitment and compliance.”

Olivia Gazis, Kathryn Watson, Bill O’Reilly, Sara Cook contributed to this report.

‘Transgender madness’ under fire after Congress lets taxpayer funding ban lapse

June 11, 2026 5:00pm EDT / Fox News

The Missouri senator wants CMS to investigate whether Medicare and Medicaid dollars funded gender-affirming care for minors

By Alex Miller

Hawley slams Senate Dems for allowing taxpayer funds to be used for trans kids’ sex changes

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is appealing to the House after the Senate failed to renew a ban preventing taxpayer dollars from being used for trans kids’ sex changes. (@HalweyMO via X)

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Congress’ ban on tax dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood is about to lapse, and a Senate Republican wants to investigate piles of taxpayer money that has allegedly been used by the organization to push transgender procedures.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital, is demanding that Planned Parenthood be put under a microscope for roughly $1.5 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funding that he alleges “are flowing to an organization that promotes transgender treatments on minors.”

Fox News Digital did not hear back from Planned Parenthood for comment.

SEN HAWLEY WARNS IT WOULD BE ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ IF BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FLOW TO TRANS KIDS’ SEX CHANGES

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks during Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 30, 2024, as he launches an investigation into Meta over reports of AI chatbots engaging in inappropriate interactions with children.(Chip Somodevilla)

Hawley wants Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Mehmet Oz to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood as part of the agency’s continued pursuit to uncover fraud in federally funded healthcare programs.

“I urge you to direct your investigative efforts toward Planned Parenthood and its role in pushing transgender madness onto minor children,” Hawley said.

Republicans last year banned federal tax dollars from flowing to abortion providers in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” but that ban is set to lapse on July 4.

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESCRIBING HORMONES TO MINORS WITH MINIMAL OVERSIGHT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388051770112

Hawley and others have tried to extend the ban, with his attempt to amend the latest budget reconciliation package to keep the ban going failing earlier this year. That amendment would have extended the ban on providing Medicaid funding to abortion providers until 2035.

His focus now is on uncovering whether the $1.5 billion in funding was directed toward pushing minors toward gender-affirming medication or referring minors for gender-affirming surgical procedures.

Hawley accused Planned Parenthood of exploiting “legal loopholes to provide these dangerous and irreversible gender-transition drugs to minors without their parents’ consent.”

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

Lydia Taylor Davis holds a sign reading “Defund Planned Parenthood” at the Turning Point USA Women’s Leadership Summit in San Antonio in June 2025.(Students for Life/Lydia Taylor Davis)

“The organization openly advertises that it provides sex-change drugs and refers for transgender surgeries,” Hawley said. “According to one recent report, Planned Parenthood’s provision of this so-called “gender-affirming care” has exploded — with a 40% year-over-year increase.”

Hawley is pinpointing a stream of money between 2019 and 2022 that was tracked by the Government Accountability Office in a report first published in November 2023. That report did not outline that the money was used to push transgender surgeries nor medication.

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“In other words, billions of taxpayer dollars have been taken from those in poverty and the elderly and given to Planned Parenthood,” Hawley said. “Moreover, these funds apparently have been used to prop up Planned Parenthood’s provision of transgender procedures to children.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

伊朗称协议尚未定案 批美方阻碍谈判进程

2026年6月12日 07:33 / 联合早报

德黑兰街头可见到伊朗导弹模型。 （路透社）

伊朗外交部说，卡塔尔和巴基斯坦正积极斡旋伊美谈判，但美方近期举动干扰谈判进程，伊朗不会在“红线问题”上妥协。

新华社引述伊朗媒体星期四（6月11日）报道，伊朗外交部发言人说，美方近日提出一些“不同寻常”的要求，但伊朗无论如何都不会接受“非法条件和要求”。他说，伊美协议大部分文本已经定稿，但美方不断改变立场，前后说法不一，阻碍谈判推进。霍尔木兹海峡局势也因美方行动进一步紧张。

这名发言人强调，伊朗迄今尚未就协议作出最终决定，外界有关协议内容和签署时间的传闻都只是猜测，相关事项仍未敲定。

美国总统特朗普11日早上恫言要在当天晚上“狠狠打击”伊朗，下午却撤回这番言论，并声称可能“未来几天”与伊朗签署和平协议。

Trump nominates Jay Clayton to be next intelligence chief

June 11, 2026 6:08 PM UTC / Reuters

Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York speaks during a press conference at the New York Police Department headquarters in New York City, U.S., March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is nominating Jay Clayton, the chief prosecutor for ​the Southern District of New York, to be ‌the next director of national intelligence, following pushback from U.S. lawmakers over Trump’s pick to fill the role temporarily.

“Few people anywhere in the Legal ​Community are respected at the level of Jay. ​I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay ⁠as soon as possible,” Trump said in a Truth ​Social post.

Get weekly news and analysis on U.S. politics and how it matters to the world with the Reuters Politics U.S. newsletter. Sign up here.

Clayton’s official biography says that he is a former ​U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman who as a prosecutor has handled prominent cases, including the indictment on narco-terrorism charges of deposed Venezuelan ​President Nicolas Maduro.

But it shows that Clayton has ​no intelligence background or traditional national security experience.

It was not immediately ‌clear ⁠if his selection to the permanent post of top U.S. spy would end Democratic opposition to Trump’s choice of loyalist Bill Pulte to be the interim director of national ​security and ​break a Capitol ⁠Hill impasse over renewing a foreign surveillance program that expires on Friday.

The Republican-controlled U.S. ​House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a short-term ​extension ⁠of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that Trump has sought.

Trump said Pulte, the head of the federal housing agency, would take ⁠over ​as acting director on June 19 ​to replace Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned effective June 30.

Reporting by Jonathan Landay, Daphne ​Psaledakis, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Don Durfee and Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Inside Tehran: Iranians describe IRGC’s brutal rule, poverty — ask Trump to ‘stay the course’

June 11, 2026 2:09pm EDT / Fox News

One source said Basij members who once hid their affiliation now display it openly under the crackdown

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

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A fragile ceasefire that many Iranians say does not feel like a ceasefire has given some people inside Iran the courage to speak out, despite what they describe as enormous personal risk.

The accounts come as President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that the U.S. had reached what he called “a great settlement of the war with Iran,” adding that the agreement was still “subject to finalization of documents” and could be signed in Europe in the coming days. The announcement followed weeks of military escalation and fragile negotiations, including U.S. strikes after Trump blamed Iran for the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and earlier warnings that Tehran would be hit “very hard” if it failed to accept a deal.

Inside Iran, three young voices described a country where repression is becoming even more visible, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is expanding its presence on the streets, and ordinary people are struggling to afford basic necessities.

RED CROSS SHARES AUDIO OF IRANIAN CIVILIAN EXPLAINING SITUATION ON THE GROUND IN TEHRAN: ‘NO RESPITE’

A fragile ceasefire that many Iranians say does not feel like a ceasefire has given some people inside Iran the courage to speak out, despite what they describe as enormous personal risk.(Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

All three spoke to Fox News Digital through written messages because of security concerns and internet restrictions inside Iran. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.

They described a similar reality: checkpoints across major streets, fear of the Basij, the hardline volunteer militia under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Revolutionary Guards itself, renewed enforcement of hijab rules, mass layoffs, long lines outside bakeries and a growing sense among young Iranians that the future has disappeared.

‘The curtain has been pulled back’

“The influence of the Revolutionary Guards always has been present, and everything has operated within their ideological framework. Now, their interference is more obvious and easier to see,” Hassan said. “Now the curtain has simply been pulled back.”

Milad described a city transformed by security forces.

“The atmosphere in cities and government offices has become much more securitized. Security forces are now visible around almost every major square and intersection, and there are numerous checkpoints throughout the cities,” he said. “Individuals affiliated with the security apparatus or the Basij are increasingly being given positions of authority and influence.”

At the beginning of the war, Milad said, authorities appeared to ease some social restrictions, including enforcement of hijab rules. But he said that pressure has since returned, adding that the regime is not only targeting opponents, but also silencing supporters who cross political red lines.

IRAN REGIME REPORTEDLY ISSUED NATIONWIDE SHOOT-TO-KILL ORDERS AS PROTEST DEATH TOLL SURGES

A woman walks past a billboard showing a military hand holding the Strait of Hormuz with Farsi text which reads, “In Iran’s hands forever,” “Trump couldn’t do a damn thing,” “The control of Strait of Hormuz will be Iran’s forever,” in Vanak Square, in northern Tehran, Iran, on April 16, 2026.(Vahid Salemi/AP)

“For example, a group staged a sit-in protest against negotiations with the United States,” Milad said. “Security forces intervened and told them that they were disrupting public security. They were warned that if they did not leave, they would be arrested.”

Ali, a student in Tehran, Iran, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps control feels more open than ever.

“It can be said that if previously 80% of the country was controlled by the Revolutionary Guard and the rest by the government, now 100% of the country is in the hands of the IRGC,” Ali told Fox News Digital. “When you drive through the streets and reach checkpoints, you don’t even dare look them in the eye because they can do whatever they want.”

“No one dares get into trouble with people who are members of organizations like the Basij, because they can report your name and have you arrested,” he added. “They have become more brutal than ever, and people know that if they take to the streets, the Revolutionary Guards can easily kill them and no one can do anything about it.”

Ali said Basij members who once hid their affiliation now display it openly.

FORMER IRANIAN PRISONERS REVEAL TORTURE HORRORS AS REGIME KILLS PROTESTERS ON SIGHT DURING CRACKDOWN

Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, Wednesday, in Tehran. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, barely an hour before President Donald Trump’s deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.(AFP via Getty Images)

‘We couldn’t even breathe’

The accounts come against the backdrop of Iran’s long history of violent crackdowns on dissent.

Iran International reported that more than 36,500 people were killed during the January crackdown, while Amnesty International described January 2026 as the deadliest period of repression by Iranian authorities in decades and said deaths rose into the thousands.

Milad, who said he witnessed the crackdown, described the impact it had on ordinary Iranians.

“Before the war, we couldn’t even breathe. We couldn’t sleep at night,” he said. “The conditions were very difficult for most people who had seen that massacre. After the war, we were able to sleep more easily at night, and we felt a bit more at ease. Now, even though the war is still ongoing, we continue to worry about the families of the martyrs and those who are in prison, under torture, and facing the executioner.”

The new war and the U.S.-led pressure campaign that began Feb. 28 have raised hopes among some opponents of the regime that the Islamic Republic could be weakened or even collapse. But the Iranians who spoke to Fox News Digital said that, for now, the result on the ground has been a more visible security state.

US ECONOMIC CHOKEHOLD ON IRAN REACHES PEAK LEVERAGE AS COLLAPSE RISKS EMERGE

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026.(Mahsa/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Bread lines and vanishing future

The economic pressure also is being felt across daily life.

Iran already was struggling with inflation, currency collapse, corruption and sanctions before the war.

Since then, growing economic strain has been reported, with businesses crushed by high prices, supply-chain disruptions, internet blackouts and rising unemployment. Iran’s official statistics center reported annual inflation of 53.7% in April, with food inflation above 115%, according to the Associated Press.

Ali said, many young Iranians see almost no path forward.

“The economic situation has become so bad that almost all industries are on the verge of collapse and are simply trying to survive,” he said. “Many companies have laid off workers, including me. Many of my engineering-student friends have also been laid off. Families can no longer financially support their children.”

“I see many more older men and women than before who clearly were not garbage collectors but are now searching through trash,” Ali said.

“Almost all of us young people are convinced that we have no future,” he added. “At best, if there is anything left from what we earn, we can spend it on going to a café. Buying a phone or clothes has become difficult; buying a car is a dream. Prices have become so high that some days we can barely afford our two main meals and nothing else. Snacks, fruit and similar things are no longer part of life.”

Milad described a similar picture, saying layoffs, unpaid salaries and rising utility bills are crushing families.

“The government is trying to collect more money from people through higher taxes. Utility bills for water, electricity and gas have become extremely expensive,” he said.

He said bakeries remain crowded not only because of war fears, but because bread has become one of the only affordable foods left.

“Bread has become the main staple on many family tables,” Milad said. “Medical costs are extremely high, and many people are afraid to visit a doctor because the costs of medication, tests and treatment are so expensive.”

Hassan, however, said the economic pain is bearable only because some Iranians believe it could eventually help bring down the Islamic Republic.

“We believe that with the return of a government that truly represents the people, under the leadership of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, economic conditions will improve in the future,” he said.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s late shah, has lived in exile for decades and has increasingly presented himself as a unifying figure for Iranians seeking a post-Islamic Republic future. His supporters inside and outside Iran argue that any transition should lead to a referendum and a democratic system.

EXILED IRANIAN PRINCE SAYS REGIME ‘VERY CLOSE TO COLLAPSING’ AMID NATIONWIDE UNREST

Protesters rally in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2026, supporting regime change in Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.(Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Warning against appeasement

The Iranians who spoke to Fox News Digital warned the Trump administration against negotiating with the regime or easing pressure too soon.

“I would like to tell the Western world that appeasement of the Islamic Republic is futile,” Hassan said. “These are dishonest and deceptive people who, according to their religious beliefs, practice taqiyya in order to deceive others and maneuver their way through difficult situations.”

“These are not people who can be reformed,” he added. “Appeasement of them is harmful to the entire world. It is extremely naive to believe that meaningful negotiations can be conducted with such individuals.”

Ali said he believes the clerical regime would give up uranium if it allowed its leaders to stay in power.

“We only hope that the Islamic Republic falls, whether through war or through an agreement,” Ali said. “The clerics are far too shameless to fight to the death over uranium. They would be willing to hand over the uranium to the United States if it meant staying in power and continuing to plunder Iran. But they are certainly careful to avoid suffering the same fate as Gaddafi.”

His message to Washington was direct.

“The only message I have for the U.S. government is: save the people of Iran from the clerics and free Iran from the Islamic Republic,” Ali said.

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[image_13]

Iranian American community members Sadaf Ebrahimi, Shirin Nariman, and Mehran Ebrahimi watch a TV screen at Nariman’s home in Vienna, Virginia, reacting to news of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, 2026.(Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Milad said many Iranians are watching Trump closely and fear another moment when the West chooses negotiation over the people in the streets.

“Iranian people have hope that the American administration will be strong and stand on their side,” he said. “We don’t want another Obama situation. Iranian people and their blood are not oil prices.”

“We have one message to the president, and that is to continue,” Milad said. “Here in Iran, we no longer say, ‘Obama, Obama, either with us or with them.’ Now we’re saying: ‘Trump, don’t be Obama. You are with us, not with them. President Trump, stay the course.’”

Fox News Digital reached out to Iran’s mission to the United Nations for comment.

Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

USDA cuts U.S. winter wheat harvest outlook after Plains drought

2026-06-11T16:21:26.095Z / reuters.com

Wheat nearly ready to harvest in Kingman, Kansas, U.S., May 13, 2026. The second day of the annual Wheat Quality Council tour of Kansas, the top U.S. hard red winter wheat producer. REUTERS/Emily Schmall Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Plains drought cuts hard red winter wheat output to lowest since 1957, USDA reports
• USDA rates only 25% of winter wheat crop good-to-excellent, lowest since 1986 ​records
• USDA raises Argentine, Brazilian corn and soybean harvest estimates; CBOT corn, soybeans fall

CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday cut its U.S. winter wheat crop outlook by 2% from a month earlier as a harsh drought in the Plains cut its hard red winter wheat production view to the lowest since 1957.

U.S. winter wheat ​production in the 2026/27 season was estimated at 1.030 billion bushels, down from its forecast of 1.048 billion last ​month and well below last year’s winter crop of 1.402 billion bushels, the USDA said ⁠in a monthly report.

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Production of hard red winter wheat, the largest variety grown in the United States, was ​projected to fall to 497 million bushels, down from an outlook for 515 million last month and well below ​last year’s 804-million-bushel crop.

The drop in production has heaped pressure on U.S. farmers already struggling with rising fuel and fertilizer prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and trade disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff battles.

The wheat harvest is ​underway in key wheat states including Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, although some farmers, particularly in far western areas ​of the wheat belt, have found little to no grain to gather.

The USDA rated just 25% of the U.S. winter wheat crop ‌in good-to-excellent ⁠condition in a weekly crop conditions report on Monday, the lowest for this time of year in USDA records dating to 1986.

The USDA projected U.S. wheat supplies at the end of the 2026/27 season at 744 million bushels, down from its May forecast for 762 million. Analysts polled by Reuters, on average, expected end-year supplies to be ​slightly larger.

Grain traders ​took USDA’s crop adjustments in ⁠stride on Thursday as they fell within the ranges of analyst estimates. Benchmark hard red winter wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up about 0.6% near ​midday, while soft red winter wheat futures were about 0.3% lower.

The USDA ​made few changes ⁠to its U.S. corn and soybean estimates on Thursday.

U.S. corn ending stocks for the 2025/26 marketing year were raised by 3 million bushels to 2.145 billion bushels, while 2025/26 soybean ending stocks were unchanged at 340 million bushels.

⁠The USDA ​lifted its 2025/26 Argentine corn and soybean harvest estimates each by ​2 million metric tons from last month, and raised its Brazilian corn crop outlook by 3 million tons.

CBOT corn and soybean futures fell ​on Thursday, with both markets hovering near recent multi-month lows.

Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Chicago-based senior commodities correspondent covering agricultural markets, large agribusinesses and the food supply chain and specializing in global trade, farming technology and climate change issues impacting the industry.

Mamdani stands by fellow socialist candidate despite resurfaced far-left, anti-American posts

2026-06-11T15:58:55-04:00 / Fox News

Darializa Avila Chevalier is challenging five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th congressional district

By Peter D’Abrosca Fox News

Published June 11, 2026 3:58pm EDT

Mullin blasts New York City mayor on sanctuary city policies

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin responds forcefully to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of ICE raids. Mullin calls Mamdani a ‘socialist communist’ with ‘zero respect,’ asserting that DHS will ‘restore law’ in American cities. He emphasizes that DHS will pursue criminals ‘no matter where they’re at,’ including New York, despite local officials refusing to cooperate.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is standing firmly behind his fellow democratic socialist and candidate for U.S. Congress Darializa Avila Chevalier, despite vile deleted social media posts that recently resurfaced.

Avila Chevalier, 32, a longtime community organizer who led the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, slammed the United States, the Democratic Party, private property, police, borders and called to nationalize large swaths of the private sector in the now-deleted posts from 2018 to 2022.

She is running a heated race to oust five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in the state’s 13th congressional district, which encompasses Upper Manhattan and parts of the west Bronx.

Darializa Auila-Chevalier, Jewel Cadet, Rossanna Mercedes, Alexis Yeboah-Kodie and Jamilah Felix participate in a rally advocating the removal of the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims in Manhattan, New York, on Aug. 19, 2017.(Howard Simmons/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

In a 2021 repost, Avila Chevalier said that abolishing borders, prisons and police is “possible, necessary, and the only moral way forward,” and later echoed posts that said “all deportation is wrong” and, “Yes, literally abolish the border,” according to one report.

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI DEFENDS PAST TWEETS, SAYS CUOMO ATTACKING ‘MYTHICAL VERSION’ OF HIM

“This country is a f—–g disgrace,” she said in a post.

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she reportedly said in yet another.

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29, 2025 in New York City.(Noam Galai/Getty Images)

She reportedly called former President Joe Biden a “rapist” and “war criminal,” chastised Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for his “liberal Zionism,” and said “F–k Kamala Harris.”

NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Avila Chevalier demanded the government provide $3,000 per month in universal basic income, nationalizing utilities, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, suspending mortgages and rent, seizing private property from landlords, dissolving insurance companies and expanding Medicare to every citizen.

None of these past posts deterred Mamdani from supporting his fellow socialist when asked in a Wednesday news conference.

“When it comes to Darializa’s campaign, I had not seen those tweets and what I’ve heard from her and what I know a lot of others in the district that have heard from her is that her views have evolved and that the campaign she is running on is reflective of what she’s going to be fighting for,” Mamdani said.

PROGRESSIVE POWER PLAYERS RALLY VOTERS FOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI AS EARLY VOTING KICKS OFF IN NYC MAYORAL RACE

“And frankly, when I see a candidate who has a record like she does of freeing New Yorkers who are unjustly detained by ICE, of standing up for the working person who has often been left out of our politics, especially in a district that has so many of the same themes that we’re speaking of today — a fear of displacement, a fear of being pushed out of a place you helped to build — I think that she would be an incredible champion for that district and for the city as a whole,” he continued.

People participate in a “Climate Justice Means Free Palestine” rally outside Citibank headquarters in New York City on June 18, 2024. Protesters carried pro-Palestinian signs and climate justice messaging during the demonstration.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Mamdani first endorsed Avila Chevalier in late May.

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“She grew up with a commitment to the very people that politics have left behind, and what I see in her is that commitment fulfilled,” the progressive mayor said on MS NOW. “I can’t wait for her to be introduced to so many across the city and across this country as we fight for that affordability agenda, from New York City to D.C.”

New York’s primary election date is June 23.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Mamdani, Avila Chevalier and Espaillat. None responded to requests for comment.

Peter D’Abrosca is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering politics.

Follow Peter on X at @pmd_reports. Send story tips to peter.dabrosca@fox.com.

U.K. defense chief John Healey resigns, says government’s military funding plan “falls well short”

2026-06-11 12:49:06 EDT / CBS News

By Elena Giuliano

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday, citing a shortfall in planned funding for Britain’s armed forces at a time of mounting international security challenges.

In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey wrote that the Labour government entered office “recognizing Britain faced a new era of threat which demanded a new era for defense,” but that the government had failed to deliver the resources needed to meet those challenges.

He said the government’s plan for defense, which he was “first given in full” on Monday, “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time.”

Healey’s surprise departure follows months of disputes over the government’s Defense Investment Plan, or DIP. Healey said the plan had been the subject of extensive discussions recognizing the “scale of the challenge” posed by both national and international security threats.

In February last year, Starmer suggested that the government’s ambition was to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP within a couple of years. Months later, NATO leaders agreed on a target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035. Starmer is set to meet with NATO counterparts in Ankara in July to discuss defense commitments.

John Healey leaves 10 Downing Street in London, England on June 09, 2026. Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images

“You know what defence needs,” Healy wrote in his letter, addressing Starmer. “You made the argument for this powerfully in your speech at the Munich Security Conference back in February. Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our Forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.”

“After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your Defence Secretary,” he added.

Healey’s criticism comes as Britain takes on an increasingly prominent role within NATO and other Western security missions. In his letter, he pointed to a range of commitments stretching military resources, including conflict in the Middle East, where the U.K. is co-leading a multinational Strait of Hormuz mission, and growing security concerns in the Arctic, where Britain now leads NATO’s Arctic Sentry operation.

He also highlighted increased Russian activity directed at the U.K. and its allies, as well as Moscow’s escalating attacks on Ukraine. Those concerns have intensified following the Paris Agreement on Ukraine, which sees a British military deployment after any future ceasefire.

His departure is the latest challenge for Starmer’s government and comes at a particularly difficult time for the prime minister. Opposition parties reacted swiftly to the resignation, largely echoing Healey’s criticism of the government’s defense policy.

“This is a government in chaos, unable to govern, with no leadership, under a caretaker Prime Minister who’s expected to be replaced within weeks,” said Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said she was “glad” that the former Defence Secretary “agrees” with her assessment of the government’s approach, calling it “shocking” that, according to Healey’s letter, the current spending plan could leave British troops at risk.

Since returning to office, President Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO members for failing to contribute enough to the alliance’s collective defense and has renewed threats to withdraw from the alliance.

Britain has publicly committed itself to strengthening NATO’s deterrence posture and expanding its role in European security. Healey’s departure suggests that delivering on those promises may prove more politically and financially difficult than anticipated.

US midterm advertising bill to hit record $11.6 billion, fueled by Senate races, AdImpact says

June 11, 2026 4:04 PM UTC / Reuters

Voting signs outside Friendship Baptist Church, a polling location in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Georgia Midterm Primary Election in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. May 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

June 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. midterm elections in November are projected to cost $11.6 billion, a record for political advertising in any electoral cycle, ​fueled in part by surging spending in Senate races in Ohio, ‌Texas and Maine, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.

AdImpact’s projection, released on Thursday, would exceed the record $11.2 billion spent in the 2024 presidential cycle and the $8.9 billion spent in the 2022 ​midterms and is higher than the $10.8 billion it estimated in September.

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Republicans are ​defending slim majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate ⁠amid high living costs and low approval ratings for President Donald Trump. Democrats are ​favored to retake the House but face much steeper odds in the Senate. Spending ​is expected to focus on the few races that are truly competitive and could decide control of Congress.

AdImpact said its projection for record spending was mainly due to an expected surge in ​advertising for competitive Senate and gubernatorial races in Ohio, Alaska and Iowa, along ​with closely contested Senate races in Texas and Maine.

In Ohio, where Democrat Sherrod Brown is facing ‌Republican ⁠Senator Jon Husted and the race for governor is competitive, spending is now expected to reach $749 million, an increase of $309 million from the prior forecast, AdImpact said.

The next largest increases were in Texas, where projected spending rose by $288 million to $850 million, ​and in Maine, ​where advertising outlays ⁠are now expected to total $491 million, up by $185 million, according to AdImpact.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ousted four-term U.S. Senator John ​Cornyn last month in a costly Republican primary and now faces ​Democratic state ⁠Representative James Talarico in what could become one of the most expensive races in history.

In Maine, Democratic newcomer Graham Platner, who has faced scrutiny over online posts, a Nazi-linked ⁠tattoo and ​allegations of sending explicit texts to women, is ​expected to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in what is also likely to be a costly ​race.

(This story has been refiled to change bln to billion in the headline)

Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Editing by Ross Colvin and Andrea Ricci

5 American cruise ship passengers accused of brawling, assaulting police officers in the Bahamas

June 11, 2026 / 1:10 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Authorities in the Bahamas say they have arrested five cruise ship passengers from the United States who were accused of assaulting police officers and resisting arrest in the Caribbean archipelago.

Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the three women and two men became involved in a fight involving several cruise ship passengers at the port in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. The incident occurred on Monday evening.

Officials said a “violent struggle” ensued at a police station after officers prepared to search the five suspects arrested. One woman was accused of throwing a chair through a glass door and shattering it. One man was accused of then kicking out the remaining glass and trying to escape, police said in a statement.

A video aired by Eyewitness News Bahamas shows a man crawling out through the damaged door as officers move in to arrest him. Another video obtained by Our News Bahamas shows people being shoved to the ground.

Four police officers were injured, including one who was seriously injured in his left shoulder and was taken to the hospital, authorities said.

The suspects were charged with assaulting a police officer, fighting in a public place, resisting arrest, malicious damage and disorderly behavior in a police station.

The five suspects remain in custody, and police said the investigation is ongoing.