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Jun 16, 2026 - World

Longtime campaign adviser Mark McKinnon burst into laughter on Tuesday morning when the subject of Vice President JD Vance running for president came up.McKinnon, who has worked with politicians on both sides of the aisle, was joined in his laughing by Jim Messina, once known as President Barack Obama’s “fixer.”Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” to discuss Donald Trump’s increasingly mysterious peace deal with Iran, the conversation took an off-ramp into discussing awkward politicians who proved to be easily defeated at the polls.After “Morning Joe “ co-host Joe Scarborough brought Vance’s interview about the peace deal on Monday where he implied the Revolutionary Guard would be easier to deal with than the previous Iran leadership, Messina quipped, “You say to yourself, ‘Oh my god, what was he thinking?’ Mark McKinnon is sitting over here giggling because he'd love to make an ad against that clip. It is remarkably bad politics.”“That's like, that clip is like when I first saw [former Secretary of State] John Kerry windsurfing, right? That ad made itself in 10 seconds,” the laughing McKinnon interjected.“This is why I'm just so far off the JD Vance train. Like this guy will not be the next president of the United State,” Messina predicted.“I agree with you 100 percent,” McKinnon offered. “I mean, that guy just has no natural skills. I mean, I think the coin of the realm in politics these days on either side is just pure authenticity. Is this person like, real? Can I believe him? He has none of that, not an ounce.”As he added, “He is so wanting and desperate,“ Messina interrupted with, “Correct. He makes Al Gore seem like, you know, a combination of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.” - YouTube youtu.be

Jun 16, 2026 - World

Japanese technology company at centre of Post Office IT scandal is negotiating settlement with UK government over faulty softwareBusiness live – latest updatesThe chair of Fujitsu, the Japanese technology firm at the centre of the Post Office IT scandal, has resigned after its board became aware of his “woman-related inappropriate conduct”.The company said on Tuesday that Hidenori Furuta had stepped down after two years in the role. Continue reading...

Jun 16, 2026 - World

Despite President Trump's Iran war peace deal, suspiciously announced on the weekend of his birthday, Republican campaign consultants and candidates are still bracing for a GOP midterm disaster, convinced that voter economic anxiety has hardened beyond repair before voters head to the polls.GOP insiders close to the White House openly acknowledge that even if gas prices drop, the damage is already done. Voter perceptions of economic hardship are "baked in and irreversible," according to Republicans interviewed for Politico reporting.According to the report, the political math is shaping up to be devastating for Republicans. Trump and the GOP were already grappling with affordability concerns before the Iran war began at the end of February. Merely returning to pre-war economic conditions won't be enough to shift voter sentiment, GOP strategists argue—particularly given that economic anxiety is the primary driver of midterm voting behavior."Economically, I don't think there's time. I think it's too late, essentially, to really change a voter's mood," confided one Republican to Politico. "But I mean, hey, I'll take it. We'll take whatever we get, right?"The White House strategy is now damage control: laser-focused messaging that Trump improved the economy in his first term and can do it again—and that now the war is over, economic recovery can resume."The argument is: Trump improved the economy in the first term, he can do it again, he knows how to do it, and now the war is over, we're going to get back to it," said a White House insider. "The economic trend pre-war was actually pretty decent. Could we get back to it fast enough? I don't think so, but let's try."However, as Politico is reporting, the Iran deal's durability is uncertain. While the U.S. and Iran have digitally signed a framework agreement to end the war, neither side has published the text, leaving critical questions unanswered about tolls for strait transiting and Iran's nuclear commitments. Israel's stated plan to remain "indefinitely" in Lebanon further threatens the agreement's viability.A senior U.S. official acknowledged that Hormuz would be "open toll-free for 60 days," with permanent reopening remaining one of many ongoing negotiation points. Oil tanker owners remain hesitant to transit the strait due to mines and attack risks, the official conceded."I think we'll get a very long way there over the next couple of weeks, but it's going to take a little time because you have some crews that are extremely risk averse," the official told Politico. Gas price relief faces a ceiling regardless. Global oil inventories have been thoroughly drained to multi-decade lows—the market is missing more than a billion gallons of crude oil supply. If the deal holds, prices could dip below $4 a gallon, according to Bob McNally, head of energy consulting firm Rapidan Energy and a former George W. Bush administration energy adviser. But low inventories will eventually reverse that trend.If negotiations fracture, prices could spike above $5 a gallon. Either way, volatility will likely persist beyond summer as new oil supply reaches markets.For Republicans facing midterm voters already convinced the economy is broken, even temporary gas price relief may come "too little, too late," Politico's Megan Messerly and Scott Waldman wrote.

Jun 16, 2026 - World

Key Republican lawmakers are expressing alarm and frustration over President Donald Trump's refusal to share details of his Iran peace agreement, particularly after Vice President JD Vance revealed the entire deal consists of just one and a half pages.According to Politico reporter Jordain Carney and Connor O'Brien, GOP lawmakers—especially Iran hawks—are demanding a say in what the president is agreeing to, particularly after Trump dispatched Vance to sign the accord without Senate input.GOP senators are operating in an "information vacuum," forced to raise concerns and issue uncharacteristic criticism of the White House for keeping them in the dark about a potentially historic agreement.The frustration is bipartisan in its origins. Even most Republicans agree: Congress needs the details immediately, and any agreement affecting Iran's nuclear program must eventually face a congressional vote."If you want a deal to last, it can't be an executive agreement," said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). "We've got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify it long term."Trump withdrew from the original Iran nuclear agreement in his first term. Now he's back with a deal that—pending text release and final negotiations—could mirror Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). That prospect has infuriated both defense hawks who despised the original agreement and Democrats who believe Trump should never have abandoned it, Politico is reporting.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a prominent defense hawk, told reporters he was "pulling for a deal" while simultaneously raising red flags about serious discrepancies in the terms being described."The MOU being described by us sounds really very good; the MOU being described by Iran sounds awful," Graham said, highlighting the fundamental problem: no one knows what's actually in the agreement.Graham pressed the core issue: "If they can enrich uranium anywhere at all, then it's the same as JCPOA. If they can't enrich, then that makes it a good deal. I'm skeptical that Iran will ever go there to cease enrichment."Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) acknowledged the lack of transparency, admitting Monday there is "probably some expectation" his chamber would eventually vote on the agreement."I just don't know enough about it yet, and I don't think even the people who follow this stuff closely up here know that much about it," Thune said, indicating the administration would brief members at some point.According to the report, Capitol Hill frustration is mounting. Senators expressed exasperation that the text of the signed agreement hasn't been released."If it's a secret deal, then how can I take it seriously?" Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) asked bluntly.

Jun 16, 2026 - World

MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” cut off live coverage of Donald Trump speaking in France after he heaped praise on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard leadership for agreeing to a temporary peace deal that remains a mystery to US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. According to co-host Joe Scarborough, Trump was humiliating himself and the US.While sitting with the emir of Qatar, Trump described the old leadership of the war-torn country as “irrational” before adding, “I think Iran has rational leadership. But you wouldn't have if it weren't for the United States of America, with me, because Obama was the opposite.”That forced Scarborough to jump in as the feed was cut.“This is this is one of the things, Mika [Brzezinski] that is so concerning to so many, even Republicans on Capitol Hill and anybody that has followed Iran,” he remarked. “Everybody since 1979 and the revolution — you know, we don't know what's in this document, which in and of itself is a very strange thing. If you have a peace deal that's so great … that's going to bring peace to the world, that's going to bring peace to Iran, then show it, show it to the world."”Again, we still are hearing very little about it,” he re-emphasized. “Even [GOP Sen.] Lindsey Graham said it's hard to support a deal when the only thing you hear about the deal comes from Iran. That's the first thing. Second thing is we don't know what's going to happen. You never know how history unfolds. We don't know if this war ultimately will bring positive change to Iran in 5, 10, 20 years from now. Who knows?”“But this is the most concerning part,” he continued. “Donald Trump just called the most extreme members of the Revolutionary Guard 'rational.' This is exactly what Israel was concerned about. This is exactly what his critics in America were concerned about. This is exactly what Republicans were concerned about, is exactly what Iran hawks were concerned about, that he would be so desperate that he would bend over backwards to sell a really bad deal. So he's saying that Iran is rational. JD Vance yesterday went on TV and said, gee whiz, the great thing here is basically these Iranians, they've decided it's cool. They're going to change their ways.”“It's really embarrassing for them — I'm embarrassed for them,” he added. “It's humiliating for the United States throughout the entire region. What does Israel, what does the UAE, what do countries all across that region think when they hear Donald Trump say, ‘Oh, the most radical members of the Revolutionary Guard are rational people’?” - YouTube youtu.be