Trump Halts Iran Strikes, Says Deal Is Close as Oil Prices Sink

House Rejects Surveillance Extension, Letting Section 702 Lapse

SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Four-Year Contract With AI Protections

SpaceX Begins Trading Today in Record IPO That Could Make Musk First Trillionaire

US Opens World Cup Play Against Paraguay After Mexico Wins Tournament Opener

Trump Halts Iran Strikes, Says Deal Is Close as Oil Prices Sink

President Donald Trump said June 11 that he had called off a planned third night of US airstrikes on Iranian targets, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations hours after threatening to escalate the war and seize Iran's oil infrastructure. The reversal followed a second consecutive day of US strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation against US bases in the Gulf region. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said a deal between Washington and Tehran was close and could be signed as early as the weekend of June 13-14, adding that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had signed off on a plan that would pave the way for further talks on Iran's nuclear program. Tehran disputed that characterization, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei telling state media that Iran had not reached a final conclusion about the agreement and would announce a decision when one was made. Oil prices sank to a three-month low Friday on the prospect of a deal, with Brent crude falling 5% to $85.80 a barrel, its lowest level since the early stages of the conflict in March, sparking a rally across global markets.

PBS / WSJ / FT

House Rejects Surveillance Extension, Letting Section 702 Lapse

The House of Representatives voted 198-218 on June 11 against extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act through July 2, leaving the program to expire June 12. Section 702 allows the government to collect the digital communications of foreigners located outside the United States without individual warrants, and supporters credit it with detecting threats, including a 2023 warning of a terrorist threat against US military installations and intelligence that helped thwart a planned 2024 attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna; critics counter that the program sweeps in Americans' communications without a warrant when they correspond with foreign targets. The bill required a supermajority under suspension of the rules, with seven Democrats voting for the measure and 19 Republicans voting against it. Democrats withheld support over President Trump's installation of Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Once collection stops, real-time intelligence cannot be recovered, and the House adjourned for recess after the vote and is not scheduled to return until June 23.

Axios / WSJ

SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Four-Year Contract With AI Protections

SAG-AFTRA announced June 11 that its members ratified the union's new four-year TV/Theatrical contracts with the major studios, with 91.4% voting in favor on 19.3% turnout after a voting period that began May 14. The agreement permits producers to use AI performers only when they bring significant additional value compared with a live actor or that actor's digital replica. It also merges the union's legacy pension plans, backed by an additional 1% employer contribution, with the merger expected to be complete by Jan. 1, 2028. The contract takes effect July 1, 2026, and runs through June 30, 2030.

SAG-AFTRA

SpaceX Begins Trading Today in Record IPO That Could Make Musk First Trillionaire

SpaceX shares begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on June 12 in the largest initial public offering in stock market history, a debut that could make Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The company priced its offering at $135 per share on June 11, raising roughly $75 billion and valuing the rocket and satellite company at about $1.77 trillion, larger than Tesla and immediately among the most valuable US companies. About 30% of the public shares were set aside for retail investors, far above the typical 5% to 10% allocation, a nod to the individual traders who make up roughly a third of Tesla's shareholder base and have become a market-moving force in recent years. SpaceX derives most of its revenue from its satellite internet unit and has an early-stage artificial intelligence business. The stock's first-day performance will be closely watched as a gauge of investor appetite for mega-offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic expected later this year.

NPR / WSJ

US Opens World Cup Play Against Paraguay After Mexico Wins Tournament Opener

The United States opens its World Cup campaign on home soil June 12, facing Paraguay in Group D play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with kickoff at 9 p.m. Eastern. The tournament, which will see 104 matches played across the United States, Mexico and Canada, began June 11 with Mexico defeating South Africa 2-0 before a capacity crowd of 80,824 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Julián Quiñones scored in the 10th minute, the earliest goal in a World Cup opener since 2006, and Raúl Jiménez added a second-half goal in a match that produced three red cards, hours after Shakira and Burna Boy headlined the opening ceremony. In the tournament's second match, South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, where large sections of seats sat empty. Complaints about ticket prices, travel costs and visa issues have been a recurring theme of the buildup to the tournament.

Al Jazeera / NYT

JUNE 12 2011: SCIENTISTS REVEAL POSSIBLE OLDEST ARTWORK IN THE AMERICAS

Researchers announce an engraved image of an Ice Age mammoth on a fossil bone found in Florida, likely at least 13,000 years old. The bone, thought to have come from a mammoth, mastodon, or giant sloth, may represent the earliest known artwork in the Western Hemisphere.

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Sources

1. PBS NewsHour / Wall Street Journal / Financial Times
2. Axios / Wall Street Journal
3. SAG-AFTRA
4. NPR / Wall Street Journal / Wall Street Journal
5. Al Jazeera / NYT The Athletic / NYT The Athletic