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Kennedy Center says it isn't required to reschedule shows after judge blocks 2-year closure

Kennedy Center says it isn’t required to reschedule shows after judge blocks 2-year closure The Associated Press June 19, 2026, 10:05 PM WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center’s management isn’t making a commitment to scheduling new shows or building up its staff even as the performing arts venue considers options short of a full two-year closure that a federal judge blocked last month. In a court filing Friday, Kennedy Center lawyers said the institution plans to “maintain an operational model ...

BumRushDaShow

Cuba pushes through sweeping free-market reforms in biggest economic shift since the revolution

June 19, 2026, 8:34 PM EDT HAVANA — Observers on Friday called Cuba’s new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island’s communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former President Raúl Castro said in an interview that Cuba must seek to move its economy forward. The 176 measures aim to further decentralize Cuba’s state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under President Donald Trump. Under the island’s current economic ...

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Planned Trump border wall near Texas national park could create flooding risk, suit says

Friday 19 June 2026 21:12 EDT Trump administration plans to build parts of the border wall near Big Bend National Park could expose a small town to “potentially devastating” flooding, a federal lawsuit argues. The suit, filed Wednesday by the municipal development district of Presidio, Texas, against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, claims that the administration plans to replace an existing earthen levee protecting the area with segments of the 30-f ...

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Israeli strikes kill 10 in Lebanon after truce, with prospect of U.S.-Iran talks unclear

June 19, 2026 10:32 PM EDT Updated 24 mins ago ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday, hours after a truce took effect, Israel saying it was reacting to attacks from Hezbollah and the Iran-backed group saying it would not allow Israel "freedom of movement" in Lebanon. A halt ‌to the fighting in Lebanon is a condition for starting 60 days of U.S.-Iranian talks to resolve disputes over Iran’s nuclear p ...

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U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Trump Admin From Enacting New Plans To Slash Consumer Watchdog Staff

Jun 19, 2026, 08:03 PM EDT June 19 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration's plans to immediately slash the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by about two-thirds, delivering a setback to the White House's protracted efforts to shrink the consumer watchdog. The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in response to a revised plan the Justice Department submitted in late March following repeat ...

BumRushDaShow

Trump unveils new Air Force One, a $400 million plane gifted by Qatar

Updated on: June 19, 2026 / 4:45 PM EDT / CBS News Washington — President Trump on Friday unveiled the Boeing 747-8 that will serve as the new Air Force One, providing the first look at the $400 million luxury plane that the U.S. accepted as a gift from the Qatari government last year. Mr. Trump descended the stairs from the hulking jet inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews, the military post outside Washington that has served as the presidential airport for decades. He greeted Air Force offi ...

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U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say

June 19, 2026 at 11:50 a.m. EDT U.S. intelligence agencies have warned the Trump administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to take steps that will undermine President Donald Trump's effort to reach a lasting peace deal with Iran, as the Israeli premier faces intense political pressure to continue waging his country's war in Lebanon, current and former U.S. officials said. Israel appears intent on maintaining military operations against Iran's proxy Hezbollah in L ...

riversedge

47 people killed, and 97 wounded, by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Friday The Israeli military kille

4h ago12.08 EDT The Israeli military killed at least 47 people on Friday, and wounded 97 others, across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, according to the Lebanese health ministry. ................ The airstrikes took place from midnight until the afternoon on Friday, and were in response to Iranian-backed Hezbollah killing four Israeli soldiers, according to Israel. The ministry reports that 3,980 people have been killed and 12,001 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2 Marc ...

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Pentagon seeks $80 billion as Iran conflict costs continue to climb

Friday 19 June 2026 05:32 EDT The U.S. Department of Defense requires $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran conflict and other non-war-related bills, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg informed lawmakers this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing sources. A full U.S. supplemental request, including funding for the Pentagon and non-defense priorities such as farm and disaster relief, could be sent to lawmakers soon. Reuters could not immediately verify the report; ...

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Judge denies Biden's bid to block release of transcripts linked to special counsel inquiry

Updated 3:09 PM EDT, June 19, 2026 A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden’s attempt to block the Trump administration from releasing to a conservative group the recordings that Biden made with a ghostwriter. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had. The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained cl ...

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Democratic states scramble to prevent potential Trump administration interference in their elections

51 min ago - PUBLISHED Jun 20, 2026, 6:30 AM ET Democratic-led states are racing to safeguard November’s midterm elections against potential interference from the Trump administration and its allies, passing new laws that restrict the presence of law enforce ... (CNN Politics)

New global order: AI CEOs as heads of nation-states

1 hr ago - It was a historic, even jarring, scene that captures a once-unimaginable geopolitical ordering. The world's most powerful heads of state gathered in the French Alps this week for the annual G7 summit, with the CEOs of America's dominant AI companies ... (Axios)

China's Ministry of State Security Accuses 'Spy Turtles and Spy Fish' of Stealing Sensitive Marine Data

1 hr ago - Stop the presses! Barely a month after President Donald Trump visited Beijing, an espionage scandal is brewing in the pristine waters off China’s long stretches of ocean coastline. China’s Ministry of State Security addressed the situation ... (Gizmodo)

Gasps as Trump's birthday bash leaves White House grounds in 'terrible' condition

2 hrs ago - June 20, 2026 8:56AM ET An aerial view shows crews deconstructing the UFC fighting venue on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 19, 2026 REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz President Donald Trump marked his 80th birthday last Sunday ... (Raw Story)

Kennedy Center refuses to take tarps off where Trump's name was removed

2 hrs ago - Matthew Chapman • 12h • 2 min read President Donald Trump suffered a severe humiliation this month when the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was finally ordered by a federal court to remove Trump's name from the side of the building ... (msn.com)

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz over ceasefire violations, Iranian media says after continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon

2 hrs ago - June 20, 2026, 7:54 AM EDT / Updated June 20, 2026, 10:04 AM EDT Iran said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, according to Iranian state media, citing violations of the ceasefire after continued Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon overnigh ... (NBC News)

President Trump blames vandals amid Reflecting Pool algae bloom

3 hrs ago - Updated June 19, 2026, 11:48 p.m. ET President Donald Trump defended his administration's beautification record in Washington, DC, despite the algae bloom in the recently overhauled reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial. In a Truth Social post on ... (USA Today)

Barack and Michelle Obama surprise first visitors to newly opened presidential center

4 hrs ago - By CLAIRE SAVAGE Updated 8:01 PM CDT, June 19, 2026 CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama surprised the first 100 visitors to walk through the doors of the new Obama Presidential Center, personally ... (AP)

Dem senators call on FCC to pause Paramount-Warner Bros deal on national security grounds

4 hrs ago - 06/19/26 11:03 PM ET Three Democratic senators are pressing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to halt a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that the deal could pose a national security risk due to the involvement of ... (The Hill)

Israeli strikes kill 10 in Lebanon after truce, with prospect of U.S.-Iran talks unclear

5 hrs ago - June 19, 2026 10:32 PM EDT Updated 24 mins ago ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday, hours after a truce took effect, Israel saying it was reacting to attacks from Hezbol ... (Reuters)

Planned Trump border wall near Texas national park could create flooding risk, suit says

6 hrs ago - Friday 19 June 2026 21:12 EDT Trump administration plans to build parts of the border wall near Big Bend National Park could expose a small town to “potentially devastating” flooding, a federal lawsuit argues. The suit, filed Wednesday by t ... (The Independent)

Cuba pushes through sweeping free-market reforms in biggest economic shift since the revolution

6 hrs ago - June 19, 2026, 8:34 PM EDT HAVANA — Observers on Friday called Cuba’s new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island’s communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former President Ra&uacu ... (NBC News/AP)

Kennedy Center says it isn't required to reschedule shows after judge blocks 2-year closure

6 hrs ago - Kennedy Center says it isn’t required to reschedule shows after judge blocks 2-year closure The Associated Press June 19, 2026, 10:05 PM WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center’s management isn’t making a commitment to scheduling new ... (Associated Press via WTOP)

U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Trump Admin From Enacting New Plans To Slash Consumer Watchdog Staff

7 hrs ago - Jun 19, 2026, 08:03 PM EDT June 19 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration's plans to immediately slash the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by about two-thirds, delivering a setback to ... (Huff Post/Reuters)

Global framework for reparatory justice adopted at landmark conference in Ghana

7 hrs ago - Fri 19 Jun 2026 13.26 EDT Last modified on Fri 19 Jun 2026 17.59 EDT A global framework for reparatory justice has been adopted at a conference in Ghana. Heads of state and government and other officials formally approved the strategy on Friday at a ... (The Guardian)

'The World Woke Up': CEO of World's Largest Hedge Fund Warns Trump Stopping Global Investment In the US

8 hrs ago - Jun 19th, 2026, 5:21 pm Yonit Levi, the veteran Israeli journalist and news anchor, spoke with Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea this week and asked the head of the world’s largest hedge fund if Israel betting on the U.S. was a “mistake.” B ... (MEDIAite)

Africa CDC chief says the continent needs to invest its own funds in Ebola response, vaccine

9 hrs ago - Updated 4:21 PM EDT, June 19, 2026 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — African officials must step up financing to respond and develop vaccines for the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, the continent’s top health agency said on Friday, warning t ... (AP)

US-Iran talks delayed, but Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire could push deal forward

10 hrs ago - Posted 3:29 PM, Jun 19, 2026 Planned talks between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland were called off Friday after Israel launched strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Israel and Hezbollah later agreed to renew their ceasefire, setting up the ... (Scripps News)

Massive fire destroys resort in Dominican Republic and forces evacuation of almost 1,700 tourists

12 hrs ago - Updated 9:54 PM CDT, June 19, 2026 SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A large fire almost completely destroyed a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic on Friday, forcing the evacuation of almost 1,700 tourists, authorities said. Local me ... (AP)

'Correct the record': Judge Cannon 'made a number of errors' and 'inappropriate' accusations while burying Jack Smith's

15 hrs ago - 'Correct the record': Judge Cannon 'made a number of errors' and 'inappropriate' accusations while burying Jack Smith's report, appeals court told Story by Matt Naham • 3h • Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Thursday expressed an urg ... (msn)