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Postal Service Issues Proposal to Block Mail Ballots in States That Don’t Turn Over Data

Democrats and voting-rights groups have challenged the proposed rule as a harmful federal intrusion that could affect millions of voters who cast their ballots by mail.

© Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Department of Elections workers sort mail-in ballots for the California primary election at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., earlier this month.
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Trump Picks Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence After Backlash Over Bill Pulte

The president said he would nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for the permanent role.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

President Trump’s pick to be the director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, took over as the U.S. attorney for Manhattan in April 2025.
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Government scrambles to approve PSU – Single Social Benefit

Portugal’s ‘minister of the presidency’, António Leitão Amaro has acknowledged today that the government “may need to make concessions” to right-wing CHEGA in order to secure approval for legislation creating

The post Government scrambles to approve PSU – Single Social Benefit appeared first on Portugal Resident.

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After Senate Loss, Cornyn Predicts ‘Miserable’ Final Two Years for Trump

In his first extensive interview since his defeat by a Trump-backed challenger, the Texas Republican said the Senate was in for a “bumpy ride” as he and others flex new political freedom.

© Pete Marovich for The New York Times

“There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants,” Senator John Cornyn said of President Trump. “But obviously that’s not what the senator’s role is supposed to be.”
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Justice Dept. Pushes Limits of Its Power Over State Elections

The department once tried to stay out of state elections, urging caution. It is now pressing forward with claims of fraud as President Trump revives his unfounded assertions that elections cannot be trusted.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Voters casting their ballots in California’s primary races in Los Angeles last week.
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London council seizes social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone first lady

Fatima Jabbe-Bio kept tenancy in Southwark despite living for much of year at presidential lodge in Freetown

A social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone’s first lady has been seized by a London council.

Southwark council confirmed it had repossessed the two-bedroom home in Walworth previously occupied by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, whose tenancy was reported by the Times last year.

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© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

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House Rejects Bill to Extend Surveillance Power With FISA Section 702 Set to Expire

A measure to temporarily continue a key surveillance law failed in the House, and members left for a weeklong recess, making an expiration all but inevitable.

© Salwan Georges for The New York Times

“We cannot allow that to go dark,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday as prospects for the law being renewed appeared increasingly grim.
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Trump and Hegseth Broadcast U.S. Military Strikes Before They Happen

Commanders do not usually speak publicly about future operations to avoid jeopardizing the mission’s success.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump said he was telegraphing the American strikes to pressure Iran to reach a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz.
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Can’t Pay Medical Bills? Trump Administration Suggests Getting a Loan

One-third of Americans shoulder health care debt. Insurers are being asked to consider lending money to Obamacare consumers who can’t afford higher deductibles.

© Cig Harvey for The New York Times

Kathleen Capetta’s family of five is paying an additional $750 a month this year for its Obamacare plan premium. She was already paying off debt from cancer treatment.
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Turkey Condemns Cyprus-France Defense Agreement as Threat to Regional Stability

Turkish Ministry of National Defense, Ankara, Turkey
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense building in Ankara. Turkey criticized the Cyprus-France defense agreement, warning it could affect the balance in the Eastern Mediterranean. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Modern Primat / CC BY SA 4

Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense has condemned a new defense agreement between Cyprus and France, warning that it could destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean and threaten regional security.

The move came after Cyprus and France signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which strengthens defense cooperation between the two countries and allows for the conditional deployment of French military personnel and assets on the island nation.

Following a ministry press briefing, Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, Press and Public Relations Advisor and Spokesperson for Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense, said Ankara was closely monitoring what it described as a provocative move that could escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey objected to the agreement by arguing that France has no guarantor role in Cyprus. Ankara also claimed that the deal disregards the will and sovereign equal rights of Turkish Cypriots and seeks to unilaterally alter the delicate balance on the island.

Cyprus and France agreement challenges balance, Turkey claims

According to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, the agreement signed between France and the Republic of Cyprus is contrary to the 1960 Cyprus Agreements and international law.

Aktürk warned that actions of this kind, which, according to Turkey, lack legitimacy and have not been carefully reviewed, could have dangerous consequences for the southern part of the island. Furthermore, any military alliance in the region that disregards the balance in Cyprus and targets the rights and interests of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots would not succeed against Turkey, he proclaimed.

“As a guarantor country, we will continue to protect the rights and interests and ensure the security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as we have done in the past and as we do today,” Aktürk maintained. He added that the Turkish Armed Forces have both the power and will to respond to the appropriate degree and in the most efficient way possible to any hostile stance which Ankara believes could pose a threat to the security of Turkish Cypriots.

Millî Savunma Bakanlığı Haftalık Basın Bilgilendirme Toplantısı, Denizkurdu-II Tatbikatı’nın Seçkin Gözlemci Günü dolayısıyla Akdeniz açıklarındaki TCG Anadolu’da gerçekleştirildi.

Millî Savunma Bakanlığı Basın ve Halkla İlişkiler Müşaviri ve Bakanlık Sözcüsü Tuğamiral Zeki… pic.twitter.com/whGFkfYCLD

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 11, 2026

Cyprus and France sign SOFA in Nicosia

The agreement was signed in Nicosia on Monday by Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas and French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin, who met on the sidelines of the informal meeting of European Union defense ministers, hosted by Cyprus. The SOFA had been discussed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Nicosia on April 23 and was later negotiated between the two governments.

It provides a legal framework for the presence of French military forces in Cyprus and also allows French military assets to be deployed in the southern part of the island under specific conditions, particularly in support of activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.

Agreement expands France-Cyprus defense cooperation

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced that the agreement has entered into force, reportedly granting France access to military bases and infrastructure in Cyprus.

The deal is also said to include provisions for the sharing of military technology, the conduct of joint exercises, and the establishment of a strategic dialogue framework between Cyprus and France.

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Trump Shrugs Off Surging Inflation, and Why a Groundbreaking Social Media Ban Is Floundering

Plus, the man behind “GOOOOAL!”

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

As inflation outpaces workers’ wages, President Trump and his administration insist that their agenda is working.
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Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say

The women are among nearly two dozen people slated to be sent to a country where the U.S. government has advised “Do not travel for any reason.”

© Valerie Plesch for The New York Times

The Trump administration is working to find ways to deport some migrants to third countries as a way around court orders barring their return home.
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