Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/06/25/day-1618/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=daily_update

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1/ Trump will restrict classified briefings to Congress after a leaked Pentagon report showed U.S. airstrikes didn’t cripple Iran’s nuclear program and likely only set it back “a few months.” Trump called the leaked report “very inconclusive,” and claimed without evidence that the damage was “total obliteration” and that Iran’s program had been set back “basically decades.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, confirmed the intelligence assessments that the strikes delayed Iran’s capabilities by only a few months, but dismissed it as “spin.” Secretary of State Rubio said critics “don’t want to admit this was a success.” The Pentagon and FBI have since launched a criminal investigation into the leak. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Trump of withholding intelligence to “hide bad news” that contradict his repeated claims the nuclear sites were “obliterated.” Senate Minority Leader Schumer said, “This isn’t about national security – it’s about Trump’s insecurity,” and Sen. Dick Durbin called the leak “embarrassing” for the White House because it revealed the strikes “did not obliterate the Iran nuclear program as promised.” And, Rep. Jim Himes said using “unsubstantiated speculation” to justify blocking oversight was “unacceptable,” adding, “The law requires the congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed.” (Axios / New York Times / Politico / NPR / CNBC / Politico / Axios / NBC News)

2/ Trump said the U.S. will meet with Iran next week, but claimed a nuclear deal “is not that necessary” because the U.S. strikes already “destroyed the nuclear.” He told reporters that the U.S. bombing campaign “blew it up […] to kingdom come,” referring to Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. “We may sign an agreement,” Trump said, adding: “I don’t care if I have an agreement or not.” Secretary of State Rubio said any deal would require Iran to negotiate directly, not through intermediaries. (Wall Street Journal / CBS News / Bloomberg / CNN / New York Times)

3/ NATO allies agreed to raise defense spending target to 5% of GDP by 2035 – more than doubling the previous 2% goal. While Trump celebrated the deal as a personal win – saying, “They said, ‘You did it, sir, you did it’” – he also singled out Spain for refusing to commit and threatened tariffs: “We’re going to make them pay twice as much – and I’m actually serious about that.” Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who helped broker the agreement, referred to Trump as “daddy” during a press event, prompting Trump to joke, “Daddy, you’re my daddy.” Rutte tried to later walked back the comment, saying, “Not that I was calling President Trump daddy.” (Politico / Washington Post / Semafor / NBC News / CNBC / Reuters / Axios / Politico / Reuters)

4/ Trump said he might allow Ukraine to buy additional U.S.-made Patriot missile systems, but gave no timeline or commitment. “We’re going to see if we can make some available,” Trump said after a 45-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that the systems are “very hard to get,” but the Ukrainian leader “couldn’t have been nicer.” Meanwhile, Trump called Putin “misguided” and “more difficult” than expected, admitting the war “has been more difficult than other wars” despite previously promising to end it in 24 hours. (New York Times / The Hill / USA Today / Bloomberg / ABC News)

5/ The U.S. won’t deliver $1.2 billion in promised funding to the global vaccine alliance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced, accusing Gavi of “neglect[ing] the key issue of vaccine safety.” Kennedy claimed the group “ignored the science” and treated safety concerns “not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem.” He provided no evidence other than a disputed study claiming children who received a Gavi-backed vaccine were ten times more likely to die than unvaccinated peers. Gavi rejected the claims, saying its decisions align with “recommendations by the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.” (Politico / New York Times / Reuters)

6/ Health Secretary Kennedy’s new vaccine advisory panel will revisit the long-standing childhood immunization schedule, including the timing of hepatitis B and MMR shots. Chair Martin Kulldorff said the group will study “the cumulative effect” of vaccines and may change recommendations for shots routinely given to infants and toddlers. Kennedy fired all 17 prior members without explanation earlier this month and replaced them with eight handpicked members, several with records of vaccine skepticism. On Thursday, the panel will hear from Lyn Redwood, a former leader of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group now working inside HHS, about thimerosal, a preservative removed from most childhood vaccines in 2001. Notably, Redwood’s original presentation cited a study that “does not exist,” according to the scientist listed as its author. “I do not endorse this misrepresentation of the research,” UC Davis professor emeritus Robert Berman said. The CDC removed the slide after infectious disease expert David Boulware flagged the error. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Reuters / CNN / NBC News)

7/ Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary after Andrew Cuomo conceded. Trump, meanwhile, responded by calling Mamdani a “Communist Lunatic,” claiming “Democrats have crossed the line” and adding that “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.” Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, led with 43.5% of first-choice votes on a platform of rent freezes, free buses, city-run grocery stores, and $10 billion in new taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Wall Street donors who spent over $30 million backing Cuomo began organizing a $20 million campaign to block Mamdani in November. Mamdani’s win marks a sharp break from the Democratic establishment, which had lined up behind Cuomo with endorsements from Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg. If elected, Mamdani would be the first socialist to lead the country’s financial capital one of the most powerful cities in the world. (Bloomberg / New York Times / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Politico / NPR)

The midterm elections are in 496 days.

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