The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on transgender procedures.
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| “A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.” |
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Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected a call by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to unconditionally surrender amid the regime’s aerial war with Israel.
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The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on transgender procedures. Here are the five takeaways from the consequential ruling.
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Border Patrol did not release any illegal immigrants into the country in May, a “staggering drop” from the more than 62,000 illegal immigrants whom Border Patrol was “forced to release along the southwest border” during the same period in 2024, Customs and Border Protection said.
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The man accused of killing a lawmaker and her spouse had given sermons about valuing human life. Motives for his alleged crime spree are being probed. Here’s what we know about Vance Boelter.
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🍵 Health Viewpoint: The science on autism and vaccines is not settled. Here is what the studies are missing.
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☀️ Good morning! It’s Thursday. Thank you for reading the Morning Brief, an exclusive newsletter for Epoch Times subscribers. 👋 New to Morning Brief? Subscribe. 🎧 Prefer to listen? Get the podcast. |
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
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Iranian leader Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a state television broadcast on June 18, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. In the address, he said the Iranian people would never surrender and that “any form of US military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm.” (Office of the leader of Iran via Getty Images) |
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected a call by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to unconditionally surrender amid the regime’s aerial war with Israel.
Trump earlier this week called for the “unconditional surrender” of Iran’s regime, led by Khamenei, as Israel launched airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure, including its nuclear facilities, in the past five days. Iran has responded by firing hundreds of missiles at Israel.
“The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats,” Khamenei wrote in a post on X on Wednesday morning in response to Trump.
Iranian state television also aired footage of Khamenei giving a statement that was read out by a TV anchor on Wednesday, including a warning to the United States that joining the Israeli strikes targeting his country will “result in irreparable damage for them.”
Khamenei’s remarks follow Trump’s post on Truth Social, in which the president wrote that the United States and Israel “know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding” before adding that “he is an easy target, but is safe there.”
“We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” the president added. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.” (More)
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President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is still considering options to address escalating conflict with Iran but has not yet reached a final decision. It is not too late for Iran to give up its nuclear program, Trump said.
- The U.S. ambassador to Israel confirmed that the U.S. Embassy is working to evacuate Americans from the country amid an Iran–Israel aerial conflict that has lasted more than five days.
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Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson called President Trump to apologize for some of the critical comments he made on the ongoing Israel–Iran conflict.
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Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) engaged in a heated discussion over whether the United States should get involved in the Israel–Iran aerial conflict.
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Border Patrol did not release any illegal immigrants into the country in May, a “staggering drop” from the more than 62,000 illegal immigrants whom Border Patrol was “forced to release along the southwest border” during the same period in 2024, Customs and Border Protection said. Border Patrol encountered just 8,725 illegal immigrants crossing the southwest border in May, down from 117,905 illegal immigrants encountered in May 2024.
“Border numbers continue to trend at historic lows, reinforcing the sustained success of our enforcement efforts in securing the homeland and protecting American communities,” acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores said.
CBP’s total nationwide encounters, including at ports of entry, averaged roughly 952 per day in May, which is the “second lowest average daily number of CBP encounters in history,” according to the agency. (More) More Politics: |
- Here is how faith has guided Doug Collins from Pastor to Air Force chaplain to VA Secretary.
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The Food and Drug Administration approved an HIV-prevention drug that showed near-total protection in clinical trials.
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U.S. consular officers have been directed to perform reviews of the online presence of all applicants for student and exchange visitor visas, The Epoch Times learned on June 18.
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The Department of the Interior proposes reopening up to 82 percent of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to oil and gas leasing and development.
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Wendy Thomas knew that Minnesota’s largest-ever dragnet was trained on her neighbor, Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect in a crime that has shocked Minnesota and the nation. “I thought he was long gone,” Thomas said as police searched for Boelter, the man accused of ambushing two state lawmakers at their suburban Minneapolis homes.
State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, survived multiple gunshot wounds early on June 14. A tip from Thomas led police to Boelter near his home, even though she doubted her own eyes in the fading evening light of June 15. Thomas, 43, gave The Epoch Times a detailed description of the events that unfolded before Boelter’s arrest on the night of June 15. She and others also provided more insights about the suspect and his possible motives, as did police statements, public records, and videos featuring Boelter’s own words. (More) More U.S. News |
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A Massachusetts jury on Wednesday found Karen Read not guilty in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, almost a year after a closely watched trial ended in a mistrial.
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The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for the fourth straight meeting on June 18, a decision that financial markets widely expected.
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Elon Musk’s social media platform X is suing New York state over a new law that would require X and similar digital services to disclose how they police user-generated content.
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British lawmakers voted in favor of an amendment that would decriminalise abortion in England and Wales and remove criminal penalties for women who end their pregnancies at any stage and for any reason.
Women in England and Wales face criminal charges and police investigations if they end a pregnancy after 24 weeks under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, a Victorian-era law that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Medical professionals who assist women in obtaining an abortion outside the 24-week limit can still face prosecution. Only three convictions have been reported of an illegal abortion in 164 years, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
On June 17, members of Parliament voted 379–137 to back Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi’s amendment to the government’s crime and policing bill.
Having passed the House of Commons, the bill moves to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the UK Parliament, for review. If passed by the House of Lords and granted royal assent, the bill will become law. (More) More World News |
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It is not discriminatory to prevent people from nations such as China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran, which pose a threat to Britain, from taking certain jobs in the defense or security sector, a UK employment tribunal has ruled. The ruling comes after a Chinese scientist, Tianlin Xu, accused a British artificial intelligence company, Binary AI, of racism, after she was not hired due to security concerns.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has committed to sending about 6,000 army personnel to aid recovery in Russia’s Kursk region after the ouster of Ukrainian forces from the area.
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📷 Photo of the Day: Sheep arrive ahead of the start of the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 18, 2025. The show is an annual event showcasing the best of food, farming, and rural life from the Highlands of Scotland. This year's event takes place June 19-22. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) |
🇺🇲 American Thought Leaders: John Miller breaks down why food freedom requires made-in-America manufacturing. (Watch)
✍️ Opinion: Why a Parade Became a Threat by Kay Rubacek (Read)
🍵 Health: Long-term marijuana smoking and the use of marijuana edibles may harm the blood vessels as much as tobacco, a new study suggests.
🎙️ Podcast: In California, the cost of building affordable housing keeps climbing, with some units nearing $1 million to construct. Tia Patterson, CEO of the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, lays out what’s driving these pressures and what can be done about it. (Listen)
🎵 Music: Bohuslav Martinů - Rhapsody (Listen)
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Recruiting others isn't about being strategic, but about being human. (Biba Kayewich) |
One of the favorite axioms of a former FBI agent is: Recruit everybody, every day. It includes your colleagues, secretary, greengrocer, paperboy, even your supervisor, whether you’ve just met them or have known them all your life.
It’s especially applicable in the FBI when working on foreign counterintelligence cases. Sometimes, it’s doing unasked-for favors, or just being thoughtful with a compliment.
Many don’t take these little steps, and some never will. But if you want to accomplish something in the field of human endeavor where the actions of others come into play, and if you don’t “recruit everybody, every day,” your chances of success are diminished. You don’t know who might help you on the next go-around, but you shouldn’t expect them to.
With this axiom comes a way of living that too few have realized. Doing it makes you smile a lot and feel good about yourself. It also leads others to want to do things for you—things you might never ask of them. Don’t act this way just so others will help you, but it usually follows that they do.
Read the former FBI agent’s inspiring true story of catching a murder suspect with the help of a homeless man the agent had assisted along the way.
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Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day. |
—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li. |
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