National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for areas including Cumberland County through 7:00pm on June 18thA Tornado Watch means tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. From NWS: “Review and discuss your emergency plans, take inventory of your supplies and check your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives! Watches are issued by the Storm Prediction Center for counties where tornadoes may occur. The watch area is typically large, covering numerous counties or even states.” |
June 18, 2026
Weather
Polls
NPR - Trump's approval ratings continue to fall to record lows, particularly over his handling of the economy, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. Only one-third of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy, which is three points lower than the worst ratings former President Joe Biden received during his term. Just 36% of respondents approve of Trump's overall job performance, while 59% disapprove, marking the widest gap he has faced in either of his terms in office.
Beer
Bloomberg - Beer sales the world over are fizzing out, except for Guinness, that is. Demand for the 269-year-old Irish stout has become so strong that owner Diageo has opened a new brewery in its country of birth, and another is on the way....
- These are sobering times for alcohol companies, which for years counted on steady demand as drinking remained woven into social life and consumer culture. But health concerns and tighter wallets are prompting people to drink less.
- Not so Guinness, which continues to grow. So much so that it’s even triggered periodic shortages, forcing some pubs to ration supplies.
Gas prices fall below $4.00 again
Headline USA - U.S. gas prices fell below $4 a gallon on average Thursday. It is the first time since March that the average cost for a regular gallon has been that low. Prices fell overnight after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country.
Gas prices are at $3.999 on average in the U.S., according to motor club AAA.
But fluctuations in gas prices remain across the country. In California, gas prices are averaging $5.64 per gallon, while in South Carolina it’s $3.58 per gallon.
Middle East
The Guardian - Donald Trump has signed a 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a “major win” for the US – even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”.
In extraordinary remarks, Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
In this analysis piece, Andrew Roth notes how the US entered the war with maximalist goals but exits it with a pragmatic decision to end conflict despite the political cost. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.”
How have US Republicans reacted to the deal? Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, appeared to soften his view of the deal after a “very lengthy and productive” conversation with the the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. But his fellow senator Ted Cruz, who has backed the war, said: “History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal.” And Senator Bill Cassidy declared: “Reagan is rolling over in his grave.”
But the agreement’s text, read aloud Wednesday by a senior U.S. official on a call with reporters, provides a preview of the precarious path ahead for U.S. and Iranian negotiators, who have only two months after the MOU’s signing to secure a final deal to forever end Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The MOU, as laid out to reporters, reveals some significant wins for Iran that are likely to raise eyebrows in the U.S., especially among members of Congress, including U.S. support for a $300 billion reconstruction fund and no restrictions on Iran’s missile program.
The focus of the MOU is on economic measures, from ensuring the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to providing Iran with economic incentives for good behavior. Only two of the document’s 14 points mention the country’s nuclear program at all, with the rest revealing concessions the U.S. made to the country that President Donald Trump said have been “largely demolished.” Read the full article here.
In extraordinary remarks, Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
In this analysis piece, Andrew Roth notes how the US entered the war with maximalist goals but exits it with a pragmatic decision to end conflict despite the political cost. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.”
How have US Republicans reacted to the deal? Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, appeared to soften his view of the deal after a “very lengthy and productive” conversation with the the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. But his fellow senator Ted Cruz, who has backed the war, said: “History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal.” And Senator Bill Cassidy declared: “Reagan is rolling over in his grave.”
Julia Jester, MS NOW - The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran — named the Islamabad MOU for the mediator’s host country — is vaguely written and intentionally so, given its clear purpose as a negotiation agenda catering to each side’s domestic audience.
But the agreement’s text, read aloud Wednesday by a senior U.S. official on a call with reporters, provides a preview of the precarious path ahead for U.S. and Iranian negotiators, who have only two months after the MOU’s signing to secure a final deal to forever end Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The MOU, as laid out to reporters, reveals some significant wins for Iran that are likely to raise eyebrows in the U.S., especially among members of Congress, including U.S. support for a $300 billion reconstruction fund and no restrictions on Iran’s missile program.
The focus of the MOU is on economic measures, from ensuring the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to providing Iran with economic incentives for good behavior. Only two of the document’s 14 points mention the country’s nuclear program at all, with the rest revealing concessions the U.S. made to the country that President Donald Trump said have been “largely demolished.” Read the full article here.
Trump regime
Alternet America - The Trump administration is threatening to cut federal unemployment support to all 50 states for the first time in history. Ohio Republicans let a bill ending child marriage die before summer recess. The Justice Department has joined a lawsuit to kill the nation’s first reparations program for Black residents in a Chicago suburb. And the administration is paying energy companies another $2.6 billion to abandon offshore wind.
Corporate media is running cover. The FCC chair is making sure they know what happens if they don’t. And independent outlets are being bought out one by one. This is the news they don’t want you reading.
Supremes narrow gun control law
NY Times - The Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed a federal gun control measure, siding with a marijuana user who had challenged a provision that had banned drug users from owning or possessing guns.
The justices ruled that the government’s use of the law was overbroad, sweeping together recreational drug users with people addicted to drugs who posed a danger to public safety.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote the decision. All of the justices agreed with the outcome, although several wrote separately to explain their decision-making.
“We appreciate that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix,” Justice Gorsuch wrote. However, he wrote, the justices rejected the government’s “expansive theory” in the case and found that a historical analogy the government advanced to laws barring habitual drunkards from owning guns “fails under every measure it asks us to consider.”
House members flailing in primaries for higher office
The Hill - House members who opted to run for higher office rather than seek reelection have had a poor track record this year and could end up with a higher rate of primary losses than in recent years. Those losses have come despite members having the perks of a national profile and network, suggesting that congressional experience may be of little value to voters.
June 17, 2026
Americans to be hit with record-high electricity bills this summer
Independent - Americans are facing record-high costs to cool their homes this summer as electricity prices climb and temperatures soar.
The average U.S. household will likely spend about $792 on electricity between June and September, up 10.5 percent from the same period last year, when it cost $717, according to new analysis from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
Since 2020, the average summer cooling costs have increased nearly 40 percent due to rising electricity prices and increasingly hot temperatures. Even adjusting for inflation, cooling costs are projected to be about 7 percent higher than they were six years ago.
American households will likely see little relief this summer. Forecasters are predicting record-smashing heat for 2026, meaning more electricity will be used to maintain comfortable and safe indoor conditions.
Judge Orders Restoration of National Park History Displays
Newsworthy News - A federal court has ordered the Trump administration to put national park history panels back in place, setting off a new fight over who gets to define America’s story.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore removed park exhibits and signs.
The ruling covers materials about slavery, climate change, labor history, civil rights, and other topics.
The court said the removals created a narrow, incomplete version of history.
The administration had said the changes were meant to remove “improper partisan ideology.”
Weather
Axios - Tropical Storm Arthur became the first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season this morning. Forecasters are warning of potentially life-threatening flooding in the Southeast. More from Axios' Carlie Kollath Wells.
Polls
Indpendent - Just over half of Americans say they are proud of their nationality as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, according to a series of new studies highlighting a sharp decline in national pride and a widening generational divide.
Data from multiple research groups indicates that traditional patriotism is fractured along partisan and age lines, with younger generations increasingly pessimistic about the country’s economic prospects and the state of its democracy.
A newly released survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 51 percent of respondents were extremely or very proud to be American. This marks a significant drop from 2013, when 82 percent of respondents expressed the same sentiment to the organization.
The decline is most noticeable among young adults. Only 34 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 told PRRI they were proud to be American, compared with 66 percent of those aged 65 and older.
Maine Senate Poll: Wick Research
Overall
Platner 48%
Collins 45%
Independents
Platner 52%
Collins 38%
Women
Platner 49%
Collins 42%
Men
Platner 46%
Collins 49%
More In Touch With Working Class Mainers?
Platner 50%
Collins 41%NATIONAL POLL By Echelon Insights
Pres. Trump
Approve: 40% (=)
Disapprove: 59% (=)
——
Generic Ballot
DEM: 50% (-1)
GOP: 44% (+1)
Pres. Trump
Approve: 40% (=)
Disapprove: 59% (=)
——
Generic Ballot
DEM: 50% (-1)
GOP: 44% (+1)
DEM: 50% (-1)
GOP: 44% (+1)
Pres. Trump
Approve: 40% (=)
Disapprove: 59% (=)
——
Generic Ballot
DEM: 50% (-1)
GOP: 44% (+1)Housing
Reuters - The "State of the Nation’s Housing," [is] a report produced every year by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The 2026 edition, out June 17, is sobering.
“Persistent affordability challenges and rising economic uncertainty are hurting housing markets," the report says bluntly. "Weakening labor markets and plummeting immigration have dampened household growth and mobility. Sales of existing homes sit at three-decade lows and inventories are rising in the face of high homebuying costs.”
Only 1.1 million new households were formed in 2025 – a number roughly in line with the depths of the Great Recession over a decade ago – as student debt, a weaker job market, and anemic consumer sentiment made Americans wary of striking out on their own.
Similarly, only 11.2% of Americans relocated in 2024, an all-time low.
- As of 2024, 20.7 million homeowner households (24% of the total) spent more than 30% of their income on housing expenses; 9.6 million spent more than half their income. Renters may have it worse: roughly half of all households that rent, or 22.7 million, were cost burdened as of 2024, including 12.1 million that were severely burdened.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hopes of clinging to power in an election this autumn have long been shaky, but the interim U.S. deal with Iran has added yet another complication.
U.S. President Donald Trump has opted to end the wars in Iran and Lebanon long before Israel's goals were accomplished, and Netanyahu's ?boast in March that "we are changing the face of the Middle East" looks increasingly empty.
Already facing corruption allegations, domestic political controversies and criticism over security failings in the October 7, 2023 Hamas ?attack on Israel, he will now face voters' judgement of his handling of the wars and Israel's relationship with the United States, its most important ally.
Netanyahu, 76, confirmed this week he intends to stand again in an election that must be called by October.
Opinion ?polls put his right-wing coalition on course to lose but, in a parliamentary system he has dominated for long stretches since the 1990s, few Israelis would entirely discount him weaving together a new government.
Trump regime
The Guardian - Trump’s Department of Labor claims without data that states defrauded government, Keith Sonderling, acting head of the agency, threatens to withhold administrative funds from states for first time in history.
Keith Sonderling sent letters to 53 states and US territories demanding action to “combat waste, fraud, and abuse” within the unemployment insurance program, threatening to withhold administrative funds from states for the first time history.
“We are officially putting governors on notice,” said the acting US secretary of labor. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars – no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.”
The agency did not provide data on fraud or alleged fraud in unemployment systems, but highlighted three Democrat-led states – California, New York, and Illinois – and made claims about each.
They say California owes $20bn to the federal government for a loan during the Covid-19 pandemic. California has struggled paying off the loan, as they did with a similar federal loan received during the 2008 economic recession, due to the current setup of how employers are taxed to fund unemployment. The unemployment payroll tax system in California has been unchanged since 1984 at a taxable wage ceiling of $7,000 on a workers’ wages and maximum tax rate of 5.4%, leaving the state with insufficient funds to cover its unemployment reserve while legislators on both sides of the political aisle have been working to try to resolve the issue.
The Department of Labor also claimed that New York loses an estimated $2m per day in unemployment insurance fraud and improper payments, but did not differentiate between the two. They also cited that Illinois has improper payments of $320m, at a rate of 14%.
Improper payments are not fraud, rather are most often cited as due to antiquated technology, with an estimated improper payment rate of 14.9% across the US.
Climate
Kiley Price, Inside Climate News - From sprawling skyscrapers to busy highways, many of the characteristics that make major cities so iconic also put them at risk of severe flooding. When a rainstorm hits, the mostly impermeable materials used to construct roads and sidewalks—such as concrete and asphalt—often wick water into other streets or storm drains.
“We superimposed what we wanted onto the landscape … and then by doing that, we essentially sealed the surface of the landscape,” Franco Montalto, a civil engineer at Drexel University, told me.
While these drainage systems may have held up to storms when they were first constructed, many aren’t equipped to withstand the increasingly severe rainfall brought by climate change, he added.
In New York City, for example, roughly 60 percent of the sewers are part of a centuries-old combined system where stormwater and sewage run through the same pipes to wastewater treatment plants. That means extreme rain events often trigger sewage overflows into key waterways, as my colleague Lauren Dalban reported in 2024. As an NYC resident, I’ve seen (and smelled) this firsthand.
House passes anti-worker bill
Congressional Insider - A House bill sold as “pro-worker” could let Washington bureaucrats write private labor contracts over the heads of both workers and employers.
- The House passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act, forcing strict timelines and binding arbitration onto first union contracts.
- Critics say it hands unelected government arbitrators power to dictate pay, benefits, and workplace rules for up to two years.
- Supporters claim it stops employers from dragging out talks, but opponents warn it actually strips workers of a real vote on contracts.
- Over 350 groups, including many conservative and business organizations, are urging the Senate to kill the bill as federal overreach.
The grifting of America's 250th celebration
Robert Reich - This year’s 250th anniversary events, commemorating our Founding Fathers saying NO KINGS, were supposed to be planned by a nonpartisan organization created by Congress called “America250.”
But, in king-like fashion, Trump and his MAGA allies went around Congress and created their own party planning committee, confusingly named “Freedom 250.” This new group, which claims to be nonpartisan, is planning competing events all year that do little more than glorify Donald Trump.
Who is paying for these Freedom 250 festivities? You — at least in part. That’s because Freedom 250 has gained access to taxpayer funds allotted by Congress last year for the 250th anniversary celebrations.
But, in king-like fashion, Trump and his MAGA allies went around Congress and created their own party planning committee, confusingly named “Freedom 250.” This new group, which claims to be nonpartisan, is planning competing events all year that do little more than glorify Donald Trump.
Who is paying for these Freedom 250 festivities? You — at least in part. That’s because Freedom 250 has gained access to taxpayer funds allotted by Congress last year for the 250th anniversary celebrations.
Media
Status - Behind the scenes, Status has learned that top executives at CNN and CBS News have quietly convened for meetings as Paramount moves closer to acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, uniting the two news operations.
A few weeks ago, as CBS News and CNN inched closer to a corporate marriage, top executives from the two news organizations and their parent companies convened for an introductory meeting. Representing CBS News were Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and President Tom Cibrowski. CNN’s delegation included chief executive Mark Thompson, chief operating officer Alex MacCallum, and Executive Editor Virginia Moseley. Executives from the companies’ respective parent organizations also attended, including Paramount chief operating officer Andy Gordon.
Money
WalletHub - American households have around $18.79 trillion in debt, and the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its new report on the States Where People Are the Most Delinquent on Debt to show where people are at the biggest risk of credit score damage and other negative consequences.
To highlight the places where people are having the most trouble paying their debts, WalletHub analyzed proprietary user data from Q1 2026 for each of the 50 states. In our ranking, we considered both the percentage of individual tradelines that were delinquent and the percentage of residents’ total loan balances that were delinquent.
For the full report and to see where your state ranks
To highlight the places where people are having the most trouble paying their debts, WalletHub analyzed proprietary user data from Q1 2026 for each of the 50 states. In our ranking, we considered both the percentage of individual tradelines that were delinquent and the percentage of residents’ total loan balances that were delinquent.
| Most Delinquent | Least Delinquent |
| 1. Mississippi | 41. Hawaii |
| 2. Louisiana | 42. Massachusetts |
| 3. Arkansas | 43. California |
| 4. West Virginia | 44. Washington |
| 5. Alabama | 45. Colorado |
| 6. South Carolina | 46. Wisconsin |
| 7. Delaware | 47. Montana |
| 8. North Carolina | 48. Utah |
| 9. Tennessee | 49. Vermont |
| 10. Texas | 50. Iowa |
For the full report and to see where your state ranks
Small businesses
Alternet - During Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, his supporters repeatedly praised him as "pro-business" and argued that he understood the challenges small businesses face. But almost 18 months into Trump's second presidency, according to New York Times reporter Sydney Ember, small business owners are feeling increasingly frustrated and pessimistic.
"The months-long war with Iran pushed up the cost of fuel and other materials," Ember reports in the Times. "Inflation has accelerated. The prospect of further interest rate cuts before the end of the year is dimming. Even as large corporations are posting solid earnings and the stock market is booming, small-business sentiment has plummeted in recent months. Lacking the funds to withstand an onslaught of financial gyrations, many smaller companies are instead rethinking their hiring and pausing any plans to expand — again."
The Times reporter continues, "The National Federation of Independent Business reported, in May, its lowest measure of economic expectations since Mr. Trump was elected to his second term. The Bank of America Institute reported that small-business profitability in April grew at its slowest pace in two years. Job openings at small companies have flatlined. On Sunday, Mr. Trump and Iranian officials announced a preliminary deal to end the war, though the economic consequences will probably linger for some time."
January 6 defendants pursue millions in claims
The Guardian - January 6 defendants who assaulted police officers are pursuing legal claims for millions in compensation from the Trump administration using an obscure federal process with minimal oversight, but which offers the Trump administration a way to compensate those responsible for violence even after scrapping its “anti-weaponization fund”.
The defendants are pursuing their claims using the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows individuals wronged by the government to file claims for monetary damages. The justice department has complete and unchecked discretion over whether to settle the claims, giving the Trump administration a powerful vehicle to reward those responsible for violence on January 6. The claims would be paid out from the judgment fund, a perpetual appropriation allowed for by Congress and the same pot of money Trump’s $1.8bn slush fund was going to draw from. All of the defendants seeking compensation received a pardon from Trump.
Elections
The Hill - Georgia Republicans dealt a blow to President Trump on Tuesday, bucking his preferred pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), for healthcare executive and billionaire Rick Jackson in the Peach State’s gubernatorial primary. Jackson defeated Jones by single digits in the Republican gubernatorial runoff — marking the second time one of Trump’s endorsees in a major statewide race has lost this cycle.
Yet, Trump did see several bright spots in the Tuesday primaries and runoffs in Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama. His last-minute endorsement for Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) in the Georgia Senate GOP runoff paid off, with Collins easily defeating former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was supported by Gov. Brian Kemp (R). The congressman will now take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most competitive races this year.
And in Alabama, Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore (R) won the GOP runoff to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R), though some polling had signaled potential trouble for the president’s endorsee. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), another Trump pick also won his GOP primary for Oklahoma Senate.
Donald Trump
Alternet - President Donald Trump had a press conference at the G7 in France, where he appeared to be rambling to such a degree that MS NOW cut from the press conference to refer to him as "incoherent."
Deadline's Ted Johnson commented on X that MS NOW's Alecia Mendez broke into Trump's speech, calling him "a rambling, incoherent president of the United States attempting to take a victory lap over his page-and-a-half Iran agreement."
One of Trump's bizarre comments included, "When you see young men walking around without legs, that's [Qasem] Soleimani." Trump also acknowledged that they would be releasing money to Iran, which he has criticized former President Barack Obama for doing.
The Guardian - The latest defiance of Donald Trump comes from algae in the Lincoln Memorial pool, which is green again. The administration had claimed “residual” algae would be cleared after a renovation that the US president promised would turn what he described as a “filthy” and “dirty” site into a “beautiful” monument. Instead, the algae have proliferated in warm weather.
Then, working-class white voters approved of his management of the economy by margins of 30 percentage points or even more. Now, recent polls show them disapproving by anywhere from 14 to more than 30 points.
In the 2018 midterms, even as President Trump and Republicans lost support among key groups, the white working class largely kept faith. Today, that once-deep reservoir of good will has largely evaporated.
.... Mr. Trump’s approval on the economy has dropped across practically every group. But his cratering support among a loyal demographic that has served as the foundation of his political coalition for a decade has the potential to be among the most consequential developments of 2026, according to interviews with strategists in both parties who are involved in the midterms.
Polls now regularly show that a majority of white voters who did not graduate from college no longer approve of Mr. Trump’s handling of the economy. Examples of his low ratings include polls from Fox News (33 percent approval), CBS News (39 percent), NPR/PBS/Marist (40 percent), CNN (43 percent) and The New York Times/Siena College (47 percent).
An idea for academics
Sam Smith - A great academic effort would be to compile a list of lies that Trump has provided us in his current presidential status. And give us the number of them, too.
June 16, 2026
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