Trump signs an interim agreement to end the war in Iran. Experts explain why smartphones aren’t to blame for America’s declining fertility rate. And in China, where the national team failed to make it to the World Cup, fans are instead rallying behind a referee.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump and Iran’s president sign interim agreement
02:18
President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian both digitally signed a memorandum of understanding laying out terms for ending the war. Trump signed the memorandum yesterday while at dinner at the Palace of Versailles with French President Emmanuel Macron.
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Vice President JD Vance will travel to Switzerland tomorrow, according to a U.S. official. The Swiss government said delegations from the U.S. and Iran would meet there to kick off initial talks on a final peace deal, with the clock starting on a 60-day negotiating window to resolve key issues around the future of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The U.S. is also expected to lift sanctions on Iran and unfreeze funds and assets linked to the country’s regime. The memorandum also declares an intent to stop military operations in the war that began Feb. 28.
Also included in the 14-point memo, which you can read here , is a commitment for the U.S. to work with regional partners to develop a plan for at least $300 billion to be distributed to Iran for “reconstruction and economic development.”
In a sign of growing tension between the U.S. and Israel, the Israeli government was not shown the memorandum , as Trump continues to publicly criticize the country’s attacks in Lebanon.
While Trump has framed the tentative deal as a victory for the U.S., fractures within the Republican Party suggest that it could be a hard sell both on Capitol Hill and in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, as some lawmakers will likely be skeptical about measures to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, slammed the agreement as “one of the biggest American disasters.”
Read the full story here.
Today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lambasted European allies for failing to provide U.S. forces access to bases in Europe to launch attacks on Iran, calling it “shameful.” He announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
More Iran war news:
For subscribers: How does Trump’s agreement compare to former President Barack Obama’s? While Trump’s deal is so far only a “framework,” the fate of Iran’s nuclear program is perhaps the biggest difference: Obama’s deal centered on it, while Trump’s deal as it stands would move it to the side.
Crude oil stockpiles across the country are hitting new lows as the Trump administration taps America’s backup supply to help keep gas prices down.
Staff Pick: No, phones aren’t shrinking our population
Anisha Chopra / NBC News The idea that smartphones might be partially to blame for the falling fertility rate in the U.S. picked up steam in the last month, after several working papers suggested there may be a link. But the theory gave me pause. I had researched declining fertility rates before, and technology was not widely cited as a contributor.
So I put the question to researchers : Was it true that smartphones had changed people’s social lives to the point of having less sex, and therefore fewer babies?
Many of the experts were skeptical. They pointed to more robust research showing that the falling fertility rate was largely driven by a decline in teen pregnancies, made possible by increased access to contraception. More women are also postponing children to advance their education or careers, but still go on to have around two kids, on average, in their 30s and 40s.
From that perspective, the fertility rate seems less like a crisis and more like a reflection of shifting priorities and expanded options for women. — Aria Bendix , health reporter
Senate GOP increasingly frustrated with Trump blindsiding them
03:00
The Senate yesterday delayed a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to be the next director of national intelligence, after the president posted on social media he was “cancelling it” (which he didn’t have the authority to do) over his frustration at a lapsed surveillance tool and a voter ID bill that lacks the votes to pass.
The hearing delay not only blindsided and frustrated Senate Republicans, but it also completely derailed Majority Leader John Thune’s plans to fast-track the nomination, which would have ensured that Bill Pulte, Trump’s controversial pick for acting director of national intelligence who has no national security experience, wouldn’t step in a full-time role.
Trump’s decision to stall his own nominee is just the latest instance in recent weeks of how he has disputed his own agenda. Recently, his request for $1 billion for his White House ballroom and the creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponi…
Read the full article at NBC News →
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