Washington, DC

1. Vance on peace talks
2. Oil moves through strait
3. Trump’s new UK counterpart
4. Kids internet bill unveiled
5. PEPFAR cuts fallout

SpaceX stock ▼ 16% after announcing plans to issue debt.

Vance leaves Switzerland touting progress, though questions remain

Vice President JD Vance is leaving Switzerland with a rosy view of negotiators’ progress on the US-Iran deal, but Iran’s side has yet to weigh in on two key elements. Vance told reporters today that Tehran has agreed to have International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visit key nuclear sites “this week,” which Iran has not yet confirmed. He also told reporters that the US wants to “ensure” Iran uses any of its unfrozen assets to purchase American agricultural products — which President Donald Trump later echoed — though Iran has yet to confirm that. Instead, Iran’s foreign minister lauded the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily lift oil sanctions and highlighted the Lebanon “deconfliction cell,” which appears to omit Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will head to the Middle East tomorrow to discuss the Iran agreement and has focused on ongoing talks surrounding the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

— Shelby Talcott

Oil prices continue to fall

Oil prices fell today on more than just peace-talk optimism: Tanker traffic picked back up through the Strait of Hormuz, after stalling yesterday. A firm that tracks crude and liquefied natural gas tankers confirmed that one of each sailed through the critical waterway today, after Iran announced the strait was closed over Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Vance said this morning in Switzerland that US and Iranian negotiators agreed on a communications system to ensure a smooth return to operations through the strait. And the US Treasury formally waived sanctions on Iranian oil, allowing its sale in US dollars for the first time in many years — a move that gives Tehran a tangible incentive to keep the trade route open.

Starmer’s replacement will inherit Trump challenge

Keir Starmer’s ultimate replacement will face many of the same challenges that vexed the outgoing UK prime minister — including Trump. While Starmer and Trump got off on the right foot, their relationship broke down over the Iran war. Trump, who threatened to cancel the US-UK trade deal over Starmer’s refusal to allow the US to use UK bases for offensive attacks on Iran, won’t be sad to see Starmer go. His likely replacement, Andy Burnham, has spoken warily about Trump and the US under his leadership. He suggested Trump had brought “instability” to the US and world last year, and more recently lamented America’s “poisonous politics.” But Burnham is known for his charisma and that could help him with Trump, who will be watching how Burnham — who could take over as soon as July 17 — approaches issues like Iran and domestic defense spending.

— Morgan Chalfant

House tees up deal on internet protections for children

Top House lawmakers rolled out a deal this morning to protect children online. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said in a statement that he and his Democratic counterpart, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, had reached a “bipartisan agreement that would establish the strongest protections to date.” The legislation includes portions of other bills like the Kids Online Safety Act that would aim to increase safeguards for children on social media platforms, and it’s expected to receive a vote in the House next week under a fast-track process. But it’s unlikely to advance further. The top Democrat leading its Senate counterpart, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, called the House legislation “dead in the Senate” for not including a “duty of care” provision requiring social media companies to prevent certain dangers to children, which has been a key part of Senate-pushed legislation.

— Nicholas Wu

South Africa to raise aid cuts at UN

South Africa will raise the alarm over global health aid at a UN HIV/AIDS meeting opening today, Semafor’s Tiisetso Motsoeneng reports. The warning comes as the US plans to permanently cut its $8 billion HIV relief program, first reported by Semafor on Thursday. The move pushes the country’s fragile coalition government toward a fiscal and diplomatic crisis. The withdrawal of PEPFAR comes almost 18 months after Washington froze funding for the program before advancing a reduced stopgap allocation late last year. It is the latest diplomatic scuffle between Pretoria and Washington, which has made repeated false accusations of an Afrikaner genocide in Africa’s biggest economy. A senior South African government official, speaking to Semafor on condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at Washington’s decision to link HIV treatment to “invented issues.”

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White House

• The Department of Homeland Security plans to begin withholding terrorism and disaster-preparedness grants from states unless they adopt sweeping changes to how they administer elections. — CNN

Campaigns and Elections

• Democratic turnout has been high this year in primaries across the country, including in Republican-held districts. — WaPo
• Democratic strategist Dan Moraff fast-tracked the vetting of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, missing controversies that later damaged the campaign. — WSJ

Economy

• China imposed new trade restrictions on dozens of US entities. — WSJ

Courts

• The Supreme Court restored the murder conviction of a man who a lower court ruled last year was entitled to a new trial.
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying the government was seeking to “coerce” him and other state leaders into assisting with federal immigration enforcement.
• A federal judge halted the Trump administration from using its revamped immigration database to verify voter rolls.

Media

• ABC said it was launching an on-air campaign encouraging viewers to support the network amid the Federal Communications Commission’s investigations into its programming and diversity practices.

Health

• The Food and Drug Administration reversed a rejection of a gene therapy treatment for a rare and fatal brain disease, concluding the company does not need to use a placebo in trials. — WSJ
• The last American passenger on a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship has been released from quarantine.

World

• Iran has stepped up the hanging of dissidents since reaching an interim peace deal with the US.
• Ukraine’s military said it hit an electronics plant producing missiles in Russia.

Environment

• The Trump administration proposed loosening rules for oil and gas drilling on federal lands.

— Alan Greenspan, who died today at 100, in a NewsHour interview with Jim Lehrer in 2007.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel