--:-- Host: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis. Today's Thursday, June 26th. Here's what we're covering. Go ahead.
--:-- Host: On Iran, what intel reports do say that everything over there was obliterated?
--:-- Host: Yeah, well, there are numerous of those reports and they're coming out fast and furious. President Trump is aggressively defending his assessment of the damage caused by U.S. strikes to Iran's nuclear program, even as questions swirl about whether he's exaggerated their impact.
--:-- Host: The site was obliterated, just like I said it was, and just like the pilots should be given credit for.
--:-- Host: At the center of those questions is Trump's repeated claim that the nuclear facilities were, quote, obliterated on Saturday, a description that no intelligence official has directly echoed.
--:-- Host: An initial Pentagon report, based on preliminary information collected just after the strikes, suggested that Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon was only delayed by a few months.
--:-- Host: Since then, intelligence officials have continued to gather more information. On Wednesday, the CIA director put out a new statement, saying the nuclear program was quote, severely damaged and delayed by years.
--:-- Host: And the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, posted a similar assessment on social media.
--:-- Host: In an appearance alongside the president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered his own analysis of the attack.
--:-- Marco Rubio: This was complete and total obliteration. They're in bad shape.
--:-- Marco Rubio: He argued that because the U.S. hit a key facility, which converts nuclear fuel into the form needed to make a weapon, the entire nuclear program was dealt a significant blow.
--:-- Marco Rubio: We can't even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can't even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It's gone. It's wiped out.
--:-- Marco Rubio: It's wiped out.
--:-- Host: Still, international inspectors indicated that Iran had been able to move its stockpile of enriched uranium before the strikes
--:-- Host: And it remains unclear if Iran has other secret nuclear facilities that it can turn to now
--:-- Host: Meanwhile Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made his first public comments since the U.S. attack and the ceasefire his country agreed to with Israel.
--:-- Host: In defiant remarks published on state media, he congratulated the Iranian people for what he described as a victory over Israel and the U.S.
--:-- Host: His days-long silence had unnerved many Iranians, some of whom wondered whether or not he was even alive.
--:-- Host: Iranian officials previously told the Times he'd been hiding in a secret bunker to avoid any potential assassination attempts.
--:-- Host: In New York City. Congratulations. Thank you for doing this interview. You are very, very welcome.
--:-- Host: How many hours of sleep did you get?
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: Around four hours.
--:-- Host: Shortly after declaring victory in the Democratic primary for mayor this week, Zoran Mamdani spoke to Times reporter Emma Fitzsimmons about his populist vision for New York and the campaign to come.
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: So you think you can grow this tent of support that you got last night?
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: I think last night is just a glimpse of what this coalition could look like.
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: Mamdani, a state assemblyman and Democratic socialist, built his apparent victory on an energetic campaign focused on affordability.
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: He wants to make buses free, create city-owned grocery stores, and raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations.
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: Promises I have made are the ones that I will keep.
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: And what we have seen in last night's election is that this is a popular mandate from New Yorkers to deliver a city that they can afford.
--:-- Zoran Mamdani: His ambitious, progressive platform earned both support from Democratic voters across racial and economic backgrounds and backlash from pro-business groups.
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: On Wednesday, one of the city's largest landlords said, quote, You want to have leadership that speaks to what New York is. It's the capital of capitalism.
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: Beyond New York some Democratic strategists see Mamdani success as a possible blueprint for other Democrats around the country
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: For example his casual quirky videos were a contrast to Kamala Harris presidential messaging which many voters said came across as too cautious and scripted
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: But it remains to be seen how fully the party will embrace Mamdani's campaign.
--:-- Emma Fitzsimmons: Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, called to congratulate him, but stopped short of an immediate endorsement.
--:-- Host: In Nairobi, Kenya, at least eight people were killed and hundreds were injured on Wednesday as police fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and live rounds at anti-government protesters.
--:-- Host: The demonstrators were marking the one-year anniversary of protests that had also turned violent when Kenyans took to the streets and stormed parliament to criticize a contentious tax plan.
--:-- Host: In the wake of those marches which left 60 people dead, the Kenyan government carried out a harsh crackdown, abducting, interrogating, and torturing dozens of people, according to activists and lawyers.
--:-- Host: Ahead of this year's march, officials directed all TV and radio stations to stop live coverage of the protests, and access to the messaging app Telegram was restricted in the country.
--:-- Host: The protests underscore a growing political crisis for Kenya's president, William Ruto.
--:-- Host: He was elected in 2022 on promises to uplift the poor, but critics say he's fallen short on his pledges and have condemned his increasingly heavy-handed suppression of dissent.
--:-- Host: And finally, a small parade of private jets and superyachts is arriving in Venice this week for a wedding event that's attracting both a crush of paparazzi and controversy.
--:-- Host: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos one of the world richest men is set to marry his fianc former TV reporter Lauren Sanchez
--:-- Host: Ahead of the festivities the couple threw a foam party on Bezos million yacht
--:-- Host: And influencers rappers pop stars and figures like Ivanka Trump are expected to attend the Italian wedding, which has been kept tightly under wraps.
--:-- Host: Venice has hosted a lot of high-profile events. It hosted the G7, but also celebrity weddings, like the George and Amal Clooney wedding about 10 years ago.
--:-- Host: But this wedding has been particularly divisive here.
--:-- Host: My colleague Emma Bubala is in Venice. She says city officials are thrilled that Bezos and Sanchez chose the city for the party.
--:-- Host: They say it'll bring in millions of euros, and the couple has said they'll give money to local charities.
--:-- Host: But the whole hoopla has also set off anger.
--:-- Host: Demonstrators have unfurled banners protesting the wedding and adopted the slogan, No Space for Bezos.
--:-- Host: Some have even threatened to sabotage the events.
--:-- Host: There are different reasons why some Venetians are upset.
--:-- Host: The main one and the deepest one has to do with Venice's identity.
--:-- Host: Venice was a city that had this incredibly intense economic activity that was built by merchants and bankers and nobles, but now has lost many of its residents, especially in recent years.
--:-- Host: And many here are afraid that their city is being reduced to just being this like shimmering background for the photos of tourists and of rich people.
--:-- Host: And they felt that this wedding was the most like blatant embodiment of this tension that Venetians live every day.
--:-- Host: Those are the headlines.
--:-- Host: Today on The Daily, the fallout from the billions of dollars in cuts the Trump administration has made to scientific research.
--:-- Host: That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Host: I'm Will Jarvis. The headlines will be back tomorrow.
