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Explainer-Congress Has Backed Iran War Powers Resolutions. Now What?

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By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, June 9 () – For the first time since the war on Iran ⁠began ⁠on February 28, the Republican-led U.S. Congress has backed ⁠resolutions that could block Republican President Donald Trump from continuing hostilities, reflecting growing concern among members of his party about the three-month-long conflict.
The House of Representatives voted in favor of a war powers resolution on June 4 and the Senate advanced a separate, but similar, resolution in a procedural vote ‌on May 19 as a handful of Republicans ‌broke with party leadership to vote with almost every Democrat.
This is a look at the U.S. war powers law and what might hpen next.
WHAT IS THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION?
Congress ⁠passed the War Powers ⁠Resolution, also known as the War Powers Act, in 1973 as a check on presidential power in response to the unpopular Vietnam War. The Act requires the president to inform Congress within 48 hours of hostilities and says military action begun without Congress' proval must be terminated within 60 days, unless there is an emergency.
With Iran, the 60-day deadline was May 1, which Trump addressed by declaring that the hostilities had been "terminated" by a ceasefire, despite continuing attacks and a blockade of Iranian ports. Legal experts said that argument might not survive judicial scrutiny.
The law also establishes procedures for Congress to vote on war powers resolutions ⁠to ⁠end hostilities not authorized by the legislature. ⁠These resolutions are privileged, meaning they can be brought up for votes even without the proval of House of Representatives and Senate leaders.
The Senate has considered seven resolutions and the House four resolutions related to the Iran ⁠conflict since U.S. and Israeli forces started bombing more than 100 days ago.
HOW MANY HURDLES DO THE RESOLUTIONS FACE?Both resolutions face significant hurdles.
The Senate measure has survived only a procedural vote and has not passed the full chamber. Even if it is passed, to go into effect it must also clear the House, whose Republican leaders are unlikely to allow a vote.
And if it passed the House, to go into effect the measure would have to garner the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to overcome an expected Trump ⁠veto.
The separate measure passed by the House this month would have to pass the Senate, where aides said they were waiting ⁠for the parliamentarian to decide whether it is "privileged." If not, Republican Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, who rarely breaks with Trump, is not expected to allow a vote.
SO WHY BOTHER?
The U.S. Constitution says only Congress, not the president, can authorize the use of military force, except for short-term operations or to counter an immediate threat.
Backers of the resolutions say bipartisan congressional proval sends an important signal that lawmakers are trying to take back their power to declare war and rein in Trump's White House.
Opponents call the resolutions political posturing that emboldens U.S. enemies and may be unconstitutional because they impinge on the president's powers as commander in chief.
Experts said the votes are important.
"The war powers resolution that was passed by the House sends a strong signal to the president that lawmakers across the aisle think that this war has gone on for too long and violates the ⁠war powers resolution as well as the Constitution," said Katherine Yon Ebright, a war powers expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
She said Trump peared to take the vote seriously, noting that he had called it unpatriotic and said Republicans who sided with Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.
The unpopular war could affect elections in November that will determine whether Trump's Republicans retain control of Congress. Recent polling showed that 36% of Americans proved of U.S. strikes on Iran, and only 25% said the benefits of the strikes had been worth the costs.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 9:20 PM

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China’s Xi Says He Reached Important Consensus With Kim in North Korea Visit, KCNA Reports

SEOUL, June 10 () – Chinese President Xi ⁠Jinping ⁠said he and ⁠North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached an "important consensus" and agreed to safeguard regional and global peace, in a ‌message of thanks following his ‌visit to Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA said ⁠on ⁠Wednesday.
In the message carried in full by KCNA, Xi said the two sides had exchanged in-depth views on issues of common concern and reached a series of important joint consensus, reflecting their determination to further deepen ties.
Looking ahead, Xi said he was willing ⁠to ⁠work with Kim based on ⁠fundamental and long-term interests to steadily safeguard, consolidate and develop bilateral ties and contribute more to ⁠regional and global peace and development.
He also said the visit had been successfully concluded and that relations had entered a new historical stage, while expressing hope to meet Kim again.
Xi visited Pyongyang ⁠from Monday to Tuesday in his first trip to North Korea ⁠in seven years. Xi said the visit had established a deeper, more comprehensive understanding yielding a clearer path for development of ties, China's official Xinhua news agency said.
The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation across politics, the economy and culture, while pledging closer strategic communication between their governments, according to both countries' state media.
Other ⁠KCNA reports on Wednesday said the two leaders paid tribute at Pyongyang's Sino-Korean Friendship Tower that commemorates Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War and toured a political training school for party cadres.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 10:05 PM

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Rising Fuel Prices Hit US Farms as Iran War Drags On

By Nicole Jao and Tom Polansek
NEW YORK/CHICAGO, June 9 () – High energy costs are squeezing grain and soybean growers ⁠across ⁠the U.S. farm belt, as the Iran war chokes fuel ⁠supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and pushes diesel prices to record highs in key agricultural states.
Many farmers were already under pressure before the conflict and facing a fourth straight year of shrinking margins, battered by a resurgent drought, high input costs and fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, which have weighed on crop prices.
The conflict drove diesel prices ‌in several states across the Midwest, America's primary corn ‌and soybean-producing region, to new all-time highs in May, just as farmers ramped up plantings and other spring fieldwork. Wisconsin diesel hit $5.873 per gallon, while Indiana reached $6.167, and Illinois rose to $6.14 in mid-May. Ohio and Michigan ⁠also posted records, according to ⁠data from the motorists association AAA.
The national average diesel price has surged more than 40% since the Middle East conflict began. Global crude oil prices, which underpin diesel and gasoline, jumped about 30% since late February.
On farms across the U.S., diesel powers equipment needed for crucial field operations, from spraying pesticides and planting seeds to fertilizing fields and harvesting crops.
Unlike other sectors that can switch fuels, most U.S. farm machinery is designed to run on diesel, leaving farmers highly exposed to diesel price volatility.
"It's a huge cost," said Glenn Brunkow, who raises soybeans and cattle in Wamego, Kansas. "There's just not much we can do about it, and we weren't budgeting for it. It came out of nowhere and surprised us."
Prior to the war, fuel-related expenses accounted for ⁠about ⁠3% to 4% of an average Illinois row-crop ⁠farmer's input costs, or roughly $16 to $23 per acre, said Ben Klieve, Benchmark Analyst, referencing estimates from the University of Illinois.
If diesel prices stay at their current level, fuel-related costs could rise to 5% to 6% of total input costs, or from a $20 per acre midpoint ⁠to $30 acre for row-crop farmers, Klieve said.
"It's a very difficult environment for row-crop farmers today," he said. "The prices of the grain that they're producing have fallen sharply in recent weeks and are actually down relative to the pre-Iran war levels, while input costs like diesel and fertilizer remain significantly higher so their bottom lines are only getting weaker."
FARMERS BRACE FOR LOSSES
Corn and soybean farmer Tom Murphy said he delayed plans to turn over soil in fields he recently rented in northwest Indiana because he did not want to use up precious fuel to operate his machinery.
Before prices spiked, Murphy intended to till five fields to make the ground level so ⁠that it would be easier to operate equipment for spraying and harvesting crops. However, he only tilled one of those as he tried to stretch ⁠out about 6,000 gallons of farm diesel he bought in December. He will still use the fields to grow crops, but the land will not be in the condition he wanted.
"We're going to leave them a little rough this year and fix them next year, I guess," said Murphy, who does not till most of his fields.
Murphy said in late May that he had about 2,500 gallons left in storage from December and would need to buy more to tend to crops during the important summer growing season.
Don Bloss, a grain and soybean grower in Pawnee City, Nebraska, said he was paying higher shipping rates to truckers to haul corn 80 miles to market.
"You just have to keep writing out the checks," Bloss said. "We're at everybody else's mercy."
MORE PAIN MAY BE ON THE WAY
Experts warned fuel prices may rise further if the Iran war continues to choke global fuel supplies.
Demand for U.S. petroleum products has remained high since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway for nearly a fifth of global oil flows. If exports of gasoline and diesel remain ⁠near record levels heading into the summer, the domestic supply cushion that helps keep their prices in check could shrink further.
U.S. distillate fuel oil inventories fell to a 23-year low in May, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The country's distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week ended May 22 to 100.8 million barrels, the lowest since May 2003.
The coast is anything but clear as uncertainty surrounding a potential deal between the U.S. and Iran persists, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
"Overall, any setback in negotiations could quickly reverse the recent decline in fuel prices De Haan said.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 6:47 PM

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New Zealand Poll Shows US Seen as More of a Threat Than China

WELLINGTON, June 10 () – For the first time ⁠in ⁠a decade, New Zealanders see ⁠the United States as more of a threat than China, a survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation found, as concerns over trade disruption and ‌global instability weigh on public ‌sentiment.
• The foundation's annual Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples survey, now in ⁠its 29th ⁠year, polled 2,300 people in January and February.
• 39% of respondents saw the United States as a friend of New Zealand, while 35% viewed it as a threat. By comparison, 43% saw China as a friend and 23% saw it as a threat.
• The number of people who perceived the U.S. as a friend ⁠fell significantly ⁠over the last year, while ⁠the view of China improved.
• The survey also found that 81% of New Zealanders see developing ties with Asia as ⁠important.
• "There is a growing recognition that prosperity, resilience and security will depend on the depth and quality of our relationships across Asia," Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive Suzannah Jessep said in the report.
• New Zealand and the U.S. have deepened ⁠defence, security and technology cooperation in recent years, with Wellington seeing Washington as ⁠central to Indo-Pacific stability and as a counterweight to China's growing influence.
• At the same time, New Zealand's exporters have been hit by U.S. tariffs, while the economy has faced pressure from higher oil prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
• "New Zealanders also still understand their sense of security largely through an economic lens, and so tariffs and disruption to global trade weigh heavily on those calculations," said David Cie, professor of ⁠international relations at Victoria University of Wellington.
• Souring U.S. sentiment followed a broader pattern across Western liberal democracies, Cie said.
• A University of Sydney poll released in December found the majority of Australians, Janese and Indians believe U.S. President Donald Trump's second term has been bad for their countries.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kevin Buckland)

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 6:05 PM

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Bad Bunny Meets Pope Leo in Madrid, but Should Have Taken More Photos

BARCELONA, June 9 () – Pope Leo ⁠had ⁠a brief private meeting ⁠with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny at Madrid's Bernabeu stadium on Monday evening as both were touring ‌Spain, the Vatican said ‌on Tuesday, adding that it did not expect ⁠to ⁠release any photos of the meeting.
According to a Vatican statement, the pope met the reggaeton sensation, whose album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" (I Should Have Taken More Pictures) won Album of the Year at this year's Grammys, with his family ⁠and other ⁠people. He offered ⁠them a short greeting before leaving the stadium, it added.
Leo, who drew the ire of ⁠U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year after criticising the Iran war, is on a week-long tour of Spain, where he has warned that escalating conflicts ⁠have pushed the world into "profound crisis".
Coincidentally, triggering Trump's anger is ⁠something the pope and Bad Bunny, whose given name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, have in common.
The singer has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump's hardline anti-immigration policies and supported former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in the 2024 presidential race.
Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl halftime show ⁠in February, bringing Spanish language and reggaeton rhythms to the annual U.S. football spectacle. Trump called the show "absolutely terrible" and "an affront to the Greatness of America".
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, writing by Andrei Khalip, Editing by Alex Richardson)
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Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 5:05 PM

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US House Speaker Johnson Meets With Trump With Surveillance Law at Risk

By David Morgan and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, June ⁠9 () – ⁠U.S. House of Representatives ⁠Speaker Mike Johnson met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss his controversial pointment of loyalist Bill Pulte as spy chief, which ‌has threatened passage of ‌a surveillance law in Congress.
Trump's pointment of the mortgage regulator to serve ⁠as ⁠acting director of national intelligence has led to a showdown on Citol Hill, as lawmakers worry he may abuse his position to pursue Trump's perceived enemies. That has complicated efforts to renew the law, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor some foreign communications without court proval. The law ⁠expires on ⁠Friday.
The No. 2 House ⁠Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, said Johnson was meeting with Trump to discuss next steps.
One of the reasons ⁠that the speaker's not here right now is he's over at the White House working with the president to finalize this agreement on FISA, Scalise told reporters, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The renewal effort stalled ⁠in the Senate last Friday, as Republican skeptics joined with Democrats to ⁠vote against bringing it up for debate. The vote represented a significant setback for Republicans, who narrowly control both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Both the House and the Senate will need to prove the surveillance authority, contained in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows intelligence agencies to monitor emails and other communications of foreigners located outside the U.S. without individual judicial warrants.
As ⁠the head of a low-profile mortgage regulator, Pulte accessed confidential data to push for mortgage fraud probes against several of the president's perceived foes. No criminal charges have been brought against any of them.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Katharine Jackson in Washington; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Matthew Lewis)

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Published: June 9, 2026 4:02 PM

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