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Episode Date: June 12, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Trump says that a deal is close with Iran and something could be signed within days, possibly in Europe. But Iran has not agreed with this. And Pierre's Aib Betrawi says Trump is claiming wide support. He's saying everyone has approved the deal. He's leaving out a clear timeline for when that can happen. He says it could happen in the next few days with the two sides signing a deal in Europe. But Iran says it's not yet done.

Iran's foreign ministry says a deal has not been finalized. Iranian media say that two weeks ago, there was almost a deal in place, but they say Trump added new demands. NPR's Aib Betrawi reporting. President Trump is nominating federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as his next permanent director of national intelligence. Clayton formally served as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. His office is overseeing the prosecution, a former Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, on drug trafficking charges. There's been bipartisan opposition to President Trump's choice for the incoming acting director Bill Pulte. Pulte does not have any background and intelligence.

The agency he runs is responsible for regulating mortgages. High inflation has not stopped U.S. households from spending. The Bank of America Institute reports credit and debit card spending was up a little more than 5% in May compared to the same time last year. NPR. Stephen Bissaha has more. Even if you take gas out of the equation, spending was up 3.9%. Consumers also bought more tickets to fly, despite airfare being up 27% from last year. David Tinsley is senior economist at the Bank of America Institute, and he says the spending is continuing despite economic tailwinds from inflation.

Almost to a surprising extent, most consumers are weathering those. But there are some tension points for lower and middle income households. Their spending growth is actually running still. bit ahead of their wage growth. Meaning some consumers have to make that up in other ways, like cutting into how much they're saving or what savings they have. Stephen Besaha, NPR News. President Trump is opening the waters of protected areas in the Pacific Ocean to commercial fishing.

The move is opposed by Native Hawaiian cultural groups, as NPR's Lauren Summer reports. The largest protected area in the country is in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Papa Hana Moku-Kia National Marine Sanctuary is home to pristine coral reefs and habitat for rare species. Trump has signed a proclamation to open most of its waters to commercial fishing, along with two other Pacific marine monuments. The move is supported by the tuna fishing industry, which says it's facing tough international competition. Conservation groups say rolling back protections puts the unique ecosystem at risk. The area is also considered sacred by Native Hawaiian cultural groups who fought for decades for it to receive protections. Lauren Summer, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

British contemporary artist David Hockney has died at the age of 88, according to his publicist. Pilar Galvan has more. David Hockney grew up in a small English town and honed his craft as a painter in London. As he told NPR in 2016, I mean, I do get a deep pleasure from looking. I can look at a little puddle on a road in Yorkshire and just have the rain falling on it and think it's marvellous. But Hockney moved to sunny Southern California and lived there for more than five decades. There he could express his queer identity. He painted swimming pools, neon-colored landscapes, and flamboyant portraits. David Hockney also worked in mediums such as montage photography

and more recently iPad illustration. He captured simple beauty. For NPR News, I'm Pilar Galvan. A Southern California Aerospace Company near Los Angeles is facing more than 30 lawsuits. Some lawsuits cover dozens of plaintiffs. This comes after one of G.K. N. Aerospace's chemical tanks leaked a dangerous substance last month. Some 50,000 residents got evacuation orders. There were several reports of tornadoes near the Great Lakes yesterday. At least three tornadoes were reported in Illinois. The tracking site, Power Outage.com. U.S. says more than 525,000 customers are without power this morning, and about half of those are in Illinois. There are also reports that one person has been killed by storms in Iowa.

I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.