Reuters World News - Minnesota suspect arrest, Israel and Iran and the G7

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Vance Boelter, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, has been arrested. Strikes between Iran and Israel enters their fourth day, with Iran lauding its ‘new method’ as missiles hit Tel Aviv and Haifa - while Israel threatens that Tehran residents will pay the price for the attacks. The conflict will be high on the agenda as G7 leaders meet in Canada.  *This podcast has been updated. The earlier news of the Minnesota shooting suspect's arrest has been replaced with news of charges against him. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the Minnesota shooting suspect appears in court. Deadly strikes in Iran and Israel. And G7 leaders meet as the confrontation fuels fears of a wider conflict. It's Monday, June 16th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Walgessper in Chicago. The man accused of assassinating a Minnesota lawmaker, killing her husband, and shooting another politician over the weekend,

faces state and federal murder charges after appearing remotely in a Minnesota County court. Hennepin County's chief prosecutor says she's seeking first-degree murder charges for 57-year-old Vance Belter, carrying a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Prosecutors say Belter drove to the homes of two other state politicians, disguised as a police officer looking for more victims on his target list. Investigators say they've recovered notebooks from his car and residence detailing some of his plans, which include the names of dozens of legislators, mostly or all Democrats, along with abortion rights advocates. A preliminary and detention hearing is set for June 27th. We'll have more on the political landscape in Minnesota later in the show. Sirens blare over Jerusalem as a barrage of missiles from Iran rains down.

Back and forth missiles between Israel and Iran now entering a fourth day. With Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa hit early this morning. Stoking concerns among world leaders of a broader conflict. The U.S. ambassador says the embassy building in Tel Aviv, sustained minor damage, but there were no injuries to personnel. More than a dozen people are dead in Israel, and in Iran, more than 200 have been killed. The conflict between these two old enemies flaring after Israel's strikes on Friday, targeting Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, telling Fox News on Sunday that regime

change in Iran could be a result of Israel's military attacks on the country. He also said American Intel indicated Iran could have had a test device within months, a claim which the former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mosen Rezai, rejects. Saying Iran did not and will not seek to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says this latest attack used a new method, causing Israel's defense systems to target each other and allow Iran to hit multiple targets. The Israeli Defence Force did not comment on the strikes, but has repeatedly warned its Iron Dome defense system isn't 100%. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said in a social media post that there are many unspecified meetings about the conflict happening. He's also suggested

Russia's President Vladimir Putin could serve as a mediator. One meeting where the Iran is Israel conflict will be very much top of the agenda is the G7 in Canada's Rocky Mountains, where world leaders are gathering. Jared Renshaw is in Calgary. Jared, what, if anything, might President Trump do to try and stop the Israel-Iran conflict from spilling over? Before he left for the G7, Trump was talking pretty confidently about a deal that he thinks could be done to stop the fighting between Israel and Iran.

I think it's time for a deal, and we'll see what happens. Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we're going to see what happens. I think there's a good chance there'll be a deal. He didn't offer any details about where his optimism came from, but voters reported that Trump vetoed a request from Israel to take out the Supreme Leader of Iran. And I think one way to view that is what Trump is trying to signal to Iran is that while he is on the sidelines here of this fight,

he is being a moderating voice and putting some guardrails on what activities Israel can do. and perhaps in a gesture, let's get back to the table and negotiate a nuclear deal. And then I think just secondly, we'll see G7 leaders. They're coming here, talking about getting some kind of statement of support for Israel and also saying that Iran should not have a nuclear weapons. Beyond Israel and Iran, we know the war in Ukraine and, of course, US tariffs will also be discussed. What would a successful G7 look like for the other world leaders? stay out of Trump's way to some degree, right?

There is a lot of the reporting and conversations from the world leaders is they don't have a big public spat with Donald Trump. If you may recall, the last time Canada hosted the G7, which was in about 2018, Trump abruptly left the conference early. And he denounced the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau at the time as calling him a dishonest and weak. Canada doesn't want to repeat of that. I think the leaders that are coming here don't want to repeat of that. So I don't think they're going to cower in fear here.

as that what I'm suggesting, but I think what they want to do is avoid issues that perhaps will cause those public spats. After two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Bolter. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announcing the arrest of the alleged gunman in the shooting deaths of Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. Bolter also allegedly shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, State Senator John Hoffman, and his wife. they both survived. The politically motivated killings in Minnesota have left a state once known for its bipartisanship, reeling.

Nathan Lane is there. It's almost too simplistic to say that Minnesota, because of its history of bipartisanship and whatever, that it would somehow be immune to political violence. And of course, we don't know eventually how this case will play out. But I think two big things that we found. One is that politicians in Minnesota say that, yes, yes, well, Minnesota has this sort of image as kind of Minnesota Nice and Republicans and Democrats working together to a certain extent. The rhetoric has been coarsening over the years and step with the rest of the country. I think the second big finding is that the George Floyd protests of 2020, which were accompanied by looting and arson and violence, I think rattled Minnesota's

image and perception already. That was a sort of shock to the system. And essentially that political violence can happen here. This is a state like any other state, which is vulnerable to these, the negative outcomes that come from extreme partisanship and misinformation and radicalism. But I do think it's worth noting that both of these individuals, both Hortman and Hoffman, were known to be people that worked across the aisle. So they weren't necessarily polarizing figures in their own right. They didn't stand out as really partisan Democrats. The Trump administration is considering expanding its travel ban to include 36 more countries on top of the 12 already on the list.

According to a State Department memo, the countries have 60 days to address American concerns, which include unreliable identity documents and visa overstays. The countries which could be impacted include Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. An Air India Boeing 7878 dreamliner bound for New Delhi had to turn around and return to its origin, Hong Kong. It was a precautionary measure after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air. That's according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Paris Air Show gets underway today just a few days after the Air India Boeing 787 crash that killed more than 240 people. Boeing has scaled back its presence at the event, with its CEO canceling their trip to focus on supporting the crash investigation. And sticking with the Paris Air Show, the four main Israeli company stands have been shut down by organizers. That's according to an official in Israel's Ministry of Defense. The source says the French authorities made the decision

after the Israeli firms failed to comply with orders to remove offensive or kinetic weapons from the stands. And for today's recommended read, protesters on the streets of Southern Europe, and they're angry about over-tourism. Thousands of people took to the streets, and in Barcelona, protesters chanted, Your holidays, my misery. We'll drop a link to that story in the pod description.

For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. And don't forget to follow us on your favourite. podcast player. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.