The Headlines - Manhunt Ends for Minnesota Suspect, and Israel-Iran Conflict Ramps Up

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Plus, Pope Leo’s hometown shout-out. On Today’s Episode: With No Clear Off-Ramp, Israel’s War With Iran May Last Weeks Not Days, by Patrick KingsleyMinnesota Manhunt and Arrest: What We Know, by Bernard Mokam and Pooja SalhotraLike School Shootings, Political Violence Is Becoming Almost Routine, by Lisa LererTakeaways From Trump’s Military Parade in Washington, by Zach Montague‘No Kings’ Protests Across the United States, by The New York Times1 Killed in Shooting at a ‘No Kings’ Protest in Salt Lake City, by Alexandra E. PetriPope Leo Delivers First Public Address to an American Audience, by Ruth GrahamTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Michael Simon Johnson in for Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, June 16th. Here's what we're covering. The conflict between Israel and Iran continued to escalate this weekend with no end in sight as the two sides exchanged missile attacks and civilians in both countries scrambled to find shelter. Israeli jets bombed vital sites for Iran's oil and gas industries, and Israel claims

it also hit the command center of Iran's elite Quds Force, strikes caused at least one 14-story residential building to partially collapse. Israel said its goal was to disable Iran's nuclear infrastructure. And in an interview with Fox News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iran had enough uranium to build nine nuclear bombs, but did not provide any evidence. And we will not have a second Holocaust, a nuclear Holocaust. Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles back at Israel over the weekend, mostly targeting the Tel Aviv area. The vast majority were intercepted by Israel's robust missile defense system. One Israeli official said Iran was targeting the country's energy infrastructure and trying

to, quote, plunge Israel into darkness. As of Monday, Iran's health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, most of them civilians, including at least 20 children, and more than 1,400 people have been injured. Israel said Iranian missiles have killed around two dozen people, all civilians, and injured hundreds. This is the deadliest and most direct confrontation between the two countries in decades. My colleague Farnaz Fasihi covers Iran for The Times.

I've been talking to Iranians living in Tehran and in some other cities, and I really sense a frenzy and panic taking hold. There's a shortage of gasoline in the city. Lots of apartment buildings have been struck in very densely populated residential areas, and people are panicking because they don't know if their neighborhood is going to be targeted, if they're safe in their homes.

Roads around the city are packed with traffic. There are people who have sort of scrambled whatever they can in a suitcase and are trying to flag down cabs on the streets. A real sense that war has arrived. I think for Iran's government, the question is how far Israel is going to expand its attack of targets. Is it going to continue crippling their key energy infrastructure or move on to transportation, to shipping ports?

That's the big concern on the question. What the end game is, no one knows what the exit strategy is from both sides, how long this is going to go on. And of course, as you know, beyond Iran and Israel, there is a real concern regionally and internationally that this war can spread to the region, the United States might get dragged in, and then we're looking at a prolonged conflict that could really be catastrophic. Before Israel's initial attack on Friday, nuclear talks between the US and Iran had been scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Those talks have been called off until further notice. Both Iran and the US though say they're still open to a deal. Good evening. After two day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Bolter. In Minnesota, the largest manhunt in state history is over. Last night, police arrested the man suspected of assassinating a state lawmaker and her husband. The suspect has also been charged with shooting a second lawmaker and his spouse, who survived the attack early Saturday morning. The manhunt lasted nearly two days and ended near the town of Greenisle, about an hour

southwest of Minneapolis. Authorities found the man thanks to a local tip. Someone had seen the suspect on a trail camera and notified law enforcement who surrounded the area. The suspect crawled to law enforcement teams and was placed under arrest at that point in time. There was no use of force by any member of law enforcement that was out there and the suspect was taken into custody.

Officials say the suspect, Vance Bolter, first went to the home of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman early Saturday morning. He shot Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both of whom survived. He then drove to the home of Democratic representative Melissa Hortman, who served as Minnesota Speaker of the House for six years. Police say he first shot her husband, then killed the lawmaker.

Officials say Bolter impersonated a police officer as he carried out the shootings. He wore a rubber mask, had a fake badge, and drove a car designed to look like a police vehicle. Officers also found a notebook in his car with a list of other Democratic officials and their addresses, along with a handgun and at least three AK-47 assault rifles.

Police have not said what his motive was. One of the suspect's friends said he was a Trump supporter and a devout Christian who strongly opposed abortion. As of now, investigators say they believe Bolter acted alone. It was the latest incident in what's been a string of violent political attacks in recent months, as threats of assassination attempts have become a steady undercurrent of American politics. The number of threats that's been received not only by lawmakers in Congress, but judges, prosecutors, state lawmakers, election workers has just gone up exponentially.

My colleague Lisa Lair has been covering the rise of political violence. Over the past year, there were two assassination attempts on President Trump, an arson attack against Pennsylvania's governor, the shooting of Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., and the firebombing of Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico, among others. And those are just the incidents that made headlines because they resulted in death or destruction. Political violence is fundamentally an anti-democratic act. It's taken by someone who believes the system won't work for them.

And so part of the goal of such acts is to silence the opposition. The idea is that the actors are silencing far more people than they may physically harm because they're creating an environment where political activity is wrapped in fear and threats. I've spoken to a number of lawmakers who are trying to govern in this new threat environment, and it's become really hard. One member of Congress, Representative Greg Landsman from Ohio, says he's haunted by the thought of his own killing. Every time he campaigns in a big crowd,

he pictures himself lying on the ground, bleeding out after being shot. It's this haunting image that he can't shake. And it just shows really how much this violence has become a part of everyday life for these members of Congress who really are public servants. President Trump presided over a show of American military might in the nation's capital on Saturday evening.

A massive parade officially honoring the. Army's 250th birthday, that just happened to coincide with Donald Trump's 79th birthday. The parade came amidst the backdrop of an expanding war in the Middle East, a political assassination in Minnesota, a week of protests in Los Angeles and other cities against the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, plus President Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops to quell those protests. Attendees and military history enthusiasts who came to D.C. were treated to an air show, robotic dogs, soldiers marching in both modern day and historic uniforms, and armored vehicles from past world wars.

The iconic Sherman tank is here, ladies and gentlemen. It was the cornerstone of the U.S. armed forces, showing its military might in World War II. Trump sat with the First Lady during the more than three-hour event, standing multiple times to salute, and spoke to service members. We're the hottest country in the world right now. And our country will soon be greater

and stronger than ever before. On the same day, across the country, Are we North Korea? No! Are we Russia? No! protesters assembled at roughly 2,000 locations to voice their anger at the Trump administration in what organizers called the No Kings rallies.

No fascists! No peace! No fascists! No peace! No fascists! No fascists, no peace, no fascists, no peace, no fascists. More than 200 organizations helped lead the demonstrations in both big cities and smaller rural communities. The rallies were almost entirely peaceful, but there was at least one incident of violence

in Salt Lake City. Armed security members there witnessed a man dressed in all black, removing an AR-15 from his backpack. They confronted him and police say the man held a gun in a quote firing position. The security members then fired three shots wounding the gunman but also killing a bystander, a 39 year old man from Utah. The gunman who never actually fired a shot was detained and is now being charged with murder for having acted in a way that created a quote grave risk of death to another individual, according to an affidavit.

And finally, This weekend tens of thousands of people piled into a major league baseball stadium for mass, as Pope Leo XIV gave his first public address to an American audience. My dear friends, it's a pleasure for me to greet all of you gathered together at White Saks Park on this great celebration as a community of faith in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Pope spoke from the Vatican in an eight-minute recorded video, but the event was held at Raite Field, where the Pope's hometown team, the Chicago White Sox, play. This week, he was even spotted wearing the team's black and white hat at the Vatican.

The Pope's message was aimed at young people addressing issues of anxiety and loneliness. A 200-person choir performed, and nearly 500 lay ministers and ushers helped carry out mass. And organizers, led by the Archdiocese of Chicago, sold more than 30,000 tickets to the event. Some tickets later appeared on resale markets, going for more than $1,000 apiece. The White Sox, who are in last place in their division, average fewer than 17,000 fans a game, less than half that of Chicago's northside team, the Cubs.

One local labor leader said it was only appropriate that Cubs fans had to come down to the Sox Stadium to get some religion. Those are the headlines. I'm Michael Simon Johnson. We'll be back tomorrow.