WSJ What’s News - Suspect Arrested in Killing of Minnesota Lawmaker

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

A.M. Edition for June 16. The man suspected of shooting a pair of Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota is arrested after a sprawling two-day search. Plus, Israel takes control of Iran’s skies as it claims more strikes on Revolutionary Guard command centers. WSJ chief foreign-affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov explains how that aerial superiority is creating a major power mismatch between the two sides, even as fighting continues. And the Trump administration orders a pause on immigration arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels. Luke Vargas hosts.  Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authorities capture the suspect behind the weekend shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses. Plus Israel claims air superiority over Iran as fighting between the countries enters its fourth day. Israel has managed to suppress Iranian air defenses to a degree that allows its air force to actually operate in Iranian airspace. And that's a game changer. And President Trump dials back immigration arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels.

It's Monday, June 16th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin in Minnesota, where a two-day search for the suspect in the shooting of a pair of state Democratic lawmakers and their spouses has ended with the capture of 57-year-old Vance Luther Bolter. Prosecutors are bringing murder charges against Bolter, who they suspect carried out the fatal and the state's defense attorney, Bob Jacobson, is the commissioner

of Minnesota's Department of Public Safety. Boulter exploited to trust our uniforms are meant to represent the state's police officers. The state's

police officers are responsible for the home. Bob Jacobson is the Commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Public Safety. Walter exploited to trust our uniforms are meant to represent. That betrayal is deeply disturbing to those of us who wear the badge with honor and responsibility. We want to thank community members across the state for their support, for their tips, and their information. Austin Moore, Reporting, Iowa Governor Tim Walz, meanwhile, called the weekend attack an act of targeted political violence and appealed for unity. Tim Walz, Governor of Iowa A moment in this country where we watched violence erupt, this cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our

political differences. Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country. Authorities say they found a possible target list in Bolter's vehicle that contained names of public officials, abortion rights supporters, and abortion providers. Turning overseas, Israel's military said this morning that further airstrikes on Iran have hit command centers of the country's Revolutionary Guard after days of attacks that were focused on Iran's nuclear program, senior leadership, and infrastructure. According to a senior U.S. official, Israel communicated to Washington that it had an opportunity to kill Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over the weekend, but that President Trump opposed the idea.

Appearing on Fox News Channel's special report with Brett Baer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said regime change isn't the goal of Israel's operations, but could be the outcome. It could certainly be the result because the Iran regime is very weak. I think it's basically left with two things. It's plans to have atomic bombs and ballistic missiles. That's basically what Iran has. So far, several days of attacks have killed more than 400 people in Iran, according to a human rights organization in the country, while 24 people in Iran, according to a human rights organization

in the country, while 24 people have died in Israel as a result of Iranian retaliation. With more, I'm joined by Yaroslav Trofimov, the journal's chief foreign correspondent. Yarow, many of our listeners will have seen footage over the weekend of Iranian missiles striking Tel Aviv, getting through the Iron Dome. There were additional buildings destroyed in Tel Aviv this morning near the U.S. consulate. And yet you report that fighting largely is being characterized by a major power mismatch between these two countries. How has that manifested in recent days? Great question, because if you look at the very beginning of this war, it wasn't a mismatch, because you had Israel using long-range missiles to hit targets in Iran, and Iran responding

with its formidable arsenal of ballistic missiles that are very, very hard to hit, even with the most sophisticated air defense systems that Israel does possess. And some of them did get through. But now, after the first two days of fighting, Israel has managed to suppress Iranian air defenses to a degree that allows its air force to actually operate in Iranian airspace. And that's a game changer, because instead of relying on these very expensive long-range missiles, which are in a very limited supply, Israel can now deploy guided bombs from short distance to hit targets.

And those are virtually unlimited. There are thousands and thousands of those. And so that has created a major firepower asymmetry because Iran will sooner or later run out of its ballistic missiles and then will not have much with which to respond. And there's obviously sort of a regional air superiority effect here too, right? You know, to get to Iran, Israeli jets have to fly through other countries. They're evidently able to do that unimpeded. And meanwhile, Iran, what, not really being able to call in maybe some of its regional advantages, at least as far as it saw them several years ago.

Well, there are two issues at play here. First of all, Iran never properly invested in air defenses because in its strategic calculations, its best air defense was the Lebanese proxy militia Hezbollah. So, the thinking into Iran was that Iran will never dare to attack us because if they do, Hezbollah will unleash hell on Israel. Well guess what? Hezbollah was decimated by the Israeli attacks last year in which all of its leadership was

taken out and then much of its arsenal was destroyed. So, Hezbollah has been sitting this out on the sidelines now. And then to get to Iran, which is very far away, Israel needs to fly through other countries. Well guess what? The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed last December and Israel spent the following several months systematically taking out whatever remained of Syrian air defenses. So Syria now is a super highway for Israeli jets. They're probably able to refuel there and they can

fly without much worry all the way to Iran over Syria and Iraq, which has U.S. bases and doesn't have air defenses. Obviously Iraq is also not going to be shooting down Israeli planes. You have sold us on this power mismatch and yet fighting is continuing. I'm curious what we should be watching for in the coming days. Well, the ballistic missiles as we have seen are very, very hard to stop and Iran will be able to strike more targets in Israel and will be able to cause more destruction. But time right now seems to be working in Israel's favor.

Israel has been systematically taking out the missile launchers, has been taking out the leadership of the Iranian military. Just yesterday they killed the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Corps and his deputy. But the big question now is what happens to the nuclear infrastructure, which is the reason for Iran's attack on Iran. So far there has not been any serious strikes against the Fordow nuclear complex, which is buried deep inside a mountain. And some of these targets that Israel thinks it needs to destroy are really hard to destroy from the air. So we'll see what else they can come up with.

Yaroslav Trofimov is the journal's chief foreign correspondent. Yaroslav, thanks as always for the update. Great to be with you. Well, as the fight between Iran and Israel continues, one major question is whether the U.S. will be drawn into the conflict. White House reporter Meredith McGraw spoke to President Trump last week after he ordered U.S. warships and fighter jets to defend Israel from Iranian counterattacks. I spoke with the president on Friday on the phone and asked him about his conversations

with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And he's really stuck in this tricky situation where he wants to make peace and he doesn't want to drag the U.S. into this broader regional war. But a lot is at stake, of course, in the Middle East at this moment. And there's a lot of tensions even within the Republican Party about how to handle the current situation. Several prominent conservatives are split on whether the attacks on Iran are creating better conditions for talks or are tantamount to lobbying for war and seeking regime change.

And weekend strikes targeting Israeli and Iranian energy facilities are sending oil prices higher, with US crude futures now trading above $73 a barrel, their highest level in four months. Tanker traffic and supply flows are also now being affected. Several vessels that were due to load at Iran's main crude exporting port have now delayed their arrival, and Israel has preemptively cut off natural gas supplies from its main fields, causing downstream disruptions in Egypt and Jordan.

Coming up, G7 leaders are gathering in Canada with a crowded agenda spanning trade, conflict, transnational crime and more. We'll preview that high-stakes summit and hit the rest of the day's news after the break. Leaders of the Group of Seven Advanced Economies have gathered in Canada for a meeting widely expected to focus on trade, the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East. The G7 gathering will be an early test of whether U.S. allies can reach consensus with the Trump administration in spite of deepening disagreements.

Speaking yesterday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the world stands at an economic and geopolitical inflection point. The risks are no longer abstract. They are material and mounting. When companies aren't sure what conditions they'll face tomorrow, they delay investment today. When households expect price hikes, they stop spending. So we need a frank discussion among the G7 partners, restoring a sense of stability and

predictability among ourselves. That is the first priority. The Trump administration is dialing back immigration arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels, directing agents to instead target undocumented immigrants with criminal records. The shift follows sweeping raids in Los Angeles that triggered nationwide protests and the deployment of National Guard and Marine units, and after Trump said last week that changes to protect certain industries were in the works. Economics reporter Justin Layhart says the migrant crackdown has led to fewer jobs in

industries relying heavily on unauthorized workers. Think about landscaping services, the working in slaughterhouses, places like that. And another thing that we've seen is within the Labor Department data, we've seen this large drop in the number of foreign-born workers participating in the labor market. So that suggests that people are maybe dropping out of the market. The caution here is that this data is extremely volatile. It just so happens to be pointing in the direction of the crackdown starting to affect the labor market.

And we are exclusively reporting that Southwest Airlines is adding a new cockpit alert system to nearly all of its approximately 800 aircraft after carriers navigated a series of close calls at U.S. airports in recent years. The Honeywell design system delivers alerts that are aimed at helping pilots avoid a range of potential airport hazards, such as if a pilot is about to use the wrong runway or take off from or land on a taxiway. Last year, a Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel recommended requiring new aircraft to come with certain cockpit alerts, but didn't make a recommendation on requiring retrofits for existing airline fleets.

An FAA spokesman said the agency is reviewing the recommendation. And that's it for What's News for this Monday morning. Additional sound in this episode was from Reuters. Today's show was produced by Pierce Lynch and Kate Bullivant. Our supervising producer was Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.