Tuesday, June 17th, 2025 - Trump ditches G7; Dollar dips; FAA fake; Saudi journalist executed; Boelter charged & more

Today’s Headlines: President Trump briefly attended the G7, signed a tariff deal with the UK, defended Putin, skipped key meetings, and refused to back a joint Israel-Iran de-escalation statement before leaving early, citing Middle East tensions. Meanwhile, global exporters are increasingly rejecting U.S. dollars in favor of other currencies, signaling growing concern over the dollar’s stability. In Saudi Arabia, journalist Turki Al-Jasser was executed over tweets criticizing the regime, echoing the Khashoggi case. Back in the U.S., Minnesota shooter Vance Boelter turned himself in and now faces federal murder charges after targeting dozens of Democratic lawmakers. Trump’s FAA nominee, Bryan Bedford, was exposed for falsely claiming to hold a commercial pilot license. His company, the Trump Organization, also announced a new gold smartphone and MAGA-branded phone plan called “The 47 Plan.” OpenAI secured its first Pentagon contract—$200 million to develop AI for national defense. And MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was found liable for defamation, ordered to pay $2.3 million to a former Dominion employee. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: CNN: Trump does not intend to sign joint G7 statement on Iran Bloomberg: Many Exporters No Longer Want Dollars, US Bank Executive Says ABC News: Saudi Arabia executes a journalist after 7 years behind bars AP News: Suspect in shooting of Minnesota state lawmakers targeted 2 others that night, prosecutors say Politico: Trump’s FAA pick has claimed ‘commercial’ pilot license he doesn’t have CNBC: OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract CNBC: Trump Organization announces mobile plan, $499 smartphone AP News: Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company | AP News Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices