
Hegseth says the Pentagon has given Trump options for Israel-Iran conflict
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing options to President Donald Trump as he decides next steps on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes, an action that could risk dragging America into a wider war in the Middle East.
Hegseth was on Capitol Hill for the last of a series of combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans earlier this year.

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Toronto Star
19 minutes ago
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The Province
29 minutes ago
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'NOBODY KNOWS': Trump won't say whether he will move forward with U.S. strikes on Iran
Published Jun 18, 2025 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 4 minute read U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as a flag pole is installed on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Evan Vucci / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump would not say Wednesday whether he has decided to order a U.S. strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'I may do it, I may not do it,' Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House . 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Trump added that it's not 'too late' for Iran to give up its nuclear program as he continues to weigh direct U.S. involvement in Israel's military operations aimed at crushing Tehran's nuclear program. 'Nothing's too late,' Trump said. 'I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble.' 'Nothing is finished until it is finished,' Trump added. But 'the next week is going to be very big_ maybe less than a week.' Trump also offered a terse response to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an unconditional surrender. 'I say good luck,' Trump said. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that any United States strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them' and that his country would not bow to Trump's call for surrender. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing possible options to Trump as he decides next steps on Iran. Trump said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Khamenei is hiding but doesn't want him killed — 'for now.' RYz1VIUO"} data-video-id= RYz1VIUO id=player- RYz1VIUO class=youtube-iframe data-autoplay=False data-channel-id= data-controls=True data-host= data-is-jw-strategy=True data-jw-strategy-playlist-id=s4Eypbod data-loc= data-loop=False data-mute=False data-playlist-type= data-position=inline data-provider=youtube data-single-video-component= data-version=cgur4cbB> 'He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump said. Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government follow him urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White House as they're 'getting the hell beaten out of them' by Israel. But he added there's a 'big difference between now and a week ago' in Tehran's negotiating position. 'They've suggested that they come to the White House_ that's, you know, courageous,' Trump said. Iran's mission to the United Nations refuted Trump's claim in a statement on social media. 'No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader.' Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The U.S. president said earlier this week Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to serve as a mediator with Iran. But Trump said he told Putin to keep focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine. 'I said, 'Do me a favour, mediate your own,'' Trump said he told Putin. 'I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.'' The comments were a shift from Trump who earlier this week said he was 'open' to Putin's offer to mediate. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier Wednesday that Moscow has cautioned Washington against offering direct military assistance to Israel. 'We are warning Washington against even speculative, hypothetical considerations of the sort,' Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency. 'That would be a step drastically destabilizing the situation as a whole.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to U.S. intelligence findings. Trump is also facing deep skepticism about deepening U.S. involvement in the Mideast crisis from some of his most ardent supporters. Trump during his 2024 run for the White House promised voters he would quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and keep the U.S. out of costly conflicts. Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first administration, on Wednesday said the administration should tread carefully. 'This is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, ok?' Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. 'With 92 million people. This is not something you play around with. You have to think this through. And the American people have to be on board. You can't just dump it on them.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bannon and other Trump allies, including Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, have raised concerns that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict could be seen as a betrayal to some members of Trump's coalition and potentially cause a schism in MAGA world. Trump pushed back at the notion that deepening U.S. involvement could impact his standing with bis base. 'My supporters are more in love with me today, and I'm in love with them more than they were even at election time when we had a total landslide,' Trump said. — Associated Press writers Tara Copp, David Klepper and Chris Megerian contributed reporting. Vancouver Canucks Sports Local News Local News BC Lions


Winnipeg Free Press
30 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Families of trans kids worry about what's next after Supreme Court rules on gender-affirming care
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors is leaving transgender children and their parents uncertain and anxious about the future. The court handed President Donald Trump's administration and Republican-led states a significant victory by effectively protecting them from at least some of the legal challenges against many efforts to repeal safeguards for transgender people. The case stems from a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors. Opponents of gender-affirming care say people who transition when they're young could later regret it. Families of transgender children argue the ban amounts to unlawful sex discrimination and violates the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans. Student says ruling creates an unwelcome world Eli Givens, who is transgender and testified against Tennessee's gender-affirming care bill in 2023, said it's devastating that lawmakers 'who have called us degenerates, have told us that we're living in fiction' are now celebrating the court's ruling. Givens, who received mastectomy surgery in 2022 at age 17, said the legislation inspired their advocacy. The 20-year-old college student from Spring Hill, Tennessee, attended the Supreme Court arguments in the case last December, on their 20th birthday. 'We're not making a world that trans youth are welcomed or allowed to be a part of,' Givens said. 'And so, it's just a really scary kind of future we might have. Again, we won't stop fighting. But it does feel like the rug is kind of being swept under our feet just a little bit.' Jennifer Solomon, who supports parents and families at the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida, called the ruling a decision 'that one day will embarrass the courts.' 'This is a decision that every parent should be concerned about,' she said. 'When politicians are able to make a decision that overrides your ability to medically make decisions for your children, every family should worry.' Fears of what's next after Supreme Court decision Rosie Emrich is worried the court decision will embolden legislators in New Hampshire, where legislation banning hormone treatments and puberty blockers for children is expected to reach the governor's desk. Lawmakers are weighing whether to block the treatments from minors already receiving them, like Emrich's 9-year-old child. 'It's definitely disappointing, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to talk to my kid about it,' Emrich said. Emrich said she and her husband have considered moving from New Hampshire and are waiting to see what will happen. 'The hard part is, like, I've grown up here, my husband has grown up here, we very much want to raise our family here,' she said. 'And we don't want to leave if we don t have to.' Conservative activists take credit Chloe Cole, a conservative activist known for speaking about her gender-transition reversal, posted on social media after the court's decision that 'every child in America is now safer.' Cole was cited as an example by Tennessee Republicans as one of the reasons the law was needed. Matt Walsh, an activist who was one of the early backers of Tennessee's law, applauded the high court. Three years ago, Walsh shared videos on social media of a doctor saying gender-affirming procedures are 'huge moneymakers' for hospitals and a staffer saying anyone with a religious objection should quit. 'This is a truly historic victory and I'm grateful to be a part of it, along with so many others who have fought relentlessly for years,' Walsh posted on social media. Mother says gender-affirming care saves lives Sarah Moskanos, who lives near Milwaukee, said her 14-year-old transgender daughter went through nearly a decade of counseling before she started medical gender-affirming care. Moskanos said that even before therapy, her daughter, who she declined to name for safety concerns, said that even at age 4 she was sure she identified as a girl. 'I would say that there is decades of research on this very thing,' she said. 'And we know what works and we know what will save trans kids' lives is gender-affirming care.' Even though Wisconsin doesn't have a gender-affirming care ban, getting her daughter that care has not been easy. Moskanos said she now worries about what the future holds. 'We live in tumultuous times, and we are but one election cycle away from disaster for my kid,' she said. Vowing not to disappear Mo Jenkins, a 26-year-old transgender Texas native and legislative staffer at the state Capitol, said she began taking hormone therapy at 16 years old and has been on and off treatment since then. 'My transition was out of survival,' Jenkins said. Texas outlawed puberty blockers and hormone treatment for minors two years ago, and in May, the Legislature passed a bill tightly defining a man and a woman by their sex characteristics. 'I'm not surprised at the ruling. I am disheartened,' Jenkins said. 'Trans people are not going to disappear.' ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press journalists Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Kenya Hunter in Atlanta; Laura Bargfeld in Chicago; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; and Daniel Kozin in Pinecrest, Florida, contributed to this report.