Israel says it killed Iran commander as both sides attack

USA Today

8 hours ago

On Saturday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: European foreign ministers are working to establish a path to diplomacy in Geneva. Lawmakers propose prohibiting masked agents. Plus, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released. And USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes discusses how the Trump administration is doubling down on immigration enforcement. President Trump is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate his false 2020 election claims. Millions of Americans will feel a heat wave this weekend. Find out where. USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn tells us how some fear anti-DEI fervor could drive openly gay, trans and nonbinary executives back into hiding.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Saturday, June 21st, 2025. This is USA TODAY's The Excerpt. Today, we check in on Israel and Iran, plus how the Trump administration is leaning in on immigration enforcement and some fear that anti-DEI backlash could drive openly LGBTQ+ executives back into hiding.
Israel said earlier today, it had killed veteran Iranian commander Saeed Izadi. That came as the countries continued to trade strikes. Iran's foreign minister said yesterday, there was no room for negotiations with the US until Israeli aggression stops, but he arrived in Switzerland for talks with European foreign ministers. Europe hopes to form some diplomatic path. For his part, President Donald Trump reiterated that he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the US should enter the conflict on Israel's side, enough time to see whether or not people come to their senses, he said. You can stay up on all the latest throughout the weekend on usatoday.com.
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Two California lawmakers are pushing legislation that would prevent law enforcement from covering their faces when making arrests in the state. The No Secret Police Act introduced by two Democrats in the California Senate is a reaction to immigration sweeps across the country by masked agents in plain clothes who are increasingly refusing to identify themselves by name or the agency they work for.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate held for months in connection with his pro-Palestinian activism was released yesterday. A US district judge said the thirty-year-old lawful permanent resident was neither a flight risk nor dangerous and his prolonged detention since March was potentially punitive.
Amid some of the recent news on the immigration front, I caught up with USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes for a step-back look at how the Trump administration is not backing down on immigration enforcement. Hiya, Trevor.
Trevor Hughes:
Hey, how's it going?
Taylor Wilson:
Good. Good. Thanks for hopping on, Trevor. So you're right about escalating efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. So how is this administration really doubling down?
Trevor Hughes:
The president ran for and was elected on a platform of increased immigration enforcement, right? And he's been talking about doing a million deportations a year. He has not stopped that. That is a thing he campaigned on, it's what he won on. We're starting to see a lot of push back across the country. You saw these huge protests, the No Kings rallies, in which many people carried signs opposing this enhanced immigration enforcement, and the president is showing no sign of backing down. Right? In fact, in some cases we're seeing more enforcement in California, places where people have been protesting. So the president really is showing that he is undeterred at this point.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, even beyond the protests and folks taking to the streets in this way, Trevor, how else is resistance really spreading on this issue, in particular?
Trevor Hughes:
I've been getting social media posts from friends who are saying, well, here's how coffee shops are sharing details about how to keep their workers safe, or even vineyards talking about the frustration they've had of longtime workers being deported. I have been struck by this sort of language of resistance, and in some cases actual resistance that we're starting to see. People are blocking in ICE agents with their vehicles. There was a very tense situation in LA where some immigration officials were in the Dodgers parking lot and they were sort of blocked in and it sounds like the LAPD ultimately had to come in and let them out a back way.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, as you mentioned, Trevor, Trump on the campaign trail talked about a lot of this. He said he would target violent criminals and gang members. Is that still his argument in this moment and is that who he's actually targeting?
Trevor Hughes:
Yeah, so the president repeatedly talks about targeting violent criminals, gang members, that kind of thing. And then we see enforcement that has actually been going after roofing contractors, people who work in vineyards, folks who are not violent criminals, even if they have broken the law in coming to the United States improperly. But the president the other week seemed to back down on enforcement for agricultural workers and for hospitality workers, and then a couple of days later reversed course again and said, "No, no, we're going to continue these deportations everywhere."
It's one of those situations where some of the president's most vocal supporters are very much looking forward to seeing these enhanced deportations and detentions. The question is, does the president respond when the middle of the country starts to say, "Hey, I don't feel comfortable about masked men who won't identify themselves grabbing brown people off the street."
The president has said he wants to target criminal offenders, violent criminals, gang members, and statistics show that a very large number of the people who are being detained do not have a criminal record, aside from the argument that they have broken the law in coming to this country. Now, there's a whole question about whether people broke the law in coming to this country under Biden era rules that the president has now revoked, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of folks in detention centers or being targeted for deportation who have not committed any violent crimes.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, Trevor, despite seeing resistance and huge numbers of people take to the street, is it also fair to say that polling tells us most Americans actually support at least some form of these immigration actions?
Trevor Hughes:
Yes, that's right. I mean, again, the president ran on this platform; this is not a surprise to people. But what I think we're starting to see perhaps is folks saying, "Wow, this went further than I thought it would." Those of us who paid attention to this are sort of saying, oh, this is in fact what the president said he would do, and if you aim to deport a million people a year, you are going to have to target people who are not violent criminals. You're going to have to target people who are married, have lived in this country for 20 years, who have committed no crime other than violating immigration laws. It will be interesting to see over the coming months if American sentiment moves away from this aggressive enforcement and says, "That's more than I signed up for."
There was a poll that came out recently that NBC News did that showed that 51% of Americans support what the president is doing on immigration. Those polls were taken right as or right before some of these big protests and some of these more attention grabbing raids in Los Angeles. So it'll be interesting to see if the sentiment shifts over the coming weeks and months because the majority of Americans don't support the president as a whole when it comes to his popularity, but immigration enforcement is actually one of the strongest things the President is being rated on right now.
Taylor Wilson:
And, Trevor, in this piece, you also talk about some of these just broader concerns about broken trust with authorities, especially in this moment, right? Can you talk through some of those worries?
Trevor Hughes:
I have a lot of friends who are police officers. I have been covering police issues for many, many years, and one of the challenges in this country is getting people to call police for help. And so what we're starting to see is a concern among the migrant rights community, among the law enforcement community, that if immigrants feel like they will be deported for reporting crimes, that they wouldn't call in child abuse, that they wouldn't call in domestic violence, or they wouldn't call in to be a witness in some of these crimes. And so it raises questions about pushing people further into the shadows of our society.
Taylor Wilson:
Trevor Hughes is a national correspondent with USA TODAY. Great insight as always, Trevor. Thanks so much.
Trevor Hughes:
You bet.
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Taylor Wilson:
President Trump is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, continuing to press an issue that resulted in an attack on the U.S. Capitol and his impeachment. Trump wrote on social media yesterday that the 2020 election was a total fraud. His efforts to challenge his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden already failed in court, and independent reviews and leading members of his own administration dismissed his fraud claims.
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Millions of Americans are in for a weekend of baking heat. According to AccuWeather, up to 170 million people across the country are expected to experience temperatures at or above 90 degrees during a heat wave over the next few days. You can check out how hot things are forecast to get in your backyard with a link in today's show notes.
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Some fear that anti-DEI backlash could drive openly gay, trans and non-binary executives back into hiding. I discussed with USA TODAY senior reporter Jessica Guynn. Thanks for joining me, Jessica.
Jessica Guynn:
Thanks for having me, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
So, Jessica, after years of civil rights advances and wins in the workplace, being openly gay, trans, or non-binary in corporate America just got tougher as you write, especially at the top. How so?
Jessica Guynn:
Well, in recent years, and particularly as the 2024 presidential election heated up, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion spiked, and companies facing this kind of sharp criticism and consumer boycotts from anti-DEI activists really began to retreat from public expression of support for gay, trans and non-binary rights. Now in his second term, President Trump has signed a series of executive orders that take aim at LGBTQ+ issues, and we have seen corporations basically take evasive action to avoid becoming a target of the administration. And that's included stepping back from some of these long time commitments.
Taylor Wilson:
Do some LGBTQ+ corporate leaders fear this DEI backlash will drive more professionals even back into the closet, Jessica?
Jessica Guynn:
It's only in recent years that the doors of the C-suite have really begun to crack open for executives from diverse backgrounds, including those who are openly LGBTQ+. For decades, these executives have often hidden their sexual orientation or their gender identity at work because of discrimination, harassment, or they've just simply avoided rising into positions of power that come with that level of scrutiny. It's instructive to remember that it was only just over a decade ago that Apple CEO Tim Cook declared that he was gay.
Taylor Wilson:
So, Jessica, what do some of the numbers tell us about out LGBTQ executives?
Jessica Guynn:
Well, nearly one in 10 adults in the United States and almost a quarter of adults in generation Z, so ages 18 to 27, identify as LGBTQ+. LGBTQ+ people have an estimated 1.4 trillion in annual spending power, so that's a very lucrative and growing market that corporations really can't afford to overlook or neglect. But at the same time, there are very few openly gay, non-binary, trans people serving in the executive suite and on boards of directors. And it's noteworthy that while there's been more significant progress for women and people of color in the upper ranks of companies, the representation of openly gay, trans and non-binary executives has been pretty anemic, particularly relative to their participation in the workforce.
If you look closely at the numbers, what you'll see is that there are less than a dozen LGBTQ+ executives who hold the top jobs in the nation's 1,000 largest companies, and their ranks are really sparse at the board level as well; they occupy about 1% of board seats in the S&P 500. And that figure has barely budged in five years, even as companies have been pushing to diversify their leadership following George Floyd's murder. And LGBTQ+ executives say increasing representation was never the priority it should have been for corporations, and now what they fear is that they may lose any momentum they had to change that.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, Jessica, in reporting this piece and some of the conversations you had, what did you hear from LGBTQ+ executives and how they're really approaching this moment?
Jessica Guynn:
I think this period is the most challenging for trans and non-binary executives who have been really singled out by the Trump administration and by anti-DEI activists. For example, I spoke with a technology executive who landed a board seat five years ago when the nation was obviously a lot less polarized over DEI. They identify as a person of color and non-binary, and they were really thrilled that their company touted their identity to the world. But that changed in recent months as the political winds shifted, and now that executive said they can no longer be out at work because they said it's dangerous to be who you are now.
And many LGBTQ+ leaders in the corporate world fear that more people will be forced to make this kind of difficult decision, but they said they're determined to keep fighting for diverse leadership teams because they say those are essential to the success of their businesses. And their hope is that while they may not move forward as quickly as they once hoped, that the business world will not move backwards on this issue.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. We have a link to Jessica's full piece in today's show notes. Jessica Guynn is a senior reporter with USA TODAY. Thanks, Jessica.
Jessica Guynn:
Thanks so much for having me, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
And coming up tomorrow morning, this summer music takes center stage on screen. From iconic comebacks to behind the scenes revelations, music documentaries are making noise. USA TODAY national music reporter Melissa Ruggieri got an early look at the most anticipated releases, including the upcoming Miley Cyrus film.
Melissa Ruggieri:
She really, really is getting creative with this release, and she wanted to make it more than just a concept album. She wanted to make it a concept visual album, and she talked to me actually about how it was influenced by Pink Floyd's The Wall.
Taylor Wilson:
Melissa joins my colleague Dana Taylor to break down the biggest music docs hitting your screen this summer and the surprising stories behind them. You can catch that conversation tomorrow beginning at 5:00 AM Eastern Time, right here on this feed.
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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. As always, you can email us at [e-mail]. I'm Taylor Wilson. I'll be back Monday with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.