PBS News Hour full episode, June 23, 2026

The US and Iran publicly conflict over key aspects of a new cease-fire deal, including UN nuclear inspector access and Iran's proposed fees for ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denies any agreement on inspections, while the US insists on 100% access and rejects any tolls on international waterways.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated, "We have not had a meeting... nor do we have any plans for an agency inspection." President Trump countered, "They're wrong. They know they're wrong. They told us inside, and we have it down 100 percent inspections."

Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz emphasizes that effective verification measures, including access to undeclared covert sites and a finite time window for inspections, are absolutely critical for any nuclear agreement with Iran, as they were in the 2015 JCPOA.

Moniz stated, "the most important part of the nuclear dimensions of the JCPOA were in fact the extraordinary verification measures, and those hinge entirely upon access by the IAEA inspectors." He stressed the need for inspectors to "go to places that Iran had not declared as nuclear sites" and to have "access to them quickly enough to prevent major cleanups."

Ten years after the referendum, a significant majority of Britons (56%), including 22% of Leave voters, would now vote to rejoin the European Union, citing severe economic consequences like reduced trade, business collapses, and lost European funding for regional development.

Rob Benson, a Leave voter whose shellfish business collapsed, stated, "I actually voted to leave, but, obviously, we were never told the truth as to what the consequences were going to be. And now the consequences are out, it's too late." The Confederation of British Industry reported the economy shrunk by 8% since Brexit.

Effective July 1, federal student loan repayment undergoes significant changes, including the elimination of the Biden-era SAVE Plan, introduction of a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), increased interest rates, and stricter borrowing caps. This is expected to lead to higher monthly payments for millions and a potential spike in defaults.

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel detailed the changes: "The elimination of the Biden era SAVE Plan, which affects 7.5 million borrowers, and new borrowing caps for graduate and Parent PLUS Loans." She noted that under RAP, "you still have to pay $10 a month" and that "it'll take 30 years of payments before you see the remaining balance forgiven."

Farmers in Southern Georgia are experiencing unprecedented "wetter wets and drier dries," leading to severe droughts and damaging floods, compounded by sandy soil that cannot retain water. These extreme weather events, alongside rising fuel and fertilizer costs, threaten the livelihoods of multi-generational family farms.

Farmer Casey Cox Kerr stated, "We're seeing wetter wets and drier dries. And that can be a big challenge." Ag Professor Wes Porter explained, "sandy soils can't hold a whole lot of water. So what that means, we actually evaporated out significantly higher amounts of water than what we have received back in."

In Ukraine, LGBTQ+ individuals are actively serving in the military, from cooks to front-line soldiers, using their service to demonstrate full citizenship and demand equal rights, despite facing challenges like discrimination within the armed forces. This mirrors historical civil rights movements where military service was a catalyst for equality.

Author J. Lester Feder noted, "It's really important for marginalized groups to be able to serve in the military, because it is a way of demonstrating that there is an ability to bear the full weight of citizenship, and therefore they're entitled to the full rights of as citizens." He cited the case of Emilia, a transgender intelligence officer forced to leave the military after transitioning.