Good Monday evening. In this edition: Burnham takes over as British prime minister; and the U.S. and Iran inch closer to all-out war.
Plus, Canada tariffs, NYC attack, Jackson, Graham and Paramount.
British Prime Minister
Andy Burnham pledged to restore stability to British politics after succeeding Keir Starmer as prime minister, becoming the United Kingdom's seventh leader in a decade.
"I know people at home are fed up with politics," he said outside No. 10 Downing Street. "I hear you, and I want to be honest with you: We have not been good enough, and we need to be better. We will be."
The new prime minister called it a "circuit breaker" moment for Britain and pledged the "biggest changes" for the country in 40 years: "a new political model and a new economic model."
"Many feel as though they're still in decline, and they don't have the ability to turn things around," he said. "And that's why we will change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point scoring."
Mr. Burnham said he will unveil a 10-year plan for the U.K. later this year, "laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be."
"I will give this my all, and I ask you all to pull with me," he said. "Let's build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity. Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again — the moment we bring back hope."
Mr. Burnham stepped down as mayor of Greater Manchester last month after winning a by-election to return to Parliament with the aim of replacing Mr. Starmer as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
He became Labour leader last Friday after running unopposed, and Mr. Starmer formally resigned Monday morning before King Charles III asked Mr. Burnham to form a new government.
Mr. Starmer, who led Labour back to power in 2024 after 14 years of Conservative Party rule, served a little more than two years as prime minister.
His standing took a series of hits, beginning with his appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the United States. Mr. Starmer later fired Mr. Mandelson after newly released emails revealed the depth of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Labour's stinging defeat in May's local and regional elections proved the final blow, prompting the party to force Mr. Starmer out.
In a farewell address before traveling to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation, Mr. Starmer defended his record and said he was leaving office "with good grace."
"My work is done,"he said outside No. 10. "It has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister, and I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago."
"As I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support."
President Trump and Mr. Starmer initially shared an amicable relationship, finalizing a trade deal early in the president's second term, but their ties deteriorated this year.
Mr. Starmer criticized President Trump's calls to take over Greenland, while the president sharply disparaged the British leader for refusing to become involved in the Iran war.
President Trump appeared to welcome Mr. Burnham's arrival, saying people in Aberdeen, Scotland, were "dancing in the streets" over his proposal to fast-track oil and gas exploration in already licensed North Sea fields, which he said would take the United Kingdom "from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World!"
"Such great potential in the UK, but it all starts with OPENING NORTH SEA OIL. WE LOVE YOU SCOTLAND!" he wrote on social media.
The U.S. and Iran are on the precipice of returning to full-scale war, with the ceasefire agreement in tatters and fighting escalating across the region, leaving at least three U.S. service members dead since Friday.
U.S. Central Command on Monday launched its tenth consecutive day of strikes on Iran, seeking to degrade the country's ability to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz by targeting military sites and communications networks.
Two American service members died in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan on Friday, and another died in Iraq on Saturday during a "controlled detonation" of an unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone.
Seventeen U.S. service members have been killed since the war began in late February, with nearly 100 others injured.
President Trump said Sunday's strikes on Iran were carried out in "honor" of the three service members killed and vowed overwhelming retaliation whenever an American is killed.
"Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!" he wrote on Truth Social. "This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military."
The renewed fighting has again disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing fuel prices higher around the world.
The national average for a gallon of gas is back above $4, according to AAA.
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen announced a blockade of Saudi ships in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia has been able to reroute some fuel shipments through the Red Sea, but if the Houthis follow through on that threat, it could add further pressure to already volatile global energy markets.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is "open to diplomacy" but that Iran must change its behavior and return to the negotiating table in good faith.
"It has to be real. It has to be a deal that they're willing to live by," he told reporters Sunday night. "As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we're going to have to respond to that. Their behavior has to change in order for ours to change."
The secretarysaid Iran has signaled it wants to deescalate the conflict, but that divisions among the country's leadership are complicating negotiations.
"If the door opens to diplomacy, if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system or take control of the negotiations, that'll be a very positive development," he said. "That's not where we are tonight, unfortunately."
President Trumpimposed 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods in retaliation for what his administration described as discriminatory trade practices targeting U.S. products and industries. "By doing this, President Trump is leveling the playing field for crucial American exports: motor vehicles, alcohol and dairy," a senior administration official said on a call with reporters. The tariffs, outlined in three proclamations signed Monday, are set to take effect in 30 days. The move escalates the trade war between the two countries that began with President Trump's aggressive tariff agenda last year. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced it would not renew the USMCA trade pact among the U.S., Mexico and Canada that President Trump negotiated during his first term to replace NAFTA. President Trump also railed against Canada last week over wildfire smoke drifting into U.S. cities, saying the costs "must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying."
A 43-year-old Army veteran was arrested after setting off an "incendiary device" and lighting a fire outside a federal building in New York City. "He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist," James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, said. The suspect allegedly poured gasoline onto the ground outside 26 Federal Plaza, which houses an immigration court and other government offices, and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework inside a canister, Mr. Barnacle said. The FBI said he was carrying "anti-ICE literature" and "yelled derogatory terms toward ICE" as he was being arrested. Two government employees and one civilian suffered minor injuries, the FBI said.
Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, has all but secured the Democratic nomination in Maine's U.S. Senate race following Graham Platner'sannouncement that he would step down amid sexual misconduct allegations. Mr. Jackson dominated the weekend's county delegate conventions, securing three-quarters of all delegates and prompting his four major opponents to drop out of the race. Mr. Jackson, who recently finished third in the gubernatorial primary, now faces the challenge of uniting and rallying a deflated Democratic base as he looks to deny Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) a sixth term.
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), who was appointed last week to fill the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, announced she will run for a full six-year term in November. "I've made a decision," she told Fox News. "I'm in." President Trump encouraged her to pursue the full term, writing, "RUN, DARLINE, RUN!" on social media Friday. The filing period for the special Republican primary opens Tuesday and closes a week later. Republican Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman have already announced their campaigns.
A federal judgetemporarily halted Paramount Skydance from completing its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery while she considers a lawsuit brought by 12 states seeking to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The temporary restraining order lasts 14 days. The states argued the deal, which could have closed as soon as Wednesday, would give Paramount too much control over the movie industry and basic cable.
For your radar…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins appear Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss President Trump's supplemental funding request. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 2:30pm ET.
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