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By Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen and Aida Kamiri, CNN

(CNN) — Iran and the United States have signaled they are closing in on an agreement to turn the existing ceasefire that ended weeks of conflict into a more long-lasting settlement.

Both sides are talking of a “memorandum of understanding” that will set out a roadmap for resolving all outstanding issues, although a deal is still a “work in progress,” according to US Secretary of State Macro Rubio.

“We’re either going to have a good agreement or we’re going to have to deal with it another way,” Rubio said during a visit to India on Monday.

But what is in that memorandum remains unclear.

The central premise of this approach is that the memo, once signed, would stop the fighting, which would be welcome news to both sides, with US President Donald Trump facing midterm elections later this year amid sharply higher gasoline prices and Iran’s economy in crisis.

The agreement would then see the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and set off a 60-day process for tackling other issues, chief among them Iran’s nuclear program.

Rubio said there was “a pretty solid thing on the table” in terms of opening up the strait and in Iran entering into “a real significant time limited negotiation on nuclear matters.”

A senior administration official told CNN on Sunday that the framework agreement gives the parties “60 days to reach final deal points.”

According to the official, the potential deal would make sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon and would commit it to giving up highly enriched uranium, which the president often refers to as “nuclear dust.”

How the stockpile is disposed of would be a part of the next phase of negotiations.

“The important part of how this is structured is, if Iran doesn’t perform, they don’t get anything. No dust? No dollars. As the Strait opens, the blockade loosens proportionately,” the official said. “This is ‘trust but verify’ on steroids.”

However, Iranian officials and state media have offered different interpretations.

“We have reached understandings on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say this means an agreement is about to be signed — no one can make such a claim, ”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei Monday.

And after saying that the deal was “largely negotiated,” Trump said Sunday that the US would not rush into an agreement.

“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, saying that deal gave Iran “a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon.”

Here’s what we know about some of the key issues at stake.

The Strait of Hormuz

Trump wrote in a social media post late Saturday that the critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, would reopen under the memorandum.

But multiple Iranian media outlets, some of them close to the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported Sunday that the strait would remain under Iranian supervision. Over a period of 30 days, Iran would allow shipping to return to pre-war levels.

Tehran has slightly shifted its tone on collecting tolls from ships that pass through the strait.

“We are not seeking to collect tolls – services are provided; navigation services plus necessary measures to protect the environment of t

CNN, POOL, FOX NEWS SUNDAY, X, CENTCOM, PAKISTAN MFA, @REALDONALDTRUMP, X/Centcom

By Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen and Aida Kamiri, CNN

(CNN) — Iran and the United States have signaled they are closing in on an agreement to turn the existing ceasefire that ended weeks of conflict into a more long-lasting settlement.

Both sides are talking of a “memorandum of understanding” that will set out a roadmap for resolving all outstanding issues, although a deal is still a “work in progress,” according to US Secretary of State Macro Rubio.

“We’re either going to have a good agreement or we’re going to have to deal with it another way,” Rubio said during a visit to India on Monday.

But what is in that memorandum remains unclear.

The central premise of this approach is that the memo, once signed, would stop the fighting, which would be welcome news to both sides, with US President Donald Trump facing midterm elections later this year amid sharply higher gasoline prices and Iran’s economy in crisis.

The agreement would then see the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and set off a 60-day process for tackling other issues, chief among them Iran’s nuclear program.

Rubio said there was “a pretty solid thing on the table” in terms of opening up the strait and in Iran entering into “a real significant time limited negotiation on nuclear matters.”

A senior administration official told CNN on Sunday that the framework agreement gives the parties “60 days to reach final deal points.”

According to the official, the potential deal would make sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon and would commit it to giving up highly enriched uranium, which the president often refers to as “nuclear dust.”

How the stockpile is disposed of would be a part of the next phase of negotiations.

“The important part of how this is structured is, if Iran doesn’t perform, they don’t get anything. No dust? No dollars. As the Strait opens, the blockade loosens proportionately,” the official said. “This is ‘trust but verify’ on steroids.”

However, Iranian officials and state media have offered different interpretations.

“We have reached understandings on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say this means an agreement is about to be signed — no one can make such a claim, ”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei Monday.

And after saying that the deal was “largely negotiated,” Trump said Sunday that the US would not rush into an agreement.

“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, saying that deal gave Iran “a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon.”

Here’s what we know about some of the key issues at stake.

The Strait of Hormuz

Trump wrote in a social media post late Saturday that the critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, would reopen under the memorandum.

But multiple Iranian media outlets, some of them close to the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), re

By Christopher Lamb, CNN

(CNN) — Pope Leo XIV says control of artificial intelligence must not remain in the hands “of a few” while warning that technology is fueling world conflicts, setting out his proposals in the first major theological document of his pontificate.

These include protecting the distinctive “grandeur of humanity” amid rapidly changing technology and for the use of AI in warfare to be subject to “the most rigorous ethical constraints.”

While the encyclical focuses on AI, it is a text that goes beyond technological questions and touches on crises facing humanity. Pope Leo said that the “just war” theory – a four-pronged Christian doctrine stating what conditions justify war – is “now outdated,” saying that military force can only be used for “self-defense in the strictest sense.”

He adds that the “litmus test” for social justice is the treatment of migrants and refugees and offered an apology for the church’s involvement in slavery and delay in denouncing the scourge.

The pope, who has made peace-making a central feature of his pontificate, warns that the use of “force, violence and weapons” ultimately “has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”

“The construction of a world in a state of perpetual conflict is an evil and must be named for what it is,” the pope writes, adding that

“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.”

His opposition to Just War follows remarks by US President JD Vance that the pope “be careful when he talks about matters of theology” after the Catholic spiritual leader fiercley criticized joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and rebuked world leaders for invoking religious language to rationalize war.

Parallels between AI and ‘Tower of Babel’

In the text, the pope also calls for a series of principles to be applied to the development of AI, including a fairer distribution of resources, the dignity of the human person, social justice and care for the environment.

Drawing on a biblical story, the pope warns that with AI, humanity risks building a “Tower of Babel,” which was an attempt for people to “make a name” for themselves with a single power and one language. The pope says the story is a warning against a plan that “dominates and ultimately dehumanizes,” insisting instead that diverse opinions and groups should contribute to AI’s development.

Leo insists that the technology must protect peoples’ jobs and needs to be subject to “robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required.”

An encyclical is traditionally a letter sent by the pope to the bishops and the wider Roman Catholic Church, but recently it has broadened with Pope Francis using the first encyclical of his papacy to address the whole world on protecting the environment.

Leo XIV’s document on AI, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), is being seen as a similarly landmark text for his papacy, and as addressing an epoch-defining topic which he addressed to Catholics and “every person of goodwill.”

Pope Leo has identified AI as a top priority, and he is the first pontiff to personally present an encyclical letter to the world at the Vatican.

Past popes have normally handed that role of presenting an encyclical to cardinals or other senior figures. Instead, the pope oversaw the release of the 235-page booklet alongside Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, an AI company that has been in legal disput

Por Nicki Brown y Kara Scannell, CNN

Un juez de Nueva York emitió un fallo mixto la semana pasada, desestimando algunos objetos encontrados en la mochila de Luigi Mangione para su próximo juicio por homicidio. Pero pruebas cruciales aún serán admitidas, allanando el camino para un caso sólido contra Mangione, según expertos legales, y generando preguntas sobre el tipo de defensa que podría presentar ante un jurado.

El fallo del lunes dividió en gran medida la evidencia en dos categorías: objetos encontrados en una búsqueda inicial de la mochila de Mangione en un McDonald’s de Pensilvania días después del tiroteo fatal del CEO de UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, y aquellos encontrados en una búsqueda posterior de la bolsa en la estación de policía de Altoona.

El juez de Nueva York, Gregory Carro, estuvo de acuerdo con el equipo de defensa de Mangione en que la primera búsqueda realizada por la Policía local fue inapropiada, y prohibió que los objetos incautados en ese momento fueran presentados en el próximo juicio por homicidio de Mangione. Pero la búsqueda posterior siguió correctamente los protocolos del departamento, dictaminó Carro, permitiendo a los fiscales presentar pruebas que están en el centro de su caso: el presunto arma homicida y un diario lleno de escritos que las autoridades han calificado de “manifiesto”.

“Si la fiscalía tuviera que elegir sin tener en cuenta la ley qué pruebas querría que fueran admisibles en el juicio, serían el arma y el cuaderno”, dijo Gary Galperin, exfiscal que pasó más de 40 años en la oficina del Fiscal de Distrito de Manhattan, a CNN. “Esas dos pruebas son tan incriminatorias y tan cruciales”.

Mangione está acusado de homicidio intencional, posesión de un instrumento falsificado y siete cargos de posesión de un arma en relación con la muerte de Thompson, quien fue muerto a tiros la mañana del 4 de diciembre de 2024, mientras caminaba hacia el hotel de Midtown Manhattan donde se celebraba la conferencia anual de inversores de su empresa.

Mangione, de 28 años, también enfrenta un proceso federal relacionado con la muerte de Thompson, así como cargos estatales en Pensilvania. El caso del estado de Nueva York está programado para ser el primero en ir a juicio, con la selección del jurado prevista para comenzar en septiembre. Él se ha declarado inocente de todos los cargos.

La defensa de Mangione argumentó que todas las pruebas de la mochila debían ser excluidas porque la Policía de Altoona registró ilegalmente su bolso, lo que llevó al juez a celebrar una audiencia de supresión de nueve días a finales del año pasado.

Aunque mixta, la decisión de Carro del lunes representó una victoria para la Oficina del fiscal de distrito de Manhattan, que parece tener un caso sólido, dijeron expertos legales a CNN. Y cuando se combina con las declaraciones que supuestamente Mangione hizo a las fuerzas del orden tras su arresto, la fuerte evidencia física podría limitar sus opciones de defensa en el juicio.

“Si el arma y el cuaderno hubieran sido excluidos”, dijo Galperin, “sería un caso muy diferente.”

Un arma

El fallo de Carro el lunes permitirá a los fiscales mostrar a los jurados el arma de fuego que, según ellos, se usó para disparar dos veces por la espalda a Thompson: una pistola de 9 mm impresa en 3D recuperada de la mochila de Mangione en la estación de policía de Altoona.

Steve Wasserman, profesor adjunto asociado en John Jay College of Criminal Justice, describió el arma como “muy crucial”, diciendo a CNN: “Podría realmente eliminar la duda en la mente de algunos jurados”.

De hecho, los fiscales han dicho en documentos judiciales que el arma coincide con los casquillos de bala de 9 mm encontrados en la escena, lo que la convierte en una pieza clave de evidencia que podría vincular a Mangione con el tiroteo.

Los fiscales han dicho que se encontraron

By Patrick Svitek, CNN

Katy, Texas (CNN) — In one of his first rallies since winning President Donald Trump’s endorsement in his Senate race, Ken Paxton told the crowd he wanted to try something new.

The Democratic nominee, James Talarico, Paxton said, would be the “most radical US senator from Texas, maybe in the whole country, ever, so I wanted to test a few nicknames tonight and see if you can help me.”

The suggestions from the audience started flowing as Paxton passed the mic around. “Low-T Talarico.” “Tofu Talarico.” “Tala-freak-o.”

“Soy boy!” a man yelled out unprompted.

The food references came from an already burgeoning Republican talking point — that Talarico is a vegan, which he isn’t. Yet Paxton brought it up repeatedly, delighting a packed crowd of supporters inside a suburban Houston barbecue spot as waiters shuttled back and forth from the kitchen with heaping plates of brisket, sausage and ribs.

“We know that James Talarico would never come here because he doesn’t eat any of that stuff,” Paxton said. “We never had a US senator who didn’t eat meat, especially Texas barbecue.”

Talarico was, in a word, “unqualified” to represent Texas, according to Paxton.

The scene showed how Paxton is already pivoting to the general election ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton — and Trump — are previewing a furious wave of attacks and mockery for Talarico, as Republicans prepare to rally around the scandal-scarred state attorney general and work to keep the spotlight on the Democrat instead.

As Paxton spoke at Midway BBQ in Katy, TVs in the room showed Fox News replaying Trump’s comments earlier in the day declaring that Talarico “can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas.” Trump also called Talarico “a weird — a weird — candidate,” a comment that quickly made it into an ad from a pro-Paxton group.

Republicans have also repeatedly brought up Talarico’s 2021 comment during a state legislative debate that “modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six.” One of the patrons at Midway BBQ took the mic to call Talarico “six-gender Jimmy.”

The Republican strategy is reminiscent of 2018 — another midterm year with Trump in power — when Sen. Ted Cruz found himself in a tougher-than-expected race with Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke and sought to rouse the GOP base with sustained personal ridicule of O’Rourke. Cruz also denigrated O’Rourke in terms that carnivorous Texans could relate to, calling him a “Triple Meat Whataburger liberal.”

Talarico has established himself as a formidable threat much sooner than O’Rourke did. And if he wins Tuesday, Paxton enters the general election campaign after Cornyn and national Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars airing allegations of corruption and adultery against him.

Trump’s endorsement of Paxton instantly made him the front-runner in the runoff. Paxton told CNN in an interview outside of the barbecue joint that he was “ready to unite” with Washington Republicans.

Cornyn has kept up his warnings that Paxton would be an albatross for the GOP in November. He told supporters Friday in Corpus Christi that he proudly supports Trump but that “Texans get to choose our senator and no one else.”

If Paxton becomes the GOP nominee, Democrats are cautiously optimistic about the party’s chances of winning their first Senate election in Texas since 1988. Yet as Paxton held his final rallies of the runoff across the