General U.S. NewsJun 20, 2026·3 min read

A big new test of Zohran Mamdani’s influence

Vox – Immigration

2h ago

A big new test of Zohran Mamdani’s influence

Summary

Three reasons to care about the New York congressional primaries on Tuesday. The latest test of the anti-establishment wave sweeping the Democratic Party comes this Tuesday in New York. One year after Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City and became a partywide icon, the state has turned into a live read on the rift between the party’s left flank and its centrist establishment. This week on America, Actually, we talked to two candidates on the front lines of that insurgency. Here’s what they said, and why Tuesday’s primaries could reverberate nationally: Alex Bores, an assembly member running in New York’s 12th District in Manhattan, wrote what he calls the strongest AI safety law in the country, the RAISE Act. Then Gov. Kathy Hochul stepped in and forced lawmakers to water it down before she signed it into law — stripping the provision barring companies from releasing models that fail safety tests, scaling back penalties, and more. So I asked him: If that kind of watered-down legislation is coming from a Democrat in a safe blue state, what’s the hope for robust AI legislation nationally, where we haven’t even seen the willingness to take the first steps? We’ve even seen leadership within the Democratic Party tell candidates in frontline races, ‘Hey, maybe stay away from AI.’” “Every time I introduce a new AI policy,” he told me, “I get texts from Congress members: ‘Hey, this is great, love this.’ And I always respond, ‘Introduce it.’ ... Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican American in Congress and chair of the Hispanic Caucus.

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State Rep. Alex Bores, a Democratic House candidate in New York, during a "Get Out the Vote" rally on the first day of early voting in New York on June 13, 2026. | Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images The latest test of the anti-establishment wave sweeping the Democratic Party comes this Tuesday in New York. One year after Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City and became a partywide icon, the state has turned into a live read on the rift between the party’s left flank and its centrist establishment. This week on America, Actually, we talked to two candidates on the front lines of that insurgency. Here’s what they said, and why Tuesday’s primaries could reverberate nationally: 1. AI regulation is on the ballot Alex Bores, an assembly member running in New York’s 12th District in Manhattan, wrote what he calls the strongest AI safety law in the country, the RAISE Act. Then Gov. Kathy Hochul stepped in and forced lawmakers to water it down before she

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Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

Tom Cotton made his name in Washington as an outspoken critic of a Democratic president’s deal to check Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Now, with a president of his own party angling toward a similarly structured agreement, the Arkansas Republican is so far using a softer voice. Cotton , the No. 3 Senate Republican and Intelligence Committee chair, is not alone among GOP defense hawks in finding himself in an awkward position more than a decade after lambasting President Barack Obama’s Iran deal. But the combination of his prior ferocity toward the Iranian regime and his current leadership responsibilities have put him into an especially tight spot as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance sell their 14-point “memorandum of understanding” to skeptical Republicans. Cotton moved toward critiquing that framework in a Fox News interview Thursday, crediting Trump for “making Iran weaker than it’s been in decades” while airing concerns that “certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.” “We need to make sure that we don’t squander the leverage that we’ve built” against Iran, he said. That is a far cry from the rhetoric Cotton deployed as a freshman senator in 2015, when Obama was moving in concert with other global powers to force Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other economic favors. Cotton led a brash effort to undermine the deal — most notably by organizing a public letter signed by 46 other GOP senators to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then the supreme leader of Iran, warning that “anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement” that could be nixed by a future administration. The letter enraged the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, but it was prescient. Majority Leader John Thune , like most Senate Republicans, had nothing but praise this week for the “great job” Cotton was doing amid the tumult over the expired spy law and the director of national intelligence drama. “He’s a really strong chair on the committee. And he had it all teed up and ready to go,” Thune said in an interview. “Now it's just … back to the drawing board.

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again as 16 killed in fresh Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Iran’s top joint military command on Saturday announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz once again, accusing the United States of violating commitments under the recently signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding and citing continued Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the military command said the closure was in response to Washington’s “clear breach of trust” and failure to implement the first clause of the agreement, as well as Israel’s alleged violations of a ceasefire in Lebanon, news agency Associated Press reported. The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. Core Team The Express Global Desk is led by a team of experienced journalists and editors with deep expertise in international affairs and migration policy: Aniruddha Dhar – Senior Assistant Editor with extensive experience in global affairs, international politics, and editorial leadership. Nischai Vats – Deputy Copy Editor specialising in US politics, US visa and immigration policy, and policy-driven international coverage. Mashkoora Khan – Sub-editor focusing on global developments, with a strong emphasis on Canada visa, immigration, and study-related policy coverage. ...

US treasury chief urged Trump not to host ‘Mr Bean on crack’ Zelenskyy, book says

Suggestion that Scott Bessent so described a world leader included in Regime Change, by New York Times reporters Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little fucker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book. The suggestion that a US cabinet official described a world leader in such terms is included in Regime Change, a blockbusting account of the second Trump administration by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, set to be published worldwide on Tuesday. News of Bessent’s alleged remarks may embarrass the Trump administration, although the meeting that did take place on 28 February 2025 proved outright disastrous, as Trump and JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy for not being grateful for aid in his fight against Russian invaders, and for not wearing a suit. The issue of aid to Ukraine remains at the fore, and was discussed at the G7 summit in France earlier this week. “Several Trump aides had been worried” about the potential for a blow-up when Zelenskyy came to the White House, ostensibly to seal a minerals deal drafted by Bessent, Swan and Haberman write. Then-national security adviser Mike Waltz “tried – unsuccessfully – to get the message across that Zelenskyy should come wearing a suit”, they continue. “Bessent had strongly recommended to Trump that he not even allow Zelenskyy into the White House before he had signed” the deal. “‘I’ve dealt with this little fucker,’ Bessent would say to associates about Zelenskyy,” according to the book. “‘He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.” The treasury department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zelenskyy did come, and Bessent was in the room as Vance carpeted their visitor. “Others present could see that Vance was steadily turning red,” Haberman and Swan write, as Zelenskyy’s insistence on pushing for security guarantees “began to sound to Vance like impertinence and ingratitude”. After the disastrous meeting, Bessent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy scored “one of the great diplomatic own goals”, adding: “I was shocked, shocked that President Zelenskyy would come into the Oval Office, behave like this, speak to the president, speak to the vice-president, but more importantly, disrespect the American people like this.” Regime Change also contains alleged details of Bessent’s unsuccessful handling of the minerals deal. It did not go well. “For 45 minutes, the men berated each other,” Swan and Haberman write. “Bessent had only been on the job for a few days, and already he had gotten into a shouting match with the leader of a country in the middle of a war.

A big new test of Zohran Mamdani’s influence

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Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again as 16 killed in fresh Israeli strikes in Lebanon

US treasury chief urged Trump not to host ‘Mr Bean on crack’ Zelenskyy, book says