Trump weighs Iran action and appeals court rules on California National Guard: Morning Rundown

Donald Trump said he would decide whether the U.S. should take action in Iran within two weeks. An appeals court ruled the deployment of California National Guard troops was within the president’s rights. And the parents who were jailed in their 7-year-old son’s traffic death speak out from jail.

Here’s what to know today.

Trump weighs potential action in Iran with small circle of advisers

President Donald Trump will decide within two weeks whether the U.S. should get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, the White House said yesterday.

This is “based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future,” he said in a message read to reporters in the White House by press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister is set to hold talks in Geneva today with his counterparts from the U.K., France and Germany. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, won’t be in attendance.

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As he weighs what to do, Trump is increasingly relying on a small group of advisers for critical input, according to two defense officials and a senior administration official.

While the president routinely asks a broader group of people what they think he should do, including officials in his own administration as well as foreign leaders and contacts outside the government, Trump tends to make many decisions with just a handful of people. That includes Vice President JD Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump also leans on Witkoff when he weighs decisions that fall under his portfolio, an official said.

But the president has sidelined National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and has not been routinely turning to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to two defense officials and a senior administration official. A Defense Department spokesperson denied the assertion about Hegseth.

Read the full story here.

More coverage of the Israel-Iran conflict:

• Israel’s Air Force and Navy have successfully intercepted hundreds of missiles launched toward the country, military officials say. And key buildings at an Iranian heavy water reactor were damaged, a U.N. nuclear watchdog said. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.

• Entire neighborhoods in Tehran are emptying out amid the barrage of missiles, and residents who remain in Iran’s capital are mostly staying indoors.

Appeals court backs California National Guard deployment

An appeals court ruled that Trump is within his rights to deploy the California National Guard amid immigration protests in Los Angeles, allowing the president to keep control of the troops.

The ruling last night from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined the federal government made a required “strong showing” in arguing it would prevail against California’s challenge to the legality of the deployment of troops usually under the governor’s control. However, the court said it disagreed with the administration’s stance that the federalization of National Guard Troops is “completely insulated from judicial review.” Read the full story here.

Earlier Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers said it blocked federal immigration agents from entering their stadium after agents “requested permission to access the parking lots.” ICE responded to the Dodgers on social media, saying, “False. We were never there.”

But a source familiar with Dodgers operations said that after the agents were denied entry E, they processed multiple detainees just outside the ballpark. Meanwhile, demonstrators outside the stadium’s gates, including a Los Angeles City Council member, held signs and chanted “ICE out of L.A.” Read more about the incident at Dodger Stadium.

More immigration news:

• “Border czar” Tom Homan said the Trump administration will keep conducting immigration raids at worksites, including farms and hotels, but that criminals will be prioritized.

• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from forcing 20 Democratic-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transportation funding.

• Latino Trump voters who participated in focus groups observed by NBC News said they approve of Trump’s handling of illegal immigration, and most approved of his actions broadly as president. But a small divide is emerging among these voters over how deportations are being carried out.

Surgeon’s UnitedHealthcare clash shows insurer’s hardball tactics

When Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealthcare experienced a massive hack in February 2024, the subsidiary shuttered its systems and halted all reimbursements owed to hospitals and doctors. To help medical providers stay afloat, Optum, another UnitedHealth subsidiary that includes a bank, began offering “temporary” no-interest loans.

Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Catherine Mazzola was among those tapping into the program and her practice in New Jersey received $535,000, documents show. Mazzola’s practice began repaying the loans, but in January of this year, Optum demanded that it repay the money in full and within five business days. Mazzola pleaded for more time, but by mid-February, she stopped receiving reimbursements. Months later, she learned UnitedHealthcare had drawn up reimbursement checks payable to her practice and then deposited those checks into its own bank account, records shared with NBC News show.

Her case sheds light on something few patients know about: the behind-the-scenes battles doctors say they must wage with insurers over reimbursements and the increasingly aggressive tactics taken by huge payers like UnitedHealthcare. Mazzola, as well as other doctors who spoke to senior financial reporter Gretchen Morgenson, said they were never reimbursed for many claims, and some say they are out millions as a result. On top of that, patients were hurt by the hack, too. Read the full story here.

Chris Brown pleads not guilty to 2023 nightclub bottle attack charge

Singer Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to a charge in connection with an alleged 2023 London nightclub attack and will face trial later this year.

Brown appeared in person at London’s Southwark Crown to enter a not guilty plea to one count of attempting to cause “grievous bodily harm” in connection with a February 2023 altercation, where he allegedly attacked a music producer with a bottle.

Brown is also charged with one count of assault and one count of possessing an offensive weapon and will enter pleas on those charges at a later hearing.

Omololu Akinlolu, an American rapper who performs under the name “Hoody Baby,” also pleaded not guilty to the same charge of attempting to cause “grievous bodily harm.”

Akinlolu and Brown are both accused of attacking music producer Abe Diaw at Tape nightclub in London’s upmarket Mayfair district.

Brown, 36, faces a possible prison sentence of between two and 16 years if he is convicted. Read the full story here.

Read All About It

• Trump extended a potential TikTok ban by another 90 days, until Sept. 17, to give parent company ByteDance more time to find an American owner.

• The NBA Finals are going to Game 7 for the first time since 2016 after the Indiana Pacers staved off elimination and won 108-91 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• A 9-year-old Florida girl who is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off recalled the attack: “I didn’t see anything. … something hard bit me.”

• Some ready-to-eat fettuccine Alfredo meals sold at Walmart and Kroger were voluntarily recalled after a listeria outbreak linked to three deaths and 17 illnesses.

Staff Pick: Parents speak out from jail after their arrest in their 7-year-old son’s traffic death

Earlier this month, NBC BLK reporter Curtis Bunn wrote about a child whose parents were arrested after he accidentally stepped out into traffic and was fatally struck by a car. Curtis’s initial reporting raised more questions, so we knew we needed to find out more.

After Curtis made contact with the family, he headed to North Carolina to spend time with people who were both grieving the loss of a bright 7-year-old family member and advocating for the child’s parents, who are in jail and face multiple charges in his death. (The unnamed 76-year-old woman who hit the child has not been charged.)

In addition to the faithful grandparents, aunties and friends who are stepping up to care for the couple’s remaining six children, Curtis spoke with the two parents trying to be strong for their family from behind bars. — Michelle Garcia, NBC BLK editorial director

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

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