Trump's Iran Negotiations, Entertainment Mergers, NBA Finals

The president spent the week sending mixed signals on Iran—threatening more strikes, then canceling them, then promising peace was imminent—while the Justice Department quietly approved the largest like-with-like merger in Hollywood history, and the New York Knicks stand one win away from their first title in 53 years.

The Iran Deal That Keeps Not Quite Happening

The pattern has become familiar: President Trump announces a deal is forthcoming, then something happens to derail it. This week, an Apache helicopter went down off the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blamed Iran. The U.S. struck Iran. Iran struck its Gulf neighbors. Trump threatened to strike Iran again "very hard." Then, hours later, he canceled that plan and said peace was coming.

NPR senior contributor Ron Elving described the situation as a "will they, won't they" Washington story. The two sides appear to have agreed on one thing: their interest in having an agreement—or at least in being able to say they have one. Iran's foreign minister said a memorandum of understanding is in its final stages and that his country's leadership has approved it. But the actual contents of any deal remain unclear.