JD Vance Defends Trump's Comments Saying Iran Should Have Ballistic MissilesVice President JD Vance defended his boss' comments that it would be "unfair" for Iran not to have ballistic missiles."I’m saying that if other countries have them, it’s a little bit unfair for them not to have some," President Donald Trump said Wednesday about allowing Iran to have ballistic missiles.During a White House press conference on Thursday, Vance discussed details of a tentative peace deal between Iran and the U.S. after months of war. Vance also attempted to clarify Trump's comments."All the president said yesterday is that of course countries don’t give up their right to self-defense," Vance said. "Israel doesn’t give up their right to self-defense if Hezbollah fires rockets or drones at Israel. The Iranians don’t give up the right of self-defense in their country, but we do expect that as part of the final deal, they are not going to be able to build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world.""It’s very simple," Vance added. "You can’t tell a country – whether Israel or Iran – that they’re not allowed to have any self-defense."Latest Live UpdatesVance Unloads On Israeli Government For Being Upset Over Iran-U.S. Peace DealVice President JD Vance warned Israel to get its act together after numerous reports said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fuming over a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran."What I will say, and it does bother me, is you have seen people within Bibi’s cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways very personally attacked the president of the United States," Vance said during a White House press briefing on Thursday. Vance said Trump "is the only head of state in the entire world who was sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.""If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world," he added.Vance also reminded Israel that two-thirds of its defensive weapons were "built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars."Key Republican Issues Scathing Statement On Iran DealThe chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee thinks President Donald Trump's Iran deal is terrible and suggested "intermediaries" could be undermining the president's objectives. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said he's concerned the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, which the White House shared with lawmakers on Thursday, "negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President's goals."Wicker has been more willing to criticize the president than most Republicans, but his statement is remarkably scathing. He said a proposed $300 billion fund for Iran's reconstruction "would make Iran's payoff under President Obama's 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison."Wicker said it's an "error" to make Israel stand down against the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, and he opposes lifting U.S. economic sanctions against Iran as the deal envisions. Finally, Wicker suggested the people negotiating the deal -- a group that includes Vice President J.D. Vance -- aren't serving the president well. "President Trump has pursued peace through strength," Wicker said. "I hope the intermediaries working on this deal are not undermining that objective."Vance Vague On Timing Of Iran Deal Signing Ceremony In SwitzerlandVice President JD Vance said he didn't know “exactly when” the official signing of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S and Iran in Switzerland would take place.On Monday, President Donald Trump said Vance would travel to Switzerland for a signing ceremony.“Our plan is to go to Switzerland. I don't know exactly when,” the vice president told a White House press briefing on Thursday.“We're trying to figure out exactly when that's going to happen,” he added. “I suspect this weekend, but I'm not sure. It just depends on exactly when the Iranians can get there.”Vance also dismissed a suggestion that the Trump administration's public messaging on the deal has been “chaotic.”“I think dealing with a fractured Iranian system, where communication isn't great, is just sometimes something that we don't fully appreciate, or we don't fully understand,” he said.JD Vance Says Israel Has To 'Respect This Peace Process Just Like Everybody Else'Vice President JD Vance said Israel must "respect the peace process" as the U.S. and Iran look to end the war."Israel has a right to defend itself," Vance said during a White House press briefing Thursday. "But fundamentally, the Israelis, just like everybody else, have to respect this peace process."Vance said President Donald Trump has become frustrated at times with Israel for attacking Lebanon.At times "we seem to be right on the cusp of of a major breakthrough in the agreement, and then all of a sudden there’s a major explosion that goes off in a major population center in Beirut, and a lot of people who have nothing to do with Hezbollah lose their lives, and that’s not acceptable," Vance said.Vance Brushes Of Suggestions He'll Be Iran Deal 'Fall Guy'Vice President JD Vance dismissed suggestions President Donald Trump would use him as a fall guy if the U.S.-Iran peace deal fails.On Wednesday, Trump said “if it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.” Hosting a press conference at the White House on Thursday, Vance said the president was “joking.”The vice president, who has been the lead negotiator with Iran, also quipped about his appearance this week on “The View” in response to critics who argue he lacks enough foreign policy experience to deal with “hostile, high-stakes negotiations.”“Joy Behar is way tougher than the Iranians, and she and I are best friends now,” he told reporters.JD Vance To Host White House Press BriefingVice President JD Vance will shortly host his second press conference at the White House as a fill-in for Trump aide Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave.His appearance comes amid fierce criticism of the Trump administration's tentative deal with Iran.New York Knicks Ticker-Tape Parade BeginsManhattan is awash with orange and blue as a ticker-tape parade in honor of the historic Knicks' NBA championship win began at 10 a.m.The procession began near Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, and will head up Broadway on the skyscraper-lined route, ending with a celebration ceremony at City Hall at roughly midday.The streets are jam-packed with fans, with officials saying all the viewing pens along the route were full hours before the parade began.The celebration marks the Knicks' victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals, which ended a 53-year trophy drought.New York Knicks Championship Parade & CeremonySpencer Platt via Getty ImagesNew York Knicks Championship Parade & CeremonyAdam Gray via Getty Images1/42/43/44/4Supreme Court Sides With Texas Man Who Says It’s Not A Crime For Marijuana Users To Have GunsThe Supreme Court sided Thursday with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights.The justices, in a unanimous decision, sided with Ali Danial Hemani, who argued that a law barring guns from anyone who uses drugs illegally violates the Second Amendment. Hemani wasn’t charged with any other crimes or accused of using the weapon under the influence.Read more at The Associated Press:Janeese Lewis George Wins Democratic Primary In D.C. Mayor's RaceJaneese Lewis George is projected to win the Democratic primary in the city’s mayoral race, setting up D.C. residents for a new era of progressive leadership and a potentially more confrontational approach to President Donald Trump’s overreach.The final vote still wasn’t certified as of Thursday morning, but Lewis George held a commanding lead and the other front-runner in the race, former longtime D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, conceded.Read more here:State Department Plots Overhaul Of CDC’s Global HIV ProgramThe U.S. State Department plans to overhaul a global HIV program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allowing most of the program’s funding and decisions to be made by the State Department, The New York Times reported.In addition to its HIV work, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, helps countries manage surveillance for emerging diseases, strengthens laboratory networks, and supports childhood immunizations, according to the Times.A public health expert specializing in HIV and infectious disease prevention, who led PEPFAR’s team on mother-to-child transmission of HIV until laid off in August, told the outlet that the move “will completely destabilize HIV work abroad.”“We’ve seen service disruptions, deaths and babies born with HIV after shuttering USAID, and we can expect more to come if CDC is also shut out of this work," said Dr. Michele Montandon.A spokesperson with the Health and Human Services Department told the Times that the move would help modernize the system and prevent “duplication, overlapping investments and poor coordination across agencies.”The program, established in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush, is touted as having saved over 25 million lives, having prevented millions of HIV infections, and being the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history. A key goal with PEPFAR, according to the CDC, is to eliminate HIV as a global public health threat by 2030.See All Updates