Trump deflects questioning on Epstein files and revives old grievances instead. See a recap of Tuesday.

By the Associated Press

Shigeru Ishiba said the deal placing a 15% U.S. tariff on imports from Japan would benefit both sides and help them work together to serve their international roles.

Ishiba, who faces growing calls to step down over his party’s historic loss in Sunday’s parliamentary election, declined to comment on his possible move, saying he first has to examine the trade deal closely.

By the Associated Press

Phil Weiser, a Democrat, sued the deputy for allegedly helping federal immigration agents find and arrest a college student over an expired visa.

Weiser said he was acting Tuesday under a new state law that bars agencies from sharing information with immigration officials. Weiser said he wanted to send a message that the law will be enforced.

The deputy allegedly shared the driver’s license, vehicle registration and other information of a 19-year-old female nursing student in a Signal chat.

He is also accused of providing immigration officers with information about another motorist, who overstayed his visa.

Weiser also disclosed that his office is investigating whether other officers on a regional drug task force that the deputy worked on have been sharing information to help immigration agents make arrests in violation of state law limiting such cooperation.

The Trump administration has sued Colorado over such laws.

By the Associated Press

The president praised his director of national intelligence as “hotter than everybody” after she issued a new report aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.

Trump has sometimes used “hottest” to mean something akin to in-demand or buzzy, including during his 45-minute remarks Tuesday night, when he repeatedly referred to the U.S. as “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

Trump said he was very happy with Gabbard and said: “Tulsi, great job — and I know you have a lot more coming.”

In issuing the report, Gabbard appeared to recover her standing in Trump’s orbit, which just one month ago seemed uncertain after the president said she was “wrong” when she previously said she believed Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

By the Associated Press

An appeals court in Washington turned down the news organization’s request for immediate reinstatement into covering smaller presidential events like meetings with reporters in the Oval Office and Air Force One.

But that doesn’t end the legal wrangling related to the president’s decision last February to bar AP access because of is refusal to rename the Gulf of Mexico, as Trump has sought, in all of its copy.

AP sued and won a district court ruling against Trump, but the administration successfully convinced a three-judge appeals court panel to delay implementation of that ruling until its full appeal can be heard this fall.

An AP spokesperson expressed disappointment in Tuesday’s ruling, saying, “As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By the Associated Press

Despite a judge’s order calling for his return from El Salvador, he was instead sent to his home country in a prisoner exchange deal.

Attorneys for the man — identified only as Cristian in court papers — said during a hearing Tuesday that they do not know where he is or how to contact him.

Justice Department attorney Ruth Ann Mueller was unable to confirm where in Venezuela he ended up, saying, “This is a fast-evolving situation.”

It is the latest wrinkle in another messy court battle over the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

After Cristian was deported and put in a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison in March, a judge ordered the government to facilitate his return. She cited the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported.

Cristian is among a group of plaintiffs who arrived as unaccompanied children seeking asylum. A 2019 settlement said they could not be deported until their asylum claims were adjudicated. Because Cristian’s is still pending, the judge said, the administration violated that agreement.

By the Associated Press

The Justice Department fought to keep President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Alina Habba, in place as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey on Tuesday after a panel of judges refused to extend her tenure and appointed someone else to the job.

Habba, who had been named the interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position earlier Tuesday, when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Acting under a law that generally limits the terms of interim U.S. attorneys to 120 days, the judges appointed one of Habba’s subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, as her successor.

But just hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she had in turn removed Grace, blaming Habba’s removal on “politically minded judges.”

“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges,” Bondi said on social media. The attorney general’s second in command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in a post on social media that he didn’t believe Habba’s 120-day term expired until 11:59 p.m. Friday.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

The president told congressional Republicans at a Tuesday night dinner that European Union officials will be in town Wednesday for the talks.

“We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,” Trump said after announcing a trade framework with Japan.

The president sent a letter this month threatening the 27 EU member states with 30% tariffs to be imposed starting Aug. 1.

By the Associated Press

The president said Mike Johnson will go down in history as one of the greatest House speakers in history and touted Republicans’ passage of the sweeping tax breaks and spending cuts bill.

Trump said Johnson joked that the GOP was “one heart attack away from losing the majority” because of its close margin in the House.

He predicted that the passage of legislation will be rewarded by voters in 2026 elections and grow the party’s majority.

By the New York Times

At Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, the Trump administration is set to review, and possibly remove or alter, signs about how climate change is causing sea levels to rise.

At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, the administration will soon decide whether to take down exhibits on the brutality of slavery. And at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in Florida, Trump officials are scrutinizing language about the imprisonment of Native Americans inside the Spanish stone fortress.

According to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times, employees of the National Park Service have flagged descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites for review in connection with President Trump’s directive to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”

In an executive order in March, the president instructed the Park Service to review plaques, films, and other materials presented to visitors at 433 sites around the country, with the aim of ensuring they emphasize the “progress of the American people” and the “grandeur of the American landscape.”

Employees had until last week to flag materials that could be changed or deleted, and the Trump administration said it would remove all “inappropriate” content by Sept. 17, according to the internal agency documents. The public also has been asked to submit potential changes.

Here’s what employees flagged for review.

By the Associated Press

The president announced a trade framework placing a 15% tax on goods imported from Japan.

He said on his Truth Social platform that Japan would invest $550 billion in the United States “at my direction” and would “open” its economy to American autos and rice.

The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau.

The 15% tariff is down from the 25% rate, which Trump said in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would be levied starting Aug. 1.

By the Associated Press

Columbia University announced disciplinary action Tuesday against students who participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration inside the Ivy League school’s main library before final exams in May and an encampment during alumni weekend last year.

A student activist group said nearly 80 students were told they have been suspended for one to three years or expelled. The sanctions issued by a university judicial board also include probation and degree revocations, Columbia said in a statement.

The action comes as the Manhattan university is negotiating with President Trump’s administration to restore $400 million in federal funding it has withheld from the Ivy League school over its handling of student protests against the war in Gaza. Columbia has since agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism.

“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community,” the university said Tuesday. “And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules. Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.”

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

The 2-1 ruling means private prison firm CoreCivic Corp. can continue to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center.

It marks a victory for the Trump administration as it continues an immigration crackdown including efforts to expand a network of detention centers in a bid to ramp up deportations.

“Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee.

He said the law “interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws.”

The 2021 statute barred CoreCivic from renewing its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company sued, and a judge sided with it before the state appealed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin called Tuesday’s ruling disappointing and said states have the right to protect people within their borders. He said the office is considering next steps.”

By the Washington Post

In late April, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that “sugar is poison.”

Roughly three months later, Kennedy praised Steak ’n Shake for announcing that the fast-food chain would start offering Coca-Cola with real cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. The soda company announced Tuesday it would roll out that version of its product in the United States this fall as an additional option for consumers.

“MAHA is winning,” Kennedy posted on X about Steak ’n Shake, referring to his “Make America Healthy Again” movement aimed at reducing chronic disease and childhood illness.

But is cane sugar really better for you? Here’s what nutrition experts say.

By the Associated Press

The company said the cane-sugar version will be added to its lineup this fall.

That confirmed a social media post by Trump last week saying Coca-Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship product in the U.S., which has been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup since the 1980s.

On Tuesday chairman and CEO James Quincey said Coke will expand its product range “to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences.”

“We appreciate the president’s enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,” Quincey said in a conference call with investors. “We are definitely looking to use the whole tool kit of available sweetening options.”

Quincey noted that Coke uses cane sugar in some other U.S. drinks, like its Simply brand lemonade and Honest Tea. Coke has also sold Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, in the U.S. since 2005.

By the Associated Press

The ruling handed down late Monday gave Planned Parenthood a partial victory in a legal fight over efforts to defund the organization in the president’s signature tax legislation.

A provision in that bill ends Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, even those that, like Planned Parenthood, also offer services such as contraception, pregnancy tests and STD testing.

A US district judge in Boston granted a preliminary injunction that, for now, blocks the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood member organizations that either don’t provide abortion care or didn’t meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year.

Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said Monday that “we strongly disagree with the court’s decision.”

“States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care,” he said. “This ruling undermines state flexibility and disregards longstanding concerns about accountability.”

By the Associated Press

The body narrowly voted to begin considering the nomination of Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge.

At least one Republican was opposed, and Democrats are vowing to try to slow his confirmation.

Bove, a former criminal defense lawyer for the president, is now a top official at the Justice Department.

His nomination for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals has come under intense scrutiny from Democrats after a fired department lawyer said he suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands.

Bove denies the claim.

By The New York Times

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly changed its eligibility rules on Monday to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports, and now will comply with President Trump’s executive order on the issue, according to a post on the organization’s website.

The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of “USOPC Athlete Safety Policy” on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word “transgender” or the title of Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” referring to it instead as “Executive Order 14201.”

Trump signed the executive order on Feb. 5.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

The president said on his social media platform that he approved $56 million in aid for Kentucky, $50 million for Michigan, $15.1 million for Indiana and $11.7 million for West Virginia.

Trump said he notified the governors of each state, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat who is considering a 2028 presidential bid.

“The Governor thanked me, and said our people are doing a very good job,” Trump said. “I LOVE KENTUCKY!”

By the Associated Press

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields also said in a statement that the administration will work to get Habba confirmed by the US Senate despite opposition from Democratic home-state senators

Habba’s term as New Jersey’s interim federal prosecutor ended Tuesday, and a district court judge appointed assistant prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace to succeed her under a statute allowing for that to happen if a president’s nominee has not been confirmed by the Senate after 120 days.

Then Attorney General Pam Bondi said hours later that Grace had been removed.

Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim have signaled their opposition to Habba’s nomination, typically a terminal stumbling block for nominees.

By the Associated Press

Desiree Leigh Grace was named by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb on Tuesday as successor to interim Attorney Alina Habba, a former Trump lawyer and White House counselor.

That happened under a statute that lets district court judges name a prosecutor if a president’s nominee has not been confirmed by the Senate after 120 days. Tuesday was the 120th day since Trump named Habba to the acting role.

Hours later Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post that Grace had been removed. Bondi said the Justice Department won’t tolerate “rogue judges.”

By the Associated Press

Amid a federal overhaul of student loan plans, many borrowers have been left wondering what it means for their hopes of loan forgiveness. In particular, those who are enrolled in a repayment plan known as income-based repayment, or IBR, have wondered if forgiveness will still be available to them.

A recent update from the Education Department said forgiveness through the IBR plan is paused while systems are updated. “IBR forgiveness will resume once those updates are completed,” the agency said.

IBR is not affected by a federal court’s injunction blocking Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan. The IBR plan was created by Congress separately from other existing repayment plans, including those known as PAYE and ICR. It’s also exempt from some changes coming from Trump’s tax and spending bill.

By the Associated Press

The employee at the US Patent and Trademark Office, part of the Commerce Department. traveled there in a personal capacity, the State Department said Tuesday. It is the latest case in which Beijing has stopped a US national from departing.

The State Department did not identify the person but said it was “tracking this case very closely” and engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation.

Beijing restricts people from leaving if they are involved in investigations, including business disputes, but it has been accused of using the tool to arbitrarily keep both Chinese and foreign nationals in the country.

That and other concerns previously prompted the State Department to tell Americans to reconsider travel there. The advisory was eased in November after China released three US citizens who were detained for years.

Asked about the government employee, Guo Jiakun, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said: “I have no details to share. China upholds the rule of law and handles entry and exit affairs in accordance with the law.”

By the Associated Press

Habba, who served as the president’s defense lawyer and a White House counselor and became one of the most high-profile US attorneys, saw her 120-day interim stint end Tuesday.

Chief Judge for the District of New Jersey Renee Marie Bumb said in an order that first Assistant US Attorney Desiree Leigh Grace has been named her successor.

Habba, 41, could have remained if federal judges in the state kept her on. Bumb’s order did not offer an explanation for the decision and said it was effective Tuesday.

Habba’s tenure included the high-profile prosecution of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, which was eventually dropped, and the ongoing assault case involving Representative LaMonica McIver. Both cases, involving Democrats, stemmed from a visit to a privately operated immigration detention center.

Messages seeking comment were left with Habba’s office and the Justice Department.

By the Associated Press

Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman became chief of the Army Enterprise Marketing Office this month to focus on advertising and branding to boost recruitment, according to his new bio on an Army website

The switch comes just before the National Transportation Safety Board holds hearings on a midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet in January that killed 67 people and was the nation’s deadliest crash since November 2001.

An Army spokesperson said the plan to move Braman was in place last fall and had nothing to do with the crash.

Braman was among those who faced criticism from some lawmakers in Congress. In March he acknowledged during a hearing that military helicopters were still flying over the capital with a key system broadcasting their locations turned off during most missions because they were deemed sensitive.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz called it “shocking and deeply unacceptable.”

By the Associated Press

Once a British socialite who lived a life of luxury, Ghislaine Maxwell today is confined in a US prison after being convicted of helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

Now, three years after she was sentenced, a top U.S. Department of Justice official plans to personally interview Maxwell to find out if she has information about anyone who has committed crimes against Epstein’s victims.

It isn’t clear what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche might learn from the meeting. Maxwell has long claimed she is innocent and had no knowledge that Epstein, or anyone else, was sexually abusing teenagers.

Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration is promoting one way to get away from an abusive ex: report them to immigration enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security jumped on a viral social media post by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“We recently got a tip from someone whose abusive ex overstayed a tourism visa. He is now cued up for deportation,” Uthmeier wrote on X. “If your ex is in this country illegally, please feel free to reach out to our office. We’d be happy to assist.”

He didn’t identify the accuser or the ex.

In response, DHS posted on X: “From domestic abuser to deported loser.”

The post included the phone number to report tips to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

By the Associated Press

After Trump accused the former president of treason for being the “ringleader” of the Russia investigation, Barack Obama’s office issued a statement saying “these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” said Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”

Rodenbush emphasized that multiple investigations, including a bipartisan examination by the Senate Intelligence Committee, found that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election.

By the Associated Press

Trump has formally announced a trade framework with Indonesia, placing a 19 percent tax on goods imported from that nation.

Indonesia would charge no tariffs on 99 percent of its trade with the United States and drop its non-tariff barriers such as taxing internet traffic and removing pre-shipment inspections of US goods, said a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the terms under the condition of anonymity. The official said the deal with Indonesia would be worth $50 billion.

The US president had previously released top-line details of the framework, but his Truth Social post on Tuesday provided more context.

By the Associated Press

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, headed to the region Tuesday to pursue a US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

“We all, the president, the secretary and the envoy, have a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire” as well as a better flow of aid to Gaza, Bruce said.

Witkoff’s trip comes after the UN World Food Program accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend, killing 85 people.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war, which has driven the territory to the brink of famine.

By the Associated Press

A new report from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard represent the Trump administration’s latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, which has infuriated him for years.

The report, released Friday, downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the contest that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump’s favor.

But President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration never suggested otherwise even as it exposed other means by which Russia interfered in the election. Those included a massive hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks, and a covert foreign influence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts.

Gabbard’s report appears to suggest the absence of manipulation of state election systems is a basis to call into question more general Russian interference.

By the Associated Press

The Army spent about $30 million on its 250th anniversary parade last month that coincided with Trump’s birthday.

It falls within the Army’s initial estimated cost of between $25 million and $45 million.

Army spokesperson Steve Warren said Tuesday that the total cost covered the festivities and parade, including the cost of transporting tanks to and from Washington and other setup.

Not included was overtime pay for police officers and expenses for the Department of Homeland Security, Warren said, adding that he didn’t have those numbers.

The June 14 parade consisted of more than 6,000 soldiers, 128 Army tanks, aircraft flyovers and the Army’s Golden Knights parachuting over the National Mall. Trump, who had long sought such an event, watched from a special viewing stand south of the White House.

By the Associated Press

Naming the Kennedy Center’s second-largest theater after the first lady is part of a broader effort by Republicans and the Trump administration to leave their mark on Washington’s iconic arts center.

On Tuesday, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted to adopt an amendment that would name the Kennedy Center’s Opera House the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” It isn’t currently named after anyone.

The amendment was introduced during a committee markup of the bill funding the Interior Department and would likely have to become part of a government funding package this fall to become law.

The president has already reshaped the center’s leadership by firing board members and announcing he would serve as the board’s chair.

By the Associated Press

Trump says the Philippines’ president, Ferdinand Marcos, will open his country’s market and the US won’t pay any tariffs.

On the other hand, Trump set a tariff rate of 19 percent for the Philippines, down from the previously threatened 20 percent rate. Trump says the two countries will also work together “militarily.”

Trump wrote on social media that Marcos’ visit was “beautiful” and that it was a “Great Honor” to host such a “very good, and tough, negotiator.”

By the Associated Press

Nearly 150 National Science Foundation employees expressed concern over grant terminations and staff firings, making them the latest group of federal employees to issue letters of criticism.

Science foundation employees said they are committed to serving Americans through research and innovation but “cannot do so under fear, censorship and institutional sabotage,” they wrote in a letter Tuesday sent to Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee.

Earlier this year, the NSF announced a new set of priorities and began cutting hundreds of grants for research on a range of topics including misinformation, computer science, environmental science and diversity, equity and inclusion.

The White House’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year cuts NSF funding by over half. And last month, employees were told that the foundation’s current headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, will soon become the base for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

By the Associated Press

Thousands of Afghans in the US are no longer protected from deportation after a federal appeals court refused to postpone the Trump administration’s decision to end their legal status.

A three-judge panel of the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia said in a ruling late Monday there was “insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a postponement” of the administration’s decision not to extend Temporary Protected Status for people from Afghanistan and Cameroon.

TPS for Afghans ended July 14 but was briefly extended by the appeals court through July 21 while it considered an emergency request for a longer postponement.

The Department of Homeland Security said in May that it was ending Temporary Protected Status for 11,700 people from Afghanistan in 60 days. That status, which had been in place since 2022, had allowed them to work and meant the government couldn’t deport them.

By the Associated Press

The president made the comment Tuesday when asked about a Monday court hearing in Harvard’s legal challenge to more than $2 billion in federal funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration.

Trump called the judge in the case, US District Judge Allison Burroughs, “very hostile.” But he said the government plans to win on appeal.

Burroughs has not decided on the case.

Speaking to the government’s legal arguments, Trump said “we easily won the case” even as he appeared to write off the lower court’s decision as a loss. Instead he suggested Harvard will remain cut off from much of its federal funding in the future.

By the Associated Press

The president said it’s “appropriate” for the Justice Department to seek a new interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls.

Asked Tuesday about Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement that the department reached out to Maxwell’s lawyers for an interview, Trump said he didn’t know about it “but that would be, sounds appropriate to do.”

Added Trump, who has faced a political crisis over records related to Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation: “I don’t really follow that too much. It’s sort of a witch hunt.”

By the Associated Press

White House officials will tour the Federal Reserve’s under-construction headquarters, after having suggested that Fed Chair Jerome Powell misrepresented changes to the $2.5 billion renovation project in testimony before Congress.

James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff who was recently named to the National Capital Planning Commission, said on X: “We go Thursday!”

Blair is seeking any information on changes to the project that the planning commission previously approved, attacking Powell for the cost of the renovations and the possibility that the project was changed without additional submissions to the commission.

Trump has aggressively criticized Powell for not cutting benchmark interest rates, indicating that the renovation could be grounds for firing the Fed chair.

Blair has said the Fed initially offered a tour of the site at 7 p.m. last Friday, and the Fed released a video of the site in an attempt to address criticisms.

By the Associated Press

The president is recycling exaggerated claims from his first term about the US having saved the Philippines from Islamic State terrorism.

Trump said during his Oval Office meeting with Marcos that the Philippines were “loaded up” with IS and other terrorist groups.

“We cleaned it up,” Trump said, adding, “and now you have a solid country again.”

Trump made similar claims in 2020, vastly overstating then, as now, both the threat IS posed to the Philippines and what the US did about it.

In May 2017, IS-aligned local militants, backed by foreign jihadists who only numbered in the dozens, laid siege to Marawi, a small Islamic city. Philippine troops routed them months later, as US and Australian aircraft helped with surveillance.

By the Associated Press

The president said he let Hillary Clinton “off the hook” after he got elected the first time. Now, he said, it’s time to target his political enemies.

He listed James Comey, John Brennan, Barack Obama and others who he accused of illegally plotting against him.

“After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people.”

Trump repeated falsehoods and longtime grievances about the Russia investigation and his election loss to Biden.

“The leader of the gang was President Obama,” he said. “He’s guilty. ... This was treason.”

By the Associated Press

Answering questions in the Oval Office during a meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Trump said he’d been invited by President Xi Jinping to visit China. Such a trip might be “a little bit out. But not too distant,” Trump said.

“I’ve been invited by a lot of people, and we’ll make those decisions soon,” he said.

By the Associated Press

The House announced it will recess a day early as Democrats — and some Republicans — are pushing to release the Epstein files.

Representative Ted Lieu, vice-chair of the Democratic caucus, said “Trump is all over the Epstein files.” He called the Republican lawmakers’ move “a coverup of epic proportions.”

Unable to act on other legislation, Johnson’s leadership team announced it would recess for August a day early, after Wednesday’s session. The speaker criticized Democrats for playing political games.

“We’ve all been very clear and transparent,” Johnson said. “You have to allow the administration space to do what it is doing.”

By the Associated Press

Sitting in the Oval Office, Marcos said “our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.”

The Philippines is a key American partner, particularly in the Pacific region when China has been expanding its influence.

Trump said “they’re very important militarily.”

By the Associated Press

Trump greeted Marcos outside the West Wing. Asked about his message for the Filipino people, Trump said “we love them” and “we respect their leader greatly.”

The two presidents are expected to talk trade.

“I think we will” get a deal done, Trump said before they headed inside.

By the Associated Press

Amid internal conflict over how to handle the release of information related to Jeffrey Epstein, Republican leaders are working to shift the spotlight.

“If the Democrats want to talk transparency, I’m happy to rewind the tape,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “366 days ago, President Joe Biden was unceremoniously forced off the Democrat ticket.”

The pivot comes as GOP leadership canceled many House votes this week, a move prompted by members on both sides of the aisle attempting to force a vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files. At a weekly press conference, Johnson largely tried to turn focus back to Biden, who left office nearly six months ago.

“The same Democrats who lied to us for years are now trying to convince you they stand for transparency,” Johnson said. “They participated in one of the greatest political scandals in all of history.”

By the Associated Press

With House business grinding to a near standstill — again — over Republicans’ refusal to vote on the Epstein files, Mike Johnson is making no moves to act and instead says he wants to give the White House “space” to release some of the information on its own.

“There’s no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they’re already doing,” Johnson said at his weekly press conference, the last before lawmakers recess for August. The Republican from Louisiana insists he, too, wants the files released but only those that are “credible,” echoing the White House’s position.

Johnson downplayed the effort from fellow GOP Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky to force a floor vote as potentially misguided. “Bless his heart,” the speaker said.

Johnson said he speaks with Trump multiple times a day. Massie has been the subject of Trump’s repeated criticisms.

By the Associated Press

Most of the killings of Gazans seeking food have happened in the vicinity of aid sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday.

Desperation is mounting in the territory of more than 2 million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and ongoing 21-month offensive. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said Tuesday that 101 people, including 80 children, have died in recent days from starvation.

A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and chaos and violence around aid deliveries. Israel is allowing just a trickle of aid in through the longstanding U.N.-run system and the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, an American contractor.

A GHF statement rejected “false and exaggerated statistics,” and blamed U.N. aid convoys for the deadliest incidents.

By the Associated Press

The Labor Department’s proposed changes have public comment periods and other hurdles before they would take effect. They include:

• eliminate minimum wages and overtime pay for home health care workers and people with disabilities
• remove protections against retaliation for migrant farmworkers who file a complaint or testify in official proceedings
• lower standards governing exposure to harmful substances
• drop certain safety requirements at constructions sites and in mines
• prevent Occupational Health and Safety Administration from punishing employers for certain unsafe working conditions

By the Associated Press

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries informed members Tuesday morning that they would see an increase in funds that could be used for private security.

The “pilot program” will run through the end of September, said Johnson, and comes as members head back to their districts for August.

“We live in an enhanced threat environment,” said Johnson, adding that “we have to protect members’ security and everybody who works here on the Hill.”

At the end of September, Johnson said that leadership will “evaluate all the data points, see how effective it was that was utilized, and then make decisions going forward.”

By the Associated Press

Former President Joe Biden’s son used a string of expletives to describe the actor and Democratic Party donor’s decision to call on the elder Biden to abandon his 2024 reelection bid.

Clooney made his feelings known in an influential opinion piece in The New York Times. Biden left the race a few weeks later and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.

In a rare online interview, Hunter Biden questioned why anyone should listen to Clooney. He told Andrew Gallagher of Channel 5 that the “Ocean’s Eleven” actor had no right to “undermine” his father.

By the Associated Press

The US Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations. Critics say the proposals would put workers — women and minorities in particular — at greater risk of harm.

Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the goal is to deliver on Trump’s commitment to restore American prosperity by reducing costly, burdensome rules.

“People are at very great risk of dying on the job already,” said Rebecca Reindel of the AFL-CIO. “This is something that is only going to make the problem worse.”

By the Associated Press

“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,” says Tuesday’s statement from attorney David Oscar Markus.

Maxwell was convicted of helping her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. If she “has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on X, adding that Trump ”has told us to release all credible evidence.”

The overture to Maxwell, who in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison, comes as the Justice Department tries to cast itself as transparent amid backlash from Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional Epstein investigation records.

By the Associated Press

A partial victory for Planned Parenthood in its legal challenge of Trump’s efforts to defund the organization will keep Medicaid funding available to member organizations that don’t provide abortion care or don’t seek at least $800,000 annually in reimbursements.

A Planned Parenthood statement praised Monday night’s preliminary injunction but predicts “chaos, confusion, and harm for patients who could now be turned away when seeking lifesaving reproductive health care” at other clinics.

Government lawyers said Trump’s tax and budget law “stops federal subsidies for Big Abortion.”

“All three democratically elected components of the Federal Government collaborated to enact that provision consistent with their electoral mandates from the American people as to how they want their hard-earned taxpayer dollars spent,” they wrote.

By the Associated Press

“Just follow the money,” Guterres said: $2 trillion in green energy investments, about $800 billion more than fossil fuels.

In the United States, solar and wind power had been growing at a rate of 12.3% per year before Trump withdrew from the landmark Paris climate accord and cut many federal renewable energy programs.

“Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies, they sabotaging them. Driving up costs. Undermining competitiveness. Locking in stranded assets,” Guterres said. With renewables, “there are no price spikes for sunlight. No embargoes on wind.”

By the Associated Press

“The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in unveiling two United Nations reports Tuesday. “We are in the dawn of a new energy era. An era where cheap, clean, abundant energy powers a world rich in economic opportunity.”

The three cheapest electricity sources globally last year were onshore wind, solar panels and new hydropower, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency — Solar is 41% cheaper and wind is 53% cheaper globally than the lowest-cost fossil fuels chiefly causing climate change.

By the Associated Press

• 11 a.m. ET — Trump will greet the Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The two will then hold a bilateral meeting and lunch
• 7 p.m. — Trump will attend a reception for Republicans in Congress

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will once again withdraw from the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural agency because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias. Trump did so before during his first term before the Biden administration rejoined the agency.

UNESCO “supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” said Anna Kelly, White House assistant press secretary.

UNESCO’s director general Audrey Azoulay said the US decision is “deeply” regrettable but the agency “has prepared for it.” She also denied accusations of anti-Israel bias, saying the claims “contradict the reality of UNESCO’s efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism.”

By the Associated Press

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s surviving children did not mention Trump in their initial reaction to his administration’s release of the full investigative case files on their father.

But Bernice King later posted on her personal Instagram account a black-and-white photo of her father, looking annoyed, with the caption “Now, do the Epstein files.”

And some civil rights activists did not spare the president.

“Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unraveling of his credibility among the MAGA base.”

By the Associated Press

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House Monday that sports is one of Trump’s “many passions” and “he wants to see the name of that team changed.”

The Commanders were formerly the Redskins, a name that was considered offensive to and by Native Americans.

Trump threatened in a weekend social media post to hold up a deal for the team’s new stadium in the nation’s capital if the name isn’t changed.

By the Associated Press

Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche says he’s been in touch with counsel for Maxwell to find out if she’s willing to speak with Justice Department prosecutors regarding the case against the convicted sex offender, Epstein.

Maxwell is Epstein’s former girlfriend. She was convicted in a jury trial in 2021 of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The request to interview her represents an additional Justice Department effort to deal with the backlash from parts of Trump’s base over an earlier decision not to release additional records from the Epstein investigation.

Blanche said in a statement Tuesday, “I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days.”

By the Associated Press

Federal records related to the investigation into the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were released on Monday, following the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In January, President Trump ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about Kennedy’s assassination, while also moving to declassify federal records related to the deaths of New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy and King more than five decades ago.

Trump ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with other government officials to review records related to the assassinations of RFK and King, and present a plan to the president for their “complete release.” Some 10,000 pages of records about the RFK assassination were released April 18.

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By the Associated Press

President Trump plans to host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday at the White House, as the two countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos, who met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, is set to become the first Southeast Asian leader to hold talks with Trump in his second term.

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