President Donald Trump said Monday that newly planned talks between the U.S. and Tehran are the to forge a deal and avoid . Trump confirmed that the two countries were in contact and said he expects negotiations to address reopening the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. concerns about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. Trump said a day earlier against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies, the latest in a from the U.S. president.
Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February. The U.S. last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.
Here is the latest:
Trump Board of Peace officials meet congressional leaders as questions remain over Gaza peace plan
Members of President Donald Trump鈥檚 Board of Peace that is seeking and end to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza met with U.S. officials and lawmakers in Washington on Monday.
The board members met with congressional staff and others to describe 鈥渃urrent efforts to implement President Trump鈥檚 Comprehensive Peace Plan鈥� and to work with Congress 鈥渢o advance peace, security, governance, and reconstruction in Gaza.鈥�
No details of the meeting were disclosed in a brief statement issued by the the Board of Peace.
The meeting took place as more senior officials from the Board of Peace met with top Israeli leaders in Israel.
25 states sue over Trump administration鈥檚 latest tariffs, citing Supreme Court ruling
Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.
The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.
鈥淎fter losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,鈥� said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
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Trump Washington surge opponents file complaint
A group of activists opposing the continued law enforcement and National Guard presence in Washington submitted a letter Monday to the D.C. Superior Court chief judge asking that he assess the seriousness and racial aspect of cases being brought by prosecutors during the surge.
Frankie Seabron, of CourtWatch DC, said 100 people a day were being taken into custody for minor crimes that would not have been pursued as vigorously before.
鈥淛udges are not defenseless,鈥� she said, 鈥渆specially when they know prosecutors are abusing their powers.鈥�
Seabron鈥檚 organization was one of several at a protest at Superior Court led by FreeDC. Ellen Hornstein with Lawyers Defending American Democracy also announced an ethics complaint had been filed last month against Jeanine Pirro with the Attorney Grievance Committee for the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The action cited her behavior in several cases, the reflecting pool vandalism case.
Trump says Pirro 鈥榝olded like a cheap umbrella鈥�
The president reiterated his disappointment with for a court filing in which her office blamed a contractor鈥檚 shoddy work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool rather than vandalism.
鈥淚 guess she choked. I don鈥檛 know what the hell happened,鈥� Trump said, later adding that the former Fox News host 鈥渇olded like a cheap umbrella鈥� in moving to drop criminal charges against the former Olympian accused of deliberately damaging the pool.
Trump refused to say whether he鈥檇 move to fire Pirro. But he also acknowledged that the contractor was 鈥渞ushing鈥� to finish the project before July 4 鈥� which didn鈥檛 ultimately happen.
And he suggested he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know鈥� the contactor working on it, contradicting his own comments from April when he said he chose the company involved since it had performed work at his golf course in Virginia.
Trump avoids answering whether he supports MLB salary cap
Baseball鈥檚 collective bargaining agreement is set to expire Dec. 1 and there鈥檚 growing speculation that there could be a lockout that jeopardizes the 2027 season
The central point of contention is MLB owners push for a salary cap. Asked if he supported the owners push for a salary cap, Trump demurred.
鈥淲ell, we鈥檙e going to talk about that at a different time,鈥� said Trump, a New York Yankees fan. 鈥淵ou know, it鈥檚 a complex situation, but not too complex for me.鈥�
The president previously has suggested that he views salary caps in pro sports favorably. Trump in June told reporters that 鈥渋f you don鈥檛 have a salary cap, you don鈥檛 have a sport鈥� and suggested MLB 鈥渟hould have done it a long time ago.鈥�
Trump says he looks forward to meeting DC鈥檚 new mayor
Trump said he鈥檇 welcome meeting with Janeese Lewis George, likely the next mayor of Washington, D.C., after he wrongly referred to her as a communist.
Lewis George is a self-described democratic socialist and a member of the D.C. Council who won the Democratic mayoral primary in June. In the overwhelmingly Democratic city, she is likely to take the top spot in November鈥檚 general election. She would succeed moderate , who decided to step down after three terms.
鈥淚 have not met her yet. I look forward to meeting her,鈥� Trump said of Lewis George.
Trump says oil companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil made 鈥榯oo much money鈥�
The U.S. president said major oil companies are earning excessive profits because of high oil prices.
鈥淭hey made too much money, too much money, 鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭hey ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.鈥�
Trump said he鈥檚 not happy with profits reported by Chevron and Exxon Mobil, even though the higher margins reflected energy prices that had increased after Trump launched a war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to oil and natural gas tankers.
Trump鈥檚 predecessor in the White House, Democrat Joe Biden, also attacked oil companies for their profits when inflation was a major problem with voters.
Trump says he doesn鈥檛 know what was agreed to on to advance Blanche鈥檚 nomination
The president said, 鈥淚 understand there鈥檚 been a sign off鈥� but that 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what they agreed鈥� to.
鈥淚 think Todd Blanche agreed to reconfirm things that he鈥檚 already said. And what he said was OK,鈥� Trump added.
Two Republican Senators who had blocked the confirmation of Blanche, the acting attorney general, to lead the Justice Department said they鈥檇 reached an agreement to end the impasse.
Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis said they struck a deal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion 鈥淎nti-Weaponization Fund鈥� that could have been used to compensate Trump supporters who overran the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Despite saying he didn鈥檛 know the details of the deal to advance Blanche鈥檚 nomination, Trump defended the fund, saying his supporters had been 鈥渢reated very unfairly.鈥�
Trump defends his exemption from IRS audits because government was 鈥榳eaponized鈥� against him
The U.S. president defended an agreement to exempt him, his sons and his business from tax audits.
The IRS had until Trump audited presidents since 1977, but the administration struck a deal to avoid audits of Trump as part of what was an initial agreement to end a lawsuit over the leaking of his tax records.
Trump said that before he ran for president in 2016 that an IRS audit of him had been settled. He said the audit was then reopened and he used it during the campaign a decade ago to justify not releasing his tax returns as other candidates have done.
鈥淭hey went after me illegally and they did a lot of bad things to me like they did to other people,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚t was weaponized against me.鈥�
Trump says he鈥檚 leaving the Rep. Max Miller situation to the families involved
A day after telling reporters that he鈥檇 look into the allegations against the Ohio congressman, Trump said he鈥檒l let the families 鈥渇igure that out.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very sad thing,鈥� Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office. 鈥淚 know Max. He鈥檚 a good person.鈥�
Miller is accused of domestic violence by his former wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who is close to Trump. Miller denies the allegations.
The senator said Sunday that his former son-in-law should not serve in Congress.
鈥淵ou know, those families, I know they鈥檙e working on it. It鈥檚 a very sad thing,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淓specially when you know somebody so well to be going through that. But it鈥檚 accusations, and I鈥檓 going to let them figure that out.鈥�
Trump says new talks are 鈥榣ast chance鈥� for Iran to forge deal and avoid escalation of US strikes
President said Monday that newly planned talks with Tehran are the 鈥渓ast chance鈥� for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.
Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to address United States鈥� concerns about it鈥檚 nuclear program will begin in the next day or two.
The Republican president says, 鈥淭he first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization.鈥� Trump says that 鈥漺ill take a little while.鈥�
While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran鈥檚 leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces and the difficulty of executing a war that is unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November鈥檚 midterm election.
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Trump signs executive order on military spouses
The order creates the 鈥淧residential Military Spouse Commission鈥� to address issues facing troops and their families. Jennifer Hegseth, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth鈥檚 wife, will lead it, Trump said.
The president said the new commission would 鈥渄evelop suggestions to address particular challenges in housing, employment, health care, education, child childcare and just about everything else you can think of.鈥�
Many of the issues have been tackled in various forms by multiple administrations.
Jennifer Hegseth鈥檚 role mirrors that of other defense secretary spouses who have advocated for families while their husbands ran the Pentagon. Charlene Austin, Lloyd Austin鈥檚 wife, sat on the advisory boards for the Purdue Military Family Research Institute, and Military Child Education Coalition.
Trump calls Iran 鈥榰nbelievably duplicitous鈥� with regard to peace talks
Trump is venting about the status of peace talks with Iran.
He criticized Iran’s leadership for claiming that its meetings with Oman on Monday were focused solely on establishing a temporary route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The president previously said he held off on a massive weekend strike against Iran because there was another framework for a ceasefire and the full reopening of the strait to oil and natural gas tankers.
鈥淚ranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!鈥� Trump posted on social media Monday. 鈥淭hey ask for a meeting, some would say 鈥渂eg,鈥� talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they鈥檙e not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they鈥檙e only dealing with 鈥極man.鈥欌��
Trump said whether 鈥淚ran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking鈥� about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Breakneck pace in immigration courts is driving up deportation orders
The is packing courtrooms with speedier hearings to clear a decades-long backlog in asylum claims. New data shows a historic rise in missed court dates and immediate deportation orders as judges struggle to keep up the pace.
Hundreds of immigrants鈥� cases a day are being assigned to individual judges as the number of 鈥渕ega鈥� master hearings . More than 1,300 were held in June alone, a nearly threefold jump from the previous June, according to Mobile Pathways, a nonprofit that tracks immigration court data.
The data also shows that courts have severely cut preparation time in complex immigration proceedings, so people are missing hearings and being told they鈥檝e abandoned their asylum claims at unprecedented rates.
Those who favor limiting immigration see this as a course-correction for a longstanding problem. But the nonprofit鈥檚 chief operating officer says cases are being closed without being heard.
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GOP holdouts say they will vote to advance Blanche鈥檚 nomination for attorney general
Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche鈥檚 bid to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will vote to advance his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate the president鈥檚 allies.
The statement from Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis came after Blanche issued an order late Sunday formally rescinding the $1.8 billion 鈥淎nti-Weaponization Fund鈥� to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Cornyn and Tillis had said they would not support Blanche鈥檚 nomination without written confirmation that the fund is dead.
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Trump stands to profit off US policy announcements by selling fast access to his social media posts
The president knows the world hangs on his every word. Now he wants you to pay for it.
Trump鈥檚 Truth Social business began selling sneak peeks of his social media posts on Saturday, offering early access to market-moving news to Wall Street traders willing to pay up. The move raises the prospect of big profits for Trump鈥檚 company, and big questions about insider trading and using public office for private gain.
Similar fast-speed feeds are sold by other social media firms and media providers, but Truth Social doesn鈥檛 just distribute the news, it makes it as Trump announces changes on everything from war to central bank leadership to tariffs.
鈥淚f this was the CEO of a public company, this would be jail time,鈥� said Irene Aldridge, head of Able Alpha Trading.
Initial sales details may be disclosed when Truth Social鈥檚 parent company announces quarterly earnings.
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Democrats鈥� future is at stake as El-Sayed and Stevens make final push in Michigan
Tuesday鈥檚 Senate primary in Michigan between congresswoman and public health official is one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go.
El-Sayed is a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders who鈥檚 run against much of the Democratic establishment. Stevens is backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and has made electability and experience central to her case.
The winner faces Republican in November for an open seat Democrats likely need to hold to take control of the Senate next year.
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Trump decries negative public polling and claims he鈥檚 never been more popular
The U.S. president said on social media that independent surveys showing low approval ratings are false 鈥� denying a clear trend of lower support for Trump because of inflation and the Iran war, among other issues.
鈥淢y REAL Polling Numbers, not those made up by the Fake News Media, are the best they have ever been,鈥� Trump asserted, providing no data to back up his claim.
found that just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump. That survey from late July also showed a drop since the start of Trump鈥檚 second term in adults who 鈥渟trongly approve鈥� of him.
Contrary to the evidence of multiple surveys, Trump said his popularity is based on his income tax cuts, his job numbers, his efforts to secure the U.S. border with Mexico and his use of American military force in Venezuela and Iran.
Trump going to Los Angeles on Tuesday and speak in Las Vegas on Wednesday
The White House said the president will go to California and Nevada to talk up the economy and border security and slam Democrats ahead of the November elections.
Trump on Tuesday will attend a Republican National Committee dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, the president is slated to talk about the economy at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas.
Falling oil prices help calm Wall Street鈥檚 inflation worries, while chip stocks get back to sinking
Oil prices are easing and helping to calm Wall Street鈥檚 worries that inflation could potentially get even worse. That has U.S. stock indexes rising early Monday, but several major chip stocks are falling again including Micron and AMD.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 625 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. The price of a barrel of Brent crude fell 5.1% to $83.42 after Trump said over the weekend he would hold off on ordering new strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region. Treasury yields fell.
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Trump overhaul could gut Head Start preschool quality standards
The Trump administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of that would gut its quality standards, two people familiar with the deliberations said.
Head Start, established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, has long been considered by experts to be a gold standard for early education. It has more than 100 pages of regulations that cover everything from child-to-teacher ratios and child health screenings to family engagement.
The Republicans would replace these with around a dozen pages of rules that leave most specifics to state and local law, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not yet public and they feared reprisal.
The draft rules would require more documentation from homeless or unemployed parents, and an early version would have barred even the U.S. citizen children of parents who are in the United States illegally.
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US dollar weakens sharply against Japanese yen after Trump intervenes in market
The U.S. dollar weakened sharply against the Japanese yen on Monday after and Japan鈥檚 finance minister confirmed that both sides had intervened in markets.
The yen鈥檚 prolonged weakness against the dollar has been a source of frustration for Tokyo. Since Japan imports so much of what it consumes, a pushes prices higher. High oil prices have amplified pressure on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to do more to address the rising cost of living.
Normally, foreign exchange markets determine the relative values of currencies, and officials usually stay mum on any interventions, but Trump confirmed it on Sunday.
A weaker dollar makes U.S.-made goods more competitive. Analysts are describing the intervention as a 鈥渓ow-cost鈥� way for Washington to pay a favor to a key U.S. ally.
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Blanche order keeps Trump鈥檚 鈥榮elf-dealing鈥� immunity for any past tax audits
The document released by Blanche on Sunday night keeps a provision of the IRS settlement that provided broad tax-audit immunity for Trump and family, while limiting its scope.
It clarifies that the immunity 鈥渁pplies by its terms only retroactively鈥� to claims open at the time of the settlement, and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.
On Friday, Trump鈥檚 attorneys notified a court they would appeal a judge鈥檚 scathing ruling that characterized the settlement of the president鈥檚 lawsuit against the IRS as an
The judge said that because Trump manipulated the court system by suing an agency he controls, the government cannot claim in official proceedings that the agreement resulted from a legitimate legal process.
Trump says talks on Iran war will begin on Monday after he holds off on 鈥榤assive鈥� strikes
Trump said new talks to in Iran and revive traffic through the will start Monday afternoon, after announcing he is holding off on new massive strikes he had threatened to unleash on the country. Iranian state media, however, quoted the country鈥檚 foreign ministry as saying Tehran was not currently holding negotiations with the United States.
Israel struck the Gaza Strip again over the weekend, after the U.S. and Hamas said a deal was reached for the , a potential step toward ending the war in Gaza that depends on Israel stopping its attacks. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted militant operatives.
Hospitals in Gaza said at least 17 people were killed, including children. A strike on one residential apartment killed three family members including a 4-year-old child, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies arrived.
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Why immigration remains strong for Trump among Republicans, according to a new AP-NORC poll
Immigration remains a stronger issue for Trump than the economy or Iran, according to a new AP-NORC poll, even after in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July.
Trump is not getting a glowing endorsement on his immigration approach from Americans overall, the new survey from found: Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of his performance on immigration, a decline from 49% at the beginning of his second term.
Despite that, about 8 in 10 Republicans continue to approve of how Trump is handling immigration. That鈥檚 from the beginning of Trump鈥檚 second term, when about 9 in 10 Republicans approved, but his support within his base has been mostly stable despite a chaotic year of immigration enforcement actions.
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