President Donald Trump's diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as fueling Russia's war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S. laws and drawing the U.S. closer to Russia. It joins a growing list of instances where the president has sided with Putin, often at the expense of Ukraine — and U.S. interests.
Most Americans think Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on his wealth than helping people like them, a new AP-NORC poll finds.
Trump on Tuesday is planning to devote a big chunk of his dwindling time ahead of crucial midterm elections to fly all the way to Alaska, attempting to bolster a Republican incumbent senator in another sign that the GOP fears losing control of Congress.
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AI data centers are coming for federal land. They’re roiling the Nevada governor’s race
Voters across the United States are worried about the effects artificial intelligence data centers are having on electricity bills, water and the environment.
The data center issue has dominated the competitive governor's race in Nevada, where 80% of the land is owned by the federal government. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is fighting Democratic challenger Aaron Ford, the state's attorney general. The winner will see the state through the push by Trump's Republican administration for AI data center development including on public lands.
Lombardo doesn’t outright oppose building data centers on public lands, as long as they have community support. Ford pledges to oppose data centers on public lands.
A curious mix of policing, policy and politics is playing out on the US-Mexico border
The Army has been inviting reporters to the Rio Grande Valley as it deploys hundreds more soldiers to the region this month by shifting some of the thousands of troops already serving along the 2,000-mile border. U.S. officials said the troop surge follows signs of elevated activity from drug cartels and has been accompanied by increased cooperation from the Mexican military.
With Republican candidates facing headwinds due to Trump's unpopularity, persistently high prices and the fallout from the war in Iran, border security has remained a relative bright spot in Trump's polling numbers, with about half of Americans saying they approve of his performance there.
But some experts question the need for such a large military presence. Illegal border crossings have plummeted due in part to asylum restrictions that began before Trump returned to the White House, and a large percentage of the drugs seized along the border is being smuggled through checkpoints.
Speaker Mike Johnson plans to stay put as House GOP leader
The House speaker recently told CBS News that win or lose the House majority, he plans to run again to lead House Republicans in the party’s internal elections this fall.
“In the unlikely scenario where we lost the majority, I would expect my colleagues would ask me to continue leading this conference,” Johnson told CBS News.
Johnson, who is crisscrossing the country to campaign for Republicans, caught attention last week after having quipped to Fox News that if Republicans lose power he may return to his Shreveport, Louisiana hometown and start a lawn care business, if that’s God’s plan for him.
The speaker remains upbeat that House Republicans will retain their majority despite what’s traditionally a difficult midterm election for the party in power.
US law requires halting Russian oil imports. Trump has other plans
Congress approved legislation in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in spring of 2022 to ban the import of Russian energy products as the financial fuel for Putin's military assaults. It passed the House 414-17 and unanimously passed the Senate before President Joe Biden signed it.
The law says the president can seek to lift the prohibition only if an agreement has been reached to withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine and cease military activity — and even then such a proposal would need to be reviewed by Congress and to have been “accepted by the free and independent government of Ukraine.”
“Trump is directly violating that law,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, the bill’s chief sponsor, in a statement Monday.
Last month, Congress approved a sweeping Russian sanctions bill, named after the late GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, that would slap tariffs on countries that continue importing Russian oil. Trump signed the bill into law.
Trump rally in Ohio included scuffle with protester
A protester wearing a “Release The Epstein Files” shirt disrupted Trump’s Ohio rally on Monday night.
Before the person was escorted from the event, video showed other attendees grabbing, shoving and pulling the protester’s hair.
The president mocked the protester from the stage and said people who disrupt his rallies are “scum.”
Messages seeking more information were left with the Youngstown police and Mahoning County sheriff’s office.
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia to hold first briefing
Zacharia officially started the job on Monday and watched from the sidelines as Trump answered questions from reporters as he departed the White House for a campaign trip to Ohio.
Her first press briefing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Zacharia is a conservative commentator and had been a communications adviser to the media company that Trump owns and operates his social media site.
Trump announced her appointment last week. Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August following the birth of her second child.
FACT FOCUS: Posts falsely claim Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was at a mental facility
Republican officials and conservative social media users spread unfounded rumors in recent days that state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in a competitive Texas Senate race, had suffered a mental health crisis.
Questions about Talarico’s whereabouts began spreading after the candidate was not seen in public for nine days. But he and his campaign have repeatedly attributed his absence to the flu.
Here’s a closer look at the facts:
CLAIM: Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was being treated in an Ohio mental health facility last week.
THE FACTS: This is false. The facility where he was said to have been treated has denied he was ever a patient there. Both he and his campaign have said he was recovering from the flu. Talarico has type 1 diabetes, which means he has a higher risk of developing complications from the flu. Regardless, Talarico's schedule doesn't align with what was presented as evidence of his stay at the mental health facility and images reviewed by The Associated Press showed Talarico at home over several days last week.
Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt work for a day on historic DC golf course
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Monday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course, a historic D.C. course that has been part of President Donald Trump's plans to remake the city.
Reyes issued the order following a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.
Reyes said the 24-hour temporary order could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tries to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why a massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or the judge.
It's the latest example of the erosion of trust between the government and the independent judiciary, as the Trump administration tries to steamroll scrutiny of its actions, from the White House ballroom to immigration enforcement.
Trump is heading all the way to Alaska in a sign of just how close its Senate race may be
It’s a long way from Washington, has a small population and hasn’t backed a Democrat for Senate in nearly 20 years.
Yet Trump on Tuesday will devote a big chunk of his dwindling time ahead of crucial midterm elections to head all the way to Alaska — attempting to bolster a Republican incumbent senator in another sign of GOP fears about retaining control of Congress after Election Day on Nov. 3.
Trump is headlining a rally for Sen. Dan Sullivan in Wasilla, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Anchorage — famous for being the hometown of former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the headquarters of the Iditarod sled dog race across the state.
Trump’s stop is part of a western swing also taking him to rallies in Arizona and Montana on Wednesday.
“Dan Sullivan’s a great senator,” Trump said last week, adding, “You look at the things he’s done. He would call me all the time because I think — I definitely know — nobody has helped Alaska like Donald Trump.”
Trump’s diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from a frustrated Congress
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood before Donald Trump during his first term at the White House and pointed a finger, declaring that with this president, "All roads lead to Putin."
The stark assessment years ago from Pelosi echoed anew after Trump's surprise announcement last week that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import tons of Russian diesel to the U.S. as a way to ease sky-high prices at the pumps for Americans ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump's diesel deal with Putin has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as fueling Russia's war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S. laws and drawing the U.S. closer to Russia. It joins a growing list of instances where the president has sided with Putin, often at the expense of Ukraine — and America's own standing.
“The harm to the Ukrainians is real,” said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, in an interview Monday.
“And the cost to us, the United States, is high.”
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