The Latest: Trump deflects questions about Epstein files and revives old grievances

President Donald Trump on Tuesday deflected questions over the Justice Department s decision to interview Jeffrey Epstein s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls and is now serving a lengthy prison sentence Trump instead lashed out at old grievances following a new description from his intelligence director aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow s interference in the voting process Trump is under pressure from conspiracy-minded segments of his political base to release more about the Epstein event He s tried to move on which Democrats say is because of his association with Epstein Trump has denied knowledge or involvement of Epstein s crimes and mentioned he ended their friendship years ago Also Tuesday Trump stated after meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House that the two countries had agreed on a business deal Here s the latest Lawyers say Venezuelan migrant ordered returned to US sent to home country under prisoner exchange 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 explained 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 establishment to facilitate his return She cited the matter 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 settlement noted they could not be deported until their asylum suggests were adjudicated Because Cristian s is still pending the judge mentioned the administration violated that agreement Trump says EU will be in Washington for transaction talks as tariff deadline nears The president narrated congressional Republicans at a Tuesday night dinner that European Union representatives will be in town Wednesday for the talks We have Europe coming in the next day the next day Trump explained after announcing a arrangement framework with Japan The president sent a letter this month threatening the EU member states with tariffs to be imposed starting Aug Trump praises congressional Republicans as they gather at White House reception The president announced 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 announced 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 ordinance will be rewarded by voters in elections and grow the party s majority Columbia says it has suspended and expelled students who participated in protests The disciplinary actions were related to a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the main library before final exams in May and an encampment during alumni weekend last year A participant activist group mentioned nearly students were described they have been suspended for one to three years or expelled The university judicial board sanctions also include probation and degree revocations Columbia declared in a report It did not disclose the names of those who were disciplined The action came as Columbia is negotiating with the Trump administration to restore million in federal funding withheld over its handling of protests against the war in Gaza The activist group explained the disciplinary actions exceed precedent for prior protests Suspended students would be required to submit apologies to be allowed back on campus or face expulsion the group stated and several will refuse We will not be deterred We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation Columbia University Apartheid Divest disclosed in a report Trump says he has reached a exchange deal with Japan that would lower his threatened tariff to The president informed a arrangement framework placing a tax on goods imported from Japan He stated on his Truth Social platform that Japan would invest billion in the United States at my direction and would open its economic system to American autos and rice The U S ran a billion arrangement imbalance with Japan last year according to the Census Bureau The tariff is down from the rate which Trump mentioned in a modern letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would be levied starting Aug Nonprofit advocacy group criticizes ban on transgender women competing in Olympic sports By giving into the political demands the USOPC is sacrificing the requirements and safety of its own athletes president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women s Law Center revealed in a announcement The National Women s Law Center describes itself on its website as an organization that fights for gender justice It says it works to break down the obstructions that harm all of us especially women of color LGBTQ people and low-income women and families The decision disclosed Monday by the U S Olympic and Paralympic Committee effectively bars transgender women from competing in women s sports It reported the federations overseeing swimming athletics and other sports that it has an obligation to comply with an executive order issued by President Trump New Jersey law banning immigration detention contracts overturned by US appeals court The - ruling means private prison firm CoreCivic Corp can continue to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center It marks a accomplishment for the Trump administration as it continues an immigration crackdown including efforts to expand a framework of detention centers in a bid to ramp up deportations Just as states cannot regulate the federal executive 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 mentioned the law interferes with the federal executive s core power to enforce immigration laws The 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 rd U S Circuit Court State Attorney General Matthew Platkin called Tuesday s ruling disappointing and revealed states have the right to protect people within their borders He explained the office is considering next moves Stephen Colbert jokes about cancel society and has a very pointed message for Trump The host returned for his first full activity after last week s announcement that CBS is canceling his Late Show with various supportive guests and a remark directed at the president I m going to go ahead and say it Cancel way of life s gone way too far Colbert stated a rambunctious audience CBS and parent Paramount Global revealed the decision to end the Late Show next May was purely financial It has not gone unnoticed and was mentioned by Colbert on Monday that the announcement came days after he sharply criticized Paramount s million settlement of Trump s lawsuit over a Minutes interview Colbert declared that over the weekend it sunk in that they killed off our show But they made one mistake They left me alive Now he mentioned I can say what I really think of Donald Trump starting right now I don t care for him Colbert noted Doesn t seem to have the skill set to be president Trump has revealed via social media that he loved that the untalented Colbert was being fired Read more about Colbert and Trump What to know about soda sweeteners as sugar returns to American Coke The president teased the announcement last week and Coca-Cola verified it Tuesday A version of Coke s trademark cola sweetened with cane sugar will be distributed in the U S this fall For decades Coke and other beverage makers have used high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners in their U S sodas But consumers are increasingly looking for products with fewer and more natural ingredients Nutritionists say high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar are both sugars with around the same amount of calories They are equally likely to lead to issues like obesity and tooth decay Read more about particular frequently questioned questions about the sweeteners in U S sodas Coca-Cola confirms a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola is coming to the US The company noted the cane-sugar version will be added to its lineup this fall That validated 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 s On Tuesday chairman and CEO James Quincey reported 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 explained 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 particular other U S drinks like its Solely brand lemonade and Honest Tea Coke has also sold Mexican Coke which is made with cane sugar in the U S since Trump administration appeals Planned Parenthood ruling The ruling handed down late Monday gave Planned Parenthood a partial supremacy in a legal fight over efforts to defund the organization in the president s signature tax law A provision in that bill ends Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than from Medicaid in even those that like Planned Parenthood also offer services such as contraception pregnancy tests and STD testing A U S district judge in Boston granted a preliminary injunction that for now blocks the ruling body 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 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year Strength and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon disclosed Monday that we strongly disagree with the court s decision States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over person care he noted This ruling undermines state flexibility and disregards longstanding concerns about accountability Senate votes to consider nomination of former Trump lawyer for lifetime appeals court appointment 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 rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals has come under intense scrutiny from Democrats after a fired department lawyer noted he suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands Bove denies the claim US Olympic and Paralympic executives bar transgender women from competing citing Trump executive order The U S Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women s sports telling the federations overseeing swimming athletics and other sports that it has an obligation to comply with an executive order issued by the president The change was informed Monday with a quiet update on the USOPC s website and verified in a letter sent to national governing bodies It follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year The change is noted obliquely as a detail under USOPC Athlete Safety Guidelines and reference s Trump s executive order Keeping Men Out of Women s Sports signed in February That order among other things threatened to rescind all funds from organizations that allow transgender athlete participation in women s sports The national governing bodies will likely follow the USOPC s directive White House says Habba has still has Trump s full confidence White House spokesperson Harrison Fields also noted in a comment that the administration will work to get Habba authenticated by the U S 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 ratified by the Senate after days Then Attorney General Pam Bondi commented 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 Bondi says New Jersey s top federal prosecutor has been removed hours after being named by judge Desiree Leigh Grace was named by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb on Tuesday as successor to interim U S 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 substantiated by the Senate after days Tuesday was the th day since Trump named Habba to the acting role Hours later Attorney General Pam Bondi explained in a social media post that Grace had been removed Bondi stated the Justice Department won t tolerate rogue judges What s happening with forgiveness for apprentice loans on income-based repayment plans Amid a federal overhaul of attendee loan plans a large number of 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 latest update from the Development Department reported forgiveness through the IBR plan is paused while systems are updated IBR forgiveness will resume once those updates are completed the agency disclosed IBR is not affected by a federal court s injunction blocking former President Joe Biden s Saving on a Valuable Schooling 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 particular changes coming from President Donald Trump s tax and spending bill Read more on what to know about IBR Commanders GM says non-football topics such as Trump s comments don t reach him Washington s NFL franchise used to be in the news all the time for reasons other than football That seemed to have changed under new unit ownership but the president s remarks about the band name and possibly holding up a stadium deal are making waves just as training camp opens Still Commanders general manager Adam Peters made clear Tuesday at a news conference with coach Dan Quinn a day before the organization s first training camp practice that he doesn t expect any of that sort of outside conversation to interfere with their real jobs Whether it s the stadium or anything else non-football-related those things don t really make it to us Peters explained We re just trying to focus on what s going on here and getting ready for the season 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 the stadium deal if the name is not changed US regime employee barred from leaving China The employee at the U S Patent and Trademark Office part of the Commerce Department traveled there in a personal limit the State Department stated Tuesday It is the latest development in which Beijing has stopped a U S national from departing The State Department did not identify the person but stated it was tracking this episode very closely and engaged with Chinese leaders 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 trip there The advisory was eased in November after China disclosed three U S citizens who were detained for years Solicited about the executive employee Guo Jiakun Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson explained I have no details to share China upholds the rule of law and handles entry and exit affairs in accordance with the law Trump s former lawyer Alina Habba s term as New Jersey s top federal prosecutor ends Habba who served as the president s defense lawyer and a White House counselor and became one of the majority of high-profile U S attorneys saw her -day interim stint end Tuesday Chief Judge for the District of New Jersey Renee Marie Bumb explained in an order that first Assistant U S Attorney Desiree Leigh Grace has been named her successor Habba could have remained if federal judges in the state kept her on Bumb s order did not offer an explanation for the decision and explained 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 situation involving Rep 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 Army s head of aviation who was criticized by lawmakers after crash moved to new job 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 people and was the nation s deadliest crash since November An Army spokesperson noted 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 various 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 the majority missions because they were deemed sensitive Texas Sen Ted Cruz called it shocking and deeply unacceptable Trump administration promotes ICE hotline for getting back at an abusive ex The Trump administration is promoting one way to get away from an abusive ex summary them to immigration enforcement The Department of Homeland Precaution jumped on a viral social media post by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier We of late 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 record tips to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Obama s office issues a rare response to Trump After Trump accused the former president of treason for being the ringleader of the Russia scrutiny Barack Obama s office issued a report saying these bizarre charges 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 declared Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush But these insists are outrageous enough to merit one Rodenbush emphasized that multiple investigations including a bipartisan examination by the Senate Intelligence Committee ascertained that Russia had meddled in the poll Trump makes it official by saying Indonesian goods to be tariffed at Trump has formally disclosed a deal framework with Indonesia placing a tax on goods imported from that nation Indonesia would charge no tariffs on of its contract with the United States and drop its non-tariff limitations such as taxing internet traffic and removing pre-shipment inspections of U S goods revealed a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the terms under the condition of anonymity The official announced the deal with Indonesia would be worth billion The U S president had previously disclosed top-line details of the framework but his Truth Social post on Tuesday provided more context Josh Boak Trump envoy heads to Mideast as Gaza hunger dilemma worsens Steve Witkoff Trump s envoy for the Middle East headed to the region Tuesday to pursue a U S -backed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce mentioned 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 explained Witkoff s trip comes after the U N World Food Operation accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend killing people The Hamas-run Gaza Vitality Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war which has driven the territory to the brink of famine Read more about the Israel-Hamas war What to know about Gabbard s new account on the Russia study A new assessment from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard represent the Trump administration s latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia research which has infuriated him for years The statement issued Friday downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the ballot by highlighting Obama administration emails showing leaders had concluded before and after the contest that Moscow had not hacked state balloting 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 poll 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 masses opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts Gabbard s description appears to suggest the absence of manipulation of state voting systems is a basis to call into question more general Russian interference Army spent about million on th anniversary parade The Army spent about million on its th anniversary parade last month that coincided with President Donald Trump s birthday It falls within the Army s initial estimated cost of between million and million Army spokesperson Steve Warren declared 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 Assurance Warren disclosed adding that he didn t have those numbers The June parade consisted of more than soldiers 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 Republicans look to name Kennedy Center s Opera House after Melania Trump 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 right now 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 administration 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 Trump says he closed a US deal deal with the Philippines Trump says the Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos will open his country s sector and the U S won t pay any tariffs On the other hand Trump set a tariff rate of for the Philippines down from the previously threatened 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 National Science Foundation workers decry budget cuts and job losses Nearly 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 declared 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 Rep Zoe Lofgren of California the top Democrat on the House Science Committee Earlier this year the NSF informed 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 informed that the foundation s current headquarters in Alexandria Virginia will soon become the base for the U S Department of Housing and Urban Evolution Thousands of Afghans in the US face deportation after court refuses to extend their protected status Thousands of Afghans in the U S 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 U S Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia noted 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 but was briefly extended by the appeals court through July while it considered an exigency request for a longer postponement The Department of Homeland Safety commented in May that it was ending Temporary Protected Status for people from Afghanistan in days That status which had been in place since had allowed them to work and meant the executive couldn t deport them Source