During his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes that the latest round of high-level political talks between Israel and Lebanon will result in a joint statement on ending hostilities. Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. are meeting at the State Department for a second day of negotiations.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump, in an interview released Wednesday<\/a>, confirmed an earlier report that he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> as \u201ccrazy,” and said he’s \u201ca little bit perturbed\u201d that Israel\u2019s fighting with Hezbollah<\/a> in Lebanon is holding back peace talks with Iran.<\/p>\n The Trump administration is sticking with a deal to permanently drop tax claims<\/a> against Trump<\/a>, an extraordinary flex of executive power that could help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct, even as it scraps a $1.8 billion fund<\/a> to compensate the Republican president’s allies amid a fierce political backlash<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump’s endorsements helped end the political careers of two senators and a congressman deemed insufficiently loyal, but he couldn’t lift Rep. Randy Feenstra to victory in Iowa\u2019s Republican primary, setting up a Democratic opportunity to pick up a governorship. See other AP coverage of Tuesday’s primary results here.<\/a><\/p>\n The Latest:<\/p>\n Republicans have won the partisan redistricting battle<\/p>\n Since Trump urged Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts last year, officials in eight states have enacted new districts that could help Republicans win up to 16 additional seats in the November elections.<\/p>\n Democrats suffered setbacks in their counterattacks. But they could gain up to six additional seats from new districts in two states.<\/p>\n The aggressive mid-decade redistricting carries high stakes, because Democrats need to gain just a few seats in the midterms to win control of the House. It remains to be seen whether the redistricting will help Republicans hold on to their slim majority.<\/p>\n US reduces the forces it would provide to NATO in a crisis<\/p>\n The U.S. military is reducing the number of forces it would contribute to NATO during an emergency, a change that\u2019s been expected from the Trump administration as it pushes European allies to shoulder more of the continent\u2019s defense burden.<\/p>\n U.S. European Command on Wednesday publicly announced changes to the NATO Force Model, a contingency plan for European defense in the event of serious security concerns, such as increased Russian aggression. The announcement lacks specifics, but said allies could step up with planes and ships as the U.S. reserves more of its own forces to thwart potential threats in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n U.S. and British officials said the change was already announced in classified meetings to NATO allies in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Demonstrator kicked out as Rubio kicks off 4th and final Capitol Hill hearing<\/p>\n As the secretary of state entered his fourth and last congressional hearing, a young demonstrator who said she was 18 years old yelled that the foreign policy actions of the Trump administration were being taken \u201cagainst the will of the American people\u201d before being removed from the Senate hearing room.<\/p>\n She yelled, \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d as the door was closing.<\/p>\n It was the first interruption of the day but part of a series of protests against Rubio and the administration in the past two days, specifically against U.S. support for Israel and the impacts of that on war-torn Gaza.<\/p>\n 3 UN experts accuse US of `unlawful coercion\u2019 against Cuba\u2019s sovereignty<\/p>\n The independent U.N. human rights investigators urged the Trump administration in a statement Wednesday to immediately halt all threats against Cuba\u2019s sovereignty and revoke sanctions \u201cadopted contrary to international law.\u201d<\/p>\n The experts said efforts to change Cuba\u2019s \u201cconstitutional order\u201d through threats and coercion \u201cecho colonial-era practices.\u201d<\/p>\n They said Trump\u2019s declaration of a \u201cDonroe Doctrine\u201d in March, asserting U.S. predominance in the Western hemisphere, has raised \u201csignificant alarm.\u201d And they said his statements about the \u201chonor of taking Cuba\u201d reflect \u201ca deeply concerning strategy of coercion\u201d against the country.<\/p>\n The experts on democracy, the negative impact of sanctions and counterterrorism, also pointed to the longstanding U.S. embargo and recent fuel blockade of Cuba.<\/p>\n They called the recent U.S. indictment of former Cuban president Ra\u00fal Castro \u201ca misuse of domestic judicial proceedings\u201d and \u201can instrument of coercive foreign policy,\u201d and the announced deployment of the USS Nimitz to the southern Caribbean another element of \u201cunlawful coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio wraps up nearly 4-hour congressional hearing<\/p>\n The secretary of state has finished nearly four hours of testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he received praise from Republicans and sparred with Democrats over the Iran war, President Donald Trump\u2019s relationship with NATO and U.S. aid to Africa.<\/p>\n The hearing before lawmakers on Capitol Hill was the third of four in two days for the former Republican senator from Florida. The purpose of each hearing has been to discuss the State Department\u2019s budget. But they\u2019ve often veered into discussions about the Trump administration\u2019s dealings with countries around the world.<\/p>\n Rubio insists to lawmakers that any US-Iran deal will be \u2018better\u2019 than Obama agreement<\/p>\n Republicans and Democrats have raised concerns about the reported details of a deal between Tehran and Washington. And on Wednesday, Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, questioned whether the deal was similar to the one former President Barack Obama made in 2015.<\/p>\n Rubio went on to outline the various issues being discussed and how they differ from the previous nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, any deal we do will be a good deal, or there won\u2019t be a deal, and it\u2019ll be better than JCPOA,\u201d Rubio said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.<\/p>\n That agreement, which included Germany, France and Britain, had lifted most U.S. and international economic sanctions against Iran for restrictions on its nuclear program, making it impossible to produce a bomb and establishing rigorous inspections.<\/p>\n Rubio says Trump still wants to be part of NATO, but alliance needs significant reform<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has no intention of abandoning NATO but won\u2019t back down on demanding significant reforms.<\/p>\n Rubio told lawmakers Wednesday that the president plans to attend the annual NATO leaders\u2019 summit in Turkey next month, at which he will make the U.S. case for changes and again call for allies to increase their defense spending. The summit is to be held in Ankara on July 7-8.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president himself will be attending the next NATO, a meeting of heads of state where all of these points will be made clear. We\u2019re still in NATO, but NATO needs significant changes, and the president has made that clear,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n Trump has been particularly irked by some NATO countries, mainly Spain, denying the use of airbases for the war against Iran.<\/p>\n Senate GOP officially strips $1 billion in White House security funding from immigration spending bill<\/p>\n After weeks of discussions, the Senate has officially dropped a $1 billion proposal for White House security and Trump\u2019s ballroom project.<\/p>\n The Senate is set to begin voting on legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies on Wednesday afternoon, and the bill\u2019s final text, released just hours before the vote, does not include the security funding.<\/p>\n Republicans had already indicated they would drop the security proposal after backlash from within their own caucus and criticism from Democrats.<\/p>\n Rubio says Greenland is part of Denmark \u2018for now\u2019<\/p>\n Rubio made the \u201cfor now\u201d statement when Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware asked Rubio about Trump\u2019s calls for the U.S. to own the semiautonomous territory of Denmark to better defend the U.S.<\/p>\n Rubio said talks about the use of Greenland for collective defense are \u201cin a good place,\u201d though he declined to publicly discuss the details.<\/p>\n McBride had asked Rubio if he shares Trump\u2019s belief that the U.S. needs to own land within NATO to defend it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president\u2019s view is that it\u2019s a lot easier to defend it when you have control and complete control of it,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe are obviously having conversations with both Denmark and Greenland. They are ongoing on a monthly basis now. I think we\u2019ll have pretty good news.\u201d<\/p>\n Abelardo de la Espriella thanks Trump for endorsement, predicts stronger US-Colombia ties<\/p>\n Colombian lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who pulled ahead in the first round of Colombia\u2019s presidential race<\/a>, on Wednesday thanked Trump for endorsing his campaign, saying he predicts stronger bilateral ties if the conservative defeats progressive Iv\u00e1n Cepeda in the presidential runoff.<\/p>\n Writing on the Truth Social platform the previous day, Trump offered his \u201ccomplete and total endorsement\u201d for de la Espriella, calling him an \u201cintelligent, strong, and tough leader\u201d who will take on a \u201cradical leftist Marxist\u201d in the June 21 runoff election.<\/p>\n \u201cWith my head held high and my heart throbbing with patriotic gratitude, I receive your words and your steadfast support,\u201d de la Espriella, known as \u201cEl Tigre\u201d or \u201cThe Tiger,\u201d wrote on the social platform X. \u201cThank you, Mr. President!\u201d<\/p>\n Tillis asks Bessent about his fisticuffs with Pulte<\/p>\n During the Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Thom Tillis asked Bessent about his past reported conflicts with Bill Pulte, the current head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Trump picked Pulte for director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you actually tell Bill Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?\u201d the North Carolina Republican asked Bessent.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually said I was gonna kick his ass,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cThat was last summer, the summer of \u201925.\u201d<\/p>\n Tillis has stated he doesn\u2019t support Pulte for the intelligence role.<\/p>\n Rubio says Venezuela transition progressing well, but needs more time<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Venezuela\u2019s transition to democracy is progressing but needs more time to consolidate and advance the reforms it has made since the U.S. ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro in early January.<\/p>\n In response to questions from lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio stressed that it had only been five months since Maduro had been deposed and that conditions for free and fair elections \u2013 including the creation of independent media and political parties \u2013 are still works in progress. Rubio did say that Venezuela\u2019s oil revenue had increased significantly under U.S. supervision since January.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not where it needs to be, but it is a long ways from where it was five months ago and poses not nearly the threat it once posed to America\u2019s national security. We\u2019re not satisfied with where it is, but we\u2019ve come a long way,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n House Speaker says Trump wants US allies to help reopen Hormuz<\/p>\n Speaker Mike Johnson said he spent three hours at the White House with the president, Vance and Rubio, as Trump is working on \u201cthat final piece\u201d to reopen commerce.<\/p>\n \u201cI am, all of us, are calling on our allied nations and friends \u2014 the Arab states in the region, and NATO partners and everyone else,\u201d the Republican told reporters at the Capitol about the Monday meeting. \u201cThe entire world has an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being reopened for commerce. That\u2019s what he\u2019s working on.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson also defended the president for suggesting the war\u2019s unpopularity and the resulting high gas prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections aren\u2019t impacting his decision-making. The speaker said Trump, who fielded phone calls from reporters during the lengthy meeting, is \u201claser focused\u201d on domestic issues.<\/p>\n Trump compares White House UFC cage to the Eiffel Tower, says \u2018maybe we\u2019ll never ever take it down\u2019<\/p>\n In a video posted to his TikTok account, the president offered a history lesson on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, noting that it was built to be a temporary structure for the 1889 World\u2019s Fair.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said, you know we sort of like it, let\u2019s leave it up a little bit longer,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then they said, let\u2019s leave it up longer and longer and longer. Well, they never took it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump drew a parallel with the UFC octagon<\/a> being built on the White House\u2019s South Lawn for a June 14 bout celebrating America\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, we\u2019re building something in front of the White House that\u2019s quite attractive to a lot of people,\u201d Trump said in a video posted on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have the big UFC fight on June 14. And I\u2019m looking at it, and maybe we\u2019ll never ever take it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Bessent talks freezing Iranian government funds<\/p>\n He was asked what Treasury is doing to address sanctions evasion as the Trump administration pressures Iran into accepting a deal to end the war.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seized a substantial amount of crypto assets,\u201d Bessent told lawmakers. \u201cWe have sanctioned ships, and in fact, the Navy has seized some of these ships, and we are tracking mostly the IRGC funds, and we are freezing those for the day that they can be given back to the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n Mullin says \u2018primary\u2019 border wall will be done in a year<\/p>\n Detailing progress on the wall the Trump administration is building separating the U.S. and Mexico, Mullin said the first layer \u2014 referred to as the \u201cprimary wall\u201d \u2014 will be finished by \u201cthis time next year.\u201d<\/p>\n On some stretches of the border, Customs and Border Protection is building a secondary wall so that people trying to cross the border would have to go through two layers. That \u201csecondary wall\u201d will be finished by the summer of 2028, he said.<\/p>\n Homeland Security received $46 billion last summer from Congress to finish the wall along the border from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of that will be protected by a physical wall, but CBP says 535 miles (860 kilometers) of remote, rugged border terrain will solely rely on detection technology.<\/p>\n Turmoil deepens at \u201960 Minutes\u2019 with firing of longtime correspondent Scott Pelley<\/p>\n CBS News fired Pelley a day after he reportedly said Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss<\/a> was \u201cmurdering the show\u201d<\/a> and accused Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison of casting aside the show\u2019s reputation \u201capparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n Pelley criticized management Monday during a fiery staff meeting with Nick Bilton, the program\u2019s new executive producer installed by Weiss last week<\/a>, according to a detailed report on the Status website.<\/a> In a termination notice obtained Tuesday night by The Associated Press, Bilton, a technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, accused Pelley of carrying out an \u201cambush\u201d in a \u201cperformative display of hostility.\u201d<\/p>\n Pelley said in a statement that \u201c60 Minutes\u201d has lost its DNA and that the new management had asked him to \u201cinject falsehoods and bias\u201d into his work.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n The California drama drags on<\/p>\n About 60 names were on the ballot to succeed Democrat Gavin Newsom<\/a> as governor. Under California\u2019s primary system, all candidates appear on a single ballot and the top two finishers advance to the November general election, regardless of party.<\/p>\n Republican Steve Hilton campaigned with Trump\u2019s endorsement, and in the final days of the campaign, Democratic attention focused on Xavier Becerra<\/a>, a former congressman and state attorney general who was health secretary under President Joe Biden<\/a>, and Tom Steyer, a billionaire known for his climate activism.<\/p>\n