We start with news that president Donald Trump\u2019s doubling of tariffs on goods from India to as much as 50% took effect as scheduled on Wednesday<\/strong>, escalating tensions between the world\u2019s two largest democracies and strategic partners.<\/p>\n A punitive 25% tariff imposed due to India\u2019s purchases of Russian oil adds to Trump\u2019s prior 25% tariff on many products from India. It takes total duties to as high as 50% for goods such as garments, gems and jewellery, footwear, sporting goods, furniture and chemicals \u2013 among the highest imposed by the US and on par with Brazil and China.<\/p>\n India and the US have held five rounds of discussions since April to reach a trade agreement, but differences over the opening up of India\u2019s vast farm and dairy sectors, and its purchases of Russian oil led to a breakdown of talks.<\/p>\n The new tariffs threaten thousands of small exporters and jobs, including in prime minister Narendra Modi\u2019s home state of Gujarat, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n An Indian commerce ministry official said on condition of anonymity that exporters hit by tariffs would receive financial assistance and be encouraged to diversify to markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/strong> held a televised, three-hour cabinet meeting, in which various secretaries seemed to compete to praise him in more effusive terms, and he took questions from reporters from partisan outlets.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trump told reporters that \u201cI think, maybe in my own mind, I have somebody that I like\u201d to take the place of the Federal Reserve governor he is trying to force out, Lisa Cook<\/strong>, who is fighting to keep her place.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Two reporters for pro-Trump outlets offered testimony about crime in Washington DC to support the president\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Texas\u2019s redrawn congressional maps have drawn a lawsuit from the NAACP, accusing the state of committing a racial gerrymander with its maps that strip Black voters of their political power.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A whistleblower complaint alleges<\/a> that Elon Musk<\/strong>\u2019s so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d (Doge) copied and uploaded the sensitive Social Security data of hundreds of millions of Americans to a vulnerable cloud server, potentially violating federal privacy laws. One of the Doge staffers accused in the complaint is Edward Coristine<\/strong>, whose recent assault in Washington DC provided the pretext for Trump\u2019s federal takeover.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n In a deeply partisan press release<\/a>, Sean Duffy<\/strong>, the former Republican congressman and Fox host serving as Donald Trump\u2019s transportation secretary, announced the cancellation of $175m in funding for four projects related to what he called \u201cCalifornia\u2019s High-Speed Rail boondoggle\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Trump administration retaliated against some Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers who signed a letter of dissent about the agency\u2019s leadership, the Washington Post reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A local television outlet in Washington DC recorded video of \u201ca full busload of National Guard members \u2026 picking up trash in Lafayette Park, just outside the White House\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cracker Barrel<\/strong> announced that it is scrapping its new logo, and returning to its old one, hours after Donald Trump<\/a> joined the conservative backlash to the change.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.39 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that \u201ceverything is on the table\u201d in trade talks with China and that he will be meeting again with his Chinese counterpart at the end of October or beginning of November.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very complicated relationship,\u201d he said in an interview on Fox Business\u2019 Mornings with Maria program.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are moving very deliberately on this. Both sides have approached it with great respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Journalists in Lebanon<\/a> have demanded an apology from a senior US envoy after he told them to \u201cact civilized\u201d and not be \u201canimalistic\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n As reporters shouted questions after the US delegation\u2019s meeting with the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, stepped up to the podium in the packed room and said: \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a different set of rules … please be quiet for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we\u2019re gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAct civilised, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what\u2019s happening in the region,\u201d added Barrack, who has recently been leading talks with Lebanese officials.<\/p>\n The Lebanese presidency in a statement on X expressed regret at \u201cremarks made inadvertently from its podium by one of its guests\u201d, affirming its appreciation for the journalists and media representatives.<\/p>\n The information minister, Paul Morcos, in a statement also expressed regret at the remarks \u201cby a member of the foreign delegation towards media representatives at the presidential palace\u201d.<\/p>\n The photojournalists\u2019 syndicate called Barrack\u2019s comments \u201ca direct insult\u201d that set \u201ca serious and totally unacceptable precedent\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an unprecedented lawsuit filed by the Trump administration<\/a> earlier in the summer against all 15 judges serving on Maryland<\/a>\u2019s federal district court \u2013 a case that opposed pausing some deportations from the state.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a 37-page ruling<\/a>, US district judge Thomas Cullen of Virginia\u2019s western district \u2013 who was nominated and confirmed to his position during Donald Trump\u2019s first presidency \u2013 wrote that \u201cany fair reading of the legal authorities cited by defendants leads to the ineluctable conclusion that this court has no alternative but to dismiss\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTo hold otherwise,\u201d Cullen added, \u201cwould run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration had challenged an order issued by <\/a>Maryland\u2019s chief district judge that temporarily barred the government from deporting undocumented immigrants<\/a> for two business days if they filed challenges to their detention. Trump\u2019s justice department argued that the order exceeded the court\u2019s authority and violated federal law.<\/p>\n But Cullen, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020 and was assigned the case because all Maryland district judges were named as defendants, wrote that the judges were \u201cabsolutely immune\u201d from lawsuits over their judicial actions. And Cullen said that instead of suing, the administration should have challenged the order though other legal channels, such as appealing against the order.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Texas\u2019s redrawn congressional maps have drawn a lawsuit from the NAACP, <\/strong>which accuses the state of committing a racial gerrymander with its maps that strip Black voters of their political power.<\/strong><\/p>\n The lawsuit, joined by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, names Texas\u2019s Republican governor, Greg Abbott<\/a>, and secretary of state, Jane Nelson, as defendants.<\/p>\n It asks a federal judge for a preliminary injunction preventing the use of the redrawn maps, arguing that the redistricting violates the US constitution by improperly reducing the power of voters of color. It also argues that the maps violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now see just how far extremist leaders are willing to go to push African Americans back toward a time when we were denied full personhood and equal rights,\u201d the president of the Texas NAACP, Gary Bledsoe, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe call on Texans of every background to recognize the dangers of this moment. Our democracy depends on ensuring that every person is counted fully, valued equally and represented fairly. We are prepared to fight this injustice at every level. Our future depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas Republicans<\/a> passed a redrawn map on Saturday, with the expected result of an increase in Republican representation by five seats in the next Congress. Democratic state legislators are a minority in both chambers of the Texas legislature, leaving them with few options to block it.<\/p>\n A group of state house representatives spent nearly a month away from the state to deny Republicans a quorum. That maneuver ended last week, after California\u2019s governor, Gavin Newsom, and the state legislature began a process to counter the Republican gerrymander with a Democratic gerrymander of their own.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.32 EDT<\/p>\n Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration \u201cwants nothing less than $500m from Harvard\u201d as a condition for restoring billions of dollars in federal funding to the Ivy League university.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t negotiate with them, they\u2019ve been very bad,\u201d Trump told his education secretary, Linda McMahon, in a cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments<\/a> came amid reports <\/a>that his administration and Harvard are moving toward a potential settlement that could bring an end to their months-long battle over the government\u2019s allegations that Harvard has not done enough to crack down on antisemitism tied to pro-Palestinian protests.<\/p>\n In April, Harvard became the first<\/a> \u2013 and so far only \u2013 university to sue<\/a> the Trump administration over the funding cuts<\/a>. It sued again the following month over the government\u2019s efforts<\/a> to block the school from enrolling international students.<\/p>\n Harvard has argued<\/a> that the administration unlawfully slashed $2.6bn in research funding from the university in retaliation for the school\u2019s refusal to comply with a series of demands laid out in an 11 April letter from a federal antisemitism taskforce. Those demands related to campus protests, academic policies and admissions practices.<\/p>\n A US district judge heard arguments from both Harvard and the Department of Justice last month.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.29 EDT<\/p>\n Trump administration pulls another $175m from California\u2019s high-speed rail<\/p>\n The Trump administration<\/a> is cancelling another $175m in funding for California\u2019s high-speed rail, marking another setback for the state\u2019s much-delayed project.<\/strong><\/p>\n The US transportation department said on Tuesday it was withdrawing $175m for grade separation, over-crossing and design work and to build a high-speed rail station in Madera. The move follows the cancellation earlier this summer of $4bn in federal grants for the state\u2019s ambitious but long-overdue plans.<\/p>\n California in July sued to challenge the withdrawal of funding, calling the decision illegal.<\/p>\n The funding cuts are another hurdle for the 16-year effort to link Los Angeles and San Francisco by a three-hour train ride, a project that would deliver the fastest passenger rail service in the United States.<\/p>\n The rail system, whose first $10bn bond issue was approved by California voters in 2008, has built more than 50 major railway structures, including bridges, overpasses, under-crossings and viaducts, and completed 70 miles (113km) of guideway.<\/p>\n The project has also faced numerous delays and spiraling costs, with no section of the railway currently operational and a completion date still years away.<\/p>\n The San Francisco-to-Los Angeles route was initially supposed to be finished by 2020 at a cost of $33bn; the projected cost has since risen from $89bn to $128bn, with the start of service along a portion of the line in the Central valley only expected by 2033. On Monday, state lawmakers suggested the project would require<\/a> a $1bn-per-year investment to continue in light of the federal funding cuts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.24 EDT<\/p>\n Fed governor’s lawsuit could be filed today, CNBC reports<\/p>\n US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook\u2019s lawsuit against <\/strong>Donald Trump could be filed as soon as today<\/strong>, CNBC reported on Wednesday citing sources.<\/p>\n More to follow on this as we get it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.10 EDT<\/p>\n The US transportation department said Wednesday it plans to reclaim management of Washington DC\u2019s Union Station.<\/strong><\/p>\n In March, the White House forced Stephen Gardner, the CEO of US passenger railroad company Amtrak, to step down after president Donald Trump<\/a> sought the changes.<\/p>\n Trump this month deployed hundreds of national guard troops to Washington.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.07 EDT<\/p>\n 62% of Americans support sanctions on Russia’s trading allies, Reuters\/Ipsos poll finds<\/p>\n Most Americans support a bid to sanction Russia\u2019s trading partners as a way to put pressure on Moscow to end its war with Ukraine, according to a new Reuters\/Ipsos poll.<\/strong><\/p>\n The three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed 62% of respondents back sanctioning Russia\u2019s trading partners, a strategy that US president Donald Trump<\/a> has partially embraced and has threatened to expand to include China.<\/p>\n Trump has in recent weeks engaged in intense diplomacy, meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska but so far failing to stop the conflict, a goal he had pledged to accomplish on his first day in office.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>India hopeful US will review extra 25% tariff for Russian oil purchases, Indian government source says<\/p>\n India is hopeful that the US will review the additional 25% tariff imposed on Indian goods as penalty for its Russian oil purchases, a government source told reporters on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Indian government is holding talks with exporters to increase shipments of textiles, leather, gems and jewellery to other countries, and is likely to provide financial assistance to affected businesses, the source said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The US Transportation Department said Tuesday it will withhold federal funding from California, Washington State, and New Mexico unless they adopt English proficiency requirements for commercial truck drivers.<\/strong><\/p>\n The administration of president Donald Trump<\/a> has taken a series of steps to address concerns about foreign truck drivers who do not speak English, and last week secretary of state Marco Rubio said the United States was immediately pausing the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers.<\/p>\n In April, Trump signed an executive order directing enforcement of a rule requiring commercial drivers in the US to meet English proficiency standards.<\/p>\n Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the department could withhold about $50 million in federal funding if the states do not comply in 30 days and could take further action.<\/p>\n Washington State said its state patrol was currently reviewing the matter with its state transportation partners and will have a detailed response soon.<\/p>\n New Mexico\u2019s transportation department did not immediately respond, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing next week to consider president Donald Trump\u2019s nomination of White House economic adviser Stephen Miran as a Federal Reserve governor, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n Reuters could not immediately verify the report.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Some Fema staff are put on leave after signing dissent letter<\/p>\n Some employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) who signed a public letter of dissent earlier this week were put on administrative leave Tuesday evening, according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press.<\/strong><\/p>\n More than 180 current and former Fema employees signed the letter sent to the Fema Review Council and Congress on Monday critiquing recent cuts to agency staff and programs, and warning that Fema\u2019s capacity to respond to a major disaster was dangerously diminished.<\/p>\n Thirty-five signed their names while 141 signed anonymously for fear of retribution.<\/p>\n The Associated Press has confirmed that at least two of the signatories received notices Tuesday evening informing them they would be placed on leave indefinitely, with pay and that they must still check in every morning confirming their availability. It was unclear what the status was for other signatories.<\/p>\n The notice said the decision \u201cis not a disciplinary action and is not intended to be punitive.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> said on Tuesday that US colleges would struggle without Chinese students, amid a backlash from his base after he suggested he could let 600,000 Chinese college students into the country as part of trade talks with the economic rival.<\/strong><\/p>\n Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China\u2019s foreign ministry, said on Wednesday that the ministry hoped the US would follow through on Trump\u2019s statement welcoming Chinese students and stop the \u201cunprovoked harassment, interrogation, and deportation\u201d of Chinese students.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Denmark\u2019s foreign minister has summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen over Danish intelligence reports that US citizens have been conducting covert influence operations in Greenland, the ministry said on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Public broadcaster DR cited unnamed sources as saying the government believed at least three US nationals with ties to president Donald Trump\u2019s administration had been involved in influence operations aimed at promoting Greenland\u2019s secession from Denmark to the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark,\u201d foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead,\u201d Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n Neither the broadcaster nor the ministry named the individuals flagged in the intelligence reports. The US embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>European Union mulls removing US tariffs this week, Bloomberg News reports<\/p>\n The European Union is aiming to expedite legislation to remove all tariffs on US industrial goods by the end of the week, a demand made by president Donald Trump<\/a> before the US will lower its duties on the bloc\u2019s automobile exports, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump\u2019s 50% tariffs on India come into force as president puts pressure on country over Russian oil supplies<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.<\/p>\n We start with news that president Donald Trump\u2019s doubling of tariffs on goods from India to as much as 50% took effect as scheduled on Wednesday<\/strong>, escalating tensions between the world\u2019s two largest democracies and strategic partners.<\/p>\n A punitive 25% tariff imposed due to India\u2019s purchases of Russian oil adds to Trump\u2019s prior 25% tariff on many products from India. It takes total duties to as high as 50% for goods such as garments, gems and jewellery, footwear, sporting goods, furniture and chemicals \u2013 among the highest imposed by the US and on par with Brazil and China.<\/p>\n India and the US have held five rounds of discussions since April to reach a trade agreement, but differences over the opening up of India\u2019s vast farm and dairy sectors, and its purchases of Russian oil led to a breakdown of talks.<\/p>\n The new tariffs threaten thousands of small exporters and jobs, including in prime minister Narendra Modi\u2019s home state of Gujarat, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n An Indian commerce ministry official said on condition of anonymity that exporters hit by tariffs would receive financial assistance and be encouraged to diversify to markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/strong> held a televised, three-hour cabinet meeting, in which various secretaries seemed to compete to praise him in more effusive terms, and he took questions from reporters from partisan outlets.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trump told reporters that \u201cI think, maybe in my own mind, I have somebody that I like\u201d to take the place of the Federal Reserve governor he is trying to force out, Lisa Cook<\/strong>, who is fighting to keep her place.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Two reporters for pro-Trump outlets offered testimony about crime in Washington DC to support the president\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Texas\u2019s redrawn congressional maps have drawn a lawsuit from the NAACP, accusing the state of committing a racial gerrymander with its maps that strip Black voters of their political power.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A whistleblower complaint alleges<\/a> that Elon Musk<\/strong>\u2019s so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d (Doge) copied and uploaded the sensitive Social Security data of hundreds of millions of Americans to a vulnerable cloud server, potentially violating federal privacy laws. One of the Doge staffers accused in the complaint is Edward Coristine<\/strong>, whose recent assault in Washington DC provided the pretext for Trump\u2019s federal takeover.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n In a deeply partisan press release<\/a>, Sean Duffy<\/strong>, the former Republican congressman and Fox host serving as Donald Trump\u2019s transportation secretary, announced the cancellation of $175m in funding for four projects related to what he called \u201cCalifornia\u2019s High-Speed Rail boondoggle\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Trump administration retaliated against some Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers who signed a letter of dissent about the agency\u2019s leadership, the Washington Post reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A local television outlet in Washington DC recorded video of \u201ca full busload of National Guard members \u2026 picking up trash in Lafayette Park, just outside the White House\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cracker Barrel<\/strong> announced that it is scrapping its new logo, and returning to its old one, hours after Donald Trump<\/a> joined the conservative backlash to the change.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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US envoy tells Lebanese journalists to \u2018act civilised\u2019 \u2013 video <\/p>\n![\"Anna](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Anna_Betts.png\")
Anna Betts<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/George-Chidi.jpg\")
George Chidi<\/p>\nAnna Betts<\/p>\n\n