House passes bill to fund federal agencies through September, sending it to the Senate. Here’s how it unfolded.

By Jon Chesto, Globe Staff

Power supplier Hydro-Quebec stopped exporting electricity into New England’s wholesale market in recent days as the Trump administration rolled out tariffs for Canadian imports.

Data provided by grid overseer ISO New England show that starting last Thursday, no electricity has flowed on the main transmission line between Quebec and New England, with few exceptions. The flow stopped two days after President Trump’s tariffs on many Canadian imports took effect on March 4.

An executive with Hydro-Quebec, a utility owned by the Quebec provincial government, pointed to weather issues, not politics or international trade tensions, as the reason the juice stopped flowing.

Hydro-Quebec’s Serge Abergel said the company hasn’t sold any power into New England since last Thursday, and any power that did go to New England on the main transmission line or a secondary line to Vermont since that time came from neighboring areas, simply moving through Hydro-Quebec’s grid network.

“Our current stance on the market is price driven,” said Abergel, chief operating officer for Hydro-Quebec’s US operations. “The warmer weather of the past few days has brought lower prices, which explains our strategy.”

READ MORE

By the Washington Post

White House officials on Tuesday reiterated allegations of “waste and fraud” in entitlement programs after Elon Musk suggested his US DOGE Service may seek to slash the programs' spending, as the administration sought to reassure the public that no cuts will be made to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

Discussing his efforts to cut federal spending, Musk suggested that “waste and fraud” in the programs is “the big one to eliminate” during a Fox Business interview Monday. Musk estimated that “half-trillion, maybe six, 700 billion a year” could be saved through eliminating the waste and fraud he claims exists in entitlement spending.

The programs cost more than $2.9 trillion in fiscal 2024, meaning Musk is suggesting that up to 24 percent of their budget is fraud and waste. That figure is much higher than what has been identified by watchdogs.

The Trump administration has already labeled vast amounts of government spending as waste or fraud in justifying its sweeping cuts to the federal government. Some DOGE cuts, such as the firing of workers who maintain the United States’ nuclear weapons, have already been reversed.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

“Big WIN for Republicans, and America, tonight. Congratulations to ALL!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform.

The Republican-controlled House voted 217-213 to pass the bill to fund federal agencies through the end of the budget year in September. It now goes to the Senate, where bipartisan support will be needed to send it to Trump’s desk for his signature by late Friday.

By the Associated Press

While House Republicans unanimously supported a continuing resolution to fund the government through September, many GOP lawmakers bristled that spending was not slashed enough.

“It’s a bad bill now, but we were painted in the corner,” Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia said. “We don’t have a better option right now. That’s the horrible thing about that.”

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, an outspoken member of Freedom Caucus, said that he expects the White House “will come in with a relatively conservative number” on future budget proposals that would be more satisfying to fiscal hawks.

By the Associated Press

For Singapore, he has selected Anji Sinha.

Trump says Sinha is a “highly respected entrepreneur, with an incredible family” who will “strongly represent our Nation’s Interests, and put America First.”

For Tunisia, he has tapped Bill Bazzi, mayor of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

Bazzi “worked hard during the 2024 Presidential Election to help us secure our Historic Victory, and I look forward to seeing the great things he will accomplish for our Nation,” Trump said. Bazzi is a former Marine who also held positions at Boeing Co. and Ford Motor Co. before he became mayor in January 2021.

The posts require Senate approval. Trump made the announcements on his social media platform, Truth Social.

By the Associated Press

“We had some little hiccups, not big hiccups, but we’ve saved a tremendous amount of money for the future,” Trump said at a business roundtable event in Washington.

Trump also continued to lower expectations for what Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency would ultimately save, a figure Musk first set at $2 trillion then later scaled back to $1 trillion.

“We saved a tremendous amount of money,” Trump says, referring to savings he credits Musk with identifying. “I don’t know if it’s going to reach a trillion, but it’s going to reach a lot.”

He also denounced escalating blowback that Musk has received for his work for Trump, including slumping sales and stock prices at Tesla.

“He shouldn’t be sacrificed or have to suffer because he wants to help government,” Trump said of the world’s richest man.

By the Associated Press

A union for US Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.

A person familiar with the email who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal verified that it was sent to at least some essential personnel.

The email directed staffers to report to work starting Tuesday. “Shred as many documents first,” then stuff remaining classified material into designated bags for burning if the demand on the shredder becomes too great, the email instructed.

It was sent under the name of Erica Carr — the acting executive secretary at USAID — and bears a USAID logo.

By the Associated Press

The Education Department plans to lay off over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees as part of a reorganization that’s seen as a prelude to Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

The cuts announced by department officials raise questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, said Rachel Oglesby, the department’s chief of staff. She said the changes would not affect the agency’s Office for Civil Rights or its functions mandated by Congress, such as the distribution of federal aid to schools.

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government.

READ MORE

By Mike Damiano, Globe Staff

A White House spokesperson said that Columbia University has received a list of student activists the government wants to arrest, and that the school is not helping the Trump administration find them.

President Trump “is not going to tolerate that,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The remarks came three days after federal immigration officials arrested a Columbia graduate, Mahmoud Khalil, who is a former leader of the school’s pro-Palestinian protest movement, and whisked him to an immigration jail in Louisiana without charging him with any crime.

On Friday, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal funding to Columbia over what it described as the university’s inadequate response to campus antisemitism related to the protest movement over the Israel-Hamas war.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

The House has passed legislation to avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through September, providing critical momentum as the measure now moves to the Senate, where bipartisan support will be needed to get it over the finish line.

Republicans needed overwhelming support from their members to pass the funding measure, and they got it in the 217-213 House vote.

The bill will need support from at least eight Democratic senators to get it to Trump’s desk.

By the Associated Press

The premier of Canada’s most populous province said Tuesday he was suspending the 25% surcharge that Ontario imposed earlier this week on electricity exports to the United States after speaking with the U.S. Commerce Secretary and agreeing to meet with him in Washington.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have agreed to meet on Thursday to “discuss a renewed” United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.

“They call you and they hand over an olive branch, the worst thing I could do as premier of Ontario is ignore him and hang up the phone on him,” Ford said.

By the Associated Press

A federal judge refused to block the Trump administration from canceling or pausing payments for government contracts with the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program.

Last month, US District Judge Trevor McFadden declined to order the administration to restore funding for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. In Tuesday’s ruling, the judge denied the conference’s request for a preliminary injunction.

McFadden said he can’t order the government to pay money due on a contract. The group is seeking “a purely contractual remedy” that must be resolved by the Court of Federal Claims, the judge concluded.

The bishops asked the judge to prohibit the US State Department from enforcing a Jan. 24 suspension of millions of dollars in aid, saying it has affected nearly 7,000 newly arrived refugees. The conference is one of 10 national agencies that received program funds for refugee resettlement services.

By the Associated Press

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the team “enthusiastically accepted” an invitation to visit on April 28.

Trump attended the first half of the Super Bowl in February, where the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 to win Philadelphia’s second championship.

By the Associated Press

Lawyers for Perkins Coie, which represented Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the 2016 presidential election, called the executive order signed by Trump an “affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice.”

The firm is asking for a judge to strike down the president’s order as unconstitutional and prevent it from being implemented.

The firm made headlines over its hiring of a private investigative firm to research any ties between Trump and Russia.

In its lawsuit, lawyers for Perkins Coie noted the attorney who brokered that arrangement left the firm years ago. They call the order an act of retaliation that threatens to harm the law firm’s reputation and business and that illegally discriminates against the firm.

By the Associated Press

Trump bought a red Model S Tesla, fulfilling a pledge he made overnight on social media.

The president said he planned to pay for the vehicle by check instead of whipping out a credit card because he likes doing things the “old-fashioned way.”

Trump said he hopes the purchase will boost sales for Elon Musk’s company.

And will he take it for a test drive? “Maybe I’ll do it some other time,” Trump said.

By the Associated Press

Republicans, particularly those in Congress, have been overwhelmingly supportive of broad cuts across the federal government at the hands of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. But some have had words of caution. Here’s what some Republicans in Congress are saying:

• Representative Bill Huizenga, Michigan: “I will fully admit, I think Elon Musk has tweeted first and thought second sometimes,” Huizenga said last week during a virtual meeting with constituents. “He has plunged ahead without necessarily knowing and understanding what he legally has to do or what he is going to be doing.”
• Representative Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin: Van Orden called Musk “highly receptive” and said that the billionaire had “assured” him that “DOGE will be more refined in their recommendations to ensure our vets and farmers are not hurt in the process of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending.”
• Representative Jennifer Kiggans, Virginia: “We all understand the overarching goal, where we’re going to: again, downsizing, cutting spending. But how are we getting there? And I think there’s just some places to provide a gentle reminder along the way that, please look out for our veterans,” Kiggans said.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

US Representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia and some fellow Democrats are asking the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to “uphold their duty to protect American consumers from entities that may prey on them financially.”

In a letter to the bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, Connolly asked the agencies to investigate price gouging and anticompetitive behavior on essential goods and services.

Connolly is the highest ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee on Government Reform.

By the Associated Press

Trump also said he hopes the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposal can be solidified “over the next few days.”

“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” Trump added.

By the Associated Press

Employees are being ordered not to come to the office Wednesday.

A memo sent to staff Tuesday ordered them to be out of the Washington headquarters and regional offices by 6 p.m., and not to return until Thursday. Workers won’t be allowed in offices for any reason, the memo said.

It came from the department’s office of security, facilities and logistics.

The only explanation given for the closure was unspecified security reasons. A department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions.

Trump campaigned on a promise to shut down the department and turn over its power to states. New Education Secretary Linda McMahon told workers last week to prepare for cuts that will “profoundly impact staff, budgets and agency operations.”

By the Associated Press

The president offered his first comments after his team and Ukrainian officials announced they’ve come to terms on a 30-day ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

The US now needs to get the Kremlin to sign off.

“Now we have to go to Russia and ... hopefully President Putin, will agree to that also,” Trump said. “And we can get this show on the road.”

By the Associated Press

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday afternoon that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him and Ford agreed to remove the surcharge on electricity sold to the United States.

He said he was confident the US president would also stand down on his own plans for 50 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

“He has to bounce it off the president but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,” Ford said on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff threat. “By no means are we just going to roll over. What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation.”

After a brutal stock market selloff Monday and further jitters Tuesday, Trump faces increased pressure to show he has a solid plan to grow the economy.

By the Associated Press

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz spoke to reporters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after talks the US said saw Ukraine agree to immediate negotiations with Russia and a 30-day ceasefire, contingent on Russia also stopping attacks.

Besides immediate steps, the talks addressed “substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end, what type of, guarantees they’re going to have for their long term security and prosperity,” Waltz said.

The Trump administration also agreed to end what had been a weeklong suspension of military aid to Ukraine.

By the Associated Press

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Ukraine agreed to enter immediate negotiations for an “enduring and sustainable” end to the war with Russia.

“Ukrainians are ready to stop the fighting, they’re ready to stop the shooting, they’re ready to get to the table,” Rubio told reporters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The secretary had just finished several hours of talks that included US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and a Ukrainian delegation. The US now takes the offer to Russia, Rubio said.

By the Associated Press

In a joint statement with the US, Ukraine also said that it is open to 30-day ceasefire in war with Russia.

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it would immediately lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine and its intelligence sharing with Kyiv, more than a week after imposing the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.

The announcement came at talks between Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine also said it was open to a 30-day cease-fire in the war with Russia, subject to Kremlin agreement.

By the Associated Press

“I think Canada is a neighbor. They are a partner. They have always been an ally,” Leavitt told the White House press corps during a briefing.

“Perhaps they are becoming a competitor now,” she said, especially in light of Trump’s announcement Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada in an escalation of the trade war with the U.S.’s northern neighbor.

Leavitt continued to press Trump’s suggestion that Canada would be well served becoming the 51st state in the United States.

“He believes Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America,” she said.

By the Associated Press

The US Department of Agriculture said last month it initiated the compliance review in the wake of a disagreement between Trump and Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills over the role of transgender girls in sports.

Trump signed an executive order designed to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump characterized Maine as out of line with the order and told Mills “you’re not getting any federal funding” during a meeting with governors during the disagreement.

University of Maine officials said in a statement that federal funding is critical to its work supporting farmers, fishermen and foresters in the state. They said the university has complied with the USDA investigation and has been informed the funding pause is temporary until further notice.

By the Associated Press

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a Tesla is being brought to the White House for Trump.

The president announced in an overnight social media post that he was going to buy a car from Elon Musk’s company, which has faced sagging sales and declining stock prices as Musk slashes government jobs, programs and funding throughout the federal bureaucracy.

Leavitt said getting the new vehicle would be a “very exciting moment,” and that Trump would pay full market price.

By the Associated Press

Johnson suggested Trump’s economic policies amounted to a “shake-up” in the short term that would eventually result in “repairing and restoring the American economy.”

Johnson was fielding reporters’ questions at the U.S. Capitol.

“Give the president a chance to have these policies play out,” he said.

By the Associated Press

Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that his government will keep tariffs in place until Americans show respect and commit to free trade after Trump threatened historic financial devastation for Canada.

Carney, who will be sworn in as Justin Trudeau’s replacement in the coming days, said Trump’s latest tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers, families, and businesses.

READ MORE

By Washington Post

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making one of his first official moves aimed at increasing oversight of the chemicals found in the nation’s food supply - a key component of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda to root out chronic disease and childhood illness.

On Monday, Kennedy, who serves as the nation’s top health official, announced he was directing the Food and Drug Administration to “explore potential rulemaking” to tighten a decades-old loophole allowing food companies to put chemicals in their products without notifying the nation’s food regulators.

The practice Kennedy is targeting, known as “generally recognized as safe,” can occur when companies self-certify the safety of a food additive. The industry isn’t required to tell the FDA when they include some chemicals and substances in their products, meaning there are probably hundreds of such ingredients added to the food supply without government oversight.

READ MORE

By Globe Staff

By the Associated Press

In less than a month, TikTok could have one or a few new owners, be banned again, or simply receive another reprieve to continue operating in the United States.

Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued to linger since a law requiring its China-based parent company to divest or face a ban took effect Jan. 19. After taking office, President Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until April 5.

As he returned to Washington from his Florida home Sunday, Trump told reporters a deal could come soon. He didn’t offer any details on the interested buyers, but said the administration was in talks with “four different groups” about TikTok.

“A lot of people want it and it’s up to me,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.

A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment.

By the Associated Press

House Speaker Mike Johnson is making his views clear about the arrest of the Palestinian activist, a former Columbia University graduate student who helped lead last spring’s protests again Israel.

Johnson said he was glad the United States has a president “who’s strong enough to lay down the law.”

“We’re going to arrest your tail,” Johnson said, referring to deporting certain international students in the US on visas. “This is just getting started.”

By the Associated Press

The Internal Revenue Service says more than $1 billion in refunds remain unclaimed by taxpayers who haven’t filed their 1040 forms for the 2021 tax year.

The IRS estimates the median refund amount to be about $781. In all, it estimates about 1.1 million people may have money owed to them.

Taxpayers who haven’t claimed their refunds for 2021 have until April 15 to submit their returns, the service says.

By the Associated Press

The European Union plans to step up humanitarian aid to Ukraine when others pull back.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ speech at the U.N. on Tuesday was clearly aimed at Trump’s dismissive language about Europe, his massive cutbacks in aid to poor and conflict-torn countries, and his refusal to acknowledge that Russia invaded Ukraine.

“The EU will remain the U.N.’s reliable partner of choice,” Kallas said in defending the U.N.‘s commitment to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.

While the Trump administration is eliminating 83% of the programs of its former aid agency — including to the U.N. — she said the EU will always support rising humanitarian needs, with almost 2 billion euros (about $2.16 billion) this year.

By the Associated Press

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is likely covered by public records law and must begin complying with requests from a watchdog group, a federal judge found.

Judge Christopher Cooper rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that DOGE isn’t an agency subject to public-records requests because it reports to the White House.

In his ruling late Monday, Cooper cited social-media statements from Musk and President Trump as he found that DOGE likely does wield independent authority that makes it legally subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Judge Cooper ordered DOGE to start responding to requests about the team’s role in mass firings and disruptions to federal programs filed by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

By the Associated Press

That’s according to a Trump administration official familiar with the ongoing investigation into the matter.

Monday’s outage was described as a cyber attack by the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the Republican administration takes all cyber attacks against American companies seriously but underscored that the US government had not gleaned any specific intelligence about who might have been behind the attack.

The comments came after Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and a top adviser to Trump, claimed in an appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” show that the cyber attackers had “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” without going into detail on what that might mean.

Cybersecurity experts quickly pointed out, however, that this doesn’t necessarily mean the attack originated in Ukraine.

By the Associated Press

Trump says the increase of the tariffs set to take effect Wednesday is a response to the price increases the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

The US stock market promptly fell following the social media post.

By the Associated Press

After a brutal stock market selloff because of his tariff threats, President Trump faces pressure Tuesday to show he has a legitimate plan to grow the economy instead of perhaps pushing it into a recession.

Trump was set to deliver an afternoon address to the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that during the 2024 campaign he wooed with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers. But his plans for tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, steel and aluminum — with more to possibly come on Europe, Brazil, South Korea, pharmaceutical drugs, copper, lumber and computer chips — would amount to a massive tax hike.

The stock market’s vote of no confidence over the past two weeks puts the president in a bind between his enthusiasm for taxing imports and his brand as a politician who understands business based on his own experiences in real estate, media and marketing.

By the Associated Press

That follows a scary stretch where worries about the economy and tariffs sent it close to 9% below its all-time high.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3 percent in early trading. While still a loss, such a modest move would be a respite after the main measure of Wall Street’s health swung by at least 1 pecent, up or down, seven times in the last eight days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 202 points, or 0.5 percent, as of 9:35 a.m. A day earlier, it had been down more than 1,100 points at one point. The Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.

Several Big Tech stocks held steadier after getting walloped in recent months. Elon Musk’s Tesla rose 1.1 percent, for example. President Trump even said he would buy a Tesla in a show of support for “Elon’s ‘baby.’ ”

By the Associated Press

The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.

Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 2200 GMT Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.

While the Arctic island has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark isn’t on the ballot even though it’s on everyone’s mind. Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 lawmakers who’ll shape the island’s debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.

By the Associated Press

The White House is circumspect about the prospects for a peaceful Syria after clashes erupted last week that left hundreds dead.

Monitoring groups say hundreds of civilians were killed in the clashes that broke out last week. Revenge attacks primarily targeted members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs.

White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said Tuesday that the attacks on religious minorities has raised concerns in the administration “about whether Syria’s interim governing authorities are ready to include a religiously and ethnically diverse population, and whether the interim authorities even have the legitimacy to do so.”

Syria’s interim government signed a deal Monday with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main US -backed force there into the Syrian army.

By the Associated Press

Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when the spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September comes up for a vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson is teeing up the bill for a vote as soon as Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act.

Republicans will need overwhelming support from their members in both chambers — and some help from Senate Democrats — to get the bill to President Trump’s desk. It’s one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president’s second term.

“The CR will pass,” Johnson told reporters Monday, using Washington shorthand to describe the continuing resolution. “No one wants to shut the government down. We are governing, doing the responsible thing as Republicans. It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing.”

By the Associated Press

The president stayed away from the cameras during Mondays sell-off on Wall Street, driven by concerns over his trade war and the reverberations it will cause the global economy.

Trump will get a chance to say his piece when he visits with the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from leading American companies, later Tuesday.

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration has unveiled an overhauled cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the US to say they want to leave the country voluntarily.

The renamed app, announced Monday and now called CBP Home, is part of the administration’s campaign to encourage “self-deportations,” touted as an easy and cost-effective way to nudge along Trump’s push to deport millions of immigrants without legal status.

Moments after Trump took office, the earlier version of the app, CBP One, stopped allowing migrants to apply for asylum, and tens of thousands of border appointments were canceled.

More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country on immigration parole under CBP One, generally for two years, starting in January 2023.

The Trump administration has repeatedly urged migrants in the country illegally to leave.

By the Associated Press

Massie, the hardline conservative from Kentucky, has raised President Trump’s ire by opposing a Republican push for a spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September.

Trump went after Massie on social media, calling him a “GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble.”

“HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump says.

Massie said he opposes the short-term spending bill because it maintains federal funding without considering budget cuts that reflect the “waste fraud and abuse” in government spending DOGE has uncovered.

“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election,” Massie added on X. “Guess what? Doesn’t work on me.”

By the Associated Press

President Trump says Musk, who’s effectively running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been “putting it on the line” for America and he’s going to show his support for the Tesla CEO by buying one of his electric vehicles.

Shares of Tesla slid again Monday as confidence in Musk’s electric car company continues to disintegrate following a post-election “Trump bump.”

Trump said on his social media platform that he was “going to buy a brand new Tesla” on Tuesday “as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American. Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”

Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s government downsizing efforts.

Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy, environmentally-conscious liberals.

By the Associated Press

The trade wars pose an immediate threat to an American-made success story, built on the growing worldwide taste for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and other products.

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said the president’s zig-zagging tariff policy is hurting the American economy and will lead to higher consumer prices while disrupting business.

President Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada for a month amid fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. Yarbrough said his company’s expansion plans are still in limbo.

For an industry that has to plan well into the future, based on aging its whiskey products, such angst is widespread in Kentucky, which produces 95% of the world’s bourbon supply. At this point even a delay in tariffs wouldn’t alleviate the practical problems confronting US whiskey makers.

By the Associated Press

Senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks Tuesday on how to end Moscow’s three-year war against Kyiv, hours after Russian air defenses shot down more than 300 Ukrainian drones in the biggest such attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said. No large-scale damage was reported.

Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 Shahed and other drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine on Tuesday, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war.

In the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, journalists briefly entered a room where a senior Ukrainian delegation met with America’s top diplomat for talks on ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

By the Associated Press

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the President Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old US Agency for International Development, cutting 83% of them, and said he would move the remaining aid programs under the State Department.

Hours later, a federal judge said Trump had overstepped his authority in shutting down most foreign assistance, saying the administration could no longer simply sit on the billions of dollars that Congress had provided for foreign aid. But Judge Amir H. Ali stopped short of ordering Trump officials to use the money to revive the thousands of terminated program contracts.

Rubio made his announcement Monday in a post on X, in one of his few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from US foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams.

Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and “our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid.

By the Associated Press

High-stakes talks between Ukraine and the United States have started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Journalists briefly entered the room to see the two sides as the meeting began at a luxury hotel in the Red Sea port city on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio smiled for the camera, while Ukrainian officials sat without expression at a table across from them.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was on hand for the talks. American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags stood in the background. Officials answered no shouted questions.

By the Associated Press

European and Asian benchmarks were mixed on Tuesday, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street spurred by worries over the ripple effects from President Trump’s tariffs.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3 percent.

Germany’s DAX gained 0.6% to 22,764,82, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.7 percent to 8,102.82. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost less than 0.1 percent to 8,597.00.

Asian benchmarks skidded as worries grew over how sharply higher tariffs will hurt exporters in the region.

READ MORE

By the Associated Press

Japan’s trade minister said Tuesday that he has failed to win assurances from US officials that the key US ally will be exempt from tariffs, some of which effect on Wednesday.

Yoji Muto was in Washington for last ditch negotiations over the tariffs on a range of Japanese exports including cars, steel, and aluminum.

Muto said Tuesday that Japan, which contributes to the US economy by heavily investing and creating jobs in the United States, “should not be subject to” 25 percent tariffs on steel, aluminum, and auto exports to America.

READ MORE