June 3, 2026 9:35 AM

Trump administration drops $1.8 billion ‘weaponization’ fund after Republican backlash

The Trump administration is abandoning the president's $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund, U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday, after a rare backlash from Republican senators. "We are not moving forward with the fund," Blanche said. "Period." But Blanche also told lawmakers that an agreement with Trump to bar future audits of his or his family's past tax records will remain in place. The fund emerged from a legal settlement between President Donald Trump and the...

June 3, 2026 9:32 AM

US, NATO allies to launch scaled-back Baltic Sea drills

The U.S. and NATO allies will launch scaled-back drills in the Baltic Sea this week, as conflicts in other regions draw ships away, though the exercise will still send a message of unity and strength to Russia, a senior German military official said. The annual exercise, held for more than five decades since 1971, brings together some 20 vessels from 15 nations with around 6,000 personnel - roughly half the size of last year's drills - during a period of heightened tensions in the Baltic region...

May 25, 2026 10:29 AM

‘I am a big fan of PM Modi, India can count on me’: Trump reaffirms strong bilateral ties at Delhi event

US President Donald Trump on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reaffirmed Washington’s close ties with New Delhi during a surprise live virtual address at the 250th US Independence Day celebration held at the US Embassy in New Delhi. Speaking during the event attended by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, Trump described himself as a “big fan” of PM Modi and said India could count on the United St...

May 18, 2026 2:55 PM

Trump may have to wait for rate cuts until the Iran war is over, he tells Fortune

U.S. President Donald Trump conceded in an interview with Fortune magazine published on Monday that he may have to wait until the war with Iran was over for more interest rate cuts. “You can’t really look at the figures until the war is over,” he said. Trump said Iran was "dying to sign" a ceasefire deal with the U.S. "But they make a deal, and then they send you a paper that has no relationship to the deal you made." he told Fortune. (Reuters)...

May 13, 2026 9:27 AM

US has finalized tariff refunds of $35.5 billion as of May 11

The U.S. customs agency has processed refunds including interest worth $35.46 billion as of May 11 for tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last year that were deemed illegal, according to a Tuesday court filing. As of 7 a.m. ET on May 11, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had received 126,237 applications for refunds covering an undisclosed number of shipments or entries, according to the court filing. The agency said it had validated 86,874 of those applications covering 15.1 milli...

May 13, 2026 9:25 AM

US appeals court pauses ruling against Trump’s 10% global tariff

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday temporarily paused a lower court ruling against the Trump administration's 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act, keeping the tariffs in place for three importers that had won a reprieve from the duties last week. * The U.S. trade court ruled against the new tariffs on Friday, but did not widely block their collection * The Trump administration appealed * While the ruling is paused, tariffs resume for the two businesses and Washington state, whic...

May 13, 2026 9:20 AM

Trump promises US-Cuba talks but gives no details

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Cuba is asking for help and "we are going to talk," without providing any more information about U.S. plans. Trump has heaped pressure on the Caribbean island nation since returning to office last year, and threatened that Cuba "is next" after U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro, the president of longtime Cuban ally Venezuela, in January. "No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, which is a failed country and only heading in one direction - down! C...

May 13, 2026 9:17 AM

Kremlin, Trump say Ukraine war nearly over after Zelenskiy casts doubt

The Kremlin repeated Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that the war in Ukraine was almost over on Tuesday and U.S. President Donald Trump said the war's conclusion was "very close," perspectives not shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Moscow had no intention of ending it. "I think that the matter is coming to an end," Putin told reporters on Saturday. Asked to comment on Putin's remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that a certain amount of...

May 13, 2026 9:13 AM

Trump says he does not need China’s help to end Iran war, Tehran tightens grip on Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz. Ahead of a high-stakes summit in Beijing, Trump said he did not think he would need to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the conflict, which has continued to block maritime traffic that normally provides one-fifth of the world's oil supply. "I don't think we need an...

May 13, 2026 12:37 PM

US-Iran ceasefire under strain as Trump rejects Tehran proposal, regional tensions escalate

The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran appears increasingly unstable after President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s latest peace proposal, describing the agreement as being on "massive life support" and dismissing Iran’s counter-offer as "garbage." The sharp exchange has deepened uncertainty over efforts to prevent a wider conflict in West Asia. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that the country’s armed forces were "prepared to deliver a lesson-...