The Latest: Mike Waltz will face questions over Signal chat at Senate hearing for new UN job
He is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 10 a.m. ET.
The hearing will provide senators with the first opportunity to grill Waltz over revelations in March that he added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an unclassified messaging app that was used to discuss planning for strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen.
Waltz has spent the last few months on the White House payroll despite being removed as national security adviser. The latest list of White House salaries, current as of July 1, includes Waltz earning an annual salary of $195,200.
Here's the latest:
Inflation rose last month to its highest level in 4 months
Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who promised during last year's presidential campaign to immediately lower costs. Higher inflation will also likely heighten the Federal Reserve's reluctance to cut its short-term interest rate, as Trump is loudly demanding.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices for things like gas, food and groceries rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.
Trump's sweeping tariffs are also pushing up the cost of a range of goods, including furniture, clothing, and large appliances.
Trump urged supporters to see conspiracies everywhere. With Epstein, that's coming back to haunt him
As his supporters erupt over the Justice Department's failure to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation, President Trump's strategy has been to downplay the issue.
His problem? That nothing-to-see-here approach doesn't work for those who have learned from him that they must not give up until the government's deepest, darkest secrets are exposed.
On Saturday, Trump used his Truth Social platform to again attempt to call supporters off the Epstein trail amid reports of infighting between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the issue. He suggested the turmoil was undermining his administration, but that did little to mollify Trump's supporters, who urged him to release the files or risk losing his base.
The political crisis is especially challenging for Trump because it's one of his own making. The president has spent years stoking dark theories and embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts him as the only savior who can demolish the 'deep state.' Now that he's running the federal government, the community he helped build is coming back to haunt him. It's demanding answers he either isn't able to or does not want to provide.
Trump sounds more positive about NATO
Trump hailed as 'amazing' the news from the NATO summit last month that member countries will increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product.
'Nobody thought that that was possible,' Trump told the BBC.
He has complained for a long time that the U.S. shoulders too much of the NATO burden and has demanded that countries devote more of their budgets to defense.
Reminded that he previously had called NATO 'obsolete,' Trump said, 'I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that. I do think it was past.'
Trump says he wants to have a 'good time' on his upcoming UK state visit
Speaking about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump noted in the BBC interview, 'I really like the prime minister, even though he's a liberal.'
Trump and Starmer have met several times, including in the Oval Office, and the prime minister was quick to negotiate a trade framework with the United States to avoid the steep tariffs Trump is imposing on other countries.
Trump is due to visit Britain in mid-September for an unprecedented second state visit. Asked about his goals for the trip, Trump said, 'I want to have a good time and respect King Charles, because he's a great gentleman.'
Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, are set to visit the U.K. between Sept. 17 and 19 and will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
No U.S. president has been invited for a second state visit. Trump previously enjoyed state visit pomp and pageantry in 2019 during his first term when he was hosted by Charles' late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Trump says he's 'disappointed' but not 'done' with Putin, dodges on whether he trusts Russia's leader
Asked about Putin in a telephone interview with the BBC that aired on Tuesday, Trump said, 'I'm disappointed in him. But I'm not done with him, but I'm disappointed in him.'
Trump said he thought he and Putin had reached a deal several times to end Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, only to find out that Russia had just attacked Kyiv again.
The president dodged when asked if he trusts Putin. 'I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you,' Trump said.
The Kremlin says more US weapons for Ukraine will extend the war
The Kremlin said Tuesday that new supplies of U.S. weapons to Ukraine announced by President Trump will extend the conflict.
Asked about comments by Trump, who threatened Russia with steep tariffs if it fails to agree to a peace deal in 50 days and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that 'such decisions made in Washington, in NATO members and in Brussels are perceived by the Ukrainian side as a signal for continuing the war, not a signal for peace.'
He reaffirmed that Russia is open to continuing the talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, but is still waiting for Kyiv to offer a date for their new round. 'We are ready to continue the dialogue,' he said, adding that 'we haven't yet received signals about the third round and it's hard to say what's the reason.'
Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly 1,400 Education Department employees
The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Education Department back on track and go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees.
With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an order from U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan.
The layoffs 'will likely cripple the department,' Joun wrote. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.
The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department, one of Trump's biggest campaign promises.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Trump sets 19% tariff on Indonesia goods in latest deal, EU readies retaliation
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19 per cent tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were coming, while offering fresh details on planned duties on pharmaceuticals. Trump announced the pact with Indonesia, a relatively minor U.S. trading partner, as he continued to press for what he views as better terms with trading partners and ways to shrink a huge U.S. trade deficit. Letters setting tariff rates for dozens of smaller countries were also coming soon, he said on Tuesday. The deal with Indonesia is among the handful struck so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again. The accord came as the top U.S. trading partner - the European Union - readied retaliatory measures should talks with Washington fail. As that deadline approached, negotiations were under way with other nations eager to avoid more U.S. levies beyond a baseline 10 per cent on most goods that has been in place since April. Trump's roll-out of the policies has often been chaotic. His moves have upended decades of negotiated reductions in global trade barriers, unsettling international financial markets and threatening a new wave of inflation. Based on Trump tariff announcements through Sunday, Yale Budget Lab estimated the U.S. effective average tariff rates will rise to 20.6 per cent from between 2 per cent and 3 per cent before Trump's return to the White House in January. Consumption shifts would bring the rate down to 19.7 per cent, but it's still the highest since 1933. Trump outlined an Indonesia deal similar to a preliminary pact struck recently with Vietnam, with a flat tariff on exports to the U.S. roughly double the current 10 per cent and no levies on U.S. exports going there. It also included a penalty rate for so-called transhipments of goods from China via Indonesia and a commitment to buy some U.S. goods. 'They are going to pay 19 per cent and we are going to pay nothing ... we will have full access into Indonesia, and we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced,' Trump said outside the Oval Office. Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that Indonesia had agreed to buy US$15 billion of U.S. energy products, $4.5 billion of American farm products and 50 Boeing jets, though no time frame was specified. He told reporters the deal with Vietnam was 'pretty well set' but said it was not necessary to release details. Trump: India talks moving the same way Indonesia's total trade with the U.S. - totalling just under $40 billion in 2024 - does not rank in the top 15, but it has been growing. U.S. exports to Indonesia rose 3.7 per cent last year, while imports from there were up 4.8 per cent, leaving the U.S. with a goods trade deficit of nearly $18 billion. The top U.S. import categories from Indonesia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from the International Trade Centre's TradeMap tool, last year were palm oil, electronics equipment including data routers and switches, footwear, car tires, natural rubber and frozen shrimp. Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message: 'We are preparing a joint statement between U.S. and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon.' Trump had threatened the country with a 32 per cent tariff rate starting August 1 in a letter sent to its president last week. He sent similar letters to about two dozen trading partners this month, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, laying out tariff rates ranging from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, plus a 50 per cent tariff on copper. Speaking in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Trump said he favored blanket tariffs over complicated negotiations, but his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were keen to land more trade agreements. Upon his arrival back in Washington, Trump told reporters that letters would be going out soon for many smaller countries, suggesting they would face a tariff of 'a little over 10 per cent.' He said his administration would also announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States, probably at the end of the month, starting with what he called a low tariff rate to give companies time to move manufacturing to the U.S. before imposing a 'very high tariff' in a year or so. The August 1 deadline gives targeted countries time to negotiate about lower tariff rates. Some economists have also noted Trump's pattern of backing off his tariff threats. Since launching his tariff policy, Trump has clinched only a few 'framework' agreements, falling short of earlier promises to land '90 deals in 90 days.' So far, such deals have been reached with the U.K. and Vietnam, and an interim deal has been struck with China to forestall the steepest of Trump's tariffs while negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing. Trump said talks with India were moving 'along that same line,' saying the agreement would give U.S. firms access to the large Indian market. EU readies retaliation The breakthrough with Indonesia came as the European Commission, which oversees trade for the EU, prepared to target 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods - from Boeing aircraft and bourbon whiskey to cars - for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail. Trump has threatened a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, pre-dated Trump's move over the weekend to ramp up pressure on the 27-nation bloc and responded instead to U.S. duties on cars and car parts and a 10 per cent baseline tariff. The package also covers chemicals, medical devices, electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - valued at 6.35 billion euros. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and David Lawder and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Richard Lough in Paris; Amanda Teresia, Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Chizu Nomiyama, Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vance heads to Pennsylvania to launch the White House's first major push to sell Trump's big bill
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday will head to the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania to begin selling President Donald Trump's sweeping budget-and-policy package in a working-class district that could see a ferocious congressional campaign next year. Vance, whose tiebreaking vote got the bill through the Senate, has promoted the bill's passage as another example of the Trump administration's mantra of 'promises made, promises kept' and a measure that will cut taxes, increase take-home pay for American families and strengthen border security. The historic legislation, which Trump signed into law earlier this month with near unanimous Republican support, includes key campaign pledges like no tax on tips but also cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion. Democrats have vowed to make the law a major issue in the midterm elections and recently held a town hall in House Speaker Mike Johnson's home state of Louisiana to denounce the legislation as a 'reverse Robin Hood — stealing from the poor to give to the rich.' The battle for control of the messaging on the bill could be critical to how well the measure is ultimately received, as some of the most divisive parts of the law, including Medicaid and food assistance cuts, are timed to take effect only after the midterm elections. The bill was generally unpopular before its passage, polls showed, although some individual provisions are popular, like boosting the annual child tax credit and eliminating taxes on tips. The trip by Vance to West Pittston marks the first big push from the White House to promote the new law. It's unclear how much Trump plans to do the same. Trump told NBC News last week that he would travel 'a little bit' to help champion the measure he dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' 'But honestly,' he said, 'It's been received so well I don't think I have to.' Vance's office declined to provide details on his trip to West Pittston or elaborate on plans for other public events around the U.S. to promote the bill. West Pittston, which sits in Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan's district in northeastern Pennsylvania, is a place where Trump's populist brand of politics has found a foothold. Trump's popularity with the white working class has accelerated the political shift in nearby areas, including around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, turning reliably Democratic areas into contested turf and contributing to Trump's 2024 win in Pennsylvania. There, and in a swing district around Allentown just to the south, Republicans last year knocked off two Democratic U.S. House incumbents after years of trying. Debate over the budget-and-policy package is expected to shape the 2026 midterm battle for control of the House, which Democrats see as their best opportunity to block Trump's agenda in his final two years in the Oval Office. Democrats need a net gain of three House seats to break Republican control of Washington. As Republicans see it, they've now delivered broad tax cuts, funding to further boost border security and restraints on costly social safety net programs. Democrats see a law that rolls back health insurance access, threatens the solvency of rural hospitals and raises costs for middle-class Americans while cutting taxes mostly for the rich and slashing green energy subsidies. Bresnahan's seat is a top Democratic target. While Bresnahan hasn't drawn a challenger in the 2026 election, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has aggressively gone after the state's Republican members of Congress who voted for the bill, including Bresnahan. 'Shame on these members of Congress who spent the last few months saying, 'Oh, I'll never cut Medicaid,'' Shapiro said during an appearance earlier this month on WILK-FM radio in Wilkes-Barre. 'I mean, Rep. Bresnahan told you, your listeners, your newspapers, told me to my face, this was a red line in the sand for him, he wouldn't harm people on Medicaid, he wouldn't harm our rural hospitals. … He caved and voted for this bill.' Bresnahan has defended his vote by saying it strengthens Medicaid by cracking down on fraud, waste and abuse and requiring those who can work to do so. He also said it ensures hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania will qualify for the funding they need to stay open. ___ Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
UN council authorizes continuing vigilance of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday authorized continued reporting on attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have defied its previous demands to immediately halt all such attacks. The vote in the 15-member council was 12-0 with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining because of attacks against Yemen in violation of its sovereignty, a clear reference to U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen. The Trump administration has carried out the strikes because of the group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on close ally Israel. The resolution, cosponsored by the United States and Greece, extends the requirement that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provide monthly reports to the Security Council about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea until Jan. 15, 2026. Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution recognizes the need for continued vigilance 'against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist threat.' She cited the two latest attacks by Houthis against civilian cargo vessels, the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C, which caused both vessels to sink and led to the loss of innocent seafarers and saw crew members taken hostage. 'The United States strongly condemns these unprovoked terrorist attacks, which demonstrate the threat that the Houthis pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,' Shea said, reiterating the council's demand for an immediate halt to Houthi attacks and the release of all crew members kidnapped from the Eternity C. The assaults represent the latest chapter of the rebels' campaign against shipping over the war in Gaza that began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. They also come as Yemen's nearly decadelong war drags on in the Arab world's poorest country, without any sign of stopping. Greece's U.N. Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris said the Houthi attacks have continued to fuel mistrust in the international maritime community, stressing that security and freedom of navigation are essential for the stability of global supply chains and economic development. 'If the Red Sea region — a critical international maritime route — becomes even more degraded, it will expose the international community to more acute security risks and economic uncertainty,' he warned. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow abstained because language in the previous resolution demanding a halt to Houthi attacks was arbitrarily interpreted to justify 'the use of force affecting the territory of the sovereign state of Yemen.' 'We stand convinced that any steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in Yemen and around Yemen should be taken in political and diplomatic ways,' he said. China's deputy U.N. ambassador Geng Shuang said his country abstained because 'certain countries took military action against Yemen, which seriously impacted the Yemeni peace process and exacerbated tensions in the Red Sea.' The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Shuang called tensions in the Red Sea 'a major manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict.' Russia's Polyansky also stressed the link between normalizing the situation in the Red Sea and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages. Algeria's deputy U.N. ambassador Toufik Koudri, whose country is the Arab representative on the Security Council, expressed regret the Yemen resolution demanding an immediate halt to Houthi attacks made no mention of the Gaza war, which he called 'one of the catalytic factors.' 'The Security Council cannot disregard the clear nexus between the attacks in the Red Sea and the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the deep feelings that resulted from the brutal massacres committed against innocent civilians,' he said.
