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several middle east allies USA urged trump card Government suspends strike Iran That’s because of the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.
The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive conversations, said senior officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had expressed concerns over the past 48 hours that U.S. military intervention would destabilize the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as markets appeared to notice a shift in tone from U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling he was backing away from attacking Iran after days of issuing harsh threats over Tehran’s brutal crackdown.
Nonetheless, the White House press secretary Caroline Levitt Trump insisted on Thursday that “all options remain on the table” when it comes to dealing with Iran.
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez for two hours
That makes him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the U.S. military strike captured former leader Nicolás Maduro.
The New York Times first reported Thursday’s meeting, which was confirmed Friday by a U.S. government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The official said the Caracas meeting was held at the direction of President Trump and was intended to demonstrate the United States’ desire for a better relationship with Venezuela. The official said Ratcliffe discussed potential economic cooperation with the United States and warned that Venezuela can never again allow U.S. adversaries, including drug traffickers, to exist.
——David Klepper
Trump administration erases centuries of Justice Department experience
As Attorney General Pam Bondi approaches her first year in office, the firings of Justice Department lawyers have defined her tumultuous tenure. The layoffs of attorneys and a larger voluntary departure have erased centuries of combined experience and reduced the number of career employees who can serve as a bastion of the rule of law in the department at a time when Republican President Donald Trump is testing the limits of executive power by calling for the prosecution of his political opponents.
AP interviews with more than a half-dozen fired employees provide a snapshot of the toll across the department. The departures include attorneys prosecuting the violent attack on police at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, environmental, civil rights and ethics enforcers, counterterrorism prosecutors, immigration judges and attorneys defending government policies. That continued this week, with several prosecutors in Minnesota resigning amid the chaos surrounding their investigation into the shooting death of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
▶ Learn more about Justice Department firings
How the White House and governors hope to solve AI-driven power shortages and price spikes
The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the mid-Atlantic grid operator to take emergency steps to boost energy supplies and curb rising prices, holding an event on Friday aimed at addressing growing voter concerns about the vast amounts of power used by artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.
The White House said the National Energy Board and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to force PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for technology companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants.
The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles to that end on Friday.
▶ Learn more about managing and AI-driven power shortages
Criminal investigation raises key questions: Will Chairman Powell leave Fed in May
Justice Department investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell A key drama that will play out at the Federal Reserve in the coming months is of heightened concern: Will Powell leave the Fed at the end of his term as chairman, or take the unusual step of staying on as governor?
Powell’s term as Fed chairman will end on May 15, but due to the complex structure of the central bank, he will have a separate term as one of the seven members of the Fed’s Board of Governors until January 31, 2028. Historically, nearly all Fed chairs have resigned from the board when they no longer serve as chair. But Powell may be the first person to remain governor in nearly 50 years.
Many Fed watchers believe the criminal investigation into Powell’s testimony about cost overruns on renovations to the Fed building is aimed at intimidating him from taking that step. If Powell remains on the board, the White House will lose its chance of gaining a majority, undermining the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten control of an agency that has been insulated from day-to-day politics for decades.
▶ Learn more about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
Trump announces outlines of health care plan he wants Congress to consider
Trump on Thursday unveiled the outlines of a health care plan he hopes Congress will pass, as Republicans face growing pressure to address rising health care costs after lawmakers let subsidies expire.
His cornerstone is sending money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and medical expenses as they wish. Democrats rejected the idea as a meager replacement for tax credits that have helped lower monthly premiums for many people.
Trump’s plan also focuses on lowering drug prices and requiring insurance companies to be more forthcoming with the public about costs, revenue, denied claims and wait times for care.
Trump has long been troubled by the lack of a comprehensive health care plan as he and Republicans have sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, signed by former President Barack Obama. Trump’s attempts during his first term to repeal and replace the law were thwarted.
▶ Learn more about Trump’s health care plan
Trump won’t wait for future generations to name things after him. happening now
Most American presidents aspire to achieve the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things after them.
Donald Trump will not leave that to future generations.
As the first year of his second term comes to an end, his Republican administration and allies are lending his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and new warships.
Add to that the “Trump Account” for tax-deferred investments, the TrumpRx government website that will soon offer direct sales of prescription drugs, “Trump Gold” visas costing at least $1 million and the Trump International Peace and Prosperity Route, a transit corridor included in a deal his administration brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On Friday, he plans to attend a ceremony in Florida, where officials will turn a 4-mile (6-kilometer) stretch of road from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach into the Donald J. Trump Presidential Parkway.
▶ Learn more about Trump’s name change efforts
Did Trump’s supporters get what they wanted from his second term? Here’s what a new poll shows
Nearly a year into his second term, Trump’s economic efforts are not meeting the expectations of many in his party, according to a new Associated Press-NORC survey.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found a wide gap between the economic leadership Americans remember from Trump’s first term and what he accomplished after causing alarming levels of turmoil at home and abroad.
Only 16% of Republicans said Trump had been “a lot” helpful in addressing cost of living issues, down from 49% in April 2024, when an Associated Press-NORC poll asked Americans the same question about his first term.
Republicans, meanwhile, overwhelmingly support the president’s leadership on immigration — though some dislike his tactics.
Overall, though, there are few signs that the Republican base is abandoning Trump. A strong majority of Republicans (about 8 in 10) approve of his job performance, compared with just 4 in 10 adults.
▶ Learn more about the poll results
Middle East allies urge Trump to delay attacks on Iran in diplomatic blitz, diplomats say
Several U.S. allies in the Middle East are urging the Trump administration to delay strikes against Iran amid its deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.
The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive conversations, said senior officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had expressed concerns over the past 48 hours that U.S. military intervention would destabilize the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as markets appeared to take notice of President Donald Trump’s shift in tone, signaling he was backing away from attacking Iran after days of issuing harsh threats over Tehran’s brutal crackdown.
Still, White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt insisted on Thursday that “all options remain on the table” for Trump in dealing with Iran.
▶ Learn more about Trump and Iran
— Matthew Lee, Madhani Medhani, leaving Ben Finley