President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The United States is reducing the number of people deemed nonessential to operations in the Middle East, the State Department has announced. The U.S. is also authorizing nonessential personnel and family members to leave Bahrain and Kuwait, which will give them a choice on whether to leave those countries.

The State Department said it made the orders after evaluating recent tensions, which are on the rise in the region as high-stakes nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear to have hit an impasse.

Meanwhile President Donald Trump announced that China will make it easier for American industry to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals, clearing the way for trade talks to continue between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump also said Wednesday that the U.S. will stop efforts to revoke the visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses.

Here's the latest:

Trump’s plan to begin ‘phasing out’ FEMA burdens states, experts warn

The president’s plan for the federal agency that responds to disasters after the 2025 hurricane season is likely to put more responsibilities on states to provide services following increasingly frequent and expensive climate disasters, experts said.

While there has been bipartisan support for reforming the agency, experts say dismantling it completely would leave gaps in crucial services and funding.

“It just causes more concern on how states should be planning for the future if the federal government’s not going to be there for them,” said Michael Coen, FEMA chief of staff during the Obama and Biden administrations.

Disaster response is already locally led and state-managed, but FEMA supports by coordinating resources from federal agencies, providing direct assistance programs for households and moving money to states for repairing public infrastructure.

? Read more about Trump’s plan on phasing out FEMA

Non VIP crowd mingles at Kennedy Center before Trump arrives for Les Miserables

After going through magnetometers and bag searches, the guests are mingling on the center’s Cross Hall-style red carpet.

Some patrons are availing themselves of several concession stands selling turkey or chicken salad sandwiches, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and boxes of candy.

A canned soda costs $8, and a glass of wine $19.

House uses procedural vote to amend big GOP tax bill

That means Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill finally will make its way to the Senate.

The changes struck some provisions from the bill that had been flagged as problematic by the Senate parliamentarian.

Provisions that were dropped include $2 billion to enhance military intelligence and about $500 million for the development of cruise missiles.

The House also dropped increased penalties for fraud committed through the employee retention tax credit established during the COVID pandemic.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said most of the changes were technical corrections, but he said the vote also gave Republicans who have expressed concern about the bill a chance to stop it.

“Now you have a second chance to actually stop this one big, ugly bill and the provisions you disagree with,” Jeffries said.

Raids in Southern California rattle immigrant communities — including those in the US legally

Jacob Vasquez began working at a clothing warehouse in Los Angeles soon after arriving from Mexico less than three years ago. Now he is among dozens of workers detained by federal immigration authorities in a series of raids in Southern California.

Vasquez has a three-month-old baby, according to his family, who spoke to reporters outside the Ambiance Apparel warehouse, a clothing company founded in 1999 where he worked.

“Jacob is a family man and the sole breadwinner of his household,” said his brother Gabriel, speaking in Spanish during a news conference this week.

“We don’t know where he is.”

Immigrant advocates say the workers who were detained do not have criminal histories and are being denied their due process rights.

? Read more about the raids and immigrant communities

GOP Sen. Rand Paul — a Trump bill critic — says he was disinvited from White House picnic

Paul told reporters that his family, including his young grandson — who has his own MAGA hat — were planning on attending the annual event for members of Congress.

The senator said he expects the disinvitation is part of a broader campaign against him over his stated opposition to the deficit numbers in Trump’s big bill.

“It’s people who choose to stand up to the president, and I have stood up to the president on the debt — but no differently than I stood up to Biden or to Obama,” he said.

“They don’t like it, and they don’t want to have a reasonable argument or a discussion over the policy,” he said. “They think they’re gonna somehow needle me or get me me disinvited — my grandson — to the picnic.”

“I think it’s just really petty and juvenile and, I think they should be called out for it.”

Judge says government must release Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil

The judge ruled that the government cannot deport and must release Khalil, the student whom the Trump administration jailed over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said Khalil has shown that his continued detention is causing irreparable harm to his career, his family and his free speech rights.

Farbiarz gave the government until Friday to appeal. He also required Khalil to post a $1 bond.

Khalil was detained by immigration agents March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment in New York. He was then taken to an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana.

Khalil’s lawyers have challenged the legality of his detention. They say the administration is trying to crack down on free speech.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has the power to deport Khalil because his presence in the U.S. could harm foreign policy.

Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil on those grounds was likely unconstitutional.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. names 8 vaccine committee replacements, including COVID shot critic

The U.S. health secretary named the new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week.

They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and transformed into a conservative darling for his criticisms of COVID-19 vaccines, and a leading critic of pandemic-era lockdowns.

Kennedy’s decision to “retire” the previous 17-member panel was widely decried by doctors’ groups and public health organizations, who feared the advisers would be replaced by a group aligned with Kennedy’s desire to reassess — and possibly end — longstanding vaccination recommendations.

The new appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices include Dr. Robert Malone, the former mRNA researcher who emerged as a close adviser to Kennedy during the measles outbreak.

Malone, who runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, rose to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as he relayed conspiracy theories around the outbreak and the vaccines that followed.

At concert in Berlin, Bruce Springsteen criticizes Trump administration again

The veteran rock star, a longtime and high-profile critic of the president, called the administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.”

Springsteen was addressing tens of thousands of fans Wednesday at a stadium built for the 1936 Olympic Games that still bears the scars of World War II and contains relics from the country’s dark Nazi past.

“Tonight we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices, stand with us against authoritarianism and let freedom reign,” he said.

Springsteen has made increasingly pointed and contentious public statements in recent concerts.

He denounced Trump’s politics during a show last month in Manchester, calling him an “unfit president” leading a “rogue government” of people who have “no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.”

Trump gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran

The president told the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that he was “getting more and more less confident about” a deal over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame. I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,” he said in the interview recorded Monday and released Wednesday.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

National Guard troops have temporarily detained civilians in LA protests, commander says

National Guard troops already have temporarily detained civilians in the Los Angeles protests over immigration raids, the commander in charge said Wednesday, but they quickly turned them over to law enforcement.

Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman said about 500 of the National Guard troops have been trained so far to accompany agents on immigration operations. Photos of Guard soldiers providing security for the agents have already been circulated by immigration officials.

Sherman is commander of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the more than 4,000 Guard troops and 700 Marines who have been deployed to Los Angeles to provide security during the protests.

Bessent says tariff delays ‘highly likely’ for countries negotiating in good faith

The treasury secretary made his comment before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Trump imposed tariffs on countries around the world in early April, then set the pause button and promised 90 deals in 90 days.

The clock is ticking as the U.S. has come up with an framework agreement with the United Kingdom, delayed tariffs for the European Union and reached a plan on minerals and foreign students with China.

“It is highly likely that those countries that are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue good faith negotiations,” Bessent said.

“If someone is not negotiating, then we will not.”

Hundreds of laid-off CDC employees are being reinstated

More than 460 laid-off employees at the nation’s top public health agency are being reinstated, according to a union representing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers.

The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed reinstatement notices went out, but provided few details.

About 2,400 CDC employees lost their jobs in a wave of cuts across federal health agencies in early April. Whole CDC programs were essentially shut down.

An estimated 200 of the reinstated workers are based at a CDC center focused on sexually transmitted diseases. Also reinstated are dozens of employees at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.

?Read more about the reinstatements

US Central Command confirms Hegseth OK’d voluntary departure of military dependents

The command confirmed the authorization in a statement.

It says it “is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.”

Warning issued to ships in the Middle East region

Earlier Wednesday, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning that it “has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.”

It urged caution in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. It did not name Iran, though those waterways have seen Iranian ship seizures and attacks in the past.

US military authorizes ‘voluntary departure’ of troops’ dependents across the Mideast amid Iran tensions, officials say

The U.S. military has authorized the voluntary departure of troops’ dependents from locations across the Middle East amid tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials say.

One U.S. defense official said the order came from defense secretary Hegseth.

That official said the U.S. military was working with the State Department and its allies in the region “to maintain a constant state of readiness.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had yet to be made public.

—By Matthew Lee, Tara Copp and Jon Gambrell

White House confirms voluntary evacuation at Baghdad embassy

“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

EPA set to roll back rules that limit greenhouse gases and mercury from power plants

The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to eliminate the rules for power plants fueled by coal and natural gas.

It’s part of a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations that Administrator Lee Zeldin has said would eliminate trillions of dollars in costs and “unleash” American energy.

The agency also plans to weaken a regulation that requires power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that can harm brain development of young children and contribute to health problems in adults.

The rollbacks are set to be announced Wednesday.

—By Matthew Daly

?Read more about the EPA’s move

US prepares to order departure of nonessential staff from embassy in Baghdad over regional tensions, officials say

Two U.S. officials say the order will not affect a large number of personnel, but the State Department also is authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait.

That gives them an option on whether to leave the country.

The Pentagon is standing by to support a potential evacuation of U.S. personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, another U.S. official said.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail plans that had not been made public.

—By Matthew Lee and Tara Copp

Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days

That’s because talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse.

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency was set to potentially vote on a measure to censure Iran. That could set in motion an effort to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran via a measure in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that’s still active until October.

Amid the reports of preparations for embassy departures, Iran’s mission to the U.N. posted on social media that “threats of overwhelming force won’t change the facts.”

?Read more about this developing story

Trump reviewing trade framework with China ahead of signing measure to continue negotiations

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “is reviewing the details” of the framework agreement with China “with his trade team right now.”

The Trump administration has said Tuesday’s yet-to-be-signed agreement would allow trade talks to continue between the world’s two largest economies.

“What the president heard, he liked,” Leavitt said at Wednesday’s briefing. “China has agreed to open their markets to the United States separately of this deal.”

Leavitt said Trump’s team did a “fantastic job” in the negotiations, which will allow the U.S. to get access to critical minerals exports from China.

“We’re in a great place right now,” Leavitt said.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that a U.S.-China trade deal was “done” — and that in exchange for China's acceptance of 55% tariffs on Chinese goods and an agreement to sell Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals, the U.S. will provide China “what was agreed to,” including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities.

White House continues criticism of Democratic leaders over LA protests

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her Wednesday briefing by continuing to lambaste California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

“Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom fanned the flames and demonized our brave ICE officers,” Leavitt said.

While protests have been largely peaceful, Leavitt continue to criticize the California leaders for failing to restore order. She asserted that local law enforcement efforts have been “kneecapped by incompetent Democrat policies” that prevent coordination with federal immigration authorities.

Lawyers for the first president found guilty of a crime argue to erase the conviction

Trump’s lawyer argued in a federal appellate court Wednesday that the case belongs in federal court, where his administration can throw it out. The Manhattan district attorney’s office — which prosecuted the case and wants it to remain in state court, argued the contrary.

The judges — two nominated by President Barack Obama and one by President Joe Biden — were at turns skeptical and receptive to both sides’ arguments on weighty and seldom-tested legal issues.

The one thing everyone agreed on: It is a highly unusual case. Trump lawyer Jeffrey Wall said Trump is in “a class of one.”

The judges said they would issue a ruling at a later date.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to upend his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump denies her claim and said he did nothing wrong. It was the only one of his four criminal cases to go to trial.

Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigns in protest

All 12 members of the board overseeing Fulbright scholarships have resigned in protest of what they call Trump administration meddling with the program established by Congress nearly 80 years ago as a non-ideological, bipartisan pillar of American diplomacy.

A statement published by the board members said the administration “usurped” the board’s authority by denying awards to scholars who already had been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year.

The resignations were first reported by The New York Times. A message seeking comment was left with the State Department, which runs the international scholarship program.

“We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute,” the statement said. “It is our sincere hope that Congress, the courts, and future Fulbright Boards will prevent the administration’s efforts to degrade, dismantle, or even eliminate one of our nation’s most respected and valuable programs.”

Trump says he could forgive Musk but it’s not a priority

Trump was the first guest on a new podcast launched Wednesday by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine. She asked the president if he could reconcile with or forgive Musk.

“I guess I could,” Trump said, “but, you know, we have to straighten out the country and my sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it’s ever been.”

Vice President JD Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles called Musk on Friday and urged him to end his feud with Trump, according to two people familiar with the call who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The call was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal.

— Michelle Price

Hegseth says the National Guard deployment was authorized to get ‘ahead of a problem’

Hegseth explained to the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee that the National Guard will be on hand to support local law enforcement and help out if protests expand to other areas.

“Part of it is getting ahead of a problem,” Hegseth said. He said most states would welcome the help but “In California unfortunately the governor wants to play politics with it.”

As of Tuesday, Trump has authorized 4,100 National Guard members and 700 Marines to deploy to Los Angeles.

White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her Wednesday briefing by accusing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of fanning flames and demonizing “our brave ICE officers.”

While protests have been largely peaceful, Leavitt continue to criticize the California leaders for failing to restore order. She asserted that local law enforcement efforts have been “kneecapped by incompetent Democrat policies” that prevent coordination with federal immigration authorities.

National History Day competition presents challenging facts about America

Thousands of middle and high school students from all 50 states and several countries are at the University of Maryland for the 51st National History Day Competition.

It comes as Trump targets cultural establishments, downsizing the federal government and ending initiatives seen as promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, which he calls “discrimination.”

The student’s work shows how difficult scrubbing history can be. Presentations range from Brown V. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 school desegregation case, to “The Dark History of Indian Boarding Schools” and “The Thind White Line,” the 1923 Supreme Court case that denied citizenship to Bhagat Singh Thind, a Caucasian, because he was not considered white.

Executive Director Cathy Gorn says the competition’s goal is to show students “that people of all kinds of backgrounds, people of all kinds of shapes and sizes and colors and ethnicities have contributed to the building of this incredible country of ours. This is a great opportunity to truly show what America is about and at the same time say hey, it’s also been a struggle.”

Jeffries and Schumer defend Newsom

The Democratic leaders of the House and Senate are defending Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California, which prompted protests and now the president’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said Newsom “has been doing a tremendous job on behalf of the people of California.” Jeffries said Democrats believe along with Newsom that anybody who commits violence or destroys property should be held accountable to the full extent of that law. But he said that people have a right to “peacefully protest and petition their government.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer said Trump has been trying to bully the governor.

“He has shown he’s not going to be intimidated, and we’re all for that,” Schumer said.

Top US military commander sees no evidence of a foreign government invasion

Wednesday’s testimony by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine complicates Trump’s justification for mass deportations.

Asked if he believes the U.S. is being invaded by a foreign power, Caine said: “I don’t see any foreign state-sponsored folks invading but I’ll be mindful of the fact that there have been some border issues.”

Asked whether he sees evidence of “rebellion” in the country — a word that arguably justifies using the Insurrection Act to send military units into U.S. states and cities over the objections of local officials — Caine said: “There are definitely some frustrated folks out there.”

Responding to the same question, Hegseth repeated Trump’s argument that “there has been an invasion” of migrants entering the country without legal permission, and he said the protests in Los Angeles could spread to other areas.

FAA administrator nominee says $12.5 billion budgeted for upgrades is just a down payment

“The system is old,” Bedford said. “So we have to do better.”

Pilots’ unions and Democrats have raised concerns that Bedford may support weakening the 1,500-hour experience standard for airline pilots that was adopted after a 2009 crash, or might consider allowing some airlines to operate with only one pilot.

Senators Maria Cantwell and Tammy Duckworth pressed him on maintaining the rule, noting that he had funded and lobbied to change it while he was running an airline. Bedford refused to make that commitment.

“I don’t believe safety is static,” Bedford said, adding later: “I can commit to you that we will not have anything that will reduce safety.”

Trump’s FAA administrator nominee gets grilled about crashes and near misses

Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration is facing tough questions about safety after a string of crashes and near misses since January’s deadly collision over the Potomac River.

Much of the industry, including the major airlines and their trade groups, supports Bryan Bedford’s nomination. But pilots unions and Democrats have raised concerns that he might weaken pilot training standards.

Bedford has been CEO of regional airline Republic Airways since 1999 and has more than three decades of experience in the industry. He has pledged to make safety the FAA’s top priority and work to restore public confidence in flying. Bedford also said he’ll work with Congress on Trump’s multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said the FAA should have acted before the crash in Washington, D.C., because there had been 85 near misses reported around Ronald Reagan National Airport in the years prior. The FAA has banned some helicopter routes to keep helicopters and planes from sharing airspace, but there have been more near misses since then.

Hegseth says Qatar still has not signed memo to release Trump 747 to Pentagon

The defense secretary confirmed reports that the Qataris have not come to an agreement with the Trump administration over a memo that would allow the Department of Defense to take possession of the 747 jet, which Trump wants as his temporary Air Force One. This also means that no contracts have been signed to move forward on overhauling the aircraft.

“A memorandum of understanding remains to be signed,” Hegseth said, while refusing to answer senator’s questions on the cost or potential timeframe of refurbishing the aircraft — even though data on two other 747s being reconditioned to serve as Air Force One by Boeing is public.

Trump toured the Qatari plane in February when it was parked at an airport near Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort.

Hegseth says Europe needs to increase support for Ukraine

The defense secretary told senators that the Pentagon budget includes hard choices and “reflects the reality that Europe needs to step up more for the defense of its own continent. And President Trump deserves the credit for that.”

Questioned at a defense appropriations hearing about U.S. security support for Kyiv Hegseth did not respond when asked if the U.S. will send the remaining $3.8 billion in aid already approved.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that Russia will not stop with its assault on Ukraine and said the U.S. has to end the war. Hegseth said a negotiated peace in Ukraine will make America look strong.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025