President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Hagerstown Regional Airport, in Hagerstown, Md., on his was to Camp David, Md., Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, scores of scientists at the National Institutes of Health sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, a frontal challenge to policies they say undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources and harm people's health.

Here's the latest:

Democrats are drawing closer to the crypto industry despite Trump divisions

As President Trump builds a crypto empire — including hosting a private dinner with top investors at his golf club — Democrats have united in condemning what they call blatant corruption from the White House.

But the Democratic Party’s own relationship with the emerging crypto industry is far less cut and dried.

Work in the Republican-led Senate to legitimize cryptocurrency by adding guardrails has drawn backing from some Democrats, underscoring growing support for the industry in the party. But divisions have opened over the bill, with many demanding it prevent the Republican president and his family from directly profiting from cryptocurrency.

“I’m all on board with the idea of regulating crypto,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “But at this moment, when cryptocurrency is being so clearly used by Donald Trump to facilitate his corruption, I don’t think you can close your eyes to that when you’re legislating.”

? Read more about Democrats and cryptocurrency

Rare earth minerals expected to be the major issue in China-US trade talks

A senior White House official says he expects a “short meeting with a big, strong handshake” on the export of rare earth minerals from China.

Appearing on CNBC this morning, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said it was a “very significant, sticking point” because China, which controls the processing of critical minerals, has been “slow rolling” in sending the materials to U.S. over licensing requirements.

“It could potentially disrupt production for, you know, some U.S. companies that rely on those things,” Hassett said. High-level U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting today in London for their latest round of trade talks.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment

Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC he plans to file suit Monday against the Trump administration to roll back the Guard deployment, which he called “an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.”

Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal troops when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

But Newsom said he believed the president was required to coordinate with the state’s governor before ordering such a deployment.

“We’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow,” Newsom said Sunday night.

? Follow live updates on the immigration protests

Preparations underway for military parade

Security precautions are already being put in place ahead of this Saturday’s military parade. Workers were assembling black metal barriers near the White House on Monday morning.

More information on preparations will be announced in the afternoon during a briefing with local and federal officials.

Trump expected to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The American and Israeli leaders plan to speak Monday morning, according to a White House official. The official requested anonymity before a public announcement.

Trump has been pushing for a nuclear agreement with Iran, while Netanyahu is wary of the diplomatic effort.

— Seung Min Kim

ABC News suspends correspondent for calling Trump administration official a ‘world class hater’

ABC News has suspended correspondent Terry Moran for calling Trump administration deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller a “world class hater” in a since-deleted social media post.

Moran’s post was swiftly condemned by administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance. ABC News, in a statement, said it “stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others.”

The network said Moran was suspended pending further evaluation.

Moran, in his post on X at 12:06 a.m. on Sunday, said President Trump was a hater, too. But he wrote that for Trump, his hatred is a means to an end, “and that end is his own glorification.” For Miller, “his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”

Trump’s Monday schedule, according to the White House

This morning, Trump is traveling back to the White House from Camp David. Later today, at 2 p.m., he’ll participate in an “Invest America Roundtable” event at the White House.

Trump was awake past midnight raging against the protests in LA and calling for a crackdown

“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote on Truth Social at 12:16 a.m. ET.

Trump has already deployed 300 members of the National Guard over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The military said 500 Marines were on standby.

“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!” Trump wrote at 12:19 a.m.

Trump cited Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell’s recent comments to defend his response to the protests.

“Don’t let these thugs get away with this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote at 12:14 a.m.

“This thing has gotten out of control,” McDonell said Sunday.

“We have great cops in Southern California here that work together all the time,” he said. But he added that “looking at the violence tonight, I think we gotta make a reassessment.”

US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump’s phone call with Xi

High-level delegations from the U.S. and China are meeting in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that’s roiled the global economy.

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng was due to hold talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a U.K. government building.

The talks, which are expected to last at least a day, follow negotiations in Geneva last month that brought a temporary respite in the trade war.

The two countries announced May 12 they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession.

? Read more about trade talks between the U.S. and China

In the ‘Bethesda Declaration,’ NIH scientists step forward en masse to denounce their agency’s direction

Scores of National Institutes of Health scientists have gone public to assail deep program cuts and upheaval at their agency under the Trump administration.

On Monday, more than 90 current employees sent their leader a letter entitled the Bethesda Declaration. It’s a frontal challenge to policies it says “undermine the NIH mission, waste our public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

By signing their names, the NIH employees gave up the veil of anonymity common in Washington — and put their jobs at risk. Their declaration was endorsed anonymously by 250 other NIH researchers and staff. Altogether, employees from all 27 NIH institutes and centers registered their dismay with the agency’s direction.

? Read more about dissent at the National Institutes of Health

Trump says Elon Musk could face ‘serious consequences’ if he backs Democratic candidates

Trump is not backing off his battle with Elon Musk, saying Saturday that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warning that his former ally and campaign benefactor could face “serious consequences” if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections.

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in a phone interview that he has no plans to make up with Musk. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded, “I would assume so, yeah.”

“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump said.

The president also issued a warning amid chatter that Musk could back Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Musk’s businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.

? Read more about Trump’s comments

Mike Johnson downplays Musk’s influence and says Republicans will pass Trump’s tax and budget bill

Johnson took clear sides Sunday in Trump’s breakup with mega-billionaire Elon Musk, saying Musk’s criticism of the GOP’s massive tax and budget policy bill will not derail the measure, and he downplayed Musk’s influence over the GOP-controlled Congress.

“I didn’t go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world,” Johnson said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Johnson said he has exchanged text messages with Musk since he came out against the GOP bill.

Musk called it an “abomination” that would add to U.S. debts and threaten economic stability. He urged voters to flood Capitol Hill with calls to vote against the measure, which is pending in the Senate after clearing the House. His criticism sparked an angry social media back-and-forth with Trump, who told reporters over the weekend that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk.

The speaker was dismissive of Musk’s threats to finance opponents — even Democrats — of Republican members who back Trump’s bill.

? Read more about Johnson’s comments

Trump’s new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement

Trump’s new to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid over the president’s of immigration enforcement.

The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa.

The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect.

? Read more about the travel ban

News from © The Associated Press, 2025