White House asks universities to support its policies for money access

The White House is asking nine major universities to support Trump priorities in exchange for priority access to federal money. This week’s letter to the universities asks them to sign an agreement committing them to accept the government’s definition of gender and apply it to campus bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports teams. It also asks colleges to stop considering race, gender, and other demographics in the admissions process. In return, schools would have priority access to funding and the White House. The schools are Vanderbilt, the Universities of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Southern California, Texas, and Virginia, Dartmouth College, MIT, and Brown University.

Trump administration considers thousands of layoffs in shutdown

It’s Day Two of a government shutdown that has both political parties blaming the other. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says President Trump hopes Senate Democrats will “do the right thing” and support a temporary funding bill. With the Senate out until Friday, the shutdown will be in effect until at least then. Meanwhile, Leavitt says the administration is looking at sizable layoffs in the federal workforce.

White House threatens mass federal layoffs amidst shutdown

The White House is threatening to carry out mass layoffs of federal workers with the government shutdown underway. A presidential spokesperson said government agencies are already preparing for cuts, even as Vice President JD Vance insisted no final decisions have been made. Typically during shutdowns, federal employees are furloughed and they receive back pay once the government reopens. But President Trump has directed the White House budget office and Cabinet secretaries to identify jobs to be cut. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “we believe that layoffs are imminent.”

Senate fails again to approve funding; Shutdown continues

The government shutdown continues after the Senate failed to pass a bill to extend funding for seven weeks. In a repeat performance of Tuesday night’s votes, the Senate on Wednesday rejected measures aimed at temporarily funding the government to allow more time for negotiations. The next opportunity for a vote is Friday, when the Senate returns from a break for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Both parties are blaming each other for the impasse, which has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers and closed many government services.

Poll: Most Americans have little confidence in Congress

Most Americans have little confidence in the way Congress is being run. Recent AP-NORC polling finds that 44 percent of Americans have hardly any confidence in the way lawmakers on Capitol Hill are handling their jobs. About half of those surveyed had “only some” confidence. And only 6 percent said they had a high level of confidence in the people running Congress. And the findings could be worse now, since the poll was taken before the government shutdown.

Hundreds of laid-off federal employees called back to work

Hundreds of laid-off federal employees are being called back to their jobs. Workers in the General Services Administration were given the chance to return to work after being laid-off during the Trump administration’s DOGE cuts earlier this year. The GSA manages government buildings and its workforce has been understaffed for months. Furthermore, the administration has walked back plans to slash its real estate portfolio. An official said because of understaffing and internal turmoil, 131 leases expired without the government actually vacating the properties.

In speech to U.N., Trump blasts climate change as “con job”

At the United Nations this past week, President Trump unleashed a blistering tirade against climate change. Donald Trump has long been a critic of climate science and green energy policies and he let loose during his address to the U-N General Assembly. He sharply criticized the European Union for reducing its carbon footprint, which he claimed has taken a toll on its economy, and warned countries that have invested heavily in renewable energy that their economies will suffer.

Trump to divert some tariff revenues to U.S. farmers

President Trump says he’ll divert some tariff revenues to U-S farmers. The president’s tariff policies have financially hurt some American farmers and he plans to give them help. During his first term, U-S farmers also endured a drop in demand and the Trump administration helped to rescue them financially.

Trump signs order that puts TikTok in American control

President Trump has signed an executive order that puts TikTok in American control. The executive order allows TikTok to continue operating in the U-S by shifting China-based control of the video-sharing app to American investors. President Trump said he discussed the deal with Chinese President Xi, who gave the go-ahead. Vice President Vance said there was some resistance from China, but that Americans can use TikTok with confidence that their data will be secure.

Federal agencies told to prepare massive firings if govt shutdown

The Trump administration is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the government shuts down. With a government shutdown looming next week, the White House budget office said agencies should consider eliminating positions, instead of furloughs. That would be an aggressive departure from past shutdowns when federal workers returned to their jobs. Asked about that plan, President Trump focused on politics instead.

Trump: It’s time for Russia’s Putin to stop the war with Ukraine

President Trump is calling on Russia to end its war against Ukraine. Two days after meeting with Ukraine’s leader at the United Nations, the president said it’s time for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the conflict and the bloodshed. At the start of an Oval Office meeting with the visiting Turkish president, Donald Trump urged Turkey to stop buying Russian oil while the war is raging.

Justice Dept to ask grand jury to indict former FBI Director Comey

The Justice Department is preparing to ask a grand jury to indict former FBI Director James Comey. Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Comey lied to lawmakers during his 2020 testimony related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The five-year statute of limitations would be next Tuesday, but an indictment is expected before then. Last weekend, the president directed the DOJ to investigate Comey and other perceived political enemies.

Judge refuses to reinstate 8 former IGs who sued after Trump fired them

A federal judge has refused to reinstate eight former inspectors general who sued after the Trump administration fired them with no warning and little explanation. The eight plaintiffs were among 17 inspectors general fired by President Trump on January 24th. Each received identical two-sentence emails from the White House attributing their removal to unspecified “changing priorities.” The judge said that while the president likely violated federal law governing the process for removing the non-partisan watchdogs from office, the firings didn’t cause enough irreparable harm to justify reinstating them before the lawsuit is resolved.

Trump claims he was sabotaged at the U.N. this week

President Trump claims that he was sabotaged at the United Nations this week, and he has the Secret Service investigating. The president complained that he was the victim of “three very sinister events” at the U-N on Tuesday. First, the escalator he used suddenly stopped. He wrote online that those responsible should be arrested. Second, his teleprompter didn’t work for several minutes, and third, he said the sound was off during his speech. The president said the Secret Service would be involved in an investigation.

Trump vows more crackdowns after ICE facility shooting

President Trump is promising more crackdowns after the ICE facility shooting in Texas. Reacting to the shooting in Dallas, the president said “the deranged shooter wrote “Anti-ICE” on his shell casings. This is despicable,” he said on his social media site. He called on Democrats “to stop this rhetoric against ICE and America’s law enforcement.” And the president promised more crackdowns, saying he would sign an executive order in coming days to dismantle, what he called, “domestic terrorism networks.”

White House says Dems will be to blame if gov’t shuts down

President Trump and Democratic leaders are blaming eaching other as the government barrels toward a potential shutdown. Democrats accuse the president of chickening out after he canceled a Thursday meeting with them. But Donald Trump said their budget requests are “unserious” and decided a meeting wouldn’t be “productive.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says if there is a government shutdown “it will be the fault of the Democrats” and will hurt vulnerable Americans. Congress has until next Tuesday to approve new government funding.

Poll: Trump weaker on economy, strong on borders and crime

New polling shows President Trump weaker on the economy but strong on law enforcement. The president says the economy is doing great since he returned to the White House. But according to an AP-NORC poll, just 37 percent of U-S adults approve of the president’s handling of the economy. That’s down from 43 percent in August. In a reversal from his first term, he’s weaker on the economy but strong on border security and crime.

Trump demands Hamas release all hostages now

President Trump is once again demanding that Hamas release all of the hostages now. Speaking to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, the president said the time for partial releases is over. He called on Hamas to immediately release all hostages — both living and dead. He also criticized several countries for recognizing a Palestinian state, which he called a reward to Hamas for its Oct. 7th attacks in Israel.

Trump now says Ukraine can win back territory lost to Russia

President Trump now says Ukraine can win back all of its territory lost to Russia. In a reversal, the president said he believes Ukraine can regain control of the territory Russia has taken since its invasion. He posted the comment soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the U-N General Assembly. The president had previously said that both Ukraine and Russia would have to give up land to end the war. Earlier, he criticized Russia for continuing to fight.

Man found guilty of attempted Trump assassination in Florida

The man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year has been found guilty. The jury of five men and seven women found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts that he was facing. After the verdict, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen but was quickly restrained by officers. Prosecutors say he spent weeks plotting to kill Trump but did not fire his weapon. Routh, who represented himself in court, faces life in prison with sentencing scheduled for December.

At UN, Trump urges EU help in stopping Russia’s war against Ukraine

President Trump is threatening sanctions against Russia, but says European countries must join in. Addressing the United Nations, the president said he’s prepared to impose “powerful tariffs” if Russia doesn’t end its war in Ukraine. And he said EU nations must stop buying Russian energy. He argued they’re “funding the war against themselves.”

Trump bashes United Nations in speech to the world body

President Trump used a speech at the United Nations to bash the world body. The president was unfiltered in criticizing the United Nations in his address to world leaders. He said the U-N is failing to live up to its potential. He also complained that the U-N has ignored his peace-making efforts.

Trump cancels meeting with Dems on preventing shutdown

President Trump has canceled a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders to discuss preventing a government shutdown. The president had been scheduled to meet with the Senate and House Democratic leaders on Thursday in hopes of reaching an agreement to fund the government before the September 30th deadline. But he called off the meeting, having decided that it wouldn’t be “productive.” The president wrote online that Democrat budget requests are “unserious” and “ridiculous” and that he will only meet with leaders “if they get serious” about the country’s future.

Supreme Court to consider Trump’s power to fire board members