Trump admin bypasses Tehran's isolation campaign to reach Iranians directly

John Bolton Reaches Plea Deal in Classified-Information Case

Trump’s former national security adviser, who later publicly criticized the president, is set to plead guilty and pay a fine under the agreement.

‘Oh, my God!’ Trump official ordered to ‘stop talking’ as hearing devolves into chaos

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was repeatedly ordered to stop talking and struggled to answer basic questions about the farm economy Thursday during a tense House Agriculture Committee hearing that devolved into a shouting match.Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), the committee's ranking member, came loaded with data — and used every second of her question time to expose what she called the administration's ignorance of its own record."Reclaiming my time means you stop talking," Craig snapped after Rollins repeatedly interrupted her. "That's what it means in this building."Craig opened by asking Rollins how many farms the U.S. lost last year. Rollins cited bankruptcy figures. Craig cut her off: the country lost 15,000 farms in 2025 — fourth- and fifth-generation operations wiped out, she said, "because of bad policy on the part of this administration."When Craig asked about total farmer losses, Rollins pushed back on the math. Craig was unimpressed."If this administration didn't have terrible policies, we would not need all that support for family farmers," she said, "because we would have export markets still left in China." Craig cited $28 billion in farmer losses — a figure the American Farm Bureau Federation has used to describe net crop returns after support payments for the 2025/26 crop year.Craig then demanded to know the current national average price of farm diesel. Rollins deflected to the Biden administration. Craig fired back."Joe Biden is no longer the president of the United States. Mr. Trump is. Your party controls Congress. You own these numbers." Farm diesel hit $5.41 a gallon in May — up 95% year over year, she noted, across "the entire year in which this administration was in power in the White House, the House, and the Senate."On fertilizer, Craig asked what share of farmers can't afford it this planting season. Rollins began breaking down fertilizer categories by region. "Oh, my God!" Craig cut in. "70% is the answer." A Farm Bureau survey of more than 5,700 farmers confirmed that figure.Rollins shot back: "Those are not the numbers. That's not correct."The hearing grew most heated over SNAP. Rollins disputed the program's official fraud rate, claiming states were self-reporting numbers the administration couldn't verify. Craig read the USDA's own data back to her."USDA's own data found 1.6%," Craig said. "I honestly don't think you understand the difference between error rates and fraud rates."Rollins accused Craig of grandstanding. "You're not asking questions for an answer. You're asking questions to make a political statement."Craig dismissed the charge and closed with a warning: "When you describe the farm economy as the 'golden age,' this administration needs to wake up and start understanding that family farmers are in need."

John Bolton Reaches Deal to Plead Guilty Over Classified Information

The former Trump national security adviser plans to plead guilty to a count of illegal retention of classified information, which could result in a fine and possibly prison time of up to five years.

Trump Blasts ‘Big Cheating’ In California As Votes Trickle In

President Donald Trump fired off a Truth Social broadside on Thursday, accusing California Democrats of stealing the state’s gubernatorial primary — and given the Golden State’s long, sordid history of electoral shenanigans, he’s got plenty of reason to be suspicious. “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California,” Trump posted. “Votes are all tied up. ...

Trump’s ballroom chief shows off DC project at Russian economic forum

Federal funding for President Donald Trump's massive ballroom was on the line before Congress on Wednesday, but the chief of the project was readying for an annual Russian economic conference, which some are calling "Putin's Davos." This is the first time the U.S. has attended since Russia attacked Ukraine. Rodney Mims Cook told the Russian press that Trump and the State Department permitted him to travel to Russia for the economic forum in St Petersburg. BBC News Moscow reporter posted on X that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was "unaware" that Cook was attending the forum. Cook was nominated by Trump to take over the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. All of the members of the board were fired in 2025 and Trump appointed their replacements. They then voted to approve the ballroom project and Trump immediately bulldozed the East Wing of the White House during 2025's government shutdown.According to his conversation with Russian media, Cook said that his presence at the forum had nothing to do with his position in the Trump government; rather, he was there as a Christian to help restore churches in Russia, Reuters reported. Yet, according to Max Seddon, Moscow Bureau chief for the Financial Times, Cook brought graphics showing off the ballroom. "Cook, it turns out, is an ardent Russophile. He has been involved [in] restoring medieval Russian churches for decades. His own house in Georgia is designed in the Russian style. He says he is friends with many senior Russian elite figures. He seems absolutely thrilled to be there," added Seddon. He was also photographed with Russian religious leaders.Others who attended the forum include Andrew Tate and his brother, along with far-right streamer Candace Owens. Tate is facing criminal charges in Romania for sexual assault, human trafficking and establishing an organized crime group to exploit women.

From Acting to Permanent: Trump Picks His Next Attorney General

Trump claims without proof Democrats are ‘trying to steal’ California primaries

US president alleges there is ‘big cheating’ in elections for governor and Los Angeles mayor as results are pendingDonald Trump has alleged without evidence that Democrats are cheating in California’s primaries and claimed in a late-night social media post that the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles was investigating.As counting continues in the most populous state in the US, the president’s unfounded remarks are likely to further alarm election observers, who have warned of the risk of escalating misinformation in the absence of a final result. Continue reading...

Top executives warn Trump that even worse price hikes are coming – and soon

At a time when voters are ready to hand Republicans a midterm revolt over the economy, Politico reported this week that top executives warned President Donald Trump that prices are about to get much worse if he does not solve the war in Iran.Trump remains embroiled in negotiations for a lasting ceasefire and resolution to the war, which he started, with Iran's new hardline leadership refusing his demands. As that situation continues to spiral, the Strait of Hormuz remains either closed off or dangerous, depending on the day, sending global oil prices surging as a result.According to a Thursday report from Politico, oil executives have warned Trump and his administration that, as bad as things are now, they are about to get much worse if the Strait is not reopened in a matter of weeks, citing sources close to the discussions. Without the oil that gets shipped through the body of water, global oil reserves will start to dwindle to a dangerous degree, sending prices to new heights."Industry executives have flagged the issue to senior White House officials and Cabinet members in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing dialogue with the U.S. energy industry, the people said," the report detailed. "The warnings came as recently as late last month as data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and other sources began showing that fuel makers were increasingly relying on oil and fuel from their storage tanks to replace products no longer arriving from the Middle East."It added later: "Some of the conversations have been general warnings while others have focused on tight inventories of specific fuel types in particular locations, such as jet fuel on the West Coast, a second person involved in the conversations said."In response to Politico's query about the supposed warnings, the White House gave only a terse response blasting the outlet for citing anonymous sources.“We’re at dangerously low levels already,” one of those sources, an anonymous industry executive, told Politico. “We have shared those concerns at the highest levels of government about what’s coming in mid-to-late June. … I hope they are paying attention to inventories right now. You’re hitting tank bottom.”Exxon executive Neil Chapman recently told investors that crude barrels could reach $150-160 in two or three weeks. Another anonymous executive told Politico that the White House has already been made aware of that and warned of the crunch coming for consumers during the big holiday travel rush.“Don’t think that an open strait is going to mean your July 4 gasoline bill isn’t going to be higher than what it is today," they said. "It’s going to be.”