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Melania Trump gets an unexpected trip to Rome and an airplane meal for her 55th birthday
“She’s got a working birthday,” Trump told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One. The Trumps are flying to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, which is also the first lady’s 55th birthday.
Asked if he’ll take her to dinner, Trump said amid some laughter that, “I’ll take her for dinner on the Boeing. I’ll take her for dinner on Air Force One.”
Trump on Texas GOP Senate primary: ‘I’ll make a decision somewhere along the line’
The president is leaving open the possibility that he’ll endorse in the already-nasty Texas Senate primary race between Sen. John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.
“I like Paxton, I like Cornyn, they’re both good people,” Trump told reporters traveling on Air Force One en route to Rome on Friday. “So I’ll make a decision somewhere along the line. But you have two very good men.”
He added: “In a way, I wish they weren’t running against each other.”
Trump can’t rule out insider trading by staff as tariff policies cause markets to whipsaw
President Donald Trump said he couldn’t rule out members of his administration sharing tips on his tariff policies and trade negotiations with traders on Wall Street, saying “I can commit to myself, that’s all I can commit to.”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said that while he couldn’t be sure, he hires “honorable people” and that “I have thousands of people that work for me, but I can’t imagine anybody doing that.”
He was responding to news reports that some administration officials have provided non-public updates to traders and financial executives amid market turmoil caused by Trump’s steep tariffs on American imports.
Deportation fears raise ethical issues for student journalists
Student journalists on college campuses across the country are fielding requests to remove previously published content, offer anonymous sourcing and retract bylines.
That comes amid the Trump administration's crackdown on student protesters, fears of deportation for international students and what critics have described as unprecedented attacks on campus speech.
Many young editors are beginning to reconsider long-standing journalistic practices around transparency, in order to protect the people who appear in their reports. The Student Press Law Center and other media rights groups have responded by issuing a guidance urging student journalists to be more flexible about requests to take down content.
ICE is reversing the termination of legal status for international students, a government lawyer says
The records had been suddenly terminated in recent weeks, often without the students or their schools being notified.
Many of those students have filed court challenges throughout the United States. Judges had already issued temporary orders restoring the students’ records in a federal database of international students maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
A lawyer for the government read a statement in federal court in Oakland on Friday that said ICE was manually restoring the student statuses.
Brian Green, a lawyer who represents a plaintiff challenging their termination, said a government lawyer told him the reversal would apply to all students in the same situation, not just those who had filed lawsuits.
‘Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest,’ attorney says
Judge Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee judge who was arrested by the FBI on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities, appeared briefly in federal court Friday before being released from custody.
Her next court appearance is May 15.
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing. He declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter following her court appearance.
The arrest comes amid a growing feud between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the White House’s immigration enforcement policies.
FBI director: Wisconsin judge accused of helping someone evade immigration agents has been arrested
FBI Director Kash Patel made the announcement in a post on X and said his office believes Judge Hannah Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse.”
Patel identified the subject as Eduardo Flores Ruiz and said Dugan’s actions allowed Ruiz to evade arrest.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately have a comment Friday. A person answering the phone Friday at Dugan’s office said he couldn’t comment. The Associated Press left an email and voicemail Friday morning seeking comment from Milwaukee County Courts Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The arrest marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s fight with the judiciary over the White House’s sweeping immigration enforcement policies. The Justice Department had previously signaled it was going to crack down on local officials thwarting federal immigration efforts.
▶ Read more about the FBI's arrest of the judge
Environmental groups fear Trump’s order to speed deep-sea mining will harm ecosystems
The groups are decrying an executive order signed by President Trump to expedite deep-sea mining for ores and minerals, saying it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems and ignores an ongoing process to adopt international rules for the practice.
Trump's order Thursday directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fast track permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in both U.S. and international waters.
The move comes as China controls many critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese used in high-tech manufacturing, including for military uses. Trump said his order “establishes the U.S. as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction.”
▶ Read more about Trump and deep sea mining
Municipalities in several Republican-led states sue Trump administration for cutting federal money
The billions in federal dollars supported COVID-19 initiatives and other public health projects throughout the country.
The City of Columbus — the capital of Ohio, and the largest city in the state — filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday.
It alleges that some $11 billion in funding cuts to such programs had already been approved by Congress and so are being unconstitutionally withheld. The litigation further charges that the administration’s actions violate Department of Health and Human Services regulations.
In a statement, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, a Democrat, said the cuts have forced the city to fire 11 of its 22 infectious disease staffers, even as measles outbreaks are spreading to multiple U.S. states and diseases like whooping cough and mpox are on the rise.
The cities of Kansas City, Missouri; Davidson County and Nashville, Tennessee; as well as Harris County, Texas; home to Houston, also joined the suit.
Former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will attend Pope Francis’ funeral
That’s confirmed by his office.
Biden was only the second Roman Catholic American president, and frequently attended church while in office and met with the pope at least twice during his term.
They were to meet in January days before Biden left office Jan. 20, but the trip was called off because of devastating wildfires in California.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth travels to the southern border
He’s traveling to the southern border corridor that was recently turned over to the Defense Department as part the Trump administration’s effort to detain migrants crossing into the U.S.
Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson, said he was going to the New Mexico National Defense area.
The long sliver of land, known as the Roosevelt Reservation, is a 60-foot-wide federal buffer zone that ribbons along the border from New Mexico to California, except where it encounters tribal or privately owned land. It had been run by the Interior Department until Trump directed control be transferred to the Defense Department in a presidential memo earlier this month.
By taking control of the land and turning it over to the Army, U.S. troops will now be able to detain anyone who’s trespassing on military land.
Chinese embassy gives no comment on Trump’s claim of getting a call from Xi
The Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday said it has no comment when asked if Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a recent call with Trump, as claimed by the U.S. president.
In an interview with Time magazine, Trump said he’d received a call from Xi but didn’t make it clear when and if such a call took place. This morning, he provided no clarity when speaking to reporters while leaving the White House for his trip to Rome to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.
Earlier Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry again denied any consultation or negotiation with the U.S. on tariffs.
“The U.S. should stop creating confusion,” said Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesman.
Trump says he’s ‘being inundated’ with requests to seek a third term
And he insists “there are some loopholes” to the constitutional bar preventing presidents from seeking a third term.
During an interview with Time magazine, Trump was asked about saying he was “not joking” about seeking a third term previously. He responded, “There are some loopholes.”
But, Trump added, “I don’t believe in using loopholes.”
The 22nd Amendment states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
A possible way around that would be for Vice President JD Vance to be elected president in 2028, then step aside in favor of Trump.
Trump said he didn’t “know anything about” that possibility, but also noted, “I am being inundated with requests.”
Wall Street’s rally fades as more CEOs talk about uncertainty ahead because of Trump’s trade war
Wall Street's three-day rally is running out of momentum Friday and U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading as they near the end of another roller-coaster week.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, though the majority of stocks within it were falling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, or less than 0.1% , as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.
Intel weighed on the market after the chip company said it’s seeing “elevated uncertainty across the industry” and gave a forecast for upcoming revenue and profit that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Its stock fell 7.6% even though its results for the beginning of the year topped expectations.
▶ Read more about the financial markets
Trump calls Pope Francis ‘a fantastic kind of guy’ while leaving for his funeral
The president and first lady Melania Trump are heading to Rome for the funeral.
Speaking to reporters before boarding a helicopter to Air Force One, the president said, “We’re going to Rome to pay our respects and we’ll be leaving that same day.”
He repeated his predictions that he’ll be meeting with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the funeral. But exactly what that might entail is unclear. Trump even suggested that a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was possible. He added of the possibility of several meetings: “It’s going to be very interesting.”
Trump said he met Francis twice and that the pope “loved the world, actually, and he was just a good man.”
“I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy,” Trump said.
A call with Chinese President Xi Jinping?
Trump raised eyebrows in an interview with Time magazine when he claimed to have received a call from Xi.
If true, it would be a notable development in the tariff standoff between the world’s two largest economies.
But it’s unclear when or if such a call took place, and Trump provided no clarity when speaking to reporters while leaving the White House for his trip to Rome to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.
“I don’t want to comment on that,” Trump said. “I’ve spoken to him many times.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously denied negotiations have been taking place. The National Security Council did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump and Zelenskyy among dignitaries converging on Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis
Heads of state and royalty will start converging on Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis' humble persona and disdain for pomp.
Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei are among the leaders arriving Friday, the last day the Argentine pope will lie in state in St. Peter's Basilica before his coffin is sealed in the evening in preparation for his funeral Saturday.
The Vatican says 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns.
▶ Read more about the dignitaries attending the funeral of Pope Francis
Negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program return Saturday to Oman
There, experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal.
The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's program if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
▶ Read more about the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran
Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal, AP sources say
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press.
The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth's use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance.
Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.
Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there’s a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked.
— Tara Copp
Trump orders Justice Department to investigate Democrats’ top fundraising platform
In an executive order signed Thursday, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate allegations that Republicans have raised that ActBlue allows illegal campaign donations.
Democrats, who had anticipated they would be targeted, condemned the move Thursday and ActBlue called it an "oppressive use of power" by the White House.
“The Trump Administration’s and GOP’s targeting of ActBlue is part of their brazen attack on democracy in America. Today’s escalation by the White House is blatantly unlawful and needs to be seen for what it is: Donald Trump’s latest front in his campaign to stamp out all political, electoral and ideological opposition,” ActBlue said in a statement.
ActBlue said it would pursue “all legal avenues to protect and defend itself.”
Trump’s order directs Bondi, in consultation with the Treasury Department, to investigate allegations that online fundraising platforms, and specifically ActBlue, have been used by some to “make ‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees.”
▶ Read more about Trump's executive order on ActBlue
Trump says Russia should keep Crimea
The president sat down with Time magazine for an interview marking 100 days in office, a milestone that he crosses next week.
During the conversation, which was published on Friday, Trump said "Crimea will stay with Russia." The strategic peninsula was seized by Russia in 2014, years before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
“Everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” the president said. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
“They’ve had their submarines there for long before any period that we’re talking about, for many years. The people speak largely Russian in Crimea,” Trump said. “But this was given by Obama. This wasn’t given by Trump.”
How the public’s shift on immigration paved the way for Trump’s crackdown
Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. But unlike in his first term, Trump's efforts have not sparked the kind of widespread condemnation or protests that led him to retreat from some unpopular positions.
Instead, immigration has emerged as one of Trump's strongest issues in public polling, reflecting both his grip on the Republican base and a broader shift in public sentiment that is driven in part, interviews suggest, by anger at the policies of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
The White House has seized on this shift, mocking critics and egging on Democrats to engage on an issue that Trump’s team sees as a win.
▶ Read more about Trump's crackdown on immigration
Immigration is Trump’s strongest issue, but many say he’s gone too far, a new AP-NORC poll finds
Trump's handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he takes wide-ranging actions to ramp up deportations and target people in the U.S. illegally, according to a new poll.
The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 46% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of immigration, which is nearly 10 percentage points higher than his approval rating on the economy and trade with other countries.
While Trump’s actions remain divisive, there’s less of a consensus that the Republican president has overstepped on immigration than on other issues. Still, there’s little appetite for an even tougher approach. About half of Americans say he’s “gone too far” when it comes to deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. They’re divided on the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants who are accused of being gang members to El Salvador, and more oppose than support revoking foreign students’ visas over their participation in pro-Palestinian activism.
▶ Read more about what the poll shows
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