With President Donald Trump calling for a federal takeover of the nation’s capital city, the White House says there will be an increased presence of federal law enforcement on the streets of Washington, D.C., for at least the next week. “We have to run D.C.,” Trump told reporters.
But doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress and could face steep pushback. This was prompted by the attempted carjacking of a DOGE employee nicknamed ‘Big Balls’ by a group of teenagers. Carjackings and homicides are actually down sharply in D.C. after spiking in 2023.
A two-hour tour of the D.C. streets, starting around 1 a.m. Friday morning, revealed no evidence of the sort of multiagency flood of uniformed personnel described in Trump’s announcement.
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Trump says US can’t afford to return the revenues if a court rules his tariffs illegal
The president says there would be another “GREAT DEPRESSION!” if a U.S. Appeals Court rules he exceeded his authority by declaring an emergency to impose the taxes and mandates repayment of the billions of dollars collected so far.
“If a Radical Left Court ruled against us at this late date, in an attempt to bring down or disturb the largest amount of money, wealth creation and influence the U.S.A. has ever seen, it would be impossible to ever recover, or pay back, these massive sums of money and honor,” Trump said. “It would be 1929 all over again.”
The government has collected about $130 billion in tariff revenues so far this year, about $74 billion more than it did last year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Justice Department subpoenas Letitia James as it investigates whether she violated Trump rights
The Justice Department has subpoenaed New York’s attorney general as it investigates whether she violated Trump’s civil rights. That’s according to people familiar with the matter on Friday.
The subpoenas mark an escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to scrutinize perceived adversaries of the president, including those like James who had investigated Trump before his election win last November.
News of the subpoena comes as the Justice Department advances an investigation into the Trump-Russia probe that shadowed Trump for much of his first term and as the administration engages in a widespread purge of law enforcement officials who had been involved in examining the activities of Trump and his supporters.
— By Eric Tucker
California working to plan still unscheduled election over US House redistricting
California Democrats are rushing to schedule an emergency election to remake U.S. House districts in response to rival moves by Texas Republicans. This presents a dilemma for county officials, who are being urged to plan for an election that hasn’t been scheduled and might never happen.
Orchestrating an election by nearly 23 million registered voters across 58 counties is a time-consuming and costly endeavor under any circumstances, but Newsom and Democrats leading the Legislature already have blown past deadlines for organizing everything from printing mail ballots in multiple languages to lining up staff and securing voting locations.
Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts, leaving Republicans with just four safe House seats among 52 in the state. The California maps could be unveiled as soon as next week.
Republicans escalate pressure on holdout Texas Democrats blocking GOP’s new maps
The Texas House will try to reconvene at 1 p.m. Friday as Democratic lawmakers remain outside the state to block new U.S. House maps Republicans drew after Trump asked for more winnable seats. Relatedly:
1. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has pledged to take legal action to get missing Democrats removed from office if they don’t appear
2. The House Democratic Caucus chair must respond this afternoon to a similar effort filed by Gov. Greg Abbott with the Texas Supreme Court
3. This session ends Aug. 19, but Abbott says he’ll keep calling special sessions until the outnumbered Democrats return
4. The missing lawmakers already face mounting daily fines and civil arrest warrants issued by the state House
5. Sen. John Cornyn has said the FBI has accepted his request to help Texas authorities locate members
6. Some of the Democrats are meeting again with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said California will seek to create five more Democratic seats if Texas succeeds.
Appeals court tosses Trump contempt finding over deportations to Salvadoran prison
The decision reverses a finding from U.S District Judge James E. Boasberg that there was probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court.
Boasberg had accused Trump’s administration officials of rushing deportees out of the country under the Alien Enemies Act last month before they could challenge their removal in court, and then willfully disregarding his order that planes already in the air should return to the United States.
The Republican administration has denied violating his order.
Trump peace summit a blow to Russian influence
Trump will convene a peace summit at the White House Friday afternoon with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan that is meant to end their nearly four decades of conflict.
The agreement also will create a transit corridor — the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — that will connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan region “while respecting Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its people,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Friday.
The signing of the peace deal is a geopolitical blow to their former imperial master, Russia. And both Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign energy, technology and economic deals with the United States, the White House said.
Under Biden, Vance says US got ‘too comfortable’ with censorship
Vance said he felt that, during President Joe Biden’s administration, the U.S. “got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions.”
Moving forward, Vance said he hopes other countries can avoid such “a very dark path.“ The remarks came in response to a question invoking some of Vance’s previous comments about free speech that have ruffled feathers in Europe.
During February remarks to the Munich Security Conference, Vance said that he feared free speech was “in retreat” across the European continent. That prompted pushback from top German officials, one of whom called it “unacceptable” to draw a parallel with authoritarian governments.
Asked about 2028, Vance scoffs at discussing ‘lowly’ politics in stately UK setting
Asked ahead of his Lammy meeting about Trump’s recent statements that Vance is for now “favored” to be next to take up the MAGA mantle, the vice president quickly pivoted.
“I don’t want to talk about lowly things like politics in this grand palace, come on,” Vance said. “I’m not really focused even on the election in 2026, much less one two years after that.”
Vance says US ‘has no plans’ to recognize a Palestinian state
During his opening remarks ahead of the meeting with Lammy, Vance was asked about the U.K.’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
Vance said he wasn’t sure what such recognition would even mean, “given the lack of a functional government there.”
Asked if Trump had been given a heads up on Israel’s announced intent to occupy Gaza City, Vance said he would not go into such conversations.
“If it was easy to bring peace to that region of the world, it would have been done already,” he said.
Why is the US at plastics treaty talks, a rare move under Trump?
Trump has withdrawn the United States from international negotiations and commitments, particularly around climate. But it is very much involved in treaty talks for a global accord to end plastic pollution.
Thousands of people representing 184 nations kicked off a 10-day meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, aiming to complete a landmark treaty to end the spiraling plastic pollution crisis. It’s the sixth time negotiators are meeting, and they hope it’s the last.
The State Department says engaging in the negotiations is a critical opportunity to protect U.S. interests and businesses. Plastics is a $500 billion industry in the United States that employs about 1 million people. Powerful oil and gas nations oppose cutting the production of plastic from fossil fuels.
▶ Read more about the plastic pollution talks
Trump’s tax on endowments already affecting wealthiest universities
The tax increase in Trump’s signature spending bill takes effect next year, but Harvard, Yale and Stanford are already citing having to pay hundreds of millions more in taxes as another reason for layoffs and hiring freezes as they navigate reductions in research grants and other Trump threats to funding. Colleges say having to pay much more in taxes could lead to less financial aid for lower-income students.
About a dozen universities fit the new tax parameters, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers:
7. 8% rate: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. 4% rate: Notre Dame, Dartmouth College, Rice University, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University
Read more on the university endowment tax hike impact
Advocacy group sues Justice Department and FBI for access to Epstein records
An advocacy group sued the Justice Department and the FBI on Friday for records detailing their handling of the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The legal organization Democracy Forward is seeking records related to senior administration officials’ communication about Epstein documents and any regarding correspondence between Epstein and Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, appears to the be first of its kind. The group says it submitted requests under the Freedom of Information Act for the records related to communications about the case in late July that have not yet been fulfilled.
“The court should intervene urgently to ensure the public has access to the information they need about this extraordinary situation,” said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of the Democratic-aligned group, in a statement.
Trump’s tax on endowments already affecting wealthiest universities
The tax increase in Trump’s signature spending bill takes effect next year, but Harvard, Yale and Stanford are already citing having to pay hundreds of millions more in taxes as another reason for layoffs and hiring freezes as they navigate reductions in research grants and other Trump threats to funding. Colleges say having to pay much more in taxes could lead to less financial aid for lower-income students.
About a dozen universities fit the new tax parameters, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers:
9. 8% rate: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10. 4% rate: Notre Dame, Dartmouth College, Rice University, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University
Read more on the university endowment tax hike impact
Pro-Palestinian protesters outside site of Vance, Lammy meeting
About two dozen protesters were spotted on the road before the turn off to the stately home where Vance and Lammy will be meeting. A few were wearing keffiyeh scarves and another held up a round sign that had a meme making fun of Vance printed on it.
Vance and Lammy did a little fishing on the property ahead of the meeting. There was no comment whether either leader caught a fish.
Judge considers ending an agreement on protecting detained children
A federal judge is hearing a Trump administration request to end a nearly three-decade-old policy on ensuring safe conditions for child detainees. The policy limits how long immigrant children can be held, requires safe and sanitary conditions and allows third-party inspections to ensure compliance.
The Trump administration says substantial improvements since 1997 makes this oversight unnecessary. Advocates for immigrant children submitted firsthand accounts from family detention centers describing adults fighting children for clean water, despondent toddlers, health care being denied and some kids kept for 20 days behind bars.
If U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles terminates the settlement after Friday’s hearing, the Trump administration’s expanding detention system would be closed to third-party inspections.
Read more on the child detainees case
Trump’s deadline for Russia on Ukraine has arrived
Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing has arrived, but Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield express little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia. Trump has been eyeing possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
Trump, exasperated that Putin didn’t heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, almost two weeks ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia, as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, if no Kremlin moves towards a settlement were forthcoming. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take Friday. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.
▶ Read more on views from the Ukrainian front lines on Trump’s deadline
UK lays on ‘Downton Abbey’ charm for Vance, foreign secretary meeting
The stately home south of London where Vance and Lammy will soon meet is a mashup of English country charm and foreign relations pomp and circumstance.
Chevening — which serves as the foreign secretary’s official country residence — is an almost 400-year-old mansion surrounded by 3,000 acres (about 1,200 hectares) of country roses and rolling hills. It boasts framed portraits of British notables alongside displays of flags indicating the political undercurrent.
Vance vacationing with family after UK foreign secretary meeting
After meeting with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy south of London on Friday, the U.S. vice president is heading off on a working vacation with his wife and children.
The Vance family’s trip will include official engagements, meetings, fundraising and visits to cultural sites and museums. A visit with U.S. troops is also planned.
That’s according to a person familiar with Vance’s trip who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Vance and Lammy have met a few times in recent months as Vance has traveled overseas, most recently at Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass in Rome.
Trump says Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign ‘historic’ peace deal at White House
The president said he is looking forward to hosting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday.
In a post on his social media site, he billed the event as “historic” and said the two leaders would participate in a “Peace Signing Ceremony.”
Trump said his “administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time” and added that he was “very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter conflict over territory since the early 1990s, when ethnic Armenian forces took control over the Karabakh province and nearby territories.
The Associated Press
