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In bait-and-switch, Republicans now want taxpayers to fund Trump's $400 million ballroom

(The Independent) In the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, top Republicans want to use $400 million in taxpayer funds on President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, arguing the new building is vital for national security. This comes despite past promises from the president the ballroom would be entirely funded by private donations. “It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Monday. Graham and his GOP colleagues Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt are pushing a bill to fund the ballroom and offset costs by using customs and national parks user fees.

Congressional Republicans are split on using taxpayer funds to build Trump's ballroom

(NBC News) President Donald Trump’s top allies are pushing for Congress to fund a costly White House ballroom after the president was evacuated from a dinner Saturday in a sprawling hotel ballroom where a gunman breached a security checkpoint. But Republicans are divided on whether to make taxpayers foot the bill, with some preferring to let Trump raise money privately to construct the 90,000-square foot ballroom. And Democrats remain firmly opposed, meaning it would be a heavy lift for Republicans to pass a bill.

Trump unhappy with Iran's latest proposal to end the war

(Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a U.S. official said, dampening hopes for resolution of a conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation, and killed thousands. Iran's latest proposal would ‌set aside discussion of Iran's nuclear programme until the war, on hold following a ceasefire announced earlier this month, is ended and disputes over shipping ‌from the Gulf are resolved.

Trump pursues new import taxes to replace the tariffs the Supreme Court rejected

(ABC News) When the Supreme Court killed his favorite tariffs in February, President Donald Trump promptly rolled out temporary import taxes to replace them. But those stopgap levies expire in less than three months. Now the administration is scrambling to put more durable tariffs in place to keep revenue flowing into the U.S. Treasury and to shore up the president’s protectionist wall around the American economy.

Trump is the 'chief instigator' of violent rhetoric in America: Ex-Trump official

Pete Hegseth Reportedly Took Kid Rock on Apache Helicopter 'Joy Ride'

(Mediaite) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly took musician and Trump ally Kid Rock on not one but two Apache helicopters for a “joy ride” on Monday morning. Drop Site reporter Ryan Grim shared the scoop in a post on X, alleging that he spoke to “multiple Army sources” who confirmed, “Kid Rock flew to Fort Belvoir this morning on his private jet and took a little joy ride on two Apache helicopters with War Secretary Pete Hegseth.” The information, Grim wrote, was “backed up by flight data.”

Jeffries says shielding consumers from AI data center costs will be Dem priority

(Politico) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled Monday that shielding consumers from rising electricity costs associated with the data center boom would be a priority on Democrats’ artificial intelligence agenda should they win back a majority. The New York Democrat said at a press conference that Democrats want to ensure that “our homegrown companies can continue to lead the world in this transformative technology” but that “we’ve got to make sure we protect the American consumer.”

Donald Trump is lying about elections again

(Mark Elias) The midterms are seven months away. Trump has signed executive orders to restrict voting. His Justice Department is trying to build a national database to disenfranchise voters. He has said he wants Republicans to “take over the voting.” His administration routinely claims there would be nothing wrong with deploying federal agents to the polls. If calling this an affront to democracy and authoritarian overreach is too rhetorical for some in the legacy media, then perhaps it is they who need to rethink their words.

UAE leaves OPEC and OPEC+ in huge blow to global oil producers' group

(Reuters) The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it quit OPEC and OPEC+, dealing a heavy blow to the oil exporting groups and ​their de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Iran ‌war has caused a historic energy shock and unsettled the global economy. The stunning loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the group. But the UAE exit from OPEC represents a big win for U.S. ​President Donald Trump, who has accused the organisation of "ripping off the rest ​of the world" by inflating oil prices.

Miserable Trump-appointed judge abruptly resigns - and leaves huge workload behind: report

(Raw Story) U.S. District Judge Alan Albright abruptly announced his resignation this month, leaving his colleagues with a huge stack of unresolved casework — and it may be because he was simply miserable in his role as a judge, Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law reported on Monday. Albright, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2018, will be leaving in August.