Trump News for Monday, August 17, 2026

Trump's son-in-law and envoy says US will not 'restrict Israel's right to defend itself' as strikes on Gaza continue.

This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. Hi readers, it’s me again! Caitlin will be back on Wednesday. Now, for today’s news: President Donald Trump,…

It’s been over three decades since the Sunshine State elected a Democratic governor, but polls suggest the MAGA favorite could be in for a tight race in Nove...

The US Justice Department is investigating Andreessen Horowitz. At issue is whether partners at the venture capital firm improperly sit on the boards of competing artificial intelligence companies. Bloomberg reported the investigation on Monday, citing people…

By Nate Raymond Aug 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday blocked a Trump administration plan to relocate the new FBI headquarters to Washington, D.C., ra...

ABC News' Mike Dobuski discusses the latest on who is suing the president and prediction markets expert Robin Hanson shares more on the intersection of politics and prediction markets.

Trump says Iran will not make the deal he believes is necessary

E Jean Carroll secures another legal victory as US Supreme Court refuses Donald Trump’s appeal over 1996 abuse claims.

President Donald Trump’s polling woes continue as his approval rating fell to a new low in a Reuters/Ipsos survey released Aug. 17.

New poll found a majority of US citizens concerned about the US war on Iran.

Donald Trump fumed at CNN’s Kristen Holmes as she tried to ask him about his communications with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump had been defending his relationship with Kim, saying that “I understand him. He understands.”…

President Trump is making it easier for convicted felons to regain their gun rights. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a new regulation Monday that allows convicted felons to apply to restore their access to guns. The Justice Department estimates that 3…

Customs and Border Protection is pausing construction in Big Bend National Park, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in an X post on Monday.

Recent news about Democratic National Committee has all been terrible. The author of the committee’s much-delayed autopsy of the 2024 campaign hinted that some of his criticisms of the party were censored. The committee is millions of dollars in debt, while i…

Vance’s comments about prioritizing gas prices diverge from the president's stated mission of eliminating Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

US president cites good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Exemptions increased to 4.2%.

Sales of used EV sales continued to surge in July, the latest data show, and “there are so many used EVs available at a good price point."

The not-so-great walling off of China.

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency with an overwhelming majori...

President Trump’s family members are dodging subpoenas in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC. The British network asked a U.S. federal judge for help in getting documents and testimony from Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, th…

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had responded to his overtures after Trump ordered...

The Trump administration says it is temporarily pausing construction of a controversial border construction project in the Big Bend National Park while the h...

The Trump administration is lashing out after Senator John Ossoff referenced Trump’s mysteriously close relationship with his much younger assistant Natalie Harp. Ossoff questioned the president’s relationship with Harp, 34, at an Atlanta rally on Sunday.“He …

Abbott accuses airports of religious discrimination over wudu stations, calls for federal investigation.

On Monday, Israel's governing party will determine its candidate list for the next election.

The FBI has warned of 'malicious actors' misusing AI to impersonate senior government officials.

"Do the crime, pay the time," a netizen said.

Two murders in less than a week. That’s how the surge went in Minneapolis — a city targeted because the city and state were run by members of the opposing party. It was political persecution pretending to be a public safety effort. Trump and his administratio…

Iran is offering $30,000 for captured or killed US soldiers. Trump cuts back South Korea drills.

The former congresswoman gave followers and her podcast audience a sneak peak of her tattooed arms during the introduction of her show “Get Maced.”

Jared Kushner spent four hours in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and still failed to get him to support the Trump administration’s peace plan for Gaza.Kushner met with Netanyahu along with Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov Mo…

Republican Senator Thom Tillis says the decision allows North Korea to provide more support to Russia in Ukraine.

Trump threatens US allies South Korea and Oman.

The US president has already paid the writer over $5m in damages in the assault and defamation case.

Anthropic's War on Opensource AI

ICE leopards may be eating the face of this guy's wife, but he's still very much on board with the leopard face-eating program in general.

While she continues to work behind-the-scenes on her passion projects, Melania Trump has not appeared at a public engagement in nearly a month, opting to skip several high-profile events that a first lady would traditionally attend.

President also claims US is in direct contact with IRGC, denies a rush to end conflict ahead of November's US midterms.

Former Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims the Trump Administration is weighing nuclear options in Iran as war continues.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" planned joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Is U.S. President Donald Trump hiding something under his suit? The internet thinks he may be!

Donald Trump appears to have reached the end of the line when it comes to challenging a $5 million jury verdict in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll. The Supreme Court on Monday denied the president’s petition for rehearing, after the justices earlier rejected …

Iran's more offensive posture follows Trump's comment that the US would soon make the Strait of Hormuz its territory.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined President Donald Trumps's attorneys' petition for a rehearing of its denial to review E. Jean Carroll's 2022 defamation case.

Oliver Larkin is trying to unseat Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who is backed by AIPAC donors and an artificial intelligence super PAC. The post A Democratic Socialist Aims to Oust a Top AIPAC Beneficiary in Florida appeared first on The Intercept.

An interview with the transgender CIA analyst fired from Trump’s White House

By Parisa Hafezi and Katharine Jackson DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to "fully offensive" due to t...

As Trump pushes allies to do more for their own defence, three US partners have created a security pact of their own.

Today I’m talking to Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of Semafor. Everywhere you go, people say they don’t trust the media — and yet they’ve never consumed more of it. Audiences have moved on from legacy names in favor of Substacks and podcasts and TikTok news …

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - Annie Morgan wrapped her arms around her eldest daughter’s waist and guided her toward the minivan, the two of them moving in a slow...

Jared Kushner to meet Netanyahu next, after Israel rejected Trump's 15-point Gaza roadmap.

President Trump on Sunday said he ordered the Pentagon to “significantly” reduce the amount of joint military exercises with South Korea, due to his “very good relationship” with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.“Based on my very good relationship with…

The Trump administration’s anti-Chinese protectionism is routinely a disastrous, xenophobic mess that mostly just injects chaos, cronyism, and higher prices into U.S. tech markets under the pretense of protecting privacy and national security. All propped up …

US president cites Seoul's reluctance to back his war on Iran, and his warm ties with North Korea's leader as reasons.

Threatening to start yet another front of the Iran War, this time in Oman? Lindsey Graham (RIP) would be proud.

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies? When Xander first met Moxie, she taught him how to calm down when he wa…

Trump deemed the MoU 'over' within a month of it being signed, as the two sides traded attacks despite a 'ceasefire'.

A crypto venture backed by Donald Trump and his family is helping to bankroll a platform that resells artificial intelligence from Chinese companies the US government has blacklisted, an arrangement that sits awkwardly beside the administration’s own campaign…

Donald Trump has ordered the US military to scale back joint exercises with South Korea.

Who would have thought the residents of Canada wouldn't care for the U.S. ambassador constantly calling them the 51st U.S. state?

Hospitals across the U.S. are trying to reduce maternal deaths and complications after pregnancies using one small tool: a silicone wristband stamped with th...

The USS Abraham Lincoln crisis highlights the toll of lengthy deployments on crew morale and operational readiness.

Our daily links, including MTG says nukes on table in Iran, UK drones in Russia, paranoia in Europe, shock gloves in schools, and AOC influencer.

Today's Iran war news: New shoes look set to drop as the MOU expires and the Gulf supply chokehold remains in place.

India and China are tangled in yet another border dispute, angering locals in the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona about conditions aboard the USS Lincoln and his calls for an investigation into sailors' treatment.

The USS Lincoln disaster reveals the defense secretary’s twisted priorities

My back-to-work morning reads: • Vanguard Conquered the ETF World. Where It’s Aiming Next. Salim Ramji, who came over from BlackRock, inherits a firm built on Jack Bogle’s low-cost passive gospel since 1975 — and a challenge nothing like the one Bogle faced..…

The good news? One of the worst bits, tech giants controlling it all, might soon be over

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan claim to want a regional security architecture without outside actors.

John Cassidy on Trump Media’s scheme to charge Wall Street traders for an early look at the President’s comments on social media, which has generated outrage and a lawsuit.

It was heartening to see a couple of polls come out recently showing that for the first time in a long time, Americans trust the Democrats more than the Republicans on the economy. It’s insane that this can come as a surprise, and that these two parties are e…

Turning coal mines into solar farms sounds so smart, it’s almost hard to believe that it’s happening in the United States under President Trump. But late last month, construction began in Texas on a 1.2 gigawatt solar farm that will be one of the largest clea…

In March, a group of around 50 activists broke into Ridglan Farms, a dog breeding and animal research facility, and liberated 22 beagles, a breed said to be favored by the industry because of their docile and eager-to-please temperaments. The company, which h…

Veteran New York Times photographer Doug Mills says he was shocked when he learned he had unwittingly taken a staged photograph of President Trump exiting Air Force One. [Read More]

Diplomacy via TruthSocial decrees is how American foreign policy works now.

The AG offered zero reassurance on the “dead” weaponization fund—and point-blank refused to say the DOJ would “always act independently of the White House.”

The military’s recruiting rebound is real, but the reasons behind it are far less political than Hegseth’s framing suggests.

Welcome to the new normal: When the sky in New York City or Detroit turns a sickly shade of orange, your first thought might be to wonder what part of Canada is burning now. 2026 is the fourth consecutive year that smoke from Canadian fires has caused severe …

At a rally the other day, Donald Trump handed Democrats the perfect soundbite. “For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline,” Trump seethed, “just remember” it’s to deprive Iran of a nuclear weapon. He said higher prices are “okay,” and that “I wi…

House Democrats have opened an investigation for insider trading.

Downing Street has declined to comment on the security breach, first reported by Politico.

The talks come one day after the US president's son-in-law held a rare meeting with Hamas leaders in Egypt.

President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement the US is scaling back major military drills with South Korea risks renewing concerns US forces are too stretche...

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the year since the U.S. military began bombing boats it accused of ferrying drugs off Latin America's Caribbean and Pa...

Sporting red-white-and-blue sneakers and a matching bedazzled manicure ahead of Florida's primaries on Tuesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz smiles and tell...

In Atlanta on Sunday, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff delivered an acidic takedown of President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump on Sunday said vandals are to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial — in the same s...

His rage is driving him to make irrational policy choices.

US president says he's 'not happy' about the drills, citing his 'very good relationship' with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.