Page 8 - White House

Donald and Melania Trump to meet hostage freed from Gaza at White House

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will meet at the White House on Thursday with Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, who was released in May. The President and First Lady have met with many released hostages from Gaza, and they greatly look forward to meeting Edan Alexander and his family in the Oval Office tomorrow, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Alexander, now 21, is an American-Israeli from New Jersey. The soldier was 19 when militants stormed his base in Israel and dragged him into the Gaza Strip. Alexander moved to Israel in 2022 after finishing high school and enlisted in the military. He was released on May 12 by the militant group Hamas after 584 days in captivity. Alexander had been in Israel since he was freed until he travelled last month home to New Jersey, where his family still lives. He was among 251 people taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attack that led to the Israel-Hamas ...

Reports on climate change effect on US disappear from federal websites

The legally mandated assessments seem to have disappeared from federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Websites for the national assessments and the US Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. Searches on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Scientists say the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is, University

Trump to visit remote immigration detention site in Florida Everglades

President Donald Trump is making a day trip to Florida's Everglades on Tuesday for a firsthand look at a new immigration detention facility that the White House suggests will be especially secure given that it is surrounded by alligators. The detention facility is on an isolated airstrip about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Miami and could house 5,000 detainees. It's drawn protests over the potential impact on a delicate ecosystem and criticism that Trump is trying to send a cruel message to immigrants while some Native American leaders have also opposed construction, saying the land is sacred. But a key selling point for the Trump administration is the site's remoteness, and the fact that it is in swampland filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators. The White House hopes that conveys a message to the detainees being housed there and the world at large that repercussions will be severe if the immigration laws of the United States are not followed. Press secretary Karoline ..

Trump signs executive order ending US sanctions on Syria: White House

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending US sanctions on Syria, following through on his promise to do so. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace". Sanctions will remain in place on ousted former president Bashar Assad, his top aides and family. The executive order is meant to end the country's isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanising investments from its neighbours in the region, as well as from the United States", Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brad Smith, told reporters on a call Monday to preview the administration's action. The White House posted the text of the order on X after the signing, which was not open to the press. The US granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in May, which was a first step toward fulfilling the Republican ...

Trump plans executive orders to power AI growth in race with China

The administration will also release an AI action plan and schedule public events to draw public attention to the efforts

Trump to decide on US action in Israel-Iran conflict within two weeks

Donald Trump was briefed on Israel's operation in Iran, said White House

'I hope food was good': Tharoor dishes out sarcasm on Trump-Munir lunch

US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House, weeks after Munir praised him for averting India-Pakistan conflict escalation

Trump to host Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for White House lunch

US President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday, weeks after India and Pakistan were locked in a four-day military conflict. Trump would be hosting the Pakistan Army Chief for lunch in the Cabinet Room of the White House at 1 pm, an official advisory released by Washington said. The US president had cut short his trip to Canada's Kananaskis for the G7 Leaders' Summit and returned to Washington Tuesday morning amid escalating tensions in the Middle East with the latest Israel-Iran conflict. Interestingly, Trump, during a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked him if he could stop in the US on his way back from Canada. But, the prime minister expressed his inability to do so "due to pre-scheduled engagements," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. In the phone talks, Modi told Trump that India and Pakistan halted their military actions last month following direct talks between the two militaries without

Trump to extend TikTok's deadline by 90 days; to sign order: White House

President Trump has signed an executive order delaying the ban on TikTok for a third time, giving ByteDance 90 more days to secure a divestment deal

US military parade mirrors global traditions across regimes, democracies

The military parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary and its convergence with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday are combining to create a peacetime outlier in US history. Yet it still reflects global traditions that serve a range of political and cultural purposes. Variations on the theme have surfaced among longtime NATO allies in Europe, one-party and authoritarian states and history's darkest regimes. France: Bastille Day and Trump's ide inspire The oldest democratic ally of the US holds a military parade each July 14 to commemorate one of the seminal moments of the French Revolution. It inspired or at least stoked Trump's idea for a Washington version. On July 14, 1789, French insurgents stormed the Bastille, which housed prisoners of Louis XVI's government. Revolutionaries commenced a Fte de la Fdration as a day of national unity and pride the following year, even with the First French Republic still more than two years from being established. The Bastille Day para

Trump to finally get chance to top France with grand military parade in DC

Eight years after President Donald Trump was dazzled by a grand military parade down the Champs-lyses in Paris, he is finally getting a chance to try to top the spectacle. His long-delayed dream is expected to be realized Saturday with an extravaganza of American military might featuring tanks and other armoured vehicles rolling through the nation's capital, thousands of soldiers marching the streets and military aircraft flying overhead. In a final flourish, an elite parachute team is to jump from above the White House, land near Trump and hand him an American flag. I think it's going to be great, Trump said this week. We're going to celebrate our country for a change. For Trump, a media-attuned real estate developer who was a reality television star and beauty pageant owner, it's a chance to flex his skills as a showman. But the muscular display of military might also comes as Trump is increasingly flexing the powers of his office, including with the deployment of thousands of ...

Trump acknowledges Elon Musk's apology after spat over 'Big Beautiful Bill'

White House says US President Donald Trump is appreciative of Elon Musk's apology after their public feud last week, exchanging jabs on X over the spending bill

Under pressure from White House, ICE seeks new ways to ramp up arrests

Former officials said the Trump administration's push for the agency to detain record numbers of undocumented immigrants increases the chances of mistakes

Associated Press challenges ruling limiting access to White House

In a filing Tuesday, the Associated Press asked that all the judges on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit review a 2-1 decision by a smaller panel of the court

Trump to keep White House Starlink internet service as Musk feud dissipates

US president Trump suggested he may remove the Tesla Inc. car he purchased from White House grounds and suggested the onus was on Musk to reach out

Trump authorises 2,000 more National Guard troops to Los Angeles: Officials

President Donald Trump authorised on Monday the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members to help respond to protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids, according to US officials. The order would put them on active duty. One official warned, however, that the order was just signed and it could take a day or two to get troops moving. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. Governor Gavin Newsom called the move reckless and "disrespectful to our troops" in a post on the social platform X. "This isn't about public safety. It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego," Newsom said. The Pentagon also deployed about 700 Marines to Los Angeles on Monday to help National Guard members respond to protests over immigration raids, officials said, as California sued Trump over his use of the Guard troops and demonstrators took to the city's streets for a fourth day. The Marines are being deployed from their base at Twentynine Palms in t

Trump's expanding use of emergency powers raises alarms among experts

Call it the 911 presidency. Despite insisting that the United States is rebounding from calamity under his watch, President Donald Trump is harnessing emergency powers unlike any of his predecessors. Whether it's levelling punishing tariffs, deploying troops to the border or sidelining environmental regulations, Trump has relied on rules and laws intended only for use in extraordinary circumstances like war and invasion. An analysis by The Associated Press shows that 30 of Trump's 150 executive orders have cited some kind of emergency power or authority, a rate that far outpaces his recent predecessors. The result is a redefinition of how presidents can wield power. Instead of responding to an unforeseen crisis, Trump is using emergency powers to supplant Congress' authority and advance his agenda. What's notable about Trump is the enormous scale and extent, which is greater than under any modern president, said Ilya Somin, who is representing five US businesses who sued the ...

Court rules Trump can exclude journalists from Oval Office, Air Force One

In a 2-1 ruling, the DC Circuit Court paused a judge's order that let AP rejoin the rotating press pool covering Trump's daily movements, siding with the administration's access limits

Trump-Musk fallout: White House steps in, arranges call for possible truce

Former DOGE chief Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump had exchanged barbs with each other after Musk criticised Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' in a recent interview

Tesla shares fall as growing Trump-Musk spat rattles investors

On his social media platform X, Musk has called on Congress members to kill the legislation, calling it a "disgusting abomination"