U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a private dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as families of hostages held in Gaza push for any ceasefire agreement to include the release of all remaining hostages.
As the two leaders meet for the third time this year, the outwardly triumphant visit will be dogged by Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict.
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Netanyahu meets with Rubio and Witkoff ahead of Trump dinner
The Israeli prime minister is scheduled to have a private dinner with Trump at the White House tonight, but first he held separate meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to the prime minister’s office.
The talks were held at Blair House, the presidential guest house near the White House.
Judge temporarily blocks spending cuts affecting Planned Parenthood
A judge late Monday temporarily blocked a provision in the newly signed Republican tax and spending cut bill that would have ended Medicaid payments to abortion providers for one year.
The lawsuit against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was filed earlier in the day in Boston by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its member organizations in Massachusetts and Utah.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the defendants from enforcing the cuts and requiring them to ensure “Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes to Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its members.”
Plaintiffs argue that allowing the provision to take effect will have devastating consequences nationwide, including increased rates of undiagnosed and untreated sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, as well as unplanned pregnancies and abortions.
About 400 AmeriCorps employees will be reinstated after judge’s order
A court order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox reinstates the union workers after they were placed on administrative leave in April as part of Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency efforts to trim the federal workforce.
The local union sued the agency in May alongside several nonprofit organizations.
AmeriCorps is a 30-year-old agency that facilitates volunteer service across the country, sending hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to serve in communities.
In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman granted a temporary block on the agency’s cancellation of grants and early discharge of corps members in the states that sued the administration in April.
Retooling of student loan forgiveness program concerns some advocates
President Donald Trump is reshaping the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, sparking concerns it could become a tool for political retribution.
The program cancels student loans for public sector and nonprofit workers after 10 years of payments.
A draft proposal from the Education Department suggests excluding organizations involved in “illegal activities,” with definitions targeting immigration, transgender issues and terrorism.
Advocates have raised concerns it would give the department subjective authority to decide if an organization is engaged in anything illegal — a power that could be used to remove entire hospital systems or state governments from the program.
The agency is preparing a formal proposal that will undergo a public comment period before it’s finalized.
California rejects Trump administration proposal on transgender athletes
The proposal would have required the state to apologize and restore awards to girls who lost sports titles to trans athletes. It also would’ve required the state to notify school sports programs that receive federal funding that Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education, prohibits trans girls from participating in girls sports.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon posted on X Monday that the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation, a governing body for high school sports, said they would not agree to the recommendations. The state education department did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the federation said it does not comment on legal matters.
The Trump administration unveiled the proposal last month after determining California policies allowing trans girls to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity violated Title IX. The federal government gave the state 10 days to change its policies or “risk imminent enforcement action.”
McMahon said Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earlier this year questioned the fairness of trans girls competing in girls sports, would hear from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Turns out Gov. Newsom’s acknowledgment that ‘it’s an issue of fairness’ was empty political grandstanding,” McMahon said.
Iran’s president says his country cannot access nuclear sites damaged by US strikes
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says that U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged three of his country’s nuclear facilities last month that Iranian authorities have still not been able to access them to survey the destruction.
Pezeshkian said in an interview published Monday with conservative American broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog but cannot yet commit to allowing them unfettered access to monitor the sites.
“We are ready to hold talks over it,” Pezeshkian said. “We have never been the party that has run away from verification. We stand ready to have such supervision, unfortunately, as a result of the United States’ unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged. Therefore, we don’t have any access to them, we cannot see. And this access will have to wait for that.”
Israelis rally for Gaza hostage release, end to wire outside US Embassy
Israelis rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on Monday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a U.S. visit.
Demonstrators held signs demanding an end to the Gaza war, and demanding Israel win the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
“Hostages are waiting,” the message on one banner declared.
To take over or not to take over Gaza?
During Monday’s briefing, Leavitt was asked about Trump’s idea for the United States to take over Gaza and lead its rebuilding.
The press secretary responded by saying the question was inaccurate.
“As for the ‘take over’ of Gaza,” she said, raising her fingers to make an air quote gesture, “I don’t believe the president ever said that. I think he discussed a rebuilding of Gaza once this war is over.”
In fact, Trump had said exactly that back in February.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” the president said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then Trump went a step further — “we’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
Leavitt did not immediately return a request for comment.
Israeli families come to Washington seeking freedom of all hostages as part of any Gaza ceasefire
Families of hostages held in Gaza have come to Washington for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit here, pushing the U.S. and Israel to demand release of all remaining hostages as part of any ceasefire deal.
Netanyahu says 50 people remain hostage in Gaza. The Israeli leader says only 20 of them are believed still alive — many believed in Hamas tunnels under Gaza — after 21 months of war between Israel and the armed group.
Families of some of the hostages gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday with signs and photos of their loved ones.
“We cannot accept a deal for a partial release,” said Ilan Dalal, father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal. “A partial deal would mean that some of the hostages will stay in the tunnels for more time and this would be a death sentence.”
Trump administration revokes protections from US deportation of migrants from Honduras and Nicaragua
Leavitt says the Trump administration is ending protections that have allowed migrants from Honduras and Nicaragua to live and work in the U.S. for decades.
Tens of thousands of migrants from both countries had been shielded from deportation under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. The move is part of Trump’s sweeping effort to increase deportations.
Leavitt said the program “is temporary by definition. It is not meant to be a permanent path to residency or citizenship.” She said migrants from both countries began qualifying for protected U.S. status after the devastation across Central America of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
“That doesn’t sound very temporary to me,” Leavitt said.
White House won’t say if Texas flooding will delay Trump’s plans to scrap FEMA
The White House won’t say if Trump will be rethinking phasing out the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the deadly flooding in Texas.
Asked if Trump may delay his promise to close FEMA and leave disaster response up to the states, Leavitt said, “The president has always said he wants states to do as much as they can.”
She added that Texas officials are doing a “tremendous job” in response to the flooding.
Pressed in a subsequent question about phasing out FEMA, Leavitt said she’d already answered the question — even though she hadn’t.
Trump envoy to head Qatar this week for ceasefire-related talks
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Qatari capital later this week as the Trump administration continues its push for a ceasefire and hostage deal in the 21-month war in Gaza.
“The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” Leavitt said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to have a private dinner with Trump on Monday at the White House this evening. Before his meeting with Trump on Monday, the prime minister is scheduled to meet separately with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Doctors and public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy changes
The groups are suing the U.S. government over the decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for children and pregnant women.
The plaintiffs include the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association — along with an unnamed pregnant doctor who works in a hospital.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately comment.
In late May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. Many health experts accused Kennedy of disregarding the scientific review process.
Leavitt says many media outlets haven’t blamed Trump cuts for hindering Texas flood response
The White House press secretary is continuing to dispute suggestions that Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce may have hindered federal response to the deadly Texas flooding.
She said some Democrats have suggested that, but noted that many media outlets have not followed suit. She didn’t name any specific officials making those claims.
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has spent months working to slash the size of government, but it is unclear what impact those efforts might have had on the federal response to the flooding in Texas.
Trump to sign order for tariff hikes to take place on Aug. 1
President Donald Trump is signing an executive order on Monday to delay that tariff increase deadline by roughly three weeks to Aug. 1, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the news briefing.
The 90-day negotiating period on trade was set to expire on July 9, causing tariffs to increase from the baseline 10% rate to the generally higher levels set by Trump on April 2. But the order would allow the new rates being announced by Trump on Monday and Tuesday to be imposed starting on Aug 1.
Trump posted letters to the leaders of South Korea and Japan saying imports of their goods will be taxed at 25%. Leavitt said approximately a dozen other countries will receive letters.
Trump to tour flood-devasted Texas later this week
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the president will be visiting devastating flooding “later this week.”
She called what happened a “once in a generation national disaster” and urged “everyone in the area to remain vigilant, listen to all warnings and respond accordingly.”
Leavitt said the visit would likely come Friday, but that no final decision had been made.
She also bristled at suggestions that deep Trump administration cuts to federal services may have affected authorities’ response to the flooding.
She blamed Democrats and said that faulting “President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie” and insisted that the National Weather Service “did its job” in spreading warnings about possible catastrophic flooding.
White House says Trump will likely visit Texas on Friday
Leavitt said the president wants to go “at the most appropriate time” as the state recovers from deadly flooding.
Planned Parenthood sues Trump administration
Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration Monday over a provision in the newly signed Republican tax and spending cut bill that would end Medicaid payments to abortion providers for one year.
The lawsuit against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was filed in Boston by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its member organizations in Massachusetts and Utah.
They argue allowing the provision to take effect will have devastating consequences nationwide. According to their complaint, many of Planned Parenthood’s 1 million Medicaid patients will lose access to health care altogether, clinics will lay off staff and curtail services for all patients, and a substantial number of clinics will shut down.
The result will be increased rates of undiagnosed and untreated sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, as well as unplanned pregnancies and abortions, the plaintiffs argue.
Displaced Palestinians hope Trump-Netanyahu meeting leads to a truce
Hungry, displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hope Monday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lead to a ceasefire.
The two are set to meet as negotiations continue on a plan for a 60-day truce, the release of some hostages held by Hamas and an influx of humanitarian aid.
“Displacement is death,” said Majid Farwana, who lives in a tent camp in central Gaza. “We’re suffering every minute as we try to find food, water and tenting, and we struggle with hot weather.”
Mohammed Abu Awda, who was displaced from northern Gaza, said that if he returns to find his home destroyed, he will set up a tent on the rubble.
The 21-month war, ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and driven around 90% of Gaza’s population from their homes. Hunger is widespread, with aid groups saying they have struggled to bring in food because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order.
The tariff letters are finally getting sent
Trump has been talking for a while about ending trade negotiations and sending out letters informing countries about their tariff rates.
On Friday, the president told reporters that “I signed some letters and they’ll go out on Monday, probably 12.” (Two have been released so far.)
The letters, issued on White House stationary, have Trump’s typical flourishes and capitalization.“We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,” he wrote to the leaders of South Korea and Japan.
He ends both of the letters by saying, “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump sets 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea
The higher taxes begin on Aug. 1.
The president announced the decision on Truth Social, where he posted copies of letters that he sent to the leaders of each country.
Trump has been eager to escalate tariffs on American trading partners after pausing his plans earlier this year.
Speaker Johnson to meet Netanyahu
Netanyahu is also expected to meet while he’s in Washington with the U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson, a Republican who has aligned the House GOP lawmakers closer to Israel, plans to meet with Netanyahu on Tuesday.
Trump: former Brazilian leader should be left alone after plotting to overturn his 2022 election loss
President Donald Trump posted on social media that Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is subject to a “WITCH HUNT” and should be left alone by that country’s judiciary.
Trump in a Monday post on Truth Social channeled his own experiences with regard to Bolsonaro, who was charged in February for plotting to stay in power after losing the 2022 election in an ongoing Brazilian Supreme Court Case.
“He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,” Trump said. “I have gotten to know Jair Bolsonaro, and he was a strong Leader, who truly loved his Country — Also, a very tough negotiator on TRADE. His Election was very close and now, he is leading in the Polls. This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about!”
Trump last month called for throwing out the corruption trial of Netanyahu, who is visiting the White House on Monday.
Former Librarian of Congress takes on new role in fight for public knowledge
The former Librarian of Congress is back with a new gig after Trump abruptly fired her in May.
Carla Hayden joined the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Monday as a senior fellow, the humanities grantmaker exclusively told The Associated Press.
Her duties include advising the country’s largest philanthropic supporter of the arts on efforts to advance public knowledge through libraries and archives. Hayden noted existing threats to “the free exchange of ideas” in a statement.
“Together, we will work to strengthen the public knowledge ecosystem and ensure that the transformative power of information remains accessible to all,” she said.
Pressure from Trump for trade deals before Wednesday deadline
The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with plans for the United States to start sending letters Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1.
That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America’s trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to give up on negotiations.
Trump signs tax breaks and spending cuts into law on Fourth of July
Trump signed his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday in front of Fourth of July picnickers after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy.
Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his Cabinet, Trump signed the multitrillion-dollar legislation at a desk on the White House driveway, then banged down a gavel gifted to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson that was used during the bill’s final passage Thursday.
Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Trump achieved his goal of celebrating a historic — and divisive — legislative victory in time for the nation’s birthday, which also was his self-imposed deadline for Congress to send the legislation to his desk. Fighter jets and stealth bombers streaked through the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic.
The Associated Press
