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The Trump administration's use of an obscure portion of immigration law to detain and attempt to deportpro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalilis likely unconstitutional, according to an order issued Wednesday by a federal judge in New Jersey. Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident, is "likely to win on the merits" of his arguments against the federal government's assertion that he poses a threat to the administration's foreign policy goal of combatting antisemitism, Judge Michael Farbiarz of the Federal District Court in New Jersey writes in a lengthy order. The administration's use of that law appears to be "unconstitutionally vague as applied" to Khalil, Farbiarz writes. But the judge did not order Khalil's release, finding also that he has not provided sufficient evidence against the administration's other claims that hefailed to discloseties with certain organizations when he applied for residency status in the US. Khalil has been in detention since his arrest near Columbia in March. He was among the first in a series of high-profile arrests made by the Trump administration in the name of battling antisemitism, but which has sparked a litany of free-speech concerns. An immigration judge in April ruled Khalilcould be deportedafter the government argued his presence posed "potentially serious foreign policy consequences." Khalil's attorneys argue the government's evidence is insufficient and based solely on a letter fromSecretary of State Marco Rubiothat does not allege criminal activity. They contend Khalil is being targeted for his political speech, a First Amendment violation. The federal judge's new order is sympathetic to that argument. "The Secretary did not affirmatively determine that (Khalil's) alleged conduct has impacted U.S. relations with other countries. Indeed, the Secretary's determination says nothing about any country other than America," Farbiarz writes. The judge also notes that deporting Khalil on those grounds would be "unprecedented." Khalil's legal team praised the order and said it will provide the additional information requested by the judge as quickly as possible to "return (Khalil) to his wife and newborn son." "The district court held what we already knew: Secretary Rubio's weaponization of immigration law to punish Mahmoud and others like him is likely unconstitutional," the legal team said, according to a statementposted by the ACLU, which is helping represent him. Khalil's case is playing out separately in immigration court in Louisiana, where he's been in detention. In alengthy hearing last week, a judge denied a request to terminate Khalil's deportation proceedings after his attorneys argued that he was arrested illegally and without a warrant. CNN's Ruben Correa contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

Former White House advisor Steve Bannon pushed back forcefully Thursday against claims that President Donald Trump's immigration plans amount to "mass incarceration." In a Thursday episode of MSNBC's "Katy Tur Reports," Emma Vigeland claimed Trump had abandoned his "drain the swamp" rhetoric, embraced Washington elites, and used criminal justice reform as a tool to reward allies while overseeing a mass incarceration agenda. Bannon said on his show that the Trump administration's First Step Act was a landmark reform rooted in compassion and fairness and that there is a clear difference between incarceration and deportation. "And this is why they're losing. She's a bald-faced liar. Nobody has done more on prison reform and work with prisoners and is more anti-mass incarceration," Bannon said in response to what Vigeland said. Bannon reminded viewers of a statement he issued while inprison. WATCH: "On August, on September 26, and Grace, we should put this up because you were involved in this, in prison. I put the only statement I think I ever put out in prison about the coming victory over Kamala Harris. You know where I got that from? The prisoners. Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party and that young lady right there, they represent mass incarcerations," Bannon added. Bannon then emphasized that the First Step Act, a signature bipartisan achievement under Trump, marked a historic break from the era of mass imprisonment, particularly for minority communities.(RELATED: Steve Bannon Predicts Massive Cash Flow From Tariffs As Trump Tightens Grip) "What he's doing with illegal aliens is not mass incarceration. That's deportation of people that have no due process rights and are going to get the hell out of this country. President Trump, the First Step Act, asked the prisoners, ma'am, have you interviewed the prisoners? His First Step Act is the boldest move ever against mass incarceration. Remember, the Democratic Party, and particularly the progressive part of the Democratic Party, have been for mass incarceration," Bannon said. Clarifying Trump's deportation agenda, Bannon discussed the distinction between criminal justice reform and immigration enforcement. "What President Trump [wants] is mass deportation of illegal aliens, and they're going to get mass deported. It's for you to sit there and Katie Turner, now for you to correct that bald-faced lie, and that was a bald-faced lie, and Katie Turner, you know better," Bannon added. Bannon went on to call MSNBC "corrupt" and "increasingly irrelevant," blaming its misinformation campaigns for the network's declining influence. "This is how corrupt MSNBC is. This is why there's no offense becoming more and more irrelevant. This is why African American men are voting for President Trump in the MAGA movement in record numbers," Bannon said. "This is why the Hispanic community is coming to President Trump in the MAGA movement in record numbers." Before winning in an electoral landslide against former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump campaigned on an aggressive immigrationplatformthat included building the border wall, ending birthright citizenship, and launching the largestdeportationeffort in U.S. history. Trumpsaidhe will declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to enforce mass deportations. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

By Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) -Investment in a planned Trump Tower in Vietnam is estimated at around $1 billion and construction of the at least 60-storey skyscraper could start next year, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters. The building, for which plans are still preliminary, would be the second major project the Trump Organization, U.S. President Donald Trump's family business, is reviewing in Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country is currently in trade talks with Washington to avoid crippling 46% tariffs. Eric Trump, senior vice president of the Trump Organization, visited Vietnam last week to survey the site for the tower in the country's southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City and to attend the groundbreaking for a golf resort in northern Vietnam. The approval for the golf club, according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, had been expedited by the authorities. The Trump Organization would operate the golf club, while its Vietnamese partner, real estate firm Kinhbac City, would focus on developing it with an estimated investment of $1.5 billion, the source said. The division of work had not been previously reported. A similar arrangement is likely to be agreed for the Trump Tower, with the investment expected to come mostly from local partners, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public. The Trump Organization did not reply to a request for comment. Kinhbac City, a leading industrial real estate developer in Vietnam, did not respond to a request for comment. When it announced its collaboration with the Trump Organization in October, the company said the venture "will focus on developing 5-star hotels, championship-style golf courses, and luxurious residential estates and unparalleled amenities in Vietnam." During his visit last week, Eric Trump toured the site where the skyscraper would be built and met local officials, the source said. That was in line with the schedule of his engagements with the city's authorities, according to a Vietnamese document seen by Reuters. The tower would be built in Thu Thiem, an area under development in central Ho Chi Minh City where a new financial centre is planned to be built, the document from the city's authorities showed. 'ENVY OF ALL OF ASIA' At the groundbreaking for the golf resort, Eric Trump said the projects to be developed in Vietnam would be "the envy of all of Asia and of the entire world", adding he would visit the country frequently to further the company's plans. Approvals for the tower project are still being sought and no final decision had been made about when construction will start, the source said, adding that the aim was to have the groundbreaking next year. The investment could be larger than $1 billion if permits are obtained for a building with more than 60 floors, the person said. The Trump Organization operates several towers in the United States and across the world, but does not own all of them. The flagship Trump Tower in the Manhattan neighbourhood of New York City was built in the 1980s. Others have since been built in Chicago, Florida and abroad, including in Turkey and the Philippines. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Kate Mayberry)

PINGTUNG COUNTY, Taiwan — Below a windy lookout, three U.S.-made mobile rocket launchers lurched forward at a military base inTaiwan, preparing for their first live-fire test on the Beijing-claimed island. "3, 2, 1... launch," a Taiwan military officer counted down over a loudspeaker. A total of 33 rockets were then fired toward the Pacific Ocean, in the opposite direction from the Chinese mainland. Making a thunderous sound, each erupted in bursts of flame and trailed white smoke that arced high into the air. The historic test of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, took place this month at an undisclosed location in Pingtung County, on the southern tip of Taiwan, as Taipei scrambles to overhaul its military and get PresidentDonald Trump's backing amid growing military threats fromChina. The rocket system could be crucial if Taiwan ever came under attack from Beijing, which has not ruled out the use of force in annexing the self-governing democracy. Manufactured by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, HIMARS mobile launchers are equipped with guided rockets that have a range of about 185 miles — far enough to reach coastal targets in the southern Chinese province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. It is the same rocket system that Ukrainian forces have been using to target Russian positions — though unlike Ukraine, Taiwan paid the United States more than $1 billion for the weaponry. The island has received 11 of the 29 HIMARS launchers it has purchased, with the rest expected to arrive ahead of schedule next year. Though the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, it is the island's biggest weapons supplier. Billions of dollars in arms deals with the U.S. have helped Taiwan build up asymmetric tools such as drones, missiles and upgraded fighter jets. As China ramps up military and other pressure, Taiwan has alsoextended compulsory military serviceto one year from four months, doubled mandatory annual refresher training for reservists to two weeks, and pledged to increase its defense budget to more than 3% of GDP. While the U.S. remains a "very important" strategic partner, Taipei "fully recognizes" the need to strengthen its own defense capabilities, said Sun Li-fang, a spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. "Ensuring Taiwan's security is our responsibility and our top priority," he said. "We take this matter very seriously." But it is difficult for Taiwan to build a modern fighting force, Sun said, in the face of "inherently disproportionate" threats from China, whose 2.8-million-strong military ismore than 18 times largerthan Taiwan's number of active-duty personnel. In the year since Taiwan PresidentLai Ching-tetook office, China has held several rounds of large-scale military exercises that Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, the head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned this month are not drills but "rehearsals." The Chinese military also sends warplanes and ships toward Taiwan on near-daily sorties and in recent days held an amphibious landing drill in the Taiwan Strait. To deal with such "tangible and real" threats, it is "crucial" that the U.S. and Taiwan continue their military cooperation, Sun said. In addition to HIMARS, the U.S. and Taiwan have advanced their cooperation with an intelligence sharing deal that Sun called a "game-changer." "We typically don't go into detail because intelligence and information sharing are sensitive," Sun said in his government's first public comments on the subject. "That said, this kind of intelligence exchange is extremely helpful for us in understanding threats from the enemy and making appropriate defensive deployments." In congressional testimony this month, a retired U.S. Navy admiral also publicly acknowledged for the first time that there are about 500 U.S. military personnel stationed in Taiwan, more than 10 times the number previously disclosed. Even as it works with the U.S., Taiwan is unsure about the extent of the security commitment from Washington, which has long maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" when it comes to whether U.S. forces would defend the island against a Chinese attack. Further muddling the picture are commentsTrump has made about Taiwan, the global leader in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, "stealing" chip business from the U.S. and not paying enough for its own defense. Officials in Taipei have also been rattled by thecollapse of U.S. support for Ukraineas well as the threat of steep tariffs on Taiwan's exports, which Trump has set at 32% in addition to a 10% baseline. "You have different voices emerging from the United States, so that creates more uncertainties for Taiwanese," said Andrew Yang, Taiwan's former minister of national defense. "Which voices or narratives should we listen to?" Reservist Jason Chu, 30, said that among those around him, there was a "growing" sense of responsibility to defend Taiwan. "The biggest difference lies in our mindset," said Chu, an engineer. He said that while many people in Taiwan most likely think of their training as a duty at first, often they later begin to think of it as protecting their country. People in Taiwan have watched with concern as war drags on Ukraine, another democracy targeted by a larger, autocratic neighbor — and some have even gone to join the fight against Russia. Tony Lu went to Ukraine in 2022 first as a volunteer, then as a fighter. He said he thinks people in Taiwan need to be ready. "No one wants war — I don't want it either," he said. "But we don't have a choice."

By John O'Donnell and Oliver Hirt VADUZ, Liechtenstein (Reuters) -Liechtenstein is examining tightening control of scores of Russian-linked trusts abandoned by their managers under pressure from Washington, according to several people familiar with the matter. The country, one of the world's smallest and richest, is home to thousands of low-tax trusts, hundreds of which have links to Russians, two of the people with direct knowledge of the matter said, putting it in the crosshairs of Western efforts to sanction Moscow. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned several individuals and trusts in Liechtenstein it said were linked to Russian oligarchs, including Vladimir Potanin, and a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko. The U.S. Treasury had no immediate comment. Potanin's Interros holding company did not respond to a request for comment, while Timchenko could not be reached. That sanctioning has prompted other directors fearing such punishment to quit hundreds of Russian-linked trusts, according to several people familiar with the matter, exposing a far wider problem with Russian money in the tiny country with a population of about 40,000. The episode, in a sleepy Alpine enclave ruled by a billionaire royal family, also shows how deep and opaque Russia's business ties to Europe remain more than three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is a setback for the microstate that had long sought to shed its image as a safe haven for foreign wealth. The mass resignations have put scores of trusts in limbo, essentially freezing swathes of Russian wealth. The trusts are the linchpin for fortunes, including yachts or property, that are scattered around the globe. Their suspension puts that property beyond reach, a further potential lever over Russia, amid attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a peace deal. Reuters has spoken to several people with direct knowledge of these events, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. They outlined how a push by Washington had led scores of directors to quit trusts with links to Russia and how the government was scrambling to resolve the crisis. Liechtenstein's newly elected government is seeking to fix the issue, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring the continued pressure from Washington over Russia sanctions, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier suggestions he could ease them. Liechtenstein also sees its handling of sanctions enforcement as something that could influence its government's efforts to lower newly imposed U.S. tariffs on exports, said one person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A Liechtenstein government official said 475 trusts were affected by the defections, although added that not all were linked to Russians or sanctioned individuals. That official said Liechtenstein's justice department was seeking to install new managers to 350 trusts, while 40 were being liquidated and unsuccessful attempts had been made to appoint a liquidator to further 85 trusts. This episode strikes at the trust industry, a critical pillar of Liechtenstein's roughly 770 billion franc ($930 billion) financial centre that underpins the country's economy. Local banks, the government official said, were also affected, without elaborating. Banks are particularly vulnerable because the United States has the power to throttle them by cutting off their access to the dollar, threatening a wider crisis. The episode has confronted the country with its biggest crisis since 2008, when leaked customer data at LGT Bank, owned by the country's princely family, exposed widespread tax evasion. The government is now examining options to centralise the management of the deserted trusts under its watch and tightening supervision of trusts. The Liechtenstein official also said the country's authorities were in contact with their international counterparts and that no trust assets would be released to sanctioned individuals. Liechtenstein, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, is dominated by its royal family, whose castle towers over the parliament. It is tied closely to Switzerland, using its franc currency, but also enjoys freedom to do business in the European Union's single market. The country, criticised for hiding the fortunes of the wealthy in the past, had reformed and joined the International Monetary Fund. Once home to roughly 80,000 tax trusts, it now hosts about 20,000, said two people familiar with the matter - equivalent to roughly one trust for two residents. Pressure on Liechtenstein follows a similar push against neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. ($1 = 0.8273 Swiss francs) (Additional reporting by Reuters Moscow bureau, editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Tomasz Janowski)

(Inserts missing word in paragraph 2) By Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump's offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel. Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the region, Saudi Arabia's 89-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz dispatched his son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, with the warning destined for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to two Gulf sources close to government circles and two Iranian officials. Present at the closed-door meeting in Tehran, which took place on April 17 in the presidential compound, were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the sources said. While media covered the 37-year-old prince's visit, the content of the King Salman's covert message has not been previously reported. Prince Khalid, who was Saudi ambassador to Washington during Trump's first term, warned Iranian officials that the U.S. leader has little patience for drawn-out negotiations, according to the four sources. Trump had unexpectedly announced just over a week earlier that direct talks were taking place with Tehran, aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. He did so in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had travelled to Washington hoping instead to win support for attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. In Tehran, Prince Khalid told the group of senior Iranian officials that Trump's team would want to reach a deal quickly, and the window for diplomacy would close fast, according to the four sources. The Saudi minister said it would be better to reach a deal with the U.S. than face the possibility of an Israeli attack if the talks broke down, according to the two Gulf sources. He argued that the region - already riven by recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon - could not withstand a further escalation in tensions, said the two Gulf sources and one senior foreign diplomat familiar with the discussions. Authorities in Saudi Arabia and Iran did not respond to requests for comment. The visit by Prince Khalid - the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman - was the first by a senior member of the Saudi royal family to Iran in more than two decades. Riyadh and Tehran had long been bitter rivals, often backing opposing sides in proxy wars, until a rapprochement brokered by China in 2023 helped to ease the tensions and restored diplomatic ties. Over the past two years, Iran's regional position has been undermined by heavy military blows inflicted by Israel on its allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and toppling of its close ally, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Western sanctions, meanwhile, have hit its oil-dependent economy hard. Mohanad Hage Ali, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank in Beirut, said that Tehran's weakness had offered Saudi Arabia the opportunity to exert its diplomatic influence, seeking to avoid a regional conflagration. "They want to avoid war because war and confrontation with Iran will have negative implications on them and their economic vision and ambitions," he told Reuters. IRAN WANTS A DEAL Reuters was unable to determine the impact of the prince's message on Iran's leadership. In the meeting, Pezeshkian responded that Iran wanted a deal to ease economic pressure through the lifting of Western sanctions, the four sources said. However, the Iranian officials, the sources added, expressed concerns over the Trump administration's "unpredictable" approach to negotiations — which have veered from allowing limited uranium enrichment to demanding the complete dismantling of Tehran's enrichment program. Trump also has threatened to use military force if diplomacy fails to rein in the clerical establishment's nuclear ambitions. One of the Iranian sources said that Pezeshkian emphasized Tehran's eagerness to reach a deal but that Iran was not willing to sacrifice its enrichment program just because Trump wanted an agreement. The ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran have already been through five rounds to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, but multiple stumbling blocks remain, including the key issue of enrichment. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Iran might pause uranium enrichment if the U.S. releases its frozen funds and recognises its right to refine uranium for civilian use under a "political deal" that could lead to a broader nuclear accord, according to two Iranian sources familiar with the talks. The semi-official Fars news agency in Iran quoted a foreign ministry spokesman denying the report. The White House did not directly address Reuters' questions about whether it was aware of the Saudi warning to Iran. "President Trump has made it clear: make a deal, or face grave consequences, and the whole world is clearly taking him seriously, as they should," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Trump said on Wednesday he warned Netanyahu last week not to take any actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran, and said the two sides were "very close to a solution now". Israeli authorities did not respond to a request for comment. HIGH STAKES A four-day visit by Trump to the Gulf this month annointed Saudi Arabia as the most prominent member of a new axis of Sunni states in the Middle East, filling the void left by Iran's shattered alliance. During the trip, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman mediated a reconciliation between Trump and Syria's new Sunni leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Tehran's regional sway, meanwhile, has been diminished by military setbacks suffered by Iran and its allies in the Shi'ite-dominated Axis of Resistance, which include Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iraqi militias In the meeting, Prince Khalid urged Iran to rethink its regional policy, noting such a shift would be welcomed, especially by Riyadh, the sources said. Although he stopped short of directly blaming Iran, the Saudi minister voiced concern over a possible repeat of the 2019 drone attacks on the facilities of state oil company Aramco - attacks the kingdom attributed to Iran and its Houthi allies, despite Tehran's denial. Iranian officials maintained that while Tehran holds some influence over the Houthis, it does not fully control their actions, the Iranian sources said. Decades of hostility between the Shi'ite Iran and Saudi Arabia destabilised the Gulf and fuelled regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria. The 2023 detente was driven in part by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed's economic ambitions and desire for stability, and has led to increased contacts between the governments. However, neither Saudi Arabia nor other regional powers see Iran as a dependable partner for peace and they fear its actions could jeopardize their ambitions for economic development, diplomats and regional experts say. Prince Khalid implored the Iranians to avoid actions by them and their allies that might provoke Washington, stressing that Trump's response would likely be more strident than his predecessors, presidents Joe Biden and Barak Obama. In turn, he assured Tehran that Riyadh would not let its territory or airspace to be used by the United States or Israel for any potential military action against Iran, the sources said. (Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of countries joined China on Friday in establishing an international mediation-based dispute resolution group. Representatives of more than 30 other countries, from Pakistan and Indonesia to Belarus and Cuba, signed the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation inHong Kongto become founding members of the global organization, following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The support of developing countries signaled Beijing's rising influence in the global south amid heightened geopolitical tensions, partly exacerbated byU.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. At a ceremony, Wang said China has long advocated for handling differences with a spirit of mutual understanding and consensus-building through dialogue, while aiming to provide "Chinese wisdom" for resolving conflicts between nations. "The establishment of the International Organization for Mediation helps to move beyond the zero-sum mindset of 'you lose and I win,'" he said. The body, headquartered in Hong Kong, aims to help promote the amicable resolution of international disputes and build more harmonious global relations, he said. Beijing has touted the organization as the world's first intergovernmental legal organization for resolving disputes through mediation, saying it will be an important mechanism in safeguarding the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It also positioned Hong Kong as an international legal and dispute resolution services center in Asia. Wang said the city's rule of law is highly developed, with the advantages of both common law and mainland Chinese law systems, asserting that it possesses uniquely favorable conditions for international mediation. Hong Kong leader John Lee said the organization could begin its work as early as the end of this year. The ceremony was attended by representatives from some 50 other countries and about 20 organizations, including the United Nations. Yueming Yan, a law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the new organization is a complementary mechanism to existing institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. "While the ICJ and PCA focus on adjudication and arbitration, IOMed introduces a structured, institutionalized form of alternative dispute resolution — namely, mediation — on a global scale," she said. Although many details about the new body are yet to be clarified, it could open the door for greater synergy between formal litigation or arbitration and more flexible methods like mediation, she said. Shahla Ali, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the International Organization for Mediation would have the capacity to mediate disputes between states, between a state and a national of another state, or in international commercial disputes. "Conventions can provide opportunities to experiment with new approaches," she said, noting rising interest in mediation globally as a means to resolve investor-state disputes.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -France could harden its position on Israel if it continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, reiterating that Paris was committed to a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. "The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground," Macron said at a joint press conference in Singapore with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. "And so, if there is no response that meets the humanitarian situation in the coming hours and days, obviously, we will have to toughen our collective position," Macron said, adding that France may consider applying sanctions against Israeli settlers. "But I still hope that the government of Israel will change its stance and that we will finally have a humanitarian response". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has hit back at growing international pressure over the war in Gaza, the deadliest fighting in decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Macron was in Singapore on a state visit and he will also deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier security forum, which runs this year from May 30-June 1. Deep differences between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March. Under growing international pressure, Israel partially ended an 11-week long aid blockade on Gaza 10 days ago. It has allowed a limited amount of relief to be delivered via two avenues - the United Nations or the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The French president said Paris is committed to working towards a political solution and reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state, diplomats and experts say, a move that could infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits. French officials are weighing up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting between June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel's security. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The war since then has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say, more than in any other of the countless rounds of fighting between the two sides. (Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong, Fanny PotkinEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Comedian Nathan Fielder took a swing at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday over a statement in which the agency pushed back on claims from his HBO show, "The Rehearsal." During a recent episode of "The Rehearsal," Fielder points to communication issues between an aircraft's captain and first officer as appearing "to be the number one contributing factor to aviation crashes in history." Fielder addressed his claims in a Thursday interview on CNN's "The Situation Room" with the outlet's Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown, highlighted by Mediaite, and called the FAA's statement pushing back against his comments "dumb." "We reached out to the FAA to see what it had to say about all of this, and it told us that it mandates all airline pilots and crew members to complete intrapersonal communication training, and it says it isn't seeing the data that supports the show's central claim that pilot communications is to blame for airline disasters. So, I want to get you to respond to that, obviously," Brown told Fielder. "That's dumb,"Fielder responded. "They're dumb, and they're — you know — they, here's the issue is that, they do — like I trained to be a pilot and I'm a [Boeing] 737 pilot. I went through the training. The training is someone shows you a PowerPoint slide saying, 'If you are a co-pilot and the captain does something wrong, you need to speak up about it.' That's all." In a statement to The Hill that an FAA official described as "addressing" claims that Fielder made in the docuseries about aircraft crew communication, the FAA said that it "requires all airline crewmembers (pilots and flight attendants) and dispatchers to complete Crew Resource Management training." The FAAhas described Crew Resource Managementas "generally defined as the effective use of all available resources: human resources, hardware, and information" The agency also said in the statement that it "analyzes data from a variety of sources such as an airline's Safety Management System (SMS), Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), and Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP)." "If these programs identify elevated risks, appropriate action is taken by both the airline and the FAA to mitigate the risk and ensure safety. The FAA does not have data which supports these claims," the agency added. Fielder, who sported a 737 hat during the CNN interview, is known for his comedy that tends to push boundaries and takes big swings, with the last episode of "The Rehearsal" featuring the comedian training to fly a Boeing 737. A "Nathan Joseph Fielder" is listed in a FAA registry asa commercial pilot. The Hill has reached out to the FAA about Fielder's comments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

The Department of Homeland Security is putting more than 500 "sanctuary jurisdictions" across the country on notice that the Trump administration views them as obstructing immigration enforcement, as it attempts to increase pressure on communities it believes are standing in the way of the president's mass deportations agenda. The department on Thursday published a list of the jurisdictions and said each one will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant, and whether they're believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes. The list was published onthe department's website. "These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a news release. The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted communities, states and jurisdictions that it says aren't doing enough to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it seeks to make good on President Donald Trump's campaign promises to remove millions of people in the country illegally. The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the cities or localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they have complied already with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or if they had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to the department. Trumpsigned an executive order onApril 28 requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. The list is to be regularly updated. Federal departments and agencies, working with the Office of Management and Budget, would then be tasked with identifying federal grants or contracts with those states or local jurisdictions that the federal government identified as "sanctuary jurisdictions" and suspending or terminating the money, according to the executive order. If "sanctuary jurisdictions" are notified and the Trump administration determines that they "remain in defiance," the attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security are then empowered to pursue whatever "legal remedies and enforcement measures" they consider necessary to make them comply. There's no specific or legal definition of what constitutes a "sanctuary jurisdiction." The term is often used to refer to law enforcement agencies, states or communities that don't cooperate with immigration enforcement. ICE enforces immigration laws nationwide, but the agency often seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding that person until federal officers take custody. One way that the administration seeks to enlist state and local support is through 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement agencies. Those agreements allow local law enforcement agencies to assume some immigration enforcement duties and greatly expand ICE's capabilities. The number of those agreements has skyrocketed in just a matter of months under the Trump administration. ICE has about 6,000 law enforcement officers – a number that has remained largely static for years – who are able to find, arrest and remove immigrants it's targeting. By relying on local law enforcement, it can quickly scale up the number of staff available to help carry out Trump's mass deportations agenda. Communities that don't cooperate with ICE often say they do so because immigrants then feel safer coming forward if they're a witness to or victim of a crime. And they argue that immigration enforcement is a federal task, and they need to focus their limited dollars on fighting crime. The Trump administration has already taken a number of steps targeting states and communities that don't cooperate with ICE – andhas met pushbackin the courts. One executive order issued by Trump directs the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions. Another directs federal agencies to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not "abet so-called 'sanctuary' policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation." For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are investigating two detectives who worked security at an upscale Manhattan townhouse where a man says he waskidnapped and torturedfor weeks by two crypto investors who wanted to steal his Bitcoin, a city official said Thursday. One of the detectives serves on Mayor Eric Adams' security detail and is believed to have picked up the victim from a local airport and brought him to the townhouse, the official said. It's not immediately clear if the other detective, who is a narcotics officer, has any connection to the incident. The detectives have been placed on modified leave pending the outcome of the inquiry, according to the official, who was briefed on the case and spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to discuss the internal investigation. It is not uncommon for members of the NYPD to do private security work outside of their city jobs but they need to receive prior approval. At this point, the official said, the department is looking into whether the officers received that approval. Adams' office confirmed one of the detectives provides security detail for the Democrat, but said the mayor has no knowledge of what the officer does on his personal time. "Every city employee is expected to follow the law, including our officers, both on and off duty," the mayor's office said in an emailed statement. "We are disturbed by these allegations." In response to an emailed inquiry, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed two members were placed on modified duty Wednesday. A spokesperson for the labor union representing NYPD detectives didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. Crypto investorsJohn WoeltzandWilliam Duplessiehave been charged in the case. Their lawyers have declined to comment. Authorities allege that on May 6, the two men lured the victim, who they knew personally, to a posh townhouse in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood by threatening to kill his family. The man, a 28-year-old Italian national who has not been named by officials, said he was then held captive for 17 days, as the two investors tormented him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high. He eventually agreed to hand over his computer password Friday morning, then managed to flee the home as his captors went to retrieve the device. The investigation into the officers began, incidentally, on the same day Adams headlined a crypto convention in Las Vegas, where he described New York as the Bitcoin capital of the country.

(Reuters) -U.S. trade talks with China are "a bit stalled" and getting a deal over the finish line will likely need the direct involvement of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday. Two weeks after breakthrough negotiations led by Bessent that resulted in a temporary truce in the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, Bessent told Fox News that progress since then has been slow, but said he expects more talks in the next few weeks. "I believe we may at some point have a call between the president and party Chair Xi," Bessent said. "Given the magnitude of the talks, given the complexity ... this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other," he said. "They have a good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known." The U.S.-China agreement to dial back triple-digit tariffs for 90 days prompted a massive relief rally in global stocks. But it did nothing to address the underlying reasons for Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model, leaving those issues for future talks. Since the mid-May deal, the Trump administration has concentrated on tariff negotiations with other major trading partners, including India, Japan and the European Union. Trump last week threatened 50% tariffs on EU goods, only to delay that threat. A U.S. trade court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing the bulk of his tariffs on imports from China and other countries under an emergency powers act. But less than 24 hours later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, saying it was pausing the trade court ruling to consider the government's appeal. The appeals court ordered the plaintiffs to respond by June 5 and the administration to respond by June 9. Bessent said earlier that some trading partners, including Japan, were negotiating in good faith and that he detected no changes in their postures as a result of the trade court ruling. Bessent said he would meet with a Japanese delegation on Friday in Washington. (Reporting by David Lawder and Dan Burns; Editing by Leslie Adler)

U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City, August 22, 2022. Credit - Getty Images Aseries of court rulings have thrown the centerpiece of President Donald Trump's economic agenda into chaos by firstblocking the bulk of his sweeping tariffsand then allowing them to resume—at least for now. Here's what to know about where the legal battle stands, and where it could go from here. Trump was handed a win on Thursday when a federal appeals court ruled in favor of his Administration and paused a Wednesday night ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade, allowing his tariffs to remain in place for the time being. A three-judge panel for the trade court had ruled that the President does not have "unbounded authority" to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The 1977 law, which Trump drew on to levy tariffs against almost every country in the world under national emergencies related to fentanyl and trade deficits, enables the President to oversee economic transactions in the case of a national emergency, such as during an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the economy, foreign policy, or national security. The ruling halted a 30% tariff on China, a 25% tariff on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, and 10% baseline tariffs on most of the rest of the world, but did not affect import taxes on steel, aluminum, or automakers, which Trump levied under a different law. The Administration swiftly appealed, and the Thursday decision to grant its emergency motion has temporarily reinstated the tariffs that were halted while the appeals court considers the case. Adding to the confusion of the back-and-forth rulings, a federal judge issued a ruling in a separate case earlier on Thursday to bar the Trump Administration from collecting tariffs imposed under IEEPA from two Illinois educational toy companies, but paused his injunction for two weeks. The Administration has appealed that decision as well. The future of Trump's tariffs is still in limbo. The appeals court directed the plaintiffs in the case, a group comprised of U.S. businesses affected by the tariffs, to respond to federal officials' motion to stay the trade court's ruling by June 5. The federal government must then respond by June 9. The appeals process could ultimately reach as far as the Supreme Court, where the Trump Administration had previously said it would pursue "emergency relief" should the lower court not reinstate the President's tariff powers. The levies Trump has imposed under IEEPA have also been challenged in several other lawsuits. Prior to the reinstatement of the blocked tariffs, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday that the President had "other legal authorities" he could use to impose import taxes on foreign countries. Leavitt did not specify further, but the U.S. Court of International Trade itself named another law that grants the President limited power to impose tariffs in its ruling. Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, it noted, allows the President to levy tariffs of up to 15% for as long as 150 days in response to "fundamental international payment problems," including "large and serious balance-of-payments deficits," and unfair trading practices. Trump has himself used other laws to impose import taxes in both of his terms. His steel, aluminum, and auto tariffs, for instance, draw on his authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which empowers the President to put tariffs in place in response to national security threats. Contact usatletters@time.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The agency tasked with carrying out PresidentDonald Trump's mass deportation campaign is undergoing a major staff reorganization. In a news release Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced leadership changes at the department tasked with finding, arresting and removing immigrants who no longer have the right to be in the country as well as at the agency's investigative division. Kenneth Genalo, who had been the acting director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, is retiring and will serve as a special government employee with ICE. Robert Hammer, who has been the acting head of Homeland Security Investigations, will transition to another leadership role at headquarters. The agency said Marcos Charles will become the new acting head of ERO while Derek Gordon will be the acting head at HSI. ICE also announced a host of other staff changes at various departments within the agency. ICE said the changes would "help ICE achieve President Trump and the American people's mandate of arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens and making American communities safe." The news comes after White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Fox News earlier this week that the administration was setting a goal of 3,000 arrests by ICE each day and that the number could go higher. "President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day," said Miller. Three thousand arrests per day would mark a huge increase in daily arrests from current figures. Between Jan. 20 and May 19 the agency arrested 78,155 people, which translates to an average of 656 arrests per day. This is the latest staff shakeup at an agency that is central to Trump's vision of removing everyone in the country illegally. In February,the acting directorof ICE was reassigned as well astwo other topICE officials. Carrying out deportations, especially in high numbers,poses logistical challenges. There are a limited number of enforcement and removal officers — those tasked with tracking down, arresting and removing people in the country illegally — and the number of officers has remained stagnant for years. ICE also has a limited number of detention beds to hold people once arrested and a limited number of planes to remove them from the country. But the administration is pushing for amajor funding boost aspart of a package in Congress that could supercharge immigration enforcement. The plan would aim to fund the removal of 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centers. The plan also calls for 10,000 more ICE officers and investigators.

(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, saying he knew the slain Japanese leader had dreamt of finally concluding a post-World War Two peace treaty. No treaty was ever signed as the two countries could not resolve a dispute over the then-Soviet Union's seizure at the end of the war of four islands in the Southern Kuril chain, known in Japan as the Northern Territories. Russian media said Abe and Putin met altogether 27 times during the nearly nine years the Japanese leader was in office. Abe left office in 2020 and was assassinated two years later while making an election campaign speech. "I know that his dream - and he truly strived to achieve this - was to conclude a peace treaty between our two countries. The situation is different now," the Russian leader said. Putin, whose comments to Abe's widow in the Kremlin were reported by Russian news agencies, also said fulfilling that dream was not possible in the current international situation given the conflict in Ukraine. "Your husband did a great deal for the development of Russian-Japanese relations. We had very good personal relations," Putin was quoted as telling Akie Abe. Russia's relations with Japan have been strained by Tokyo's support for sanctions imposed by Ukraine's Western allies over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. All negotiations on clinching a peace treaty have been suspended. Akie Abe told Putin, according to the agencies, that her husband had wanted to meet Putin even after the start of the Ukraine conflict "but unfortunately circumstances were such that he was no longer able to meet you. His life was cut short." (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Howard Goller)

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led a party meeting on strengthening the military on Wednesday and inspected an artillery drill on Thursday, state media KCNA said on Friday. In an expanded meeting of the 8th Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim emphasised that roles of party organisations carrying out measures from the central leadership should be strengthened to solve "all the problems arising in the army building and military activities." Kim also said it is "very important to frequently organize firing contests close to the actual warfare environment" to build a powerful military force, KCNA said. This was the latest in a series of moves by Kim reported by KCNA focused on strengthening the military in the past weeks. During May alone, Kim visited tanks and munitions plants, led a short-range missile test and an air drill, and condemned a failed warship launch as "criminal," according to state media. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — DemocratGretchen Whitmertouted her accomplishments as Michigan's governor in a speech Thursday as she passes the midpoint of her second term and is continuously floated as apotential 2028 presidential candidate. Whitmer, who has been criticized by some Democrats for taking a friendlier tone withPresident Donald Trumpthan in his last term, suggested her willingness to work with others toget things doneis what has made her an effective leader for the battleground state, which Trump won last fall and in 2016. In the past month, Whitmer notched a successful deal with the Trump administration tosecure new fighter jetsand jobs at an air force base, and Trump assured Midwest leaders that he will fund a project to protect the Great Lakes frominvasive carp. There also were some awkward moments alongside Trump, scorn from those who would like Whitmer to more vehemently oppose the Republican president and disagreement among top Democrats about how best to approach him. Whitmerappeared with Trump, sharing a surprising embrace. The president praised her as doing an "excellent job" — a departure from his criticism of her during his first term. Whitmer also had an awkwardencounter with Trumpin the Oval Office earlier this year, something Whitmer made light of during her address by jokingly holding a binder in front of her face, emulating a photo taken that day in April. "And that's why I don't care much about headlines. What I care about making headway," she said in an address given to Michigan's political elites and business leaders at a policy conference. "Over the past six and a half years, I have found that leadership is about fighting hard, often quietly, for your big goals," she said. "Your tolerance for taking a few punches to win the fight." Whitmer is term-limited and cannot seek reelection. Abroad array of candidateshave lined up since January to replace her. In interviews with The Associated Press, each Democrat in the race lauded Whitmer's leadership in the course of the second Trump administration:Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson,Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist IIandGenesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. Mike Duggan, the longtime Democratic mayor of Detroit who is running for governor as an independent, had praise for Whitmer's bipartisanship this year in a speech at the policy conference that denounced partisan politics. "I think the governor has shown us how to do it," he told The Associated Press after his speech Wednesday night. "She's disagreeing on the Canadian tariffs. And she's right. The Canadian tariffs certainly hurt Michigan, but she's disagreeing on a policy standpoint. She's not doing personal attacks." About half of Michigan voters in the 2024 election had a "somewhat" or "very" favorable opinion of Gretchen Whitmer, according to AP VoteCast, while just under half viewed her unfavorably. Her speech comes a day after Trump said he is looking intopardoning two menwho were convicted of leading a plot to kidnap and kill Whitmer in 2020 and are currently serving prison sentences. Whitmer wrote extensively about the experience inher political memoirthat came out last year and blamed Trump for stoking the political hatred that motivated the scheme. During a moderated session Thursday, Whitmer said she was disappointed in the news and hinted toward greater anger over it. She decried political violence, and she said she plans to talk to Trump about the matter. "We have an ongoing dialogue now ... very different from the first term," she said about Trump, turning to smile at the audience. Whitmer said in her final 19 months as governor, she is looking to close a deal on road funding and improve Michigan's dismal literacy scores. Race to succeed Whitmer has started The race to succeed Whitmer is closely tied to the same topics. Duggan laid out a plan to improve education Wednesday. Republican Senate minority leaderAaric Nesbitt, who is running for governor in 2026, criticized Whitmer for not making further improvements on either front during the six years she has been governor and said she has driven businesses out of the state by making Michigan less competitive. "It's missed opportunities," he said about her legacy in an interview. Other Republicans jockeying to replace Whitmer areU.S. Rep. John Jamesand former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox. Whitmer is one of several Democratic governors who are looked to as potential candidates for the presidency in 2028. Alongside California's Gavin Newsom, Illinois' JB Pritzker and Kentucky's Andy Beshear, each interaction with Trump has been scrutinized as the Democratic Party looks for a new leader.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Trump administration is dropping plans to terminate leases for 34 offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible forenforcing mine safety laws, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency, created by PresidentDonald Trumpand run byElon Musk, had targeted federal agencies for spending cuts, includingterminating leases for three dozenMSHA offices. Seven of those offices were in Kentucky alone. Ending the MSHA leases had been projected to save $18 million. Musksaid this week that he's leavinghis job as a senior adviser. A statement released by a Labor Department spokesperson Thursday said it has been working closely with the General Services Administration "to ensure our MSHA inspectors have the resources they need to carry out their core mission to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthy workplaces for American miners." Some MSHA offices are still listed on the chopping block on the DOGE website, but the statement did not indicate whether those closings will move forward. MSHA was created by Congress within the Labor Department in 1978, in part because state inspectors were seen as too close to the industry to force coal companies to take the sometimes costly steps necessary to protect miners. MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine twice a year. Mining fatalitiesover the past four decadeshave dropped significantly, in large part because of the dramatic decline in coal production. But the proposed DOGE cuts would have required MSHA inspectors to travel farther to get to a mine. A review in March of publicly available data by the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center indicates that nearly 17,000 health and safety inspections were conducted from the beginning of 2024 through February 2025 by staff at MSHA offices in the facilities on the chopping block. MSHA, which also oversees metal and nonmetal mines, already was understaffed. Over the past decade, it has seen a 27% reduction in total staff, including 30% of enforcement staff in general and 50% of enforcement staff for coal mines, the law center said. ___

WASHINGTON (AP) —Elon Muskarrived in the nation's capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn't solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. President Donald Trumpwas delighted to have the world's richest person — and a top campaign donor — working in his administration, talking about how he was "a smart guy" who "really cares for our country." Musk was suddenly everywhere — holding forth in Cabinet meetings while wearing a "tech support" shirt and black MAGA hat, hoisting his young son on his shoulders in the Oval Office, flying aboard Air Force One, sleeping in the White House. Democrats described the billionaire entrepreneur as Trump's "co-president," and senior officials bristled at his imperial approach to overhauling the federal government. After establishingTeslaas a premier electric automaker, building rockets at SpaceX and reshaping the social media landscape by buying Twitter, Musk was confident that he could bend Washington to his vision. Now that's over. Musk said this week that he's leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan tocurtail political donationsand he criticizedthe centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda. It's a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he's trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations. Thousands of people were indiscriminately laid off or pushed out — hundreds of whom had to be rehired — and some federal agencies were eviscerated. But no one has been prosecuted for the fraud that Musk and Trump said was widespread within the government. Musk reduced his target for cutting spending from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion, and even that goal may not be reached. In Silicon Valley, where Musk got his start as a founder of PayPal, his kind of promises are known as vaporware — a product that sounds extraordinary yet never gets shipped to market. Trump, who once called Musk "a truly great American" and "a patriot," said nothing about the departure. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "We thank him for his service." Musk's position was always designed to be temporary, and he had previously announced his intention to dedicate more of his time to his companies. But he also told reporters last month that he was willing to work part-time for Trump "indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do it." Musk got a seat at Trump's table and put $250 million behind his campaign It was clear that Musk wouldn't be the typical kind of presidential adviser around the time that he showed the world his belly button. Racing on stage at a campaign rally one month before the election, he jumped for joy next to Trump, his T-shirt rising to expose his midriff. Musk had already sold Trump on his idea for a Department of Government Efficiency while also putting at least $250 million behind his candidacy. The plan called for a task force to hunt for waste, fraud and abuse, a timeworn idea with a new twist. Instead of putting together a blue-ribbon panel of government experts, Trump would give his top donor a desk in the White House and what appeared to be carte blanche to make changes. Musk deployed software engineers who burrowed into sensitive databases, troubling career officials who sometimes chose to resign rather than go along. Trump brushed off concerns about Musk's lack of experience in public service or conflicts of interest from his billions of dollars in federal contracts. Their unlikely partnership had the potential for a generational impact on American politics and government. While Musk dictated orders for government departments from his perch in the White House, he was poised to use his wealth to enforce loyalty to the president. His language was that of catastrophism. Excessive spending was a crisis that could only be solved by drastic measures, Musk claimed, and "if we don't do this, America will go bankrupt." But even though he talked about his work in existential terms, he treated the White House like a playground. He brought his children to a meeting with the Indian prime minister. He let the president turn the driveway intoa makeshift Tesla showroomto help boost sales. He installed an oversized screen in his office that he occasionally used to playvideo games. Sometimes, Trump invited Musk to sleep over in the Lincoln Bedroom. "We'll be on Air Force One, Marine One, and he'll be like, 'do you want to stay over?'" Musk told reporters. The president made sure he got some caramel ice cream from the kitchen. "This stuff's amazing," Musk said. "I ate a whole tub of it." Looking back on his experience in government, he described it as a lark. "It is funny that we've got DOGE," an acronym that references an online meme featuring a surprised-looking dog from Japan. "How did we get here?" Musk did not give federal workers the benefit of the doubt From the beginning, Musk treated federal workers with contempt. At best, they were inefficient; at worst, they were committing fraud. His team offered them a"fork in the road,"meaning they could get paid to quit.Probationary employees, generally people new on the job without full civil service protection, were shown the door. Anyone who stayed faced escalating demands, such as what became known as the"five things" emails.Musk wanted every government employee to submit a list of five things they accomplished in the previous week, and he claimed that "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." Some administration officials curtailed the plan, concerned that it could jeopardize security in more sensitive areas of the government, and it eventually faded, an early sign of Musk's struggle to get traction. But in the meantime, he continued issuing orders like thunderbolts. One day in February, Musk posted "CFPB RIP," plus an emoji of a tombstone. The headquarters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created after the Great Recession to protect Americans from fraud and deceptive practices,was shut downand employees were ordered to stop working. Musk had already started guttingthe U.S. Agency for International Development, a pillar of the country's foreign policy establishment and the world's largest provider of humanitarian assistance. "Spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper," he bragged. Thousands of contacts were cut off, pleasing conservatives who disliked the agency's progressive initiatives on climate change and gay rights. Musk rejected concerns about the loss of a crucial lifeline for impoverished people around the globe, saying, "no one has died." However, children who once relied on American assistanceperished from malnutrition, and the death toll is expected to increase. The lawsuits began piling up. Sometimes workers got their jobs back, only to lose them again. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of everything from baby formula to biotech drugs, planned to lay off 3,500 employees. But again and again, the agency was forced to rehire people who were initially deemed expendable, including laboratory scientists, travel bookers and document specialists. Commissioner Marty Makary, who started his job after many of the cuts took place, told attendees at a recent conference that "it was hard and my job is to make sure we can heal from that." Only 1,900 layoffs took place, but another 1,200 staffers took buyouts or early retirement. Experts fear the agency has lost much of its institutional knowledge and expertise in areas like vaccines, tobacco and food. There are also concerns about safety on public lands. The National Park Service has been bleeding staff, leaving fewer people to maintain trails, clean restrooms and guide visitors. More cuts at the Forest Service could undermine efforts toprevent and fight wildfires. The Environmental Protection Agency faces a broad overhaul, such as gutting the Office of Research and Development, which was responsible for improving air pollution monitoring and discovering harmful chemicals in drinking water. Not even low-profile organizations were exempt. Trump ordered the downsizing of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank created by Congress, and Musk's team showed up to carry out his plan. The organizations' leaders were deposed,then reinstated after a court battle. Musk made little headway at the top sources of federal spending The bulk of federal spending goes to health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, plus Social Security and the military. Unfortunately for Musk, all of those areas are politically sensitive and generally require congressional approval to make changes. Thousands of civilian workers were pushed out at the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reducing the ranks of top generals and looking to consolidate various commands. A plan to downsize an office for testing and evaluating new weapons systems could save $300 million per year. Hegseth recently asked employees to submit one idea per week for cutting waste. However, the Pentagon budget would increase by $150 billion, for a total of more than $900 billion, under Trump's spending proposal working its way through Congress. The money includes $25 billion to lay the groundwork for Trump's"golden dome" missile defense programand $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with more shipbuilding. Another $45 million is expected to be spent ona military paradeon June 14, which is the 250th anniversary of the Army's founding and Trump's 79th birthday. Musk also faced blowback fortargeting Social Security, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. He suggested that the popular program was "a Ponzi scheme" and the government could save between $500 billion and $700 billion by tackling waste and fraud. However, his estimates were inflated. Social Security's inspector general said there was only $71.8 billion in improper payments over eight years. Nor was there any evidence thatmillions of dead peoplewere receiving benefits. Changes to Social Security phone services, pitched as a way to eliminate opportunities for fraud, were walked back after an outcry from lawmakers and beneficiaries. But the agency could still shed 7,000 workers while closing some of its offices. Musk's popularity cratered even though Americans often agreed with his premise that the federal government is bloated and wasteful,according to pollingfrom The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 33% of U.S. adults had a favorable view of Musk in April, down from 41% in December. In addition, 65% said Musk had too much influence over the federal government. Musk talked of staggering savings but delivered modest results During a campaign rally in October, Musk said he could find "at least $2 trillion" in spending cuts. In January, before Trump was inaugurated, he revised by saying, "if we try for $2 trillion, we've got a good shot at getting one." But in April, at a Cabinet meeting, Musk provided a different target. He was "excited to announce" that they could reach $150 billion in savings during the current fiscal year. Whether that figure proves to be accurate is difficult to measure, especially because DOGE routinely inflated or mischaracterized its work. But it falls short of President Bill Clinton's initiative three decades ago, which resulted in $136 billion in savings — the equivalent of more than $240 billion today. Elaine Kamarck, a key figure in the Clinton administration, said they focused on making the government more responsive and updating antiquated internal procedures. The work took years. "We went about it methodically, department by department," she said. The effort also reduced the federal workforce by more than 400,000 employees. However, Musk did little to seek insight from people who knew the inner workings of government. "They made some changes without really knowing what they were doing," said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. He said there were "a lot of unforced errors." In the end, Nowrasteh said, "they set themselves up for failure." ____ Associated Press writers Tom Beaumont in Des Moines and Lolita Baldor, Matthew Daly, Gary Fields, Fatima Hussein, Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Perrone, Michelle Price and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.

An appeals court ruled PresidentDonald Trumpcan continue to levy tariffs while challenging a court order that had blocked them, a quick reversal that allows Trump to continue wielding his trademark economic tool in the short term. The May 29 ruling by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuitcomes a day after the United States Court of International Tradeinvalidatedhis use of the the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to levy tariffs. The May 28 trade court ruling was setback Trump's economic agenda, but the administration quickly appealed and won at least a temporary reprieve. The surprise ruling by the trade court had threatened to kill or at least delay the imposition of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs on most U.S. trading partners, as well as import levies on goods from Canada, Mexico and China related to his accusation that the three countries were facilitating the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Tariffs are a centerpiece of Trump's second-term economic agenda. The president has imposed steep levies on goods from foreign countries, igniting international furor, disrupting the global economy,sending markets into a tailspinandraising fears of a recession. But the three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade unanimously found that IEEPA, which Trump invoked to unilaterally enact duties on foreign goods, "does not authorize" the tariffs and ordered them halted. Separately on May 29, afederal judge blockedthe Trump administration from collecting tariffs from a pair of Illinois toy importers. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the administration May 29 not to collect tariffs from the comparniesLearning Resources and hand2mind, both based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, while the case is litigated. The rulings were a blow to Trump's trade agenda, but White House officials have vowed to keep pressing the issue in court. During her May 29 briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration expects the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the issue. "The president's trade policies will continue," she said. Contributing: Bart Jansen, Reuters This is a developing story. Check back for more details. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Donald Trump can continue to impose tariffs during appeal