Trump news at a glance: national guard gathers in DC as president mulls expanding their role across US
Donald Trump's deployment of the 800-strong force has been described by Democrats as political theater. With Trump threatening to replicate the move in other big cities, Democrats point to statistics showing that violent crime in Washington has dropped to historic lows in the past two years.
About 850 officers and agents took part in a 'massive law enforcement surge' across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House said on Tuesday.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, 'this is only the beginning. Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety and endangers law-abiding Americans.'
Trump's intervention has been widely condemned as an authoritarian power grab that undermines the autonomy of Washington's DC local government and seeks to distract attention from political problems such as the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, has pledged to work 'side by side' with the federal government as national guard troops arrive at their headquarters in the capital.
The show of force came after Donald Trump announced that he was sending the national guard into the capital and putting city police under federal control, even though the violent crime rate is at a 30-year low.
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Donald Trump could expand the use of national guard troops in US cities even further, if a plan from the Pentagon comes to fruition.
The Washington Post, reporting on internal documents on Tuesday, says Pentagon officials are 'evaluating plans' to create a 'Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force' that would deploy to crack down on cities in events of unrest or during protests.
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A US appeals court on Tuesday rejected a bid by a group of unions to block the Trump administration government downsizing team known as the 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) from accessing sensitive data on Americans.
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An outbreak of a respiratory disease, possibly Covid-19, is running rampant through the remote Florida immigration jail known as 'Alligator Alcatraz', according to the attorney of an infected detainee removed from the camp last week.
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A newly appointed official at the US Department of Labor hired by the Trump administration has a recent history of racist, sexually graphic, and conspiratorial posts on social media.
Jessico Bowman was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the labor department, which is to lead 'the US Department of Labor's efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy'. She has deleted her account on X and Facebook accounts since announcing her hiring.
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Donald Trump's administration says it has determined that George Washington University has violated federal civil rights law, making it the latest higher educational institution to be targeted by the White House over last spring's campus protests against Israeli military strikes in Gaza.
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Donald Trump hit out at Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, saying the bank had been wrong to predict tariffs would hurt the economy.
The White House told the Smithsonian that it plans a wide review of exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of the US's 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026.
US prices continued to rise in July, according to key economic data, as Donald Trump's international tariffs shake-up started to impact consumer costs.
Catching up? Here's what happened on 11 August 2025.
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Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
European leaders to meet on Ukraine as Zelenskiy prepares to face Trump
LONDON/BERLIN, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The leaders of France, Germany and Britain will try to shore up Ukraine's position on Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy prepares to meet Donald Trump in Washington with the U.S. leader pressing Kyiv to accept a deal to end the war. President Trump is leaning on Ukraine to strike an agreement after meeting Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska where, according to sources, the Russian president offered to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for vast swathes elsewhere. At face value, some of Putin's demands would be hugely difficult for Ukraine to accept, setting the stage for potentially fraught talks about ending Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, which has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting of the "coalition of the willing" - a grouping of allies of Kyiv - from 1300 GMT. European powers want to help set up a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy to make sure Ukraine has a seat at the table to shape its future. They also want robust security guarantees for Ukraine with U.S. involvement, and the ability to crank up pressure on Moscow if needed. "They will spell out what they consider essential in terms of security guarantees: what they can do themselves, what falls to the coalition of volunteers, and also what they expect from the United States," a European government official said. "Indeed, they expect a very robust commitment." One or more of the European leaders could also accompany Zelenskiy when he flies to Washington on Monday for his meeting with Trump. Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not". After the Alaska summit with Putin, Trump phoned Zelenskiy and told him that the Kremlin chief had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow's main targets, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskiy rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014. Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies have called for. That was a reversal of his position before the summit, when he said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on. Zelenskiy said Russia's unwillingness to pause the fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace. "Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war," he said on X. Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 60 drones and one ballistic missile. It said it downed or jammed 40 of the drones. Zelenskiy's last Oval Office meeting, in February, went disastrously, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance giving the Ukrainian leader a strong public dressing-down. Merz said he did not think Zelenskiy would face as difficult a time this time around, adding that Zelenskiy would talk on Sunday to European leaders who would help him prepare for the meeting. "We'll give a few good pieces of advice," he told German broadcaster n-tv. Merz told ZDF that while it was important that Europe stand united, the U.S. would for the time being continue to play the decisive role in the war. "The American president has the power both militarily and via appropriate sanctions and tariffs to ensure that Russia moves more than it currently does," he said. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been gradually advancing for months. In his statement after the Alaska summit, Putin signalled no movement in Russia's long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv's desired membership in the NATO alliance. Mark Lyall Grant, Britain's national security adviser during part of Trump's first term, said the summit was a 'clear win' for Putin because Trump dropped his previous call for an immediate ceasefire. However, he added that it was positive that there appeared to be some willingness from the U.S. to be involved in offering some security guarantees for Ukraine. "That is absolutely critical because apart from the issues of land swaps, which is a very complicated issue, the most important longer-term issue is the security guarantees for what is left of Ukraine, so Putin doesn't do what he normally does, which is have a time to rearm and come back for more at a later stage," he told Reuters.
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump claims Chinese president Xi made him a big promise about the fate of Taiwan
Donald Trump has claimed that Chinese president Xi Jinping promised not to invade Taiwan while he remains in the White House, as the US leader positions himself as a global dealmaker on some of the world's most volatile conflicts. Speaking en route to the Alaska summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday, Mr Trump told Fox News he 'appreciates' Mr Xi's patience. "I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don't believe there's any way it's going to happen as long as I'm here. We'll see," Mr Trump said during an interview on Fox News' "Special Report' onboard Air Force One. "He told me, 'I will never do it as long as you're president.' President Xi told me that, and I said, 'Well, I appreciate that,' but he also said, 'But I am very patient, and China is very patient." Mr Trump said. The US and its allies have long sought to deter China from taking military action against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has threatened to seize by force if necessary. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claim. The Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday described the topic of Taiwan as "the most important and sensitive issue" in China-US relations, without referring to Mr Trump's statement. "The US government should adhere to the one-China principle and the three US-China joint communique, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, and earnestly safeguard China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement. Taiwan is yet to respond to Mr Trump's remarks. Mr Trump and Mr Xi held their first confirmed call under the US president's second presidential term in June. Later in April, Mr Trump said that the Chinese president had called him, but did not specify when that call took place. His comments on Taiwan come as he presses Russia and Ukraine towards a peace deal, repeating his campaign promise to end the war 'within 24 hours' of taking office. He has already claimed credit for easing or resolving several other disputes, including tensions between India and Pakistan in May, the Cambodia–Thailand border standoff in July, and flare-ups involving Congo and Rwanda, and Serbia and Kosovo. By citing Mr Xi's assurances alongside his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Mr Trump is seeking to cast himself as the central broker of peace in multiple global crises –a narrative he has openly linked to his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize.
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Pub shooting rocks Sydney's inner-west as one person is killed and another left fighting for life
One person has died and another is in a critical condition after a gunman opened fire out the front of a busy Sydney pub during the dinner rush. More to follow.
