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Aug. 19 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Dr. Heidi Overton, a White House policy aide, to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

The decision was reported by the Washington Post, The New York Times and Politico, all citing anonymous sources. Overton is an aide at the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and will be tapped to be the next FDA commissioner, sources say.

Overton will replace Marty Makary, who left the position in May, and the Senate will have to confirm her to the position.

The FDA commissioner is one of the most powerful jobs in U.S. health care. The FDA oversees drugs, vaccines, tobacco products, the bulk of the food supply and more. The position has remained open longer than expected as some have turned it down over fears of administration interference, the Post reported.

The position has been run by acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., and a former partner at the law firm Jones Day.

Overton is board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine and was a general surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where she also earned a doctorate in clinical investigation. She worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. She has also written articles calling abortion “corrosive” to women. She called abortion pills “far more dangerous to women” and has called for more controls on the pills.

In September, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Overton and Calley Means worked on a Make America Healthy Again strategy report calling for more review of chemicals in food and an increase in oversight over pharmaceutical advertisements, The Times reported.

Makary left the position in May because he disagreed with the administration’s policy of allowing tobacco and e-cigarette companies to sell flavored vapes. The White House had been pressuring Makary to allow the vapes, but he disagreed, citing their appeal to teens and young adults.

The FDA approved mango and blueberry vapes just after Trump had lunch with tobacco executives, The Times reported.

While she is a doctor and has been present for many FDA announcements at the White House, she hasn’t run a large agency before. The FDA has thousands of employees and shapes food safety and pharmaceutical policies.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — David Morens, a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases employee, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morens made his guilty plea on Tuesday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a scheme to evade Freedom of Information Act requests and the Federal Records Act by hiding federal records.

Morens is one of three people alleged to be part of the scheme. He faces up to five years in prison.

The person referred to as “co-conspirator 1” by the Justice Department was a CEO of a New York-based nonprofit that received the “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence” grant in 2014. That grant is a key part of the indictment as its termination precipitated the alleged scheme.

Co-conspirator 1 created a subaward with the grant and awarded it to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan China, which has been the subject of theories that the COVID-19 virus leaked from the lab, sparking the pandemic.

The Justice Department said that Morens and two co-conspirators carried out the scheme after one of the co-conspirators’ National Institute of Health grant was terminated. The three people involved planned the scheme to restore the terminated grant.

In his guilty plea, Morens admitted that he hid emails that related to the pandemic in a personal account to avoid them being publicly released, circumventing public records laws. He had previously explained that he did this to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 and to protect Dr. Anthony Fauci from receiving threats.

Fauci has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the case.

Morens served as a senior adviser at NIAID’s Office of the Director between 2006 and 2022. The Justice Department indicted him in April on five counts related to the plan to hide federal records from the public.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — Federal prosecutors have charged a man from the Bronx with hate crime offenses alleging he assaulted a security guard and a congregant in a racially motivated attack at a Manhattan synagogue last week.

Larry Montes was arrested following the alleged attack at Central Synagogue on Friday and was charged by New York State.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department charged him with two counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and one count of damage to religious property resulting in bodily injury, which carries a maximum 20 years’ imprisonment.

“These charges serve as notice that the Department of Justice will intervene to protect the public in the face of antisemitic and racially motivated attacks,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Montes was allegedly among some 375 people who attended Shabbat service Friday night at the synagogue. During the service, he is alleged to have stood up and begun shouting and then struck two ceremonial silver candlesticks, which were damaged.

As a security guard attempted to remove Montes from the building, Montes allegedly uttered profanities about those in attendance and allegedly punched a woman.

After being handcuffed, he allegedly looked at a Black security guard cursed and called him a racial slur, before spitting on and head-butting the security guard.

During an interview with law enforcement, Montes allegedly issued antisemitic statements.

As of the end of July, there were 360 hate crime incidents committed in New York City, 205 of which were motivated by anti-Jewish bias, according to the city statistics.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Stocks fell on all three major U.S. indices Tuesday as investors were spooked by elevated bond yields and the prospect of higher oil prices as the war between the United States and Iran drags on without apparent resolution.

Tech stocks led the downturn as the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.3%, followed by losses on the S&P 500 (0.6%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (0.2%).

Most analysts put the blame for the markets’ poor showing on news that 30-year Treasury yield surpassed 5.3% for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2007, reflecting sagging demand from global buyers willing to underwrite sovereign U.S. debt.

Concerns over rampant government deficit spending and the United States’ burgeoning debt of nearly $40 trillion are pushing treasury yields higher, analysts noted.

The shorter 10-year Treasury, meanwhile, ended above 4.7%, compared to below 4% before the start of the Iran War in February.

Rising “T-bill” yields are considered a danger signal for the broader economy and consumer spending because they can have the knock-on effect of pushing up virtually all borrowing costs, from auto loans to mortgages.

The latter is being reflected in costlier mortgage rates. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage on Tuesday stood at 6.75% after ending last week at 6.69%.

Meanwhile, oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest level in more than two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened to “bomb” Oman if it interferes with his plans to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark Brent crude futures traded around $91 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose to $84 per barrel.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Tuesday announced a three-day pause on imposing 50% tariffs on Canada less than two hours before they were to go into effect, saying a trade deal has been made.

The tariffs were to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but were delayed by Trump’s announcement on social media issued about 90 minutes before the deadline.

No specifics on what the deal entailed were offered, though Trump said the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline project, revoked by former President Joe Biden over climate change concerns, “may be awoke from the grave!”

The deal remains to be finalized, he said.

While congratulating Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the deal includes “comprehensive access for all American goods,” economic security commitments, digital trade alignment and other provisions protecting the U.S. market.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has yet to comment.

Greer had been leading negotiations with Canadian representatives ahead of the deadline. He said last week that the negotiators were reviewing options and that he expects Canada to drop certain measures it had already taken in response to the U.S. tariffs, The New York Times reported.

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that,” Greer told reporters Friday. “We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see.”

Trump signed orders in July to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including cement and hockey sticks, representing about 2% of the entire trade between the United States and Canada, starting Wednesday.

“President Trump is taking action to hold Canada accountable for its continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce that has burdened and disadvantaged hard-working Americans,” the White House said in a statement at the time.

On Aug. 5, he called Canada “nasty” in a Las Vegas speech.

“Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty,” Trump said. “I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump spoke on the phone Monday, a Carney spokeswoman said. She didn’t give any details.

Canadian negotiators also want to ease the tariffs already imposed on Ottawa industries. There are tariffs of up to 50% on steel, aluminum and autos. Some tariffs also affect Canadian softwood lumber.

Canadian lumber manufacturing CEO John Brink told CTV that tariffs have devastated the lumber industry. He said, “most of the lumber industry in Canada is paying up to 45.16% in tariffs and duties combined. So the effect has been devastating.”

Brink said about half of British Columbia’s lumber manufacturing capacity has shut down.

“There used to be 800 secondary manufacturers in British Columbia alone. We are now down to about 50. Not all due to tariffs and duties, but due to a combination of [factors],” Brink added.

“I think the big question for the United States is: Are they even interested in securing an agreement, a deal, some kind of operational détente, or is Trump’s real objective just to flex? Is it just to demonstrate he’s in control? In which case, we’re chasing a phantom deal,” CTV News political commentator Scott Reid said.

He added that the deadline will be “the most important, most significant and most treacherous of Mark Carney’s political career.”

Greer has said he expects Canada to make concessions if a deal goes through. But not everyone in the Great White North wants that.

“Canadians elected Mark Carney to both stand up to Trump while also trying to negotiate a deal, or negotiate down the tariffs, and I don’t think those are mutually exclusive, but it is a narrow path for sure,” said Brian Clow, a former senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s government, The Times reported.

If no deal is made, expect the trade war to escalate, Clow said.

“If the U.S. decides to proceed with imposing these new tariffs tomorrow, Canada, although this current government has eased back on retaliation, will have to respond in some way,” he said.

Former senior White House trade adviser Kelly Ann Shaw told CTV that negotiations look “promising” for Canada.

“I’ve been involved in a number of international trade negotiations and other negotiations throughout my career, and the hardest issues always get resolved at the very last moment,” Shaw told CTV Tuesday.

“So I don’t expect any sort of announcement until later today, possibly as late as midnight,” Shaw said. “But the fact the two parties are still at the table, I take as a good sign.”

Trump has long used tariffs as a mechanism for both punishment and negotiation, and during his second term, he attempted to impose sweeping tariffs, including against Canada, but they were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.

The tariffs paused late Tuesday were to join the 10% import duty on many Canadian goods, as well as previously imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on products, such as steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and softwood lumber.

Canada responded by imposing a temporary 25% tariff on certain wood cabinets and vanities, as well as a 25% tariff on U.S. vehicles, as well as selected steel and aluminum products, among others.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — The United States on Tuesday sanctioned two senior officials of the International Criminal Court, as the Trump administration cracks down on the global tribunal it calls a threat to U.S. sovereignty.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the rest of the Trump administration has aggressively targeted the court over arrest warrants it issued in November 2024 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on allegations of war crimes committed during the war in Gaza.

Though not a member of the court, the United States has rejected the warrants, even under the former Biden administration, and has been critical of its jurisdiction over U.S. citizens and potential for politicization. Under the administration of President Donald Trump, Washington has used its powers to target the court with punitive measures.

On Tuesday, Rubio unveiled sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane and ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on accusations that they were “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.”

“The ICC has repeatedly attempted to assert authority over nationals of the United States and other countries that have not consented to its jurisdiction or ratified the Rome Statute,” he said in a statement, referring to the international treaty that established the court in 2002 to try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

“This sets a dangerous precedent.”

UPI has contacted the Hague-based court for comment.

The sanctions, which freeze all property of those designated, come under an authority given to the secretary of state by an executive order Trump signed in the presence of Netanyahu at the White House in February 2025, during his third week back in office.

Last month, Rubio announced the launch of a whole-of-government campaign to dismantle the threat the Trump administration alleges it poises to the United States. Along with increased sanctions and visa revocations of ICC personnel, the campaign includes encouraging other countries to exit the court and increased scrutiny of countries that receive U.S. assistance but do not criticize the ICC, as well as nations under the so-called U.S. security umbrella are also being urged to reject the ICC’s authority to prosecute U.S. officials and service members.

“The ICC has become a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in language of international law while undermining the very principles of justice,” said Netanyahu, whom the ICC has accused of using starvation as a weapon of war and crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.

“I commend Secretary of State Marco Rubio for leading the Trump administration’s determined efforts against the ICC’s illegitimate overreach, and for making clear that the corrupt officials who lead the ICC will face consequences,” he added in the statement.

The court described Trump’s executive order in February as an unprecedented attack that undermines its ability to administer justice and a threat to international law that protects millions of victims.

Following the announcement Tuesday, the Netherlands came to the court’s defense while international human rights organizations chastised the United States.

“International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Berendsen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said in a statement, saying he has invited Akane to discuss the country’s support.

“We fully support the court and its staff,” he said.

Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said she was “alarmed” by the sanctions being imposed on judicial operators for doing their jobs.

“Sanctioning independent judges and lawyers for their work to end impunity and ensure justice for the most grave crimes is a shocking betrayal of the Nuremberg promise and a violation of the human rights guarantee of fair trial and access to justice,” she said in a statement.

Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International, rebuked the punitive action as a “reprehensible assault” on the international justice system that was part of an intimidation campaign meant to obstruct its work.

“These sanctions are not about sovereignty. They are about shielding powerful actors from accountability and punishing those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the gravest crimes under international law,” she said.

Kenneth Roth, senior fellow at Yale University and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that Trump was sanctioning the court “so that American and Israeli officials can commit war crimes (and worse) with impunity.”

“No one should accept this utter lawlessness,” he said.

Last week, HRW and three other human rights groups sued the Trump administration over sanctioning judges and prosecutors of the ICC.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Medical experts and a family member testified in a Massachusetts courtroom Tuesday that Lindsay Clancy’s mental health was so precarious that she cannot be held responsible for the strangulation deaths of her three children.

A trio of doctors and Clancy’s former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, each testified in her defense as her attorneys sought to show the 36-year-old defendant is not guilty of murdering her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — at their Duxbury, Mass., home on Jan. 24, 2023 due to mental illness.

While not denying she killed the children, they contend she is not criminally responsible because she was suffering from bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis.

The Plymouth County, Mass., District Attorney’s Office, however, argues that Clancy was not experiencing psychosis when she strangled the children and jumped from a window, suffering permanent paralysis from the waist down.

After the prosecution rested its case last week, the defense continued with its own case.

Among the medical experts taking the stand Tuesday was Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist who testified about meeting with Clancy at the hospital after the killings.

After testifying that Clancy told him she had “fuzzy” memories of the killings, he said she told him she heard a man’s demanding she kill the children and then herself.

Zeizel forcefully suggestions of having “planted” that story with Clancy.

Also testifying for the defense was another medical expert, former medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Laposata, who spoke about the injuries Clancy suffered in her suicide attempt in an apparent effort to counter prosecutors’ suggestions that she had not jumped out a window.

Another medical witness, Dr. Donald Condie, testified that Clancy exhibited symptoms consistent with postpartum depression, such as brain fog and anxiety.

The day’s testimony also included emotional words from Susan Clancy, the mother of Patrick Clancy, who said the couple had a “very good relationship,” WBTS-TV reported.

“She was very nurturing, very loving, she was a wonderful mother. Wonderful,” she said of Lindsay. “She loved her children, all of them, very, very much.”

A former nurse, Susan Clancy she said she noticed a change in Lindsay’s personality after the birth of Callan, the youngest child.

“She reached out to me in November and told me that she felt unwell,” she said. “Mostly, she had insomnia, she was losing her appetite, she was very anxious and sad.”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — A group of university organizations and labor unions filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new government rule that limits the time international students can spend in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the final rule last month, ending the previous “duration of status” policy for international students.

Under that rule, the United States admitted students with F-1 and J-1 visas for the duration of their status: That is, they entered to pursue a course of study and remained until they earned their chosen degree or degrees.

Students needed to maintain a required course load and comply with the general conditions of their immigration status. There are about 1.5 million students with F-1 and J-1 visas in the United States.

Under the changed policy, international students are capped at four-year stays unless they undergo a federal review to be considered for an extension. Such reviews are to include submitting biometric information and undergoing security, identity and fraud screening.

In announcing the final rule, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the duration of status policy “undermined national security” and that the new rule restores the U.S. ability to “properly screen and manage those who remain in our country.”

The group filing the lawsuit Tuesday asked for a preliminary injunction stopping the new rule before it is implemented. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration (one of the parties to the lawsuit) said the Department of Homeland Security did not adequately justify or assess the rule, address public comments on it or consider better alternatives.

“These changes will create significant uncertainty and administrative burdens for international students and exchange visitors and the institutions that support them,” the Alliance said in a statement. “They will also interfere with academic decision-making, disrupt students’ educational and professional plans and undermine the ability of U.S. colleges and universities to attract and retain global talent.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, also a party to the lawsuit, said the new rule shows that the United States is “once again breaking the law for its own political purposes and, in doing so, is hurting Americans and American enterprise.”

“And it’s using international students — who we’ve welcomed here to help us — as its pawns,” Weingarten said. “American is a leader in cutting-edge research because generations of scientists from every corner of the globe have been free to pursue difficult questions, challenge conventional wisdom, collaborate openly and publish their findings — without political interference.”

The new rule also requires journalists with I visas to renew their status every 240 days. Jon Schleuss — the president of the NewsGuild-CWA, also a party to the lawsuit — said those visas support the important work of international journalists in the United States.

“Our First Amendment makes it clear that the United States is supposed to be a champion of a free press, not an opponent,” Schleuss said. “These rule changes are just another attempt by this administration to chill reporting done by talented journalists.”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Two counties and two cities are suing the Trump administration over conditioning national security funding on local governments adopting sweeping election procedures, calling the requirement illegal federal overreach.

The Brennan Center for Justice filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., Harris and El Paso counties, Texas, and Columbus, asking it to declare the decision to impose election administration conditions on grants unlawful and enjoin its enforcement.

“This is the kind of federal overreach we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration,” Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin said in a statement emailed to UPI. “To threaten law enforcement and public safety funding our agencies rely on, to withhold dollars that protect our communities for a partisan power grab is not only improper, it’s dangerous.”

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has taken a series of actions he says are to improve election integrity and security but that Democrats and civil rights advocates have described as efforts to interfere with and undermine U.S. elections.

In June, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the Department of Homeland Security, updated compliance requirements for Homeland Security Grant Program funds, which are to help local governments prevent terrorism. Conditions added include creating a plan for transitioning to hand-marked paper ballots, conducting a 5% post-election manual audit and citizenship verification for all poll workers and registered voters, among others.

FEMA said it will withhold 20% of the recipient’s total HSGP funding until receipt of proof of compliance with the new requirements.

The jurisdictions suing the administration described the withholding of funds as FEMA holding their money “hostage” and its new election-related conditions “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Never before has FEMA purported to regulate how states and counties run elections,” they said in the lawsuit, stating that such a change would require congressional authorization, which FEMA does not have.

“The power to administer elections belongs to the states, subject only to conditions imposed by Congress — not the president, not the secretary of Homeland Security and not FEMA.”

The plaintiffs state that FEMA has not provided a “reasoned explanation” for the change in funding administration while ignoring the legal, financial and logistical “chaos” the new conditions will cause with midterm elections less than two months away and the potential harm withholding anti-terrorism funds could cause.

“Holding cities hostage by threatening anti-terrorism funding if they don’t go along with the president’s absurd election manipulation is as dangerous as it is illegal,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a statement.

“We’re fighting back to protect public safety and election integrity. We will not be bullied by this president and his administration.”

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has responded to his overtures for talks, one day after he ordered a sweeping reduction in U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.

Trump made the remarks during a press availability in the Oval Office, fueling speculation that his directive could be aimed at reopening dialogue with Pyongyang.

Asked why Kim had not responded to his requests for a conversation, Trump replied, “How do you know he hasn’t responded?”

“He has,” Trump said when pressed. He declined to elaborate, saying only that developments were “very positive.”

Trump went on to tout his personal relationship with Kim, saying the North Korean leader had “always treated me with great respect.”

“I understand him. He understands me,” Trump said. “He didn’t like Biden. He didn’t like Obama. He didn’t like anybody, but I get along with him very well.”

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the allies’ Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which began Monday, are expensive and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. He said Pyongyang “has been unthreatening and respectful” while he has been in the White House.

Trump also noted that South Korea declined his request to help with the denuclearization of Iran.

“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” he wrote.

In a text message to reporters on Monday, an official with Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills had started as scheduled.

“The UFS exercise is proceeding as planned,” the official said.

Later in the day, the presidential Blue House released a statement saying that Seoul was “paying close attention” to Trump’s comments, adding that it hoped friendly relations between Washington and Pyongyang would lead to meaningful peace talks between the two countries.

“To this end, we will exert necessary diplomatic efforts as a pacemaker under close cooperation with the United States,” the statement said.

The Blue House added that it has actively participated in international discussions for a cease-fire in Iran and freedom of passage in the Strait of Hormuz and is “closely discussing practical and military contribution measures with the U.S. side.”

As of Tuesday, it was not clear what aspects of the exercise would be reduced under Trump’s order. In a statement reported by news agency Yonhap, the Pentagon said it “is actively working on executing the Commander-in-Chief’s directive.”

The order drew criticism from Democrats in Congress, who warned that reducing the exercises could undermine military readiness and weaken confidence in U.S. security commitments.

“When President Trump cuts military exercises to flatter a dictator or punishes South Korea for declining to join a war he started, all of our allies — and adversaries — think that America’s commitments are negotiable,” Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Kim Jong Un has won a propaganda victory and South Korea, one of our strongest allies, has been punished for no reason beyond Trump’s ego.”

Peter Lee, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said Trump’s order reflects his transactional approach to the alliance and longstanding skepticism about the costs of U.S. military commitments in South Korea.

“This latest directive should also be seen as a reminder that President Trump still has many cards he can play to pressure South Korea,” Lee told UPI. “The task for the Lee administration is therefore how to reduce this ‘unfaithful ally’ narrative that President Trump periodically returns to and instead lean into the ‘model ally’ framing that others such as [Defense] Secretary Hegseth have touted.”

Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump’s move went beyond his repeated public overtures to Kim and appeared aimed at drawing the North Korean leader back to the negotiating table.

“This is really the first concrete action he’s taken to try to entice Kim, and he’s used the timing of these exercises as the way to do it,” Cha said during a CSIS discussion Monday.

Pyongyang has not yet publicly responded to Trump’s announcement, and Cha said he did not expect an immediate reaction.

“I’m sure it’s a message that’s been heard … but I don’t think the North Koreans are going to respond right away,” he said. “I think they’re going to bide their time and wait a little bit.”

Trump similarly called for suspending or scaling back the exercises since his first term, when he pursued direct diplomacy with Kim that included summits in Singapore and Hanoi and a brief meeting at the DMZ.

After the Singapore summit in 2018, Trump surprised observers by announcing that the United States would halt what he called “provocative” joint military exercises with South Korea. That year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise was canceled, while several subsequent drills were reduced in scale.

In his White House press availability, Trump denied that he was prioritizing North Korea over Washington’s allies in South Korea.

“I’m actually making it much safer,” he said in response to a question.

Trump also elaborated on his request for South Korea’s assistance with the war in Iran, saying he raised the issue in a recent call with President Lee Jae Myung.

“I said, ‘Would you like to give us a little hand? We don’t need help with Iran, but if you’d like, give us a hand with Iran.’ He said, ‘No thanks,'” Trump said.

Trump said he viewed Seoul’s refusal as a matter of “fairness,” citing the cost of maintaining U.S. forces in South Korea and his longstanding push for Seoul to shoulder more of the expense.

“We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor, and you are not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran,” he said.

The United States has roughly 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

Later Monday, Trump posted a meme of Kim on his Truth Social account. The image showed the North Korean leader surrounded by military officials and speaking into a telephone, with the caption: “Hey Donald, we cool … right?”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — The Pentagon has directed 30 U.S. academic institutions to immediately and comprehensively review their collaborations for ties to “foreign entities of concern” under threat of losing future federal research funding.

The Department of Defense announced the directive Monday, giving the unidentified institutions until Aug. 31 to report their findings in order to maintain eligibility for federal grants.

“Universities are critical partners in executing a wide range of Department of War research programs, and the Department must therefore ensure that our research investments are well protected from foreign exploitation,” Joseph Jewell, assistant secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, said in a statement, referring to the Defense Department by its secondary title authorized by President Donald Trump last year. Its statutory name remains the Department of Defense.

The audits are part of a broader effort to protect Defense Department research from foreign adversaries and follow legislation Congress passed in December 2024 as part of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act requiring annual reviews of research grants for compliance with Pentagon research-security policies.

The institutions are to review academic, financial and research ties with entities identified under Section 1286 of the fiscal year 2019 NDAA, as well as those associated with rebranded Confucius Institutes.

The list includes 130 academic and research institutions located in China, Russia and Iran. The list was updated last month.

The Pentagon said the audits are to protect U.S. taxpayer-funded research from getting into the hands of adversarial nations as well as from unauthorized transfer and intellectual property theft. It added that the audits will also aid the Department of Defense in better anticipating emerging threats and adapting to evolving adversarial tactics.

The Department of Defense “has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” Emil Michael, under secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said in a statement.

The institutions are also being directed to implement mitigation plans that include terminating what the Pentagon called “problematic partnerships.”

Aug. 17 (UPI) — The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it is investigating Rep. Jimmy Gomez over allegations of sexual misconduct, the latest House member to come under an ethics probe.

The release from the bipartisan committee did not detail the allegations, only stating it was investigating the California Democrat for possibly having “engaged in sexual misconduct in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct, including engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.”

The committee noted that while it has made its investigation public that does not mean an ethics violation has been committed.

The announcement comes months after the New York Post reported in April that Gomez kissed a congressional aide to another House Democrat at a backyard party hosted by former Rep. Eric Swalwell in the summer of 2023. The report stated the aide was two decades younger than Gomez, who is now 51, but was 48 the summer of the alleged kiss.

The Monday announcement confirms an early June CNN report that the ethics committee was investigating Gomez over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Gomez is married to Mary Hodge and together they have one son. In January 2023, Gomez and his son made headlines as the new father brought his infant son to the House, wearing him on the chamber floor in a baby carrier.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-CA, carries his infant son Hodge on the chamber floor of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, January 5, 2023. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

Following the June CNN report, Gomez released a statement acknowledging that he made mistakes in his marriage but that he violated no House ethics rules, while stating he would cooperate with its investigation.

Gomez on Monday issued a very similar statement to Courthouse News in response to the committee’s announcement, stating, “Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven’t violated the law or House Ethics rules, that doesn’t diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about most.”

“I have and continue to sincerely apologize to my family, friends and the people that II have the privilege to serve,” he said.

“I am deeply sorry to my wife for the pain and embarrassment that I have brought into our lives.”

The investigation into Gomez is the latest probe involving House members of both parties that the ethics panel has launched this summer.

Earlier this month, the panel made public an investigation into allegations of domestic violence and illegal drug use by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio. It also completed its investigation of Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., finding substantial reason to believe he violated House rules concerning sexual harassment and creating a hostile workplace and recommended that he be censured. Edwards has since announced he is dropping his re-election campaign.

In April, both Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned amid House Ethics investigations into alleged sexual misconduct. The Swalwell probe included allegations involving an employee, while the Gonzales probe was looking into allegations involving a congressional employee and alleged special favors.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — An American Airlines jet blew two tires while landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Monday afternoon, according to federal investigators.

No injuries were reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the incident involving Flight 386 occurred at around 2 p.m. CDT.

Passengers deplaned from the Boeing 737-800, which had departed from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, via stairs and were bused to the terminal, according to the FAA, which said it was investigating.

American Airlines said in a statement the flight experienced “a tire issue” after landing, resulting in first responders meeting the aircraft “out of an abundance of caution” and in accordance to procedures.

“The aircraft has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintainance team,” American Airlines said.

“We apologize to our customers for their experience.”

Aug. 17 (UPI) — Nvidia announced on Monday that it will finance an OpenAI data center in Ohio for up to $105 billion.

The credit from Nvidia will fund the data center’s first 4.25 gigawatts in computing capacity with an option to bring 3.75 gigawatts more online. The center is slated to begin operating in Pike City, Ohio, in 2028.

The data center will be located at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike City. It will be constructed and managed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group.

Nvidia is also providing the compute power to the data center.

“This is the essential economic point: the [Load Power Supply] commitment secures a long-lived AI factory site, while the NVIDIA compute inside can be upgraded repeatedly,” NVIDIA said in a press release. “Each new generation can deliver greater production, more intelligence and better economics.”

SB Energy and SoftBank agree to build enough power supply for 10 gigawatts of energy and invest at least $4.2 billion into the regional power grid infrastructure. Nvidia has also agreed to invest $1.5 billion into SB Energy.

OpenAI said the data center will support 35,000 construction jobs through 2032. It will also support 2,500 long-term jobs.

OpenAI will pay the least on the data center as its tenant, Nvidia said.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — As of Monday, Lala has moved away from Hawaii, but the hurricane — a tropical storm as of Sunday — left widespread damage in its wake.

The storm brought intense rain and high winds to the islands, although it didn’t make landfall. By Monday, it was moving to the west, getting stronger and expected to become a hurricane again at sea. Behind it, Hawaii’s residents began to clean up the damage — and a lot of mud.

The flooding swept about 100 homes off their foundations on Hawaii’s Big Island. Gov. Josh Green said that no one was believed to have died in those incidents. A car crash Sunday that killed one person is no longer considered to be related to Lala, CNN reported.

“Everyone is safe and healthy,” Green said, CBS News reported. “But, boy, a lot of work ahead.”

Tens of thousands of people were without power Monday. The heavy rainfall set off landslides that also wiped out roads. Kimo Alameda, mayor of Hawaii County, said power restoration in some areas could take days or longer and that six bridges were at least partially destroyed.

In a social media post Monday, Alameda said that the Department of Water Supply is asking all Hawaii (Big) Island customers to limit water use to essential purposes only.

All state and county offices, schools and courts were closed Monday.

Five places on the islands received 35 inches or more of rain, and Kapalua in Maui County received 48 inches.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday that Lala is moving west and expected to turn toward the west-northwest and northwest on Wednesday and Thursday. Its maximum sustained winds are now about 65 mph. It could become a hurricane again by Tuesday.

“Large waves generated by Lala will continue to trend down from east to west across the Hawaiian waters, but life-threatening surf and rip current conditions will persist today,” the NHC said.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — A group of Texas families are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to a state law that requires public schools to post a version of the Ten Commandments in a visible spot in every classroom.

The more-than-two-dozen families of various religious faiths and none are appealing a lower court’s decision in April to uphold Senate Bill 10. The families are from 22 school districts throughout the state and are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

“Texas politicians shouldn’t have a seat at the table in deciding how our children receive their religious education,” said plaintiffs Rebekah and Ted Lowe of Austin, who are raising their children in Christian and Jewish religious traditions. “This law puts one version of religious beliefs above all other in our public schools and sends a message to our children that what we teach them about religion at home is somehow wrong.”

“I’m not only worried about my own kids, but I’m deeply concerned about all the children in my congregation,” said plaintiff Rabbi Joshua Fixler of Houston. “These displays put children in the position of having to defend themselves and their families’ religious beliefs against a government mandate that makes them feel different and separate from their classmates.”

In April, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law does not violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause — which prevents the government from establishing a religion — or free exercise clause — which forbids government from prohibiting “free exercise” of religion.

“This is a major victory for Texas and our moral values,” said Ken Paxton, Texas’s Republican attorney general, after the ruling. “The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day.”

However, in its release on the request Monday, the ACLU noted that a Supreme Court case in 1980 — Stone vs. Graham — already dealt with the matter of the Ten Commandments in public schools. In that case, the high court found that a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public-school classroom was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause.

In the filing Monday, the lawyers for the families involved said the court should again reject the idea of government-imposed religion.

“If the permanent, unavoidable imposition of biblical scripture in public-school classrooms does not interfere with, or threaten to undermine, parents’ ability to direct their children’s religious education and ot instill particular religious beliefs and practices, it is difficult to imagine what would,” the filing said.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — The percentage of U.S. adults who say they’ve taken part in any form of gambling over the past year has dropped from 64% in 2016 to 45% in 2026, a new Gallup poll released Monday said.

In almost every category in the poll, the percentage of people saying they’d taken part in a gambling activity dropped, with the three greatest drops coming among those who said they’ve purchased a state lottery ticket (49% to 31%), gambled in person at a casino (26% to 14%) or participated in an office pool on a sports event (15% to 7%).

“These lower reported gambling rates coincide with a decline in the percentage of Americans who say that gambling is ‘morally acceptable,’ from 67% in 2016 to a new low of 57% earlier this year,” Gallup said.

The poll found that reports of gambling were down among all major subgroups of Americans. About 54% of upper-income Americans (those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more) said they gambled, compared to 45% of middle-income Americans (annual household income of $50,000 to $99,999) and 40% of lower-income adults (annual household income of less than $50,000).

About 49% of men said they gambled, compared to 40% of women. About 50% of older people (50 and older) said they gambled, compared to 41% of younger adults. Women ages 18 to 49 were the least likely group to say they gambled, about 35%.

In the history of the poll, first conducted on this subject in 1989, people have always been most likely to say they’ve participated in state lotteries, Gallup said. For the first 10 years, majorities said they’d played a state lottery. Percentages then fell to the high-40% range before the current lowpoint.

The peak in those reporting they’d gambled at a casino was in 2003, with 30% of people saying they’d done so. Gallup said the decline in in-person gambling might be due to the rise of online gambling. While only 4% said they’ve done so, it was the only category without a percentage decline.

Gallup also said that reported gambling rates are higher in online surveys than in this recent poll, which was conducted by telephone interviews with live interviewers. A parallel web survey by Gallup in June showed greater amounts of those saying they’d gambled in the past year across all 13 categories and a 53% overall percentage.

Gallup surveyed 2,201 adults between June 1-July 19 with a 3% margin of error.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if the nation’s leaders get “in the way of” any potential Iran deal with the United States.

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the [expletive] out of them,” Trump told Fox News.

Oman is not part of the U.S. conflict with Iran, but Omani negotiators have been speaking with Iran over a deal between the two Middle Eastern nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said Monday that Oman and Iran had reached an understanding about a map of the transit route in the waterway. About a third of the world’s crude oil passes through the strait.

Iranian officials have previously said that they’ll reopen the strait only after the United States ends its naval blockade of Iran’s ports and stops attacking Iran. They’ve also requested the end of sanctions and compensation for damage from the attacks.

A two-month window to negotiate peace with Iran, established in the June “memorandum of understanding” between the United States and Iran, officially ended Monday with no progress. The two countries have also strikes for more than a month despite the agreement. Trump told Fox News on Monday that he is “in no hurry” to reach a permanent deal.

“I have no time schedule,” Trump said. The president has repeatedly said that the conflict will end “soon” and promised imminent peace deals that haven’t come to fruition. He also said in the interview that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender” and denied reports that the United States munitions have been depleted.

Trump previously threatened to “blow up” Oman in May during a Cabinet meeting. On Friday, he threatened to make the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States.”

Aug. 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he ordered the Pentagon to scale back its joint military exercises with South Korea, saying that Seoul declined to help the denuclearization of Iran.

In a social media post, Trump said the drills scheduled to begin this week are expensive and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. He said North Korea “has been unthreatening and respectful” white he has been in the White House.

“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, involving 18,000 South Korean troops over 11 days, were to strengthen readiness against threats from North Korea and began Monday to run through Aug. 27.

North Korea, which has long condemned the exercises as preparations for invasion, last week denounced the scheduled drills, describing them as a provocation that would raise tensions in the region.

South Korea has yet to response to Trump’s surprise and last-minute direction.

On Saturday, Trump posted a June 2019 photo of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. He wrote that he gets along “GREAT!” with Kim “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture.”

Aug. 16 (UPI) — Lake Powell, a vital man-made water reservoir on the Colorado River, has fallen to its lowest level on record as the U.S. West endures a severe, long-lasting drought, official statistics show.

The lake’s levels fell to 3519.91 feet on Saturday — low enough to break the record of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to a reading published Sunday by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Federal officials say the effects of long-term drought had reduced Colorado River Basin system storage to about 36% of capacity as of April. This was due to a combination of the lowest snowpack on record last winter and record-breaking heat in March, which intensified drought conditions across the river basin.

The situation has set off widespread concerns over elevated risks to the essential water and power infrastructure that supplies more than 40 million people across the West.

The lake, which spans Utah and Arizona, is a reservoir created by the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz.

The Bureau of Reclamation in April predicted Lake Powell’s water year minimum probable inflow at just 2.78 million acre-feet — only 29% of historical average and one of the lowest on record.

It also warned lake could decline to below 3,490 feet — the minimum power pool level — by this summer without major intervention.

If Glen Canyon Dam declines below that level, water releases would be restricted, creating “uncertainty for users, downstream impacts, instability in regional power and water supplies, and a reduction in power generation.”

Another vital reservoir in the Colorado River Basin, Lake Mead, is also currently at its lowest level since it was created in the 1930s.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of the Interior remain “committed to reducing the collective risk of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead falling below critical elevations to protect critical infrastructure to continue to meet the water and hydropower needs of the basin,” a spokesman told CNN on Sunday.

Aug. 16 (UPI) — The commander of U.S. Central Command visited the USS Abraham Lincoln days after the aircraft carrier drew public attention over reports of poor conditions on board and attempted suicides of sailors.

Adm. Brad Cooper visited the ship as part of a 10-day tour of the Middle East, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Cooper also met with senior civilian and military leadership in Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Lincoln, which is based in San Diego, has been at sea for a record of more than 260 days after being deployed to Venezuela and then the Middle East, where it is currently.

Families of sailors serving on the ship have told media outlets several crew members have tried to jump overboard or have been stopped from doing so in recent months. There have also been reports of a lack of fresh food on board and moldy showers, among other issues.

“Unfortunately, the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims,” Navy Secretary Hung Cao said in a statement on Friday. He later said that Lincoln would return home and be replaced with the USS George Washington.

Senate Democrats have been pressing the Trump administration about the conditions on the Lincoln as well as its planning for its conflict with Iran.

“I was just speaking to a spouse just about three days ago and this is the current problem right now,” U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday. “It really goes to the deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, did not really understand how this war was going to escalate.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said media reports have “completely misrepresented” the situation, while President Donald Trump told reporters that the deployment’s length is “not nearly long enough.”

Aug. 16 (UPI) — Police arrested a 19-year-old found hiding in a closet on the Virginia State University campus hours after he allegedly shot five people, local officials said.

Camron Harris was in custody at Chesterfield County Jail on suspicion of four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va., reported. He was being held without bond.

Police said more charges may be filed.

The shooting took place on the VSU campus around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

The victims ranged in age from 17 to 23 years old. A 21-year-old man sustained critical injuries, while the other four, including a 19-year-old woman, had non-life-threatening injuries, WRIC-TV in Richmond reported. The only student of the school was a 20-year-old man who was released from the hospital.

Officers discovered Harris around 4 p.m. Saturday hiding in a closet in Seward Hall on campus. He didn’t attend the school.

The campus had not started fall classes at the time of the shooting, but officials put the school on lockdown until about 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Classes were expected to begin Monday.

VSU is a historically Black university with about 5,100 undergraduate students.