Limited-edition versions will place US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifs

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The United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.

The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of the US’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document.

Alleged shooter, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, charged with three federal crimes in White House press gala attack

The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner appeared in federal court on Monday and was charged with three federal crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president.

The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence.

President says incident, in which Secret Service agent was saved by bulletproof vest, was ‘totally shocking to me’

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Donald Trump said on Saturday night he initially thought that the sound of a gunman charging a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was a tray falling, in his first remarks about what was going through his mind as the incident unfolded.

“Actually, it was totally shocking to me, and that never changes,” Trump said, appearing to refer to the assassination attempt against him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a second incident on his golf course in Florida during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Disclosures come after firm tightened rules on insider trading, including candidates betting on own campaigns

Before he announced his Senate candidacy, a political hopeful in Virginia did something not so unusual in this day and age: he logged on to a prediction market exchange and wagered money that he would run. Then he ran. Then he bet on that too.

The candidate and trader was Mark Moran, a former FBoy Island contestant who went viral recently for his campaign launch video. Investigators with Kalshi, the federally regulated prediction market exchange, found he placed two trades on their platform, the first in a market asking which individuals would seek public office in 2026, the second after he formally entered the race.

US president says on Truth Social attacks are on hold until Iran submits proposal and talks reach end

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Donald Trump announced in a social media post on Tuesday that he was indefinitely extending a ceasefire with Iran at the request of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks, until the country responded to the United States’ negotiating positions or until talks reached a dead end.

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.

Claims system launches months after supreme court ruled Trump had no legal authority to impose tariffs

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The Trump administration has begun accepting applications from businesses seeking refunds for more than $166bn in tariffs, months after the supreme court ruled that the president had no legal authority to impose them.

The administration launched on Monday the digital claims system, named Cape, which they said in court filings could handle about 63% of affected import filings, with the remainder to follow.

US defense secretary says Iran’s energy infrastructure is ‘not destroyed yet’ while also lambasting the media

Iran’s energy infrastructure is “not destroyed yet” and the US is “locked and loaded” to finish the job, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said on Thursday as he called many of the press corps gathered the moral equivalent of the Pharisees who conspired to destroy Jesus Christ.

Hegseth’s comments from the Pentagon podium came as a naval blockade of Iranian ports began this week and he called on Tehran to accept a nuclear deal or face consequences for its remaining infrastructure, power generation and energy industry.