Reading view

Hegseth faces further grilling over war costs as Iranian supreme leader releases fresh US threats – US politics live

Defense secretary to be quizzed in Senate as Khamenei says foreigners have no place in Gulf ‘except at bottom of its waters’

Louisiana governor Jeff Landry yesterday told GOP candidates that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so that state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first, the Washington Post (paywall) reported last night.

It came hours after the US supreme court decided that Louisiana’s creation of a second majority black congressional district to satisfy previously rulings relied too heavily on race and was “an unconstitutional racial gerrymander”, as opposed to a required effort to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

  •  

‘A day of loss for our democracy’: civil rights groups slam supreme court ruling that weakens key part of Voting Rights Act – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell, a frequent target of president Donald Trump’s ire.

Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely expecting a third pause in a row as the effects of the conflict ripple through the world’s largest economy.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

© Photograph: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

  •  

Justice department claims James Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump as it announces charges against former FBI director – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

Donald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussion of Iran’s nuclear program for a later date.

Two people familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump conveyed his views during yesterday’s meeting with top national security aides where the Iranian proposal was discussed. One of the people said Trump was not likely to accept the plan, which was sent to the US in the last few days.

What I will reiterate is that the president’s red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public, but also to them as well.

I wouldn’t say they’re considering it. I would just say that there was a discussion this morning that I don’t want to get ahead of, and you’ll hear directly from the president, I’m sure, on this topic.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

  •  

Middle East crisis: Trump hits back at German chancellor after Merz said Iran was ‘humiliating’ US – as it happened

US president claims Friedrich Merz ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’ after German leader criticised US strategy in Iran

Saudi Arabia is to host a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah later today, in what will be first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became dragged into the war.

A Gulf official told the Reuters news agency that the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on 28 February.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

  •  

Middle East crisis: Iran’s foreign ministry condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’ – as it happened

Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says actions of the United States ‘strike at the heart of international law’ as blockade continues in strait of Hormuz

Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll.

Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective blockade of the Strait and the counter-blockade of Iranian ports being mounted by the US Navy.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

  •  

FBI affidavit quotes White House press dinner shooting suspect expressing rage at ‘a pedophile, rapist and traitor’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House.

According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

  •  

Suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at press dinner

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.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

  •  

King’s US visit to go ahead as planned, Trump says – as it happened

This blog is now closed. See our full report: Trump tells 60 Minutes he ‘wasn’t worried’ during correspondents’ dinner shooting

Donald Trump took to Trump Social on Sunday to repeat his statement from the night before in which he said the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner was why a White House ballroom was necessary.

“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote.

It does appear the suspect was targeting members of the administration … We don’t have specifics yet about particular members of the administration, except that we do understand that that was his goal and his target.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Yuri Gripas/EPA

© Photograph: Yuri Gripas/EPA

© Photograph: Yuri Gripas/EPA

  •  

Gunfire reported in Beirut as truce comes into effect – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Our live coverage continues here

Iran has stopped all petrochemical exports to prioritise domestic supply and prevent shortages of raw materials, Reuters reported.

The state-owned National Petrochemical Company ordered firms to suspend exports until further notice.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

  •  

House Democrats file six articles of impeachment against defense secretary Pete Hegseth – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on impeachment filings against Trump’s defense secretary, read our full report:

At a Turning Point USA event in Georgia on Tuesday, vice-president JD Vance was heckled by a protester who seemed to criticized the conflicts in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza.

“Jesus Christ does not support genocide,” the audience member shouted. The vice-president addressed the demonstrator and agreed with their statement, before responding to further comments from the heckler who appeared to say that the administration “supports a genocide in Gaza”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

  •  
❌