The Latest: Senate panel advances Blanche nomination for attorney general

In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate President Donald Trump鈥檚 political allies. But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization 鈥� given new parameters to appease the senators but still with the potential to wipe away millions of dollars of Trump鈥檚 back taxes.

Trump, meanwhile, is making a rare visit to California and Nevada on Tuesday and Wednesday to shore up support for Republicans in the . The president has so far struggled to , as and overshadow the stock market gains he often highlights, alongside .

Here is the latest:

Guard deployment to Washington into 2029 will cost roughly $1.4B, estimate shows

The extension of the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. will cost roughly $1.4 billion, according to a Defense Department estimate provided to Congress.

The figure offers a glimpse of how much taxpayer money will be spent on a deployment that has been criticized by local officials as an infringement of their city鈥檚 autonomy and by who say it has militarized the streets of nation鈥檚 capital at the public鈥檚 expense.

The cost estimate is for fiscal years 2027-2029 and came in response to questions from Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and was provided to The Associated Press.

The deployment began last summer, when President Donald Trump issued an emergency order that launched a law enforcement surge in the city which the administration says was meant to fight crime. Hundreds of armed Guard troops have been deployed to city streets, supporting arrest operations but also helping with snow removal and carrying out .

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Trump鈥檚 arch could harm the integrity of many of Washington鈥檚 historical sites, report says

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated a multi-billion program to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.

Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won鈥檛 have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in.

The split ruling by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden鈥檚 campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a 鈥済reen bank,鈥� is a congressionally authorized program that provided money to nonprofits that would then make loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and transportation.

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Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate program

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Housing prices are a big issue in Nevada

In Nevada, where Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in one of the nation鈥檚 most competitive , Democrats are putting up billboard signs blaming Trump and Lombardo for the shortage of affordable housing, exploding and to key state programs.

Trump has tried to sell voters on his income tax cuts and . But , gasoline costs more because of , tariffs are still reshaping the economy and even the White House acknowledges .

Staying on message could be difficult for Trump, who called his own housing bill Past speeches as being about the economy gave way to Trumpian weaves about his political enemies and capital construction projects.

Democrats complain about Blanche鈥檚 dealmaking for Trump

Democrats say Blanche鈥檚 order doesn鈥檛 go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from claiming more immunity from tax audits or compensating Trump allies 鈥� including people who on Jan. 6, 2021 鈥� through a previously established process that allows damage claims for government wrongdoing.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Justice Committee, said Blanche鈥檚 promises are virtually unenforceable. The fund 鈥渃an easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,鈥� Durbin said.

Todd Blanche鈥檚 nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle after deal with GOP holdouts

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump鈥檚 former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration鈥檚 priorities since in April.

The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of regarding the president鈥檚 leaked tax returns.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had said they were withholding their support unless the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it was not moving forward with who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration had announced as part of the settlement.

Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming 鈥渂eyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.鈥�

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Attacks continue in Gulf region despite talks

A cargo ship reported being 鈥渉it by an unknown projectile鈥� early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz , the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship. It suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

Yemen鈥檚 Houthis, meanwhile, fired at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed rebels, said a drone hit a 鈥渟ensitive target鈥� at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence.

Saree said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen鈥檚 airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.

Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran

Despite , mediation efforts have been underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking into a diplomatic solution,鈥� he said during a briefing, without elaborating.

Comedian Jenny Yang uplifts immigrants, one grocery store at a time

Standup comic Jenny Yang is spending her summer turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night in a response to Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown.

The is using the unusual venues in immigrant enclaves and pairing with nonprofits to raise funds for Asian, Latino and Black communities. It鈥檚 grown to 20 performances and a possible comedy special on TV.

For one show in Minneapolis, the manager of a supermarket down the block from where an ICE agent fit 150 chairs near the checkout lanes so people could see her show.

Comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, but Yang says 鈥淚 believe in punching up, not down.鈥�

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Rubio says progress made in Iran, Oman talks and deal on Strait of Hormuz could happen 鈥榲ery shortly鈥�

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman on the status of the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with the vice president of Paraguay at the State Department on Tuesday, Rubio said that 鈥渟uffice it to say, there鈥檚 been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We鈥檙e hoping that will happen very shortly.鈥�

Rubio said ships continue to transit the strait but the U.S. would like to see more commercial traffic.

US job market continues to show strength despite bumpy economy

U.S. job openings fell slightly in June, but the labor market continued to show resilience to the Iran war鈥檚 economic shocks.

The Labor Department said employers posted 7.36 million vacancies, down from 7.54 million in May, in line with economists鈥� expectations. Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting jobs 鈥� a sign of confidence in their prospects 鈥� rose slightly.

So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That would have been mediocre in years past, but Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown and Baby Boomer retirements mean fewer people are competing for work, so the economy doesn鈥檛 need as many new jobs to keep unemployment from rising. In fact, some economists believe the 鈥渂reak-even鈥� rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.

Trump administration to close five smaller US embassies, consulates and other posts while opening others

The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions even as it steams ahead with plans to re-open shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has re-opened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada, the consulates in Nagoya, Japan and Medan, Indonesia, the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices, which were obtained by The Associated Press.

Markets move, again, on Trump comments

Trump said he鈥檚 not happy with , though it was the war he launched that enabled their windfalls.

Shares of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all fell around 1% before the bell. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.87 to $81.90 a barrel.

Also possibly helping to push oil prices lower was comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC that 鈥渨e are in talks with the Iranians.鈥� Bessent added, 鈥淭here is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.鈥�

Big oil reports bigger profits in Iran war windfall

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, while Chevron nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion.

Foreign oil companies are also posting massive increases in profits: Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit to $32.69 billion, driven by higher prices for crude oil, refined products and chemicals. And London-based BP reported its profits more than doubled to $3.9 billion.

US markets poised to open with gains and oil prices slide again as Trump bashes Big Oil

Wall Street was poised to open higher and oil prices flipped to significant losses Tuesday after Trump criticized oil companies for using the Iran conflict to amass excessive profits.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1%. Oil prices slid close to 3% early Tuesday after Trump bashed big oil companies.

鈥淭hey made too much money, too much money,鈥� Trump said on Monday. 鈥淭hey ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.鈥�

FIFA executives distance themselves from Infantino鈥檚 World Cup plan

Two senior FIFA executives 鈥� coaching great Ars猫ne Wenger and CEO-like secretary general Mattias Grafstr枚m 鈥� distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors through a money-making subsidiary to be launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother is a son-in-law of .

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was 鈥渁bsolutely necessary鈥� to drop the proposal, and Grafstr枚m sent an email to all FIFA staff 鈥� seen by The Associated Press 鈥� calling the last week a 鈥渟ad and reproachable series of events.鈥� He also said it created 鈥渢urmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.鈥�

Neither directly named their boss nor offered support for Infantino, who has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a Saturday announcing the proposal had been dropped.

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What to watch as primary voters choose nominees

Michigan is testing the direction of the Democratic Party, as voters choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate for the U.S. Senate. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also choosing nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Virginia Democrats who lost a court battle over trying to redraw districts to their advantage are picking candidates they hope can defeat Republicans in the fall.

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Trump and 小萝莉影视om, mocking and taunting

As Trump flies to California he鈥檒l likely throw barbs at the governor, eyed as a likely candidate for the next Democratic presidential nomination.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to 鈥渄raw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin 小萝莉影视om.鈥�

Trump routinely mocks 小萝莉影视om using a derogatory nickname. 小萝莉影视om taunts the president in turn.

The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum. 鈥淒onald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,鈥� 小萝莉影视om wrote.

The economy is on Trump鈥檚 agenda in California and Nevada

鈥檚 rare visit to California and Nevada is meant to draw contrasts with Democrats on in support of Republicans in that will determine whether party control of Congress.

But he鈥檚 struggled to as and have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about, along with .

Trump is headlining a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner at a golf club his family owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.

Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump鈥檚 handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July, while 69% characterized the state of the economy as 鈥減oor.鈥�

25 states sue over Trump鈥檚 new tariffs, calling them 鈥榩retext鈥� to replace his old ones

Twenty-five states sued the Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court .

The United States on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

鈥淎fter losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,鈥� said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Joining New York in the lawsuit announced Monday are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says

Bank accounts held by Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend.

The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump鈥檚 financial holding companies shortly after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the on the U.S. Capitol.

Capital One wants the lawsuit dismissed.

鈥淭he closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One鈥檚 AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,鈥� the bank said in the court filing. The term 鈥淎ML鈥� is an abbreviation for anti-money laundering.

Trump has sued Capital One, as well as , for allegedly debanking him after he left office in 2021. Debanking occurs when banks shut down customer accounts because they believe they pose financial, legal or reputational risks to the banks.

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New talks are 鈥榣ast chance鈥� for Iran to forge a deal and avoid escalation of US strikes, Trump says

Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old 鈥� but this time, he insists it鈥檚 different.

The president on Monday said that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the 鈥渓ast chance鈥� for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.

Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations will focus on reopening and create a pathway for Iran to address the United States鈥� concerns about its nuclear program. He told reporters they would likely learn about the status of the negotiations 鈥渢oday or tomorrow.鈥�

鈥淭he first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,鈥� the Republican president said. 鈥淎nd that will take a little while.鈥�

While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran鈥檚 leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces and the difficulty of executing a war that鈥檚 unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November鈥檚 midterm election.

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Trump says Pirro 鈥榝olded like an umbrella鈥� in bid to drop Reflecting Pool vandalism charges

Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro 鈥渃hoked鈥� and 鈥渇olded like an umbrella鈥� in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing .

Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump ducked questions about whether he鈥檇 fire Pirro, a former Fox 小萝莉影视 host and longtime ally he in the nation鈥檚 capital. But the president kept up his drumbeat of sharp criticism, saying he remained disappointed by her assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism.

鈥淔rankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,鈥� Trump said in response to a reporter鈥檚 question after he signed an executive order for military spouses. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the hell happened.鈥�

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As Blanche鈥檚 path to confirmation is cleared, Trump鈥檚 tax audit immunity remains in place

In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate Trump鈥檚 political allies.

But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization remains in place 鈥� given new parameters to appease the senators but still with the potential to wipe away millions of dollars of Trump鈥檚 back taxes.

In a document Blanche sent to the lawmakers Sunday, he said the audit immunity, struck as part of a deal to resolve the president鈥檚 $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, would not protect the president from the examination of future tax filings. Instead, he noted, it 鈥渁pplies by its terms only retroactively鈥� to claims open at the time of the lawsuit鈥檚 settlement.

For the who opposed both the fund and the audit deal, those assurances were enough and are expected to clear the way for Blanche鈥檚 confirmation to serve as attorney general.

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