President Donald Trump is back in Washington after urging leaders across the Mideast to put “old feuds” aside. He met with more than 20 government leaders in Egypt to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and discuss future of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip. His whirlwind trip came at a fragile moment of hope for ending two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown now entering its 14th day may become the longest in history. He said he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they pause their health care demands and reopen. He also claimed he’s unaware of the details of the firings of thousands of federal workers as the Trump administration seizes on the shutdown to reduce government.
Black residents fear they could lose their representation in a newly created Louisiana congressional district if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against them. And Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, the 88-year-old nonvoting delegate representing the District of Columbia in the House, is facing calls to step aside over criticism that she hasn’t pushed back enough against the Trump administration’s intervention.
The Latest:
Supreme Court rejects Jones’ appeal of $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and left in place the $1.4 billion judgment against him over his description of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax staged by crisis actors.
The Infowars host had argued that a judge was wrong to find him liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress without holding a trial on the merits of allegations lodged by relatives of victims of the shooting, which killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut.
The justices did not comment on their order, which they issued without even asking the families of the Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones’ appeal.
? Read more about Jones’ rejection by the Supreme Court
Barack Obama appears in ad urging California voters to counter Trump
Barack Obama is entering the fight for U.S. House control by appearing in a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a ballot proposal that could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats from California.
“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says, looking directly into the camera. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks.”
Proposition 50 is aimed at offsetting Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to help win more Republican seats in the 2026 midterm election. Voting is underway and concludes Nov. 4. Republicans hold a 219-213 House majority, with three vacancies.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has framed the election as a referendum on all things Trump, who is unpopular in liberal-leaning California outside of his conservative base. Republicans call it a Democratic power grab that would override an independent commission created by voters.
News outlets face Pentagon ouster for refusing to sign defense secretary’s pre-approval rules
Major news organizations say they won’t sign a Defense Department document about its new press rules, making it likely the Trump administration will evict their reporters from the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth reacted to their refusal by posting a hand-waving emoji on X. His team has said that reporters who don’t acknowledge the policy in writing by Tuesday must turn in badges admitting them to the Pentagon and clear out their workspaces the next day.
The new rules bar journalist access to large swaths of the Pentagon without an escort and say Hegseth can revoke press access to reporters who ask anyone in the Defense Department for information — classified or otherwise — that he has not approved for release.
The New York Times, The Associated Press, the conservative Newsmax television network, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Reuters, among other outlets, say the policy threatens to punish routine news gathering protected by the First Amendment.
? Read more about the Pentagon and the media
Trump complains that the photo of him on Time Magazine is ‘the Worst of All Time’
The president posted a lament on social media early Tuesday morning about a signature subject: his hair.
Trump has long been known for his swoopy blonde hair, but on the latest issue of Time recognizing his ceasefire deal in Gaza, he feels his locks are lacking.
“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird!” the president wrote.
The president also complained that the shot is taken facing up, showing more neck and chin than he seemed to prefer.
“This is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out,” he wrote. “What are they doing, and why?”
FACT FOCUS: Trump now says he’s ended eight wars. His numbers are off
As Israel and Hamas traded hostages and prisoners on Monday in a first step toward peace, Trump addressed Israel’s parliament, claiming he had ended his eighth war. “Yesterday I was saying seven, but now I can say eight,” he told the Knesset.
“After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm. The guns are silent. The sirens are still. And the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace,” Trump said.
But Trump’s claim is exaggerated. Here’s a closer look.
Gaza ceasefire plan brims with questions about what’s next
The coming weeks, months and years will require more than just rebuilding from the devastation that has left much of Gaza in ruins. Key details of the peace plan may remain unsettled.
Granular details will need to be negotiated to keep the plan moving forward and prevent the resumption of fighting. The path to long-term peace, stability and eventual rebuilding will be a long and very precipitous route.