Americans give AI in schools a poor grade
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President Donald Trump focused on law and order at a rally for the GOP candidate for the Senate in North Carolina, blaming Democrats for what he said are soft-on-crime policies.
What to know today
- AI'S BAD GRADE: Most American adults think artificial intelligence is going to do more harm than good in education, according to this month’s NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey. A growing share of U.S. adults also believe schools that shun the technology will better help students grow than schools that embrace it.
- RFK JR. SPEECH: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is delivering the keynote address at a conference today hosted by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group he co-founded. The speech is the first time he has been publicly associated with the organization since he left it after President Donald Trump tapped him to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
- REPUBLICAN REBELS: House candidates running in districts that Trump carried in the 2024 election have recently broken with him on key issues, including immigration and the Iran war, underscoring the increasingly difficult political environment Republicans face less than seven weeks out from Election Day.
- JON KYL DIES: Former Sen. Jon Kyl, a longtime Republican lawmaker from Arizona who shaped landmark water policies in the U.S. West and guided the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has died. He was 84.
Josh Shapiro urges swift AI rules, says relying on tech companies is ‘flat-out wrong’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sought to plant his flag in the intensifying debate over AI safety, pushing for the federal government to quickly pass new regulations to rein in the industry but opposing calls to pause development on advanced models until such regulations are enacted.
Jared Soares for NBC News
“I think you have to listen to the people who are building these systems, and in some cases have lost control of the systems that they’re building, and they are sounding the alarm,” Shapiro said in an interview. “They’re calling for regulation, and that’s exactly what we need.”
Man who sprayed Minnesota Rep. Omar with vinegar sentenced to 14 months in prison
The man who sprayed vinegar at Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall was sentenced today to 14 months in prison after he reached a deal with prosecutors.
Tom Williams / Getty Images
Anthony Kazmierczak, 56, was sentenced nearly eight months after the Jan. 27 assault. At the time, Minneapolis-St. Paul was facing an immigration crackdown that led to angry protests, arrests and the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.
Kazmierczak was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, which includes no contact with Omar. U.S. marshals escorted him from the courtroom after he was sentenced.
“This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment act,” U.S. District Judge Joan N. Ericksen said before she handed down the sentence, noting that Kazmierczak had secured tickets for the town hall weeks in advance.
‘Godfather of AI’ warns Congress has ‘maybe a year’ left to regulate AI
Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel laureate known as the “Godfather of AI,” issued an ominous warning to lawmakers: Congress may have only one year left to implement safeguards on artificial intelligence before it loses control of it.
Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images
“Maybe a year, but not much more than a year,” Hinton said last night after he and other AI experts huddled with Senate and House lawmakers behind closed doors.
“If you look at predictions for when we’ll get superintelligence,” he continued, “it used to be maybe 30 years, maybe 50 years. Then it came down to maybe 10 years, maybe 20 years. Now people are saying, a lot of the researchers are saying only a few years.”
Trump could meet with Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez as early as next week
Discussions are underway for the first meeting between Trump and Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, which could happen as soon as next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, according to a White House official.
Ariana Cubillos / AP
The plans have not been finalized and are subject to change, the official stressed.
If Trump and Rodríguez were to meet in New York, they would be a short distance away from the Brooklyn jail where the ousted former president, and Rodriguez’s predecessor, Nicolás Maduro is awaiting trial on federal charges, including narcoterrorism.
Axios first reported the potential meeting.
A reporter asked Trump on Sunday whether he would meet with Rodríguez while they are in New York to discuss oil.
“I may be,” Trump said. “We have the oil now.”
Lawyers for U.S. Institute of Peace ask court to stop Trump administration efforts to carve name into building
The U.S. Institute of Peace today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stop the Trump administration from carving Trump’s name on the facade of the agency’s headquarters.
Alex Kent / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
Trump affixed his name to the building last year after the agency was dismantled. Now, according to the filing, the administration intends to take that a step further by carving his name into it.
“The threatened carving would impose serious irreparable harm,” lawyers for the Institute of Peace wrote in the filing.
The request for a pause comes as a battle takes place across the capital at the Kennedy Center over an effort to add Trump’s name to that venue. A judge ruled Trump’s name had to be taken down and stopped subsequent efforts to add it in different ways. The center’s board voted this week to shut the venue down, as Trump said it will reopen only if his name is added.
Man posing as Susan Collins super PAC canvasser caught stealing package
A man posing as a canvasser for Stronger Maine, a super PAC that supports Republican Sen. Susan Collins, was identified today after video caught him stealing a package from a woman's front porch.
Mare Cressey told NBC News that the man stole a pair of sneakers from her home in Woolwich yesterday. Her Ring camera caught it on video.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook that the thief was identified but had not been arrested and that charges are forthcoming. An investigation continues.
“This individual is not and has never been an employee or volunteer of the Collins for Senator campaign," said Blake Kernan, a spokesperson for Collins' campaign.
Stronger Maine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cressey said that she hasn't gotten her shoes back but that the canvasser left a pro-Collins flyer hanging on her doorknob.
In speech to anti-vaccine group, Kennedy promises a ‘friend at the White House’
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told audience members at an anti-vaccine conference today that they have “a strong and steadfast friend at the White House.”
The speech was Kennedy’s first public appearance with Children’s Health Defense, the group he founded, in nearly three years. He took a leave of absence from the organization in 2023 to run for president, then formally resigned after Trump tapped him to become the country’s top health official.
Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
Pentagon weighs pulling nearly a third of U.S. forces from Europe
The Defense Department is weighing a drastic plan to pull planes, ships, weapons and tens of thousands of U.S. troops from Europe, despite warnings from NATO allies about the growing threat of Russian aggression, according to seven current and former U.S. and Western officials.
Sean Gallup / Getty Images file
The reduction could be roughly one-third of all U.S. troops in Europe, or about 25,000. A U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the deliberations say it could be even larger — as much as half, or up to 40,000 troops.
Campaigns keep focus on the economy as AI concerns spike ahead of the midterms
Concerns about existential threats posed by AI may be dominating discussions in Washington, but they aren’t shaking up the campaign trail — at least not yet.
In the last week, about 30 of the more than 3,500 ads running in competitive races for Congress and governor mentioned AI, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And that isn’t expected to change, even as warnings mount that artificial intelligence could threaten humanity itself.
Several Republicans start to distance themselves from Trump as the midterms near
Trump has urged Republican voters to pretend he’s on the midterm ballot. But a handful of GOP candidates in tough races are keeping their distance.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla.; Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa; Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. Getty Images; USA Today Network file
This week, House candidates running in districts that Trump carried in the 2024 election have broken with him on key issues, including immigration and the Iran war, underscoring the increasingly difficult political environment Republicans face less than seven weeks out from Election Day.
Gov. Josh Shapiro criticizes Speaker Mike Johnson's approach to regulating AI
Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., during a speech in Pittsburgh about artificial intelligence, criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for not doing enough to regulate AI at the federal level.
"Speaker Mike Johnson and too many in Congress are content to do nothing, instead blaming others for their lack of leadership or saying they don’t have the expertise to act," Shapiro said, adding that Johnson “has abdicated his responsibility to lead at a time when we cannot afford weakness and retreat.”
Jeff Swensen / Getty Images
On Sunday, following days of mounting concerns from the leaders of the nation's biggest AI labs that the current pace of AI growth and development could be destructive to humanity, Johnson told NBC News' "Meet the Press," "I’ve talked to all the providers of AI ... and they all say that we need some guardrails."
He added: "But they all have very different ideas on what that looks like. So they don’t themselves even have the answer as of today. So we can’t rush in and have Congress do something that would be detrimental to national security."
In his speech, Shapiro further criticized Johnson for sending lawmakers home this week, with no plans to return until after November's midterm elections.
"By the time Congress comes back into session after the election, we could be dealing with a whole new generation of generative AI and more scary examples of AI agents going rogue," he said.
He also pushed back on Johnson and others' claims that a slowdown of U.S. AI development would concede the AI race to Chinese labs.
On Sunday, Johnson said: "We have to put some guardrails, some safety measures in place to ensure that AI doesn’t run away, you know, that we don’t have an out-of-control AGI, artificial general intelligence. But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that we don’t lose our edge in the global competition on this with China. Because that would be a national security threat."
Shapiro called it a "false choice," saying today that "the idea that we have to choose between protecting our people from the risks posed by AI and winning the race against China — that is just wrong. That is another false choice.”
Trump administration will let Iran attend upcoming U.N. General Assembly
The Trump administration will allow an Iranian delegation to attend this year’s United Nations General Assembly with some restrictions, a State Department spokesperson said today.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the U.N. General Assembly in 2024. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images file
The decision grants Iranian leaders visas to travel to New York for the annual meeting of global leaders seven months into the U.S. war with Iran. The meeting begins next week.
The Iranian delegation cleared by the U.S. will also be smaller than the one the country sent last year, the State Department said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be part of the delegation receiving U.S. visas, a source familiar with the decision said.
“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy.”
The U.S. has historically restricted the Iranian delegation’s travel during its visits to U.N. headquarters in New York, but last year the Trump administration began to block the officials’ access to wholesale and luxury stores. It confined their movements to “areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters district to conduct their official UN business.”
“We will not allow the Iranian regime to allow its clerical elites to have a shopping spree in New York while the Iranian people endure poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity,” the State Department said last year.
Last month, an Iranian presidential protocol official said Tehran was still assessing the level and size of its attendance this year, calling the conditions imposed by the U.S. illegal, without elaborating on the complaint.
Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday.
Trump officials discussing possible replacements for Pentagon’s No. 2
Trump administration officials have had discussions in recent weeks with candidates to potentially replace Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions.
Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Getty Images file
The discussions have taken place amid the war with Iran and as Trump privately vents frustrations over Feinberg’s efforts to replenish the Defense Department’s diminishing munitions stockpile. Feinberg also has increasingly been in the spotlight over his professional relationship with a former CIA officer who was arrested after the FBI found $40 million in gold bars funded by U.S. taxpayers at his home.
White House downplays U.N. report that found 'reasonable grounds' the U.S. committed war crimes during Iran school bombing
The White House responded today to a new report from independent investigators appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, which found “reasonable grounds” to believe the U.S. committed war crimes during “indiscriminate attacks” against an Iranian school and a residential area in February.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly blasted the Human Rights Council as having accomplished “nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades.”
Women stand near the destroyed Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab in Iran's Hormozgan province in August. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images
“The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region,” Kelly said in a statement.
The report had said civilians were “caught between intensified repression and violence by their government and renewed armed conflict and insecurity resulting from the hostilities between Iran and the U.S and Israel.”
Trump has denied that the U.S. was responsible for the strike on the school, which killed more than 170 people, most of them children.
Jon Kyl, ‘workhorse’ former U.S. senator of Arizona, dies at 84
Former Sen. Jon Kyl, a longtime Republican lawmaker from Arizona who shaped landmark water policies in the U.S. West and guided the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has died. He was 84.
Aaron P. Bernstein / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
Kyl died last night from a neurological disorder, said Gordon James, a communications professional who is longtime friends with the Kyl family. Kyl had withdrawn from public life in December after he announced he had been diagnosed with dementia.
Protest on the Potomac: Kayakers say 'hands off Kennedy Center'
Andrew Leyden / Getty Images
A judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days’ notice before any demolition or new construction takes place.
Thune says he'd be 'very, very surprised' if the Kennedy Center is demolished
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said today he would be “very, very surprised” if the Kennedy Center were ultimately demolished.
Asked how concerned he is about Trump's threats to tear down the historic arts and culture institution, Thune said: "I hope it’s, you know, designed to get people to come to the table and work something out on everything related to the Kennedy Center, including the name, but you know, I mean, I’d be very, very surprised if that actually happened."
Asked whether Congress would step in if demolition became a possibility, Thune said, “I hope we won’t get to that point.”
Trump said this week that the center could close and “end up being ripped down,” and photos surfaced showing him last night looking at a poster labeled “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.”
Asked about those photos, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said: "For years, Democrats let the Kennedy Center rot, allowing water damage and crumbling infrastructure to turn a national treasure into a building in decay. As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, The Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline.”
Trump takes victory lap on Protect College Sports Act
In a post on Truth Social, Trump celebrated the advancement of the Protect College Sports Act, which cleared a procedural hurdle this week in the Senate — teeing up a final passage vote.
"Great news on NIL, in other words, straightening out the horrible situation taking place with respect to College Sports," he wrote, referring to name, image and likeness deals that let elite student-athletes profit off their prowess. "I want to thank all of the United States Senate for a very Bipartisan Vote. Both Parties know the importance of it."
He added: "This Vote is vital to future Sports in America. I look forward to the Final Vote in the Senate next week and, ultimately, our House of Representatives. Thank you very much to Coach Nick Saban, Randy Levine, of The New York Yankees, and all of the others, especially those involved with Sports, that helped! This issue is polling at 91% — THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA WANT IT DONE."
The legislation, which is backed by the NCAA, aims to set federal guidelines for college sports, including specifications on years of eligibility, compensation and how often college athletes can transfer schools. It was introduced this year by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and advanced on a 74-24 bipartisan vote in the Senate.
Judge denies request for emergency hearing on Kennedy Center, says must be notified if there are plans to demolish it
The judge presiding over the Kennedy Center case rejected a request to hold an emergency hearing on the institution's closure this week and the president's threats the center could be demolished.
In a brief ruling on the court docket, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also denied a request for an order barring the center from being razed, but noted the administration already said in a related case that it would tell the judge “if there is any change in the Board’s plans that would constitute a reversal of the Center’s position that the building will not be demolished and that no new structure will be constructed.”
"To avoid any confusion on that score given more recent events, the Court hereby ORDERS Defendants to provide such notice in writing to Plaintiffs in both cases more than 30 days before the implementation of any changes to the scope of the project plans," the judge wrote, "including but not limited to any 'demolition' of the Center’s main building."
Cooper also asked the administration to file a status report with more details on the “temporary closure” and emergency repairs by Wednesday.
He added he will allow Rep. Joyce Beatty's attorneys to seek more information about Trump's statement last night that the center won't be repaired if he doesn't get "credit" for the restoration and a picture of him reviewing a placard that appeared to read "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED" on Air Force One.
Asked today if Trump plans to demolish the center, the White House released a statement blaming Democrats for letting the institution "rot."
“As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, The Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in the statement.
Beatty's attorneys, Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action and Nathaniel Zelinsky of Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement that they “are grateful Judge Cooper is taking these escalating threats to the Kennedy Center seriously.”
Beatty said in a statement that it is “simply outrageous that we have gotten to the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich blocks Sen. Jon Husted's bill aimed at protecting Americans from rising energy costs due to data centers
On the Senate floor moments ago, Sen. Jon Husted's, R-Ohio, attempt to pass a bill designed to protect Americans from rising energy costs due to data centers was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
Husted’s bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, would require utility companies to charge large-scale data center operators enough money to cover the costs of increased electricity and water use. Its counterpart legislation in the House passed with overwhelming bipartisan support earlier this week.
A data center in Vernon, Calif. Mario Tama / Getty Images file
“The Ratepayer Protection Act represents the most meaningful bipartisan step Congress could take to protect the American people from higher prices for electricity,” Husted said. “We actually care. We heard you. We’re going to get the job done.”
Heinrich objected, saying the bill would not take meaningful enough action to reduce costs and community impacts of data centers.
“It’s not enough for us to tell states to consider making data centers pay for grid updates. Rather than voluntary pledges or suggestions to states, Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth,” he said.
AI and data centers are central to Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown’s campaign against Husted in the Ohio Senate race. Husted previously advocated for data centers when he was Ohio’s lieutenant governor.
Today, Husted vowed that he would “be back” to continue pushing for his legislation.
Trump says there is 'major progress' toward U.S. Army base in Poland
In a post on Truth Social, the president said there is "major progress" toward opening a U.S. Army base in Poland.
"GREAT NEWS! Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland. If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance," he wrote.
A spokesperson for the Polish Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
White House withdraws Trump's nominee for ICE director
The White House withdrew Trump’s nominee to lead ICE, Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer, as of today, according to a notice published by the White House.
Department of Homeland Security
The White House notice did not share a reason for withdrawing the nomination.
NBC News has reached out to ICE for comment. Acting ICE Director David Venturella is expected to remain in that position for the time being, according to an ICE spokesperson.
NBC News previously reported that Schroyer was Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s pick to run the agency. Mullin knew Schroyer from Mullin's time in the Senate representing Oklahoma, and Schroyer was serving as a senior adviser to Mullin when he was tapped to head ICE.
Schroyer has local law enforcement experience in Oklahoma but not specifically with ICE.
Trump announced Schroyer’s nomination in a June Truth Social post, saying, “Lance has firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets and, just like ME and our Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, he LOVES the men and women of ICE.”
The Trump administration's immigration policies and practices have drawn scrutiny, particularly in the wake of widespread deportation efforts and federal agents killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Democrats have demanded ICE reforms, but the Trump administration has defended its practices.
The prior acting ICE director was Todd Lyons, who left the role at the end of May.
Congresswoman seeks court order barring Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center
The ex-officio Kennedy Center board member challenging Trump's handpicked board's decision to close the institution for two years wants a court order barring the center from being demolished.
Rep. Joyce Beatty's request comes after Trump, the board's chairman, said last night that repairs would have to be halted and the center could be torn down if his name is not added to the main building's facade. He was also photographed through a window on Air Force One looking at a placard that appeared to read “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED."
Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
"This — on its own — is deeply concerning," the filing by Beatty's lawyers says. The demolition of the center "would represent a monumental breach of fiduciary duty, a clear violation of the organic statute, and also potentially a violation of criminal law," it said.
In a court filing earlier today, attorneys for the center said it is only being closed for emergency repair work for one week, "unless extended."
Beatty's team expressed heavy skepticism about that claim. The report cited by the center as spurring the emergency repairs is months old, and the center did not mention yesterday's abrupt closure at either a court hearing or board meeting on Tuesday, they said.
"Defendants’ rationale that they are only temporarily closing the Kennedy Center is a plain pretext to justify shutting down the Center permanently," they wrote, noting the move came shortly after Trump said in a post on social media that the center would be closed "immediately."
They said an order barring demolition is necessary because of fears the administration is trying to evade the judge's earlier order barring a shutdown "by fait accompli. This concern looms large in light of Defendants’ demolition of the East Wing of the White House, and evidence showing that President Trump is actively considering demolition of the entire structure."
Greg Werkheiser, a lawyer representing eight architectural and preservationist organizations involved in a separate case against the center, told reporters in a call today that Trump's statements were highly concerning, and the group he represents is weighing asking a judge to appoint a receiver to take over the center.
“The objective here isn’t to have a federal judge run a performing arts center. It is to make sure that there is still a Kennedy Center worth governing when this litigation is over,” Werkheiser said.
Rubio takes behind-the-scenes role on Iran war, while keeping his options open for the future
The talks to end the Iran war had hit a snag.
Vice President JD Vance had flown to Pakistan for negotiations with the Iranians, a sign that the two sides had narrowed their differences and the White House might be poised to announce a breakthrough.
As the marathon April meeting unfolded, though, U.S. negotiators began to worry: It looked like the Iranians were changing the terms of a potential deal. So, during a pause, they phoned Secretary of State Marco Rubio to get a “steer” on what they should do next, an administration official with direct knowledge of the matter said in an interview.
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Canada and E.U. seek ‘middle powers’ alliance to counter Trump threats
Around 3,700 miles separate the Gothic towers of Canada’s Parliament in Ottawa from the glass-fronted modern European Parliament building in eastern France.
But judging by the thunderous applause shaking the E.U. chamber today, Trump’s threats are helping to close that distance.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday. Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP via Getty Images
House passes Russia sanctions bill honoring Sen. Lindsey Graham
The House passed a sweeping sanctions bill yesterday aimed at Russia and named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who spearheaded the legislation before his unexpected death in July. The bill targets Russia’s energy sector by punishing the largest buyers of its oil and gas.
A detained U.S. scholar’s wife asks Trump for help as Xi’s Washington visit nears
More than three months after Min Zin, a U.S. scholar of Myanmar politics, was detained in China, his wife made a direct plea yesterday to Trump, asking him to secure her husband’s freedom when meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week.
Mariam Zuhaib / AP
“Knowing the president’s historic record on bringing wrongfully detained Americans home has reassured me that he will also be able to secure the swift release of Min Zin and other wrongfully detained American citizens,” Sylvia Zin said during a congressional hearing.
Jeffries says Democrats haven’t ruled anything out or in on whether to pursue impeachment against Trump’s Cabinet members
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was asked this morning about whether it might be better for Democrats, if they retake the House, to focus on impeaching Trump Cabinet officials as opposed to the president himself.
"We haven’t ruled anything out when it comes to all of the tools available to us to hold people accountable, and we haven’t ruled anything in," Jeffries told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Nathan Posner / Anadolu via Getty Images
Addressing the potential for impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later this fall due to a resolution from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Jeffries said he's made clear even before the Iran war that he should be fired.
"I called for him to be fired in the spring of 2025. Pete Hegseth should have never been confirmed. This guy is the most unqualified so-called secretary of war in American history," he said.
Jeffries' comments come after a large portion of the House Democratic Caucus this week voted in favor of a resolution from Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to impeach Trump. Sixty-four Democrats, meanwhile, voted with Republicans to kill the measure.
Trump was impeached twice during his first term in the White House — first in 2019 over his pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens as he held up aid to the government and then in 2021 on a charge of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 in a bid to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory. The Senate acquitted him both times.
Kennedy Center lawyers say current closure is temporary
Attorneys for the Kennedy Center say its abrupt closure is only temporary and not related to this week's vote to shutter it for two years — and there's therefore no reason for a judge to hold an emergency hearing on the issue.
"Yesterday morning — separate from any Board decision related to closure for ongoing renovations — Matt Floca, the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, decided to temporarily close the Center due to 'acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration at the Center,'” Justice Department attorney Brantley Meyers wrote in a court filing this morning.
Finn Gomez / Getty Images
Meyers said the closure “will last for seven days, unless extended."
The temporary shutdown is necessary because of a "recent assessment" by an engineering firm that found an "active falling hazard" from its soffit panels — "2,500-pound slabs of concrete hanging 60 feet in the air around the full exterior of the center," his filing said.
Floca also cited concerns about the “structural failure of a five-by-four-foot piece of one-inch-thick ceiling plaster on September 4" amid severe rainstorms, Meyers said.
Lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member, had asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to hold an emergency hearing on the closure, arguing the center's actions violate his ruling in May that the center cannot be shuttered pending further court action.
In a filing last night, Beatty's attorneys noted that gates had been put up around the center, and a staff member on the legal team said in a statement filed in Washington, D.C., federal court that she "saw a forklift carrying what appeared to be a more permanent form of fencing drive over to the north side of the building. I saw the forklift run into and hit the pillars on the building several times."
Cooper has not yet ruled on the request for a hearing.
Trump, who appointed himself to the board last year and then was elected chairman by his handpicked board members, told reporters last night that the memorial to President John F. Kennedy might need to be torn down if his name isn't added to the center and the venue is then closed.
“So for the Trump administration, for me, to get involved and to take that on long term and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition," he said on the tarmac in North Carolina. "Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down."
Stocks and bonds rally after Fed hikes rates and oil prices fall
U.S. stock indexes rose sharply this morning after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in a bid to rein in rising inflation.
In early trading, the S&P 500 soared 1.2% while the Nasdaq composite surged 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 450 points, or 0.9%. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks small and midsize companies, rose 1.5%.
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
The jump in stocks also came alongside a rally in bonds, sending their yields lower, as the price of oil declined for a second straight day. U.S. crude oil briefly fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since Sept. 11, and Brent crude fell to as low as $101 after hitting $109 just two days earlier.
There was also positive economic news in the latest jobless claims report, which showed that filings for unemployment claims declined to the lowest level since July. However, this data could be an outlier because last week was a short holiday week.
First on NBC: Democratic senators request Pentagon provide ‘bare minimum’ on cost of Iran war
Nearly the entire Democratic caucus in the Senate is demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provide Congress with a full accounting of the cost of the Iran war along with related budget requests, as frustration grows that the Pentagon is not being forthcoming about the conflict and its fiscal impact.
Forty-six Democratic senators sent a letter to Hegseth earlier today demanding a detailed breakdown of the cost of military operations against Iran. The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
Shapiro to demand federal regulation of AI industry in speech at Pittsburgh summit
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to double down on his call for federal regulation of AI in a speech this afternoon in Pittsburgh.
“I’ve called on the federal government to step up and regulate the AI industry — just like they do for nearly every other industry that significantly impacts our lives," he's slated to say in a keynote speech at the AI Horizons 2026 Summit, according to excerpts obtained by NBC News.
The governor, a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, is expected to fault House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other members of Congress for being "content to do nothing, instead blaming others for their lack of leadership or saying they don’t have the expertise to act."
Shapiro is expected to criticize Johnson for sending the House home early this week for a recess that will stretch past the midterm elections rather than addressing the warnings of companies on the dangers of accelerating AI development. He's also expected to say the Trump administration needs to focus on the issue.
"It’s time for the Trump Administration to stop alienating our allies, starting wars, and damaging our credibility in the eyes of the world" and "start leading the conversation on how we can mobilize countries around the world to join us in responsibly regulating AI," he's slated to say.
Shapiro is expected to call on Trump to address AI risks during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visits the U.S. next week.
GOP congresswoman condemns Trump's immigration policies in new ad
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., released an advertisement directly criticizing Trump's immigration policy, an unusual break with the president in a district the congresswoman easily won in 2024.
"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far," she said in the ad, pointing to detentions of people without criminal records.
She urged the president to "be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy."
"The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today," she said. "You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism. I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land."
The ad marks a rare instance of a Republican in a red district directly condemning one of the president's most prominent policies of his second term. Trump's immigration policies have sparked outrage among Democrats, but it was relatively uncommon for Republicans to break with the president so publicly and explicitly.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment on the ad.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "Whether Congresswoman Salazar likes it or not, the men and women of ICE are enforcing the laws passed by Congress. To be clear: the only thing America should be giving illegal aliens is a one-way ticket home, or a generous $3,000 check for them to self-deport immediately. We will not ignore the rule of law.”
Salazar won her district in 2024 by about 20 points. Her district voted for Trump by about 15 points, according to The Downballot, which details presidential election margins by current congressional district lines.
Kennedy to give speech to anti-vaccine group he founded after distancing himself for years
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have a homecoming of sorts today when he delivers the keynote address at a conference hosted by an anti-vaccine group he co-founded a decade ago.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 10. Smiley N. Pool / The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images file
Kennedy took a leave of absence in 2023 from his role as chairman of Children’s Health Defense to run for president, then formally resigned the next year, after Trump tapped him to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Today’s speech marks the first time Kennedy has been publicly associated with the organization since then.
ICE agent charged with assault, jailed in Minnesota
A federal immigration officer wanted on assault charges for shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis was arrested there yesterday, eight months after a confrontation that became a flashpoint over Trump’s deportation sweeps.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro was taken into custody by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in downtown Minneapolis and was booked into the Hennepin County jail on his outstanding arrest warrant, the agency said.
Karl Rove says he will vote for a Texas Democrat after candidate Bo French's racist post
Karl Rove, a top administration official in then-President George W. Bush's administration, said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he would vote for a Democrat in Texas for just the second time in his life.
Rove announced he would vote against Bo French, a GOP candidate for Texas railroad commissioner, an office that regulates the state's oil and gas industry. Instead, Rove said he would support French's opponent Jon Rosenthal, pointing to French's racist post targeting students at the University of Texas and calling it "raw, uncut bigotry."
French had posted a picture of nonwhite students celebrating the school's football victory, writing, “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” Many of the students in the picture appeared to be of South Asian descent. The post went viral, and several Republicans condemned French and called on him to delete the post.
In the op-ed, Rove detailed other times French made "bigoted comments" and warned about the direction of the Republican Party.
"The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches—and not only in Texas," Rove wrote. "Conservatism and the party it dominates have an increasing number of bigoted advocates of a 'heritage America' composed of white descendants of the original European settlers. There are 'just asking questions' Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won’t differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots."
Rove continued, saying, "These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it," adding that he would "have no part of it."
"The GOP’s stables need a cleaning. This is a good place to start," Rove said, referring to the railroad commissioner race.
Two students self-identified themselves to NBC News as being in the picture posted by French. One of the students expressed concerns over French potentially being elected into a position of power.
"Whenever a person in a position of power is saying this, it makes it seem like it’s OK to say," the student, Rahul Kodali, said.
Texas' U.S. senators, both Republicans, also condemned French's post, with Sen. John Cornyn saying in a post to X, "We should all condemn this bigotry directed at our fellow Texans or we will soon find ourselves a minority party."
What does the interest rate hike mean for American consumers?
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 yesterday in a move aimed at slowing inflation. NBC News’ Brian Cheung joins "TODAY" to break down how the 0.25% hike will affect credit cards, mortgages, and the cost of food and gas.
U.N. mission finds grounds to believe U.S. committed war crimes in Iran
Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab.
The international fact-finding mission on Iran says the findings center on a pair of airstrikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children.
Trump bashes Democrats on crime while campaigning for Michael Whatley in North Carolina
Trump leaned heavily into law and order as he worked to build support for the Republican candidate in a North Carolina race that could decide which party controls the Senate for the back half of his second term.
Speaking at an airport rally last night, Trump said Democrats coddle criminals, peppering his hourlong speech with graphic details of violent crimes that he said are an outgrowth of Democratic policies.
Poll: Most Americans think AI is doing more harm than good in schools
Most American adults think artificial intelligence is going to do more harm than good in education, according to this month’s NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
A majority of Americans say schools that prohibit the use of AI better prepare students for the future. Andrea Ellen Reed for NBC News
And a growing share of U.S. adults believe schools that shun the technology will better help students grow than schools that embrace it.
First to NBC News: AOC endorses Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota Senate race
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is endorsing Democrat Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota’s Senate race.
Flanagan, the state’s lieutenant governor, is facing former sportscaster Michele Tafoya in November in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith.
“In a time of deep economic instability for working families, we must look to leaders that understand their pain and who are steadfast in their commitment to fight the rampant greed causing it. That is why I am proud to endorse Lt. Gov. of Minnesota Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement provided first to NBC News.
Ocasio-Cortez has thrown her support behind a handful of progressive candidates this cycle as she positions herself for a potential run for president or Senate in 2028.
Flanagan has also been endorsed by a handful of other prominent progressives, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. Ilhan Omar, Maxwell Frost and Pramila Jayapal.
