Live updates: Trump announces science and tech awards during innovation summit
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Candidates running for Senate in Michigan, Georgia and Maine will face off in debates tonight as they enter the final weeks of campaigning ahead of the November elections.
What to know today
- TRUMP'S SCIENCE SUMMIT: President Donald Trump delivered remarks at a scientific innovation summit today at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which major tech leaders are attending.
- SENATE DEBATES: Candidates running for Senate in Michigan, Georgia and Maine will face off in debates tonight as they enter the final weeks of campaigning ahead of the November elections.
- VISAS SUSPENSION: Trump’s administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using H-1B visas as it accuses the company of fraud.
- LATINO VOTERS POLL: Latino voters are deeply unhappy with Trump’s approach to border security and immigration, and many of them detail the personal impact of his administration’s enforcement efforts in the latest NBC News/Telemundo poll.
Witkoff, Kushner to meet Friday with Ukrainian officials
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Ukrainian officials Friday amid a deadlock in negotiations to end the Russian war on Ukraine, a senior U.S. administration official, a European official and two sources familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
The Ukrainian delegation will include the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov and the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, one source familiar with the matter said.
The discussions will center on “a new, unified proposal that is focused on all aspects of the conflict to try to end the war,” a senior administration official said. The senior administration official, European official and source familiar with the matter said the U.S. and Ukrainian officials will be joined by national security advisors from the E3 countries, as well as the European Union and NATO.
Zelenksyy confirmed his delegation’s travel to the U.S. in a conversation with reporters including NBC’s freelance journalist in Ukraine, Ostap Hunkevych.
“We do see, on the part of the United States of America, an intensification of talks and meetings,” Zelenskky said. “I myself have spoken with the American side three times in recent days, and I hope for a good result from our negotiators’ meeting."
Recent efforts to broker a ceasefire on energy infrastructure have resulted in little progress, and attacks by both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea have only increased hampering the shipment of grain from the region ahead of winter.
Secretary Marco Rubio warned Thursday that stalemates are “very dangerous,” either ending in either a negotiated settlement or escalation, which in this case could mean a sabotage campaign on neighboring NATO countries.
“I hope that the risk of escalation is one of the things that will bring both sides to the table and willing to negotiate a settlement to this war,” Rubio said during a press conference in Lisbon, Portugal. “In the end, we do not believe that there is a military solution to this conflict, to this war, we think this war needs to end in a negotiated settlement. The sooner, the better. The United States stands ready to facilitate that.”
MAHA loyalists accuse Trump administration of ‘broken promises’
Some supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement have begun to publicly turn against their leader, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Trump administration as a whole as they demand tougher crackdowns on food dyes and pesticides.
A scorecard released today by MAHA activists, including former members of Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign, claims the Trump administration broke more than 85% of its promises to MAHA on food, agriculture and environmental health. The makers of the scorecard include Dave Murphy, a former fundraiser for Kennedy’s campaign, and Charles Eisenstein, Kennedy’s former chief speechwriter.
Justice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson
The Justice Department is seeking to indict former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified before the Jan. 6 committee, on a charge of lying to Congress, a person familiar with the effort told NBC News.
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., would have to agree to indict Hutchinson, who was a White House aide during Trump’s first term and a key witness in the Jan. 6 committee investigation.
The grand jury has heard evidence, but the case has not yet been presented for indictment, the person said.
Cassidy Hutchinson. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., in 2024 accused Hutchinson of providing false testimony, and Republicans issued a 2024 report that said other White House employees didn’t corroborate Hutchinson’s testimony. Congressional Republicans referred Hutchinson to the Justice Department for investigation earlier this year and accused her of lying when she said Trump was aware of the potential for violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol and beat and bloodied law enforcement officers.
She has consistently maintained that she provided truthful testimony to Congress. Neither Hutchinson nor her lawyers responded to multiple requests for comment.
Trump announces national awards for science and technology
Trump announced new award winners this afternoon of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
The president said he was awarding the National Medal of Science to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk; Google co-founder and former Alphabet Inc. President Sergey Brin; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; and Lisa Su, president and CEO of semiconductor company AMD. The medal is the award the U.S. gives to scientists and engineers.
From left, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and former Alphabet President Sergey Brin with Trump. Win McNamee / Getty Images
Trump awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Dell founder Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The medal is given to American innovators and inventors.
The president noted that his uncle, John G. Trump, received the National Medal of Science in 1983 from President Ronald Reagan for his introduction of new machines and methods for his achievements in the production and use of radiation in medical and industrial applications.
Judge temporarily extends block on CNN, Politico, MS NOW White House ban
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., extended his order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds until Tuesday.
The temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly had been set to expire at midnight tonight.
Kelly said he was extending the order at a hearing today where the media organizations asked him to issue a lengthier order keeping the block in place while the case makes it way through the courts.
A DOJ lawyer representing the White House, Michael Velchik, asked Kelly to lift his restrictions, calling the White House a “sacred place.” He argued the administration does not have to give individuals access just because they “identify as a reporter.”
The attorney for the media organizations, Ted Boutros, argued that the administration was engaging in impermissible and unconstitutional "viewpoint discrimination" because the president doesn't like the outlets' reporting.
Trump announced the ban in a post last month on Truth Social, saying it was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
The DOJ later said the ban was due in part to "national security" concerns. Boutros said that position is belied by Trump's continued comments about the ban, including in a Time interview last week where he complained, "I haven’t had a good story on CNN for years."
Boutros called Trump's remarks “a confession of what amounts to viewpoint discrimination.” Velchik told the judge, “We’ve never argued that it is solely and only national security.”
Kelly said he expects to issue a ruling by Tuesday.
Trump to hold midterm rally in Alaska on Tuesday
Trump will hold a midterm election rally in Alaska next Tuesday, according to an advisory from the Republican National Committee.
The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. local time in Wasilla, the fourth-largest city in the state and where 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin once served as mayor.
Trump's visit to Alaska comes as GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan faces a tough re-election race, which is considered a toss-up. On the general election ballot, he faces former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, and Republicans Dan J. Sullivan and Gerald Heikes, as Alaska's elections are determined by ranked choice voting. Peltola is considered the Republican incumbent's most competitive challenger.
Vance held a rally in Fairbanks on Monday, urging voters to support Sen. Sullivan.
The president has been making a string of visits to campaign for Republican candidates in battleground and solidly red states with less than a month remaining until Election Day on Nov. 3.
DOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies
A team of Justice Department lawyers is now dedicated to aggressive legal action against states, cities or private entities that resist Trump’s policies on immigration.
Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty
Department leaders say they have learned lessons from the first Trump presidency, when only about two dozen federal lawsuits were filed by the DOJ challenging so-called sanctuary policies.
They have reorganized, and now have a group of lawyers within the Civil Division who are solely performing affirmative work on immigration. So far this year, at least 50 lawsuits have already been filed.
U.S. will pause attacks on Iran leading up to midterms
Trump announced in a Truth Social post that the U.S. “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections” next month.
Trump said that the naval blockade will remain in effect until the midterms, adding that the U.S. is having “productive discussions” with Iran.
Trump also reiterated that oil is passing through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that 22 million barrels traveled through the strait "last night alone."
Trump had previously discussed the option of launching large-scale military operations in Iran before the midterms with his national security team, according to a U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the discussions.
Top White House official made at least $1 million last year from Trump's social media business
A top White House official and longtime Trump loyalist reported a financial windfall tied to the president’s social media business.
Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff for communications, reported between $1 million and $5 million in capital gains in 2025 from shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, according to a newly released federal financial disclosure.
Scavino, who has overseen Trump’s social media presence for years, also reported holding between $1 million and $5 million in company stock. Due to federal requirements, investments and gains are reported only in broad ranges.
The disclosure was filed last month and made public this week by the Office of Government Ethics.
Dan Scavino at a campaign rally in 2024. Michael M. Santiago / Getty
White House counsel Will Scharf said in a statement that his office provides ethics guidance to appointees and works to ensure compliance with federal law.
"In this case, we believe Dan Scavino complied with those requirements and have no further concerns," Scharf said.
A White House official said career ethics officials at the Office of Government Ethics reviewed and certified Scavino’s financial disclosure report. Scavino owned all of these stocks prior to joining the government and has not purchased the stocks since coming into the government, the official said.
Senate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts
A swath of Senate candidates across blue and red states are campaigning on raising Social Security taxes on higher incomes to prevent a benefit cut from taking effect in less than six years.
Currently, Americans are taxed on earnings up to $184,500 to fund Social Security. These candidates, most of them Democrats, are calling for lifting that cap in order to boost revenues, ahead of a fast-approaching 2032 deadline for insolvency.
Microsoft is being suspended from program to apply for green cards for skilled foreign workers, Vance says
The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using an H-1B visa as it accuses the company of fraud.
“If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants,” said Vice President JD Vance in a White House news conference announcing the decision.
The H-1B program has long been a target of Trump supporters who say that the program undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse.
H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India.
Vance defends Trump's assertion that the administration deserves an 'A+' on the economy
Vice President JD Vance defended the president's comments from last week that the administration should get an "A+" grade on the economy.
Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty
Last week, Trump told reporters, "I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything."
Asked today by a reporter why the administration deserves an A+ on the economy, Vance argued that the Trump administration inherited inflation from the Biden administration. He also said that the U.S. is seeing a manufacturing and factory construction "boom."
He acknowledged, though, that it takes time for companies to build new factories.
"You’re already seeing great benefits, but we’re going to see a lot more benefits come in the months and years ahead," he said, arguing that the president was reversing "economic and industrial stagnation."
"And the final point on that is one of the reasons why I think we deserve an A+ from the American worker is because we’re finally cutting down on the fraud that’s depriving them of good wages and good jobs," he added.
Gas and diesel prices have climbed since the war with Iran began, and polling indicates that Americans largely do not approve of the president's handling of the economy.
Oil prices hit $105 and stocks tumble as Trump considers renewed strikes on Iran
The price of oil jumped sharply this morning as Trump weighs whether to resume large-scale U.S. military operations against Iran in the coming weeks.
Brent crude oil rose more than 5% to more than $105 per barrel in early trading, while U.S. crude oil rose almost 5% to nearly $93 per barrel. Benchmark diesel futures jumped 4.5% in European trading. Heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel, rose more than 4%.
The move higher in oil prices also pushed up bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield, which heavily influences consumer borrowing rates, jumped to 5.35%. That level effectively reversed a drop in yields seen late yesterday. The yield on every other Treasury bond also rose.
U.S. stock futures dropped in response. S&P 500 futures fell 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.8%. Futures for the Russell 2000, which tracks small and medium-sized companies, fell 1%.
No decisions have yet been made about resuming combat operations in Iran, people familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
But with the midterm elections less than a month out and early voting underway, any substantial action by the Trump White House in the coming weeks would be likely to have at least some impact on voter attitudes.
Trump says Ken Paxton is 'ready, willing, and able' to debate James Talarico
Trump last night called on Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico to debate his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, claiming the Democrat has been "missing in action" despite Talarico's repeated calls for Paxton to debate him.
"He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able, one of the best Attorney Generals in the Country, and will soon be, hopefully, a United States Senator representing the Great People of Texas!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Paxton and Trump in San Antonio last night. San Antonio Express-News via Getty
Talarico has challenged Paxton to multiple debates, but Paxton has declined or allowed the deadlines to pass.
After Trump's post, Talarico said he agreed with the president.
"President Trump just said Ken Paxton should debate," Talarico said in a post to X. "I agree. Ball’s in your court @KenPaxtonTX."
Paxton's campaign did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
While Texas has been a solidly red state, the Senate race has emerged as a top battleground. Trump traveled to San Antonio yesterday to rally for Paxton and House candidate Carlos De La Cruz. The president had endorsed Paxton in the primary over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.
Trump's brokerage accounts traded stocks and bonds hundreds of times in August, new filing shows
Trump’s brokerage accounts continued trading stocks at a rapid pace in August, a new filing released today by the Office of Government Ethics shows.
An NBC News review of the document shows more than 500 purchases and sales of both corporate stocks and some bonds. One purchase stood above the rest, though: A $5,000,001 to $25,000,000 purchase of Meta Platforms shares on Aug. 21.
There were also other large sales in the $1 million to $5 million bracket, including shares of AT&T, ConocoPhillips, Abbott Labs, Netflix and Chevron. The filing also shows sales in bond and gold ETFs as well as shares of chipmaker AMD. Due to reporting requirements, the transactions are reported only in a broad range, so it is not possible to determine the exact value of each buy or sale.
Throughout the year, periodic filings have pulled back the curtain about the enormous number of stock trades and wealth that the president has accumulated since taking office again in 2025.
“Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest,” a White House spokesperson told NBC News in June, when asked about his trading activity. A report from The Wall Street Journal in July said that Trump set up his brokerage accounts with Charles Schwab to trade on an automated basis.
Democratic midterm candidates begin rolling out Obama endorsement videos
At least five Democratic candidates for governor and Senate have released videos over the last day featuring endorsements from former President Barack Obama.
Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, and two Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and David Crowley in Wisconsin — rolled out the endorsement videos this morning. Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee in New Mexico’s governor race, and Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in Georgia, both released videos yesterday.
All five videos feature Obama speaking directly to the camera about his support for the candidates.
The former president cut videos for 24 Democratic Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, The Associated Press reported this week, with a staggered rollout kicking off this week.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to campaign with Abdul El-Sayed ahead of tonight's Senate debate
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will attend a lunch meet-and-greet here this afternoon for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The joint appearance is scheduled for hours before El-Sayed takes the stage to debate Republican Mike Rogers. And it's significant, given that Whitmer and El-Sayed have a complicated political history. El-Sayed ran against her in the 2018 primary for governor, and Whitmer endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens over him in this year's Senate primary.
Whitmer is term-limited as governor, but she remains popular, according to polls. She is seen as a potential candidate for president in 2028.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty
What to expect at today's White House media access hearing
Lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico will be in court this morning as they urge a judge to issue a longer-term injunction that will allow for their continued access to White House grounds.
In filings over the past two weeks, the news organizations have argued the White House’s reasoning for the ban has changed since it was announced by Trump last month.
“Defendants have sought to justify the President’s 'ban on the free press' with a series of shifting rationales, lurching from unarticulated standards of professionalism to nebulous and pretextual concerns about protecting national security,” attorney Ted Boutrous Jr. wrote in a filing.
The Trump administration has argued in legal filings that access to the White House is a “privilege, not a right” and that offering the news organizations an opportunity to provide reasoning for why the White House should allow them access to the complex satisfies the news organizations’ Fifth Amendment right to due process, even though the offer came after the administration first banned the news organizations.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order that restored the news organizations’ access to the White House, which expires tonight. The news organizations are asking for a longer-term injunction while the case proceeds.
Trump administration deal with Nevada adds fuel to the fight over data centers in governor’s race
Data centers have become a key issue in Nevada’s close governor’s race, with both candidates calling for restrictions on development.
As in a number of other races, the partisan lines aren’t clearly defined, and the candidates’ positions are evolving. Both Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, are trying to capitalize as the public increasingly sours on data centers — and the candidates who back them.
Trump says ‘we protect our cities’ after saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego
After having faced fierce backlash, Trump yesterday sought to clean up incendiary comments he made earlier this week, when he said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego.
Trump’s original remarks, made at a campaign rally in Nebraska, seemed to refer to what would happen if Iran had a nuclear weapon.
“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said Monday to cheers from the crowd.
He recast those remarks last night at a rally in San Antonio as he tried to explain the Iran war, saying he had “no choice” if the U.S. were to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump to participate in 'A New Golden Age Summit'
Trump will award the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk and other technology leaders today at a science and technology event dubbed "A New Golden Age Summit" at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
The president will also award the medal to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, among others, according to a White House official.
"The Trump Administration is grateful for the contributions of these incredible leaders in science and technology," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement. "These recipients are helping ensure America keeps leading the world in innovation."
A White House official said the summit is inspired by a report submitted by Michael Kratsios, who leads the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, which the official said marked a "comprehensive rethinking of the U.S. science and technology enterprise."
The summit will "bring together leading scientists and innovators to examine" how science and technology are changing and how to "position the United States to lead the SI-driven scientific revolution," the official said. Trump has dubbed "artificial intelligence" as "super intelligence," or SI.
Kratsios said in a post to X that the event would also be attended by NASA head Jared Isaacman and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, as well as science and technology leaders such as John Martinis, who won a Nobel Prize in physics, and Patrick Collison, the CEO of Stripe, a financial infrastructure company.
Poll: Latino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact
Latino voters are deeply unhappy with Trump’s approach to border security and immigration, and many of them detail the personal impact of his administration’s enforcement efforts in the latest NBC News/Telemundo poll.
While nationally just 6% of Latino registered voters say immigration and border security are the most important issues facing the country, amid a focus on the high cost of living, these issues can still energize Latino voters.
Senate candidates in Michigan, Maine and Georgia to debate
Senate candidates in Michigan, Maine and Georgia will hold debates tonight as they enter the final weeks of campaigning ahead of the midterm elections.
All are considered key battleground races that will help determine party control of the chamber.
The candidates in Michigan, Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, are holding the first of two debates. The competitive race has attracted high-profile surrogates, with Trump rallying with Rogers and former President Barack Obama planning to campaign this month with El-Sayed, who also has the backing of progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Also tonight, Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson will hold their second debate in the Maine Senate race. They participated in a debate on Tuesday, where they focused on issues including Collins' voting on Trump's policies, the cost of living and abortion.
In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, faces off in a debate against Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, in what is also the first of two debates. The second debate will be held next week.
