TikTok deal expected to get Trump's sign-off tomorrow
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The agreement would facilitate the sale of TikTok from a Chinese-based company to a group of U.S. investors, two senior White House officials told NBC News today.
What to know today
- TIKTOK DEAL: President Donald Trump is expected to sign a deal tomorrow facilitating the sale of China-based TikTok to a group of U.S. investors, according to two senior White House officials.
- TYLENOL ADVICE: Vice President JD Vance said women should "follow" their doctors' advice on taking Tylenol during pregnancy. Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made unsubstantiated claims linking the drug to autism this week.
- PLACING BLAME: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blamed Trump and congressional Republicans in a statement for the possibility that the government could shut down next week without a bipartisan spending agreement.
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White House lays groundwork for mass government firings if there’s a shutdown
The White House is raising the stakes of a potential government shutdown by drafting a request for federal agencies to prepare “reduction in force” plans in case Congress doesn’t pass a spending bill before Oct. 1.
In a memo from the Office of Management and Budget, obtained by NBC News tonight, the Trump administration indicated it’s prepared to go beyond the traditional furloughing of some government employees during a shutdown and fire federal employees.
“With respect to those Federal programs whose funding would lapse and which are otherwise unfunded, such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out,” the memo says. “RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation.”
The memo, first reported by Politico, points to job losses for certain federal employees if the government shuts down next week.
Statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands is removed from the National Mall
U.S. Park Police said today they’ve removed statues from the National Mall that depicted Trump and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein holding hands and skipping.
The artwork, titled “Best Friends Forever,” was installed near the Capitol yesterday morning and quickly became a tourist attraction.
“In honor of friendship month, we celebrate the long-standing bond between President Donald J. Trump and his closest friend Jeffrey Epstein,” a plaque between the two statues read.
Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine changes, while his actions so far remain the same
Trump is suddenly bullish when it comes to Ukraine’s chances of repelling Russia’s invasion and regaining all its territory, yet the shift in rhetoric means little unless he is prepared to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, diplomats and foreign officials say.
Thus far, Trump hasn’t taken those essential steps, they added.
Trump’s social media post yesterday upended the conventional thinking about his view of the war, now in its fourth year. In February, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he didn’t have the “cards” in a peace negotiation and that his country was in “big trouble.”
Now, Trump says that Russia is the one that is in “big economic trouble” and that its failure to swiftly conquer its smaller neighbor has revealed it to be a “paper tiger.”
Trump says U.N. escalator incident was 'absolutely sabotage'
Trump wrote this evening on Truth Social that he had faced "sabotage" yesterday when an escalator at the United Nations "stopped on a dime" when he and first lady Melania Trump stepped onto it.
"It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster. This was absolutely sabotage," Trump wrote. “The people that did it should be arrested!"
U.N. secretary-general spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a note to reporters yesterday that a White House videographer may have "inadvertently triggered" a built-in safety mechanism at the top of the escalator.
Trump, who referred to the escalator's malfunctioning yesterday in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, used tonight's Truth Social post to highlight reporting in The Sunday Times that said "UN staff members have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview yesterday that the incident "doesn’t look like a coincidence to me."
“I know that we have people, including the United States Secret Service, who are looking into this to try to get to the bottom of it,” Leavitt she told host Jesse Watters.
A Secret Service official confirmed that the agency is looking into the incident, saying "we're working just to corroborate" the U.N.'s statement.
Vance says pregnant women should ‘follow your doctor’ when it comes to Tylenol
Vance said today that pregnant women should follow physicians' advice in deciding whether or not to take Tylenol, striking a different tone after Trump strongly discouraged its use.
“What I took from the president’s announcement and also the CDC’s recommendations here is we just have to be careful,” Vance said in a NewsNation interview. “We know that some of these medications have side effects. We know that even despite those side effects, sometimes they’re necessary. So my guidance to pregnant women would be very simple, which is: Follow your doctor.”
“Ultimately, whether you should take something is very context-specific, and that’s why I think you should lean on your doctor,” he added.
Trump on Monday advised pregnant women against using Tylenol, which contains the active ingredient acetaminophen, citing unproven claims about the painkiller’s being linked to autism in children. He made the remarks at a White House press event alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Justice Department weighing whether to charge former FBI Director James Comey, sources say
The Justice Department is weighing whether to charge former FBI Director James Comey with lying to Congress, two Justice Department officials and a person familiar with the matter told NBC News today.
“There are still internal matters being sorted out,” one of the officials said.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on any matters relating to Comey.
Trump posted on social media Saturday that Attorney General Pam Bondi should take action against Comey and two of his other political foes: Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump assures Arab leaders he won't let Israel annex the West Bank
Trump promised Arab leaders at a meeting in New York yesterday that he will not let Israel annex the West Bank, according to two sources who were in the room.
Politico first reported Trump's remarks.
Two powerful right-wing coalition members in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have advocated for annexing the West Bank, and observers expect an announcement from Netanyahu about the issue when he addresses the United Nations on Friday.
Leaders of the United Arab Emirates have said that annexing the West Bank would cross a red line and that it could undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE.
Trump’s promise to the Arab leaders was the first time his administration has declared a position on the issue.
Palestinians argue that the West Bank is the only viable territory where they could establish a state. Israel has already taken preliminary steps to make a future state impossible by voting to build an Israeli settlement in a key area of the West Bank, effectively separating major Palestinian cities in the south from Ramallah in the north.
Vance says FCC chair was 'making a joke' about Kimmel
Vance said today that Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr was "making a joke" about taking action against Jimmy Kimmel's show and that the Trump administration has made "zero" moves to keep him off the air, despite remarks to the contrary from Carr and Trump.
Vance was asked at an event in North Carolina how the the federal government's conduct aligned with previous remarks he has made about the importance of free speech. "I’m pretty sure Jimmy Kimmel was back on the air last night," Vance said, saying Carr had just been "making a joke on social media."
Carr told podcaster Benny Johnson last week that Kimmel had engaged in "the sickest conduct possible" with a remark about Charlie Kirk's assassin and that this “is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney.”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
He then suggested ABC affiliates could face fines or have their federal broadcast licenses revoked if they continued airing Kimmel's show. He tried to walk back the remarks days later.
Trump had praised Carr's actions, and he also lauded ABC when it announced it was temporarily taking Kimmel's show off the air. When the network said it was returning him to its airwaves, Trump took to social media to call Kimmel's show an arm of the Democratic Party and a "major illegal campaign contribution."
"I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do," he wrote.
Obama on Trump's Tylenol claims: 'Violence against the truth'
Former President Barack Obama said at an event in North Carolina that Trump's linking use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism was "violence against public health."
"The degree to which that can do harm to women who are pregnant," he told historian David Olusoga. "The degree to which that creates anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic, which, by the way, itself, is subject to a spectrum."
"All of that is violence against the truth. And that’s why, by the way, it is important for those who believe in the truth and believe in science to also examine truth when it is inconvenient for us," Obama added.
Progressive group launches pressure campaign against TV station owners who refused to air Kimmel
A progressive advocacy group is launching a pressure campaign focused on two major TV station owners who are refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show amid criticism of his on-air comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In plans first reported by NBC News, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is calling on people to "voice their frustration" to broadcast channels owned by Nexstar and Sinclair, including stations in Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; Seattle; and Washington, D.C.
Kimmel’s late-night talk show returned yesterday after he was suspended for what Disney, the owner of ABC, characterized as “ill-timed and thus insensitive” remarks about the killing of Kirk, a prominent conservative activist. However, Nexstar and Sinclair have said they will continue to keep the show off their airwaves until further notice.
"We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company, with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve," Nexstar said in a news release today.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee said the Nexstar and Sinclair blackouts are "an extension of Donald Trump's attack on free speech in America."
"As long as Sinclair and Nexstar affiliates continue to act like state-controlled media, free speech is under attack and this fight isn’t over," said Sydney Register, a spokesperson for the committee.
"Jimmy Kimmel directly called out ABC affiliates owned by the right-wing Nexstar and Sinclair corporations in specific cities," Register added, "and we are giving the public in those areas the tools to pressure these parent companies to put Kimmel on the air and stop attacking free speech."
Nexstar and Sinclair representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump presents 21-point plan for Mideast peace to regional leaders
Trump has presented his plan for peace in the Middle East to leaders in the region, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said today at a conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Witkoff added that they expected a breakthrough in the coming days.
“We had a very productive session,” Witkoff said at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York of the meeting with leaders from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia.
“We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Mideast, in Gaza,” he said. “I think it addresses Israeli concerns, as well as the concerns of all the neighbors in the region. And we’re hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with the Gulf foreign ministers today.
“We understand very clearly that the situation in Gaza, the situation with Israel and Gaza, is a key concern for everyone in this room here today,” Rubio told them. “We want this conflict to end. We want it to end immediately.”
The White House declined to elaborate on what the 21-point plan specifically includes.
Along West Wing colonnade, Trump displays presidential portraits except Biden's, with an autopen photo in his place
The Trump White House has put presidential portrait photos on display along the West Wing colonnade, and instead of showing former President Joe Biden, it shows a photo of an autopen with his signature.
Trump appears twice, on each side of the Biden picture, as the 45th and 47th presidents.
The long line of gold frames is visible from the West Wing, as well as the recently renovated Rose Garden. Trump is expected to host a dinner there tonight, per his schedule.
A White House official confirmed that all the presidents would be represented in the new display but did not elaborate on the decision-making for Biden’s artwork. Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden's use of the autopen and has even called for investigations into it.
Biden’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
London mayor calls Trump ‘racist, sexist and Islamophobic’
The mayor of London today labeled Trump “racist, sexist and Islamophobic” after the president used a United Nations General Assembly address to call him a “terrible mayor” and falsely claim the city wanted to be governed by Islamic law.
“I think Donald Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he’s Islamophobic,” Sadiq Khan told reporters today.
The pair have traded many barbed comments since Khan was elected to lead London in 2016 — Khan strongly criticized the president the same year for pledging a travel ban on a number of majority-Muslim countries, which was enacted in 2017. Trump called the Londoner and former member of Parliament “a nasty person” in a July news conference.
Newsom says Kirk rallied young men when Democrats were 'nowhere to be found'
During a discussion with former President Bill Clinton at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke about his efforts to improve outreach and social services for young men and boys, praising the late Charlie Kirk's work in this space.
Newsom invoked the phrase, "Open hand, not a closed fist," telling attendees he "got a lot of closed fists" when he featured Kirk on the first episode of his podcast earlier this year.
Kirk and the conservative activist Steve Bannon "have weaponized this grievance, and electorally they achieved remarkable results," Newsom said.
"Charle Kirk’s ability, what he was able to achieve in terms of organizing the campuses, engaging these young men, addressing their grievances, giving them some sense of hope that someone cared, that they mattered, that they were seen," the California governor added before lamenting that no one in his party did the same. “He was able to produce and organize around that in a deeply meaningful way, and the Democratic Party was nowhere to be found on the issue.”
Trump tells allies their countries are ‘going to hell’
At the United Nations, Trump shifted his stance on the war in Ukraine, saying in a social media post that, with European support, it can “win all of Ukraine back in its original form.” In his speech at the U.N., he also accused world leaders of failing to crack down on immigration. “I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell,” he said. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."
Former President Clinton decries political violence and promotes need for free speech
Former President Bill Clinton today said he was "disturbed" by the recent rise in acts of political violence, specifically mentioning the fatal shootings of conservative activist Charlie Kirk this month and Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband earlier this year.
Clinton said that political violence in the U.S. is "the product of our disagreements in America becoming so deep," that people want not only to win elections, but dominate their opponents "at any cost."
In remarks to attendees of the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York, the former president also said he was worried that the weight of government is being used to suppress free speech and free expression in journalism, comedy and elsewhere — an apparent reference to Trump and his administration's attacks on news organizations and television networks over their coverage.
Clinton joked, "Look, no politician likes the press on bad days,” but he added that a tough press corps "makes our ideas stronger and our politics better."
"If the coverage is unfair and inaccurate, we can stand up and do that and point it out … without trying to put people who are doing their jobs under the Constitution out of business," he said.
Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE
Hundreds of federal employees who lost their jobs in Elon Musk’s cost-cutting blitz are being asked to return to work.
The General Services Administration has given the employees — who managed government workspaces — until the end of the week to accept or decline reinstatement, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Those who accept must report for duty Oct. 6 after what amounts to a seven-month paid vacation, during which time the GSA in some cases racked up high costs — passed along to taxpayers — to stay in dozens of properties whose leases it had slated for termination or were allowed to expire.
“Ultimately, the outcome was the agency was left broken and understaffed,” said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official. “They didn’t have the people they needed to carry out basic functions.”
U.S. in talks to provide Argentina $20B in support, Bessent says
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. is in talks with Argentina's government to provide $20 billion of support through currency swap lines, which would essentially allow President Javier Milei's government to swap Argentine pesos for U.S. dollars to help support its economy.
Argentina's markets have been in "panic mode," even by Milei's own telling, after a poor showing by his party in a recent election in Buenos Aires. That has raised some worries about how strong the government could be after October's midterm elections. A weak showing could bring Milei's market-friendly reforms to an end.
Trump said yesterday after meeting Milei that "we're going to help them" but added, "I don't think they need a bailout."
Vance to deliver remarks in North Carolina
Vice President JD Vance is traveling to North Carolina today, where he will deliver remarks in Concord on the Republican tax and spending bill passed in July and the administration's “commitment to empowering state and local law enforcement,” per a release from his office.
Prior to that, he will headline an RNC fundraiser in Lexington, North Carolina.
House and Senate Democratic leaders say Trump and 'sycophants' in Congress are risking a government shutdown
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are placing blame on Trump and congressional Republicans for the possibility that the government could shut down next week absent a bipartisan spending agreement.
Trump abruptly canceled a meeting with the Democratic leaders that was planned for tomorrow, writing in social media post yesterday that the meeting would not be productive because of their "unserious and ridiculous demands."
Schumer and Jeffries said in a statement today that Trump had thrown "an unhinged temper tantrum."
“With only six days until government funding lapses, Donald Trump and the GOP continue to march this country toward a painful Republican shutdown, while exacerbating the healthcare crisis that they have unleashed in America," they wrote.
Democrats are open to negotiating an agreement with the GOP that "protects the healthcare of the American people and improves their quality of life," they wrote.
"By refusing to so much as meet with Democrats, Donald Trump and Republicans are barreling the country toward a painful government shutdown," they wrote. "The American people will hold President Trump and Republican sycophants in Congress responsible.”
Theo Von tells DHS to 'keep me out' of its deportation videos
Comedian and podcaster Theo Von, who is popular with young men, called on the Department of Homeland Security to take down a video that included a clip of him.
"Heard you got deported, dude," Von says in the DHS video. "Bye."
Von reacted to the video in a post on X, saying, "Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this."
"I know you know my address so send a check," Von added. "And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!"
Von is influential in the "manosphere," and he hosted Trump on his podcast during the 2024 campaign.
Jimmy Kimmel seeks to smooth tensions and takes aim at Trump in first show since ABC suspension
LOS ANGELES — Returning to the air last night to thunderous cheers and applause in his first episode since ABC suspended his late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel took direct aim at Trump while also trying to smooth tensions following his joke about the Republican reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk.
“You understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said, his voice breaking, during his opening monologue. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
Disney-owned ABC took “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air last Wednesday after conservative fury over comments Kimmel made during a show monologue and after public criticism from the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
A furious backlash to ABC’s decision followed, with prominent voices in and outside the entertainment industry saying it amounted to an attack on free speech by the administration.
Mike Waltz says Russia should know Trump is 'not messing around'
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said in an interview on "Fox & Friends" this morning that Russia should know that Trump is "not messing around" in his approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
"He's incredibly serious," Waltz said. "The Iranians learned painfully that he will use sticks as well as carrots."
Waltz was referencing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year. His comments come after Trump was asked yesterday whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircrafts if they enter their airspace.
"Yes, I do," Trump responded.
‘Guess what?’ Macron calls Trump after motorcade blocks his car
A call between world leaders is usually a carefully choreographed event reserved for talk of war and peace. France’s Emmanuel Macron used his hotline to Trump to complain about New York traffic.
After giving a speech at the United Nations General Assembly last night, Macron found himself stuck behind a police barricade while trying to reach his country’s diplomatic mission in the city. Whereas regular folk may have sat patiently or taken to social media to vent their fury, Macron put aside any tension over their dueling stances on Israel’s war in Gaza and dialed his friend in the White House.
“How are you?” Macron was filmed saying into his cellphone. “Guess what? I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you!”
He then attempted to use their traffic chat as an excuse to discuss more weighty matters.
Trump’s reversal is dismissed by the Kremlin, greeted cautiously in Ukraine
You’d forgive Ukrainians double-checking their Truth Social feeds.
There was a mix of astonishment and reservation in Kyiv today — contrasted with bitter dismissal and some mocking defiance in Moscow — after Trump said Ukraine could reclaim all of its territory, a dramatic change in rhetoric on the war.
The Kremlin rejected Trump’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger,” saying its military was advancing and its economy stable rather than suffering “big” problems. But in Ukraine the sudden reversal was greeted cautiously as a welcome shift from the U.S. leader that still left much to be answered.
Trump to meet with Australian prime minister in Washington next month
Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have their first formal meeting in Washington on Oct. 20, Albanese said, as the allies grapple with a number of issues in their relationship.
“We have a good relationship. We’ve had respectful calls. Australia and the United States are great partners. I expect it to be very constructive,” Albanese told reporters yesterday in New York, where he is attending the U.N. General Assembly.
Albanese later posted a selfie with Trump on Instagram, saying it was “good to chat” with the U.S. president at a reception for world leaders that he hosted with first lady Melania Trump.
Australia, which unlike many U.S. trading partners buys more from the U.S. than it sells to it, faces a 10% baseline tariff on most of its goods, and a 50% tariff on its steel and aluminum exports. There is also concern that the U.S. will not proceed with the so-called AUKUS pact to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, which is under review by the Trump administration.
Australia is also among a growing number of Western governments that have recognized a Palestinian state, a move that Trump criticized in a speech to the General Assembly yesterday as “a reward” for Hamas.
Democrat wins special election for deep-blue Arizona House seat
Democrat Adelita Grijalva won the special election for the congressional seat held by her late father, NBC News projects.
Grijalva, a former Pima County supervisor and Tucson school board member, captured Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Tucson, over Republican Daniel Butierez in yesterday's special election. She will serve out the remaining 15 months of Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s term after he died in March of complications during cancer treatment.
Grijalva will fill one of three vacancies in the House, narrowing Republicans’ majority to 219-214 as Congress faces some key upcoming moments, including a partisan staring contest over government spending and an effort by House Democrats to force a vote on the disclosure of more files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Rubio and Peskov to meet amid a shift from Trump on the war
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the United Nations General Assembly this afternoon on the heels of a shift from Trump on his stance on the war in Ukraine.
Trump said in a social media post yesterday that he now thinks Ukraine can win back its territory to its original borders, a reversal from his past position that the country would need to make some territorial concessions in order to bring an end to the war with Russia.
Trump wrote that he thinks Ukraine, "with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
The president added that Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, are in “BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”
Putin spokesman Dimitry Peskov dismissed Trump's comments in an interview with Russia's RBC Radio.
"The dynamics are obvious," Peskov said. "Our forces along the entire front line are in a state of fairly confident advancement."
Peskov added, "The Russian economy has largely been restructured to meet the needs of the special military operation in such a way that all the front’s needs are more than covered."
