Trump addresses U.N. General Assembly

Voters’ views of immigration have shifted over the last two years, according to a new national NBC News poll. And while Republicans still have more voters’ trust on border security and immigration, other issues have taken precedence amid concerns about the high cost of living.

Just 7% of registered voters rank immigration and border security as the most important issues facing the country, behind inflation and the cost of living (28%), government corruption (18%), threats to democracy (16%), jobs and the economy (9%), and the war with Iran (9%).

In a September 2024 NBC News poll, 14% of voters — twice the current share — said immigration and border security were the most important issues facing the country.

Read the full story here.

As members of the industry and voters grow increasingly alarmed at how rapidly AI is advancing, Democratic governors around the country are rushing to rein in the technology.

This week, Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York and Wes Moore of Maryland released plans intended to boost AI safety and oversight. They are the latest in a growing wave of Democratic governors seeking to use state policy to fill the void of federal regulations — and establish a political foothold on an issue where neither party has established a clear advantage.

Read the full story here.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she has "no choice" but to back Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Senate seat Michigan after having previously criticized the Democratic candidate.

Matt Slocum / AP file

"We have one candidate that I know is going to fight against the Trump administration, is going to fight to protect both our physical security, our safety, our health, and our futures," Nessel said in a podcast episode of “For the Sake of the Argument with Lori Goldman” that aired today.

Nessel, who was joined by El-Sayed for the episode, denounced Republican candidate Mike Rogers, saying he "only cares about self-enrichment and, you know, how many pats on the back he can get from Donald Trump."

"I don't want to say the choice is easy but I am going to say there is no choice and that's why I'm supporting Abdul for the United States Senate," Nessel said. "I can't be true to my values if I even consider voting for Mike Rogers."

El-Sayed responded to Nessel's endorsement with gratitude, telling the Michigan attorney general, "I'm really honored for that support."

"I'm particularly grateful for it because I know we haven't always agreed on everything, right? And I know we won't always agree on everything," El-Sayed added.

Nessel, who is Jewish, previously denounced El-Sayed over his response to a March attack at a synagogue in Michigan. El-Sayed later apologized for those remarks.

Nessel, who supported Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary, referred to herself today as a "Jewish Zionist" and reiterated her support of Israel. El-Sayed has been outspoken against Israel, calling its attacks on Palestine a genocide. During the episode today, the pair said that they agree on most issues, despite their differing stances on foreign policy relating to Israel.

Samuel Corum / Getty Images

Zigzagging from issue to issue, President Donald Trump has left his political allies struggling to keep pace with his pronouncements and lost precious time to drive a compelling message ahead of the midterm congressional elections, Republican strategists and people who’ve worked with him said.

The takeaway from recent polling is that voters worry most about high prices and the cost of living. But Trump has at times veered off pocketbook issues and made moves that are peripheral to the top-of-mind concerns of voters who will soon decide which party controls Congress.

Read the full story here.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris called out the Trump administration and its allies’ efforts to remake where and how people vote in the upcoming midterm elections, after stumping for Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan earlier in the day.

Katy Kildee / Detroit News via AP

“We are witnessing the most callous, corrupt and incompetent presidential administration we have ever experienced in the history of America, and there are many factual points that would provide evidence of each of those,” Harris said during a fireside chat hosted by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP.

“They’re cheating with all this redistricting that they are doing,” Harris said of Republicans. “They are cheating by changing polling locations so that our elders, who are used to voting at the elementary school down the street may go there on election day and find out it is no longer a polling place. They are cheating by purging voter rolls.”

She urged voters to make sure they are ready to cast their ballots in the upcoming midterm elections, which are exactly six weeks away.

"Not only must you register to vote, check your voter registration status to make sure you haven’t been purged from the rolls," she said.

Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024 and is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, declined to comment on what her future might hold.

“I have not decided if I’m going to run again,” Harris said. “But let me just say this: I do sincerely believe ’28 won’t matter if we don’t get through ’26.”

US President Donald Trump bought as much as $50,000 worth of shares and sold as much as $15,000 in Elon Musk’s SpaceX in July, according to a public financial disclosure, his latest transactions involving a government contractor run by his former adviser.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images file

Trump bought between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of shares in SpaceX on July 10, according to a financial disclosure he signed on September 8. He sold between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of shares on July 17, according to the same disclosure.

Read the full story here.

Senators today reacted to Trump's decision to bar three media outlets from accessing the White House, with Republicans and Democrats alike criticizing the president’s decision.

Trump announced the policy against CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Friday afternoon, and has repeatedly said he did so because they are "fake news."

Pebble Beach from the North Lawn of the White House. Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images

The three outlets sued Trump on Monday, arguing the administration had violated their First Amendment and due process rights.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he did not agree with the ban, saying, “I think you have to treat everybody the same in terms of their access to government.”

“I agree with the diagnosis. I don’t agree with the cure,” Kennedy said, adding he didn’t “agree with cancel culture.”

For months, Florida GOP gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds wanted anyone who would listen to know that he was endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

Nearly every press release during his primary campaign came with a reminder he was “Trump-endorsed,” and campaign staff and surrogates were just as eager to remind people when doing interviews or posting about him on social media.

Read the full story here.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi, this afternoon criticized Trump's decision to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week "based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi."

Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images

"During every minute of dialog, our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America," Wicker said on the Senate floor.

He added: "Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here."

The Republican senator encouraged Trump to bring up several topics during Xi's visit, including on "China's massive military buildup or about China's clear support for Iran."

China's President Xi Jinping. Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images file

Wicker also noted the Uighur people who "have been sent to concentration camps," political prisoners held in China, Xi's "wish that Taiwan become a part of mainland China" and China's "interference in the internal affairs of nations around the world."

Xi's visit to the White House marks his second meeting with Trump this year. The pair last met during Trump's visit to Beijing in May.

Lucas County Democrats in Ohio today called on Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, to take down an ad in which she highlighted her vote against what she called “transgender ideology.”

“This is the type of harmful ad we expect from Derek Merrin and the Republicans. We are disappointed and ashamed that the Kaptur campaign stooped to their level by using this incredibly dangerous anti-trans rhetoric,” the county Democrats wrote in a letter shared to their Facebook page.

Merrin is the GOP candidate running against Kaptur as she seeks another term representing Ohio's 9th Congressional District. Lucas County, which includes the city of Toledo, is the most populous county in the district. The seat is a top target for Republicans to flip as they defend their slim majority in the House.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

In the ad, Kaptur says she “voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools.”

In response to a question about the County Democrats' letter, Kaptur campaign spokesperson Kylie Blitzer said in a statement that the congresswoman "supports parents having more insight into their children's education."

"That's why she set the record straight on her vote with Republicans to give parents more say in the classroom. And it's why she believes parents, coaches, and local sports associations — not politicians in Washington — should set the rules in their communities to ensure girls' sports stay fair," Blitzer added.

The Trump administration is removing hundreds of thousands of enrollees from Affordable Care Act plans, claiming that many were receiving subsidies they didn’t qualify for and that some did not even exist. The announcement is the latest effort by the administration to argue that fraud has inflated ACA enrollment, even as experts question the scale of the alleged fraud.

Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz — who have teamed up on a broader push to root out fraud in government health programs — said Tuesday that roughly 750,000 people have had their ACA coverage canceled. The administration did not provide details about who lost coverage or how those individuals were informed.

Read the full story here.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris today called President Donald Trump’s decision to ban MS NOW, CNN and POLITICO from the White House is “absolutely abhorrent.”

Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post via Getty Images file

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people, and that the people understand and know what he’s doing, so he’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government,” Harris told reporters while leaving a roundtable in Michigan with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

The three outlets have sued, arguing that Trump's ban violates their due process and First Amendment rights. Trump has repeatedly said he instituted the ban because the outlets publish "fake news," which he said yesterday on Truth Social is "a threat to our National Security."

Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024 and is a potential 2028 contender, urged attendees at the Detroit event to support Sayed in his competitive Senate race against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers.

"On this subject I know he will be a champion she said," referring to the event's focus on Black maternal mortality. El-Sayed is a former public health official.

An overwhelmed U.S. postal worker in Utah dumped 300 mail-in ballots into a parking lot garbage shortly before the state’s June 23 primary election in which both Democrats and Republicans were on the ballot, Justice Department officials said Tuesday.

The 34-year-old mail carrier told investigators he did not have a political agenda, and that he also tossed other mail when he ditched the ballots, said Melissa Holyoak, U.S. attorney for the District of Utah. She said roughly 95% of voters do so by mail in the state, and it wasn’t clear yet whether they were able to eventually cast ballots.

Read the full story here.

The city of San Francisco is suing Truth Social's parent company over a feature that allows users to pay for faster access to Trump's posts than is available to general users.

In a press release, San Francisco city attorney David Chiu accused Truth Social's owner, Trump Media & Technology Group, of "selling early access to Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts, aiding violations of federal ethics laws, and facilitating insider trading."

San Francisco. Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images file

The city claims that the “pay-to-play” subscription violates multiple state and federal laws.

The new subscription launched on Aug. 1, allowing financial firms and other organizations to cash in on a special high-speed feed that features "market-moving" posts by Trump and other top accounts.

“Trump Media created a marketplace that enables insider trading, which Trump directly profits from,” Chiu said in the release. “This scheme turns the public trust into private profit. It is corruption, plain and simple. Californians should not be forced to compete against wealthy trading firms buying early access to market‑moving information."

Trump Media & Technology Group and the Trump Organization, the president's family business, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The White House referred NBC News to those two companies for comment.

Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday rejected a request for the Supreme Court to get involved in the case of a surrogate enmeshed in a multistate custody battle with California parents who at one point asked her to abort the fetus because of a heart defect.

McKenna West.  Alliance Defending Freedom

McKenna West gave birth to the couple’s baby in Texas last month and argued in court there that California denied her due process when it awarded custody of the child, whom she named Gabriel, to his genetic parents.

Read the full story here.

Trump has updated his financial disclosures with the Office of Government Ethics, which today released a new document showing 1,156 more stock trades, which all appear to have taken place during the month of June.

The unprecedented pace of trading for Trump continues after his massive 927-page disclosure made headlines earlier this summer. Today’s filing is a mere 37 pages but, in summary, shows:

• Stock, ETF and bond purchases that total at least $42 million, but could be up to $128 million.

• Sales that total at least $35 million, but which would be worth up to $136 million.

A federal judge in Seattle today became the 25th judge to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain voter roll information from states.

U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson wrote in an order that her court concluded that “the Government’s demand for voter data violates federal law.”

Cases regarding the voter rolls remain undecided in Idaho, Utah, Georgia and Delaware. The administration has yet to successfully convince a federal judge to allow them access to state voter roll databases.

In his second term, the president has attempted to collect voter registration records to investigate whether noncitizens were registered to vote. Trump has falsely claimed he won the 2020 election and faced criminal charges for his attempt to overturn that election, which were eventually dismissed. The administration has struggled to demonstrate evidence of the widespread voter fraud that it has alleged.

Donald Trump Jr.; Hunter Biden.  Getty Images

A Republican senator is calling for an investigation into the business dealings of Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden following the revelation that a Russian oligarch paid for Trump Jr.’s post-wedding festivities in the Caribbean earlier this year.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, sent a letter yesterday to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., requesting that the panel subpoena the president’s eldest son as well as former President Joe Biden’s son for testimony.

Read the full story here.

Trump predicted during a bilateral press spray with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit by CNN, Politico and MS NOW to reinstate their access to the White House “probably will” rule against him.

The CNN booth outside the White House. Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The president, however, didn't commit to letting the news organizations back into the White House if that happens. “I think we have a right to clean out fake news,” he said, calling the outlets “dangerous.”

Asked how they're dangerous, Trump said, "When they make statements about the war, when they make false statements — false, malicious, and they don’t have sources, but they say they do — no, no, it’s very dangerous for our country, and I won’t stand for it."

Trump did not provide evidence to support his claim that the media outlets had reported false information.

In their lawsuit, the outlets banned by the White House last week said that the Trump administration had violated their due process rights and First Amendment protections for newsgathering and speech. The judge overseeing the case is U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017.

Trump told reporters that U.S. officials met with Iranian officials today at the U.N. General Assembly for three hours.

Speaking to reporters during a media availability with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said the meeting had ended an hour earlier. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff attended the meeting and said "I feel very good right now" when asked about the details.

“They had a very good meeting, very productive meeting, and they had another one scheduled in the very near future,” Trump said.

During his speech before the General Assembly this morning, the president predicted that Iran wouldn't make a deal with the U.S. until after the midterm elections.

NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Brian Cheung and others break down key takeaways from Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly and how it could affect international relations.

How Trump's U.N. speech will affect relations with Iran amid ongoing war

11:09

The president told the U.N. assembly the war in Gaza had "ended" and thanked other nations for helping to "stabilize" the situation there, while not mentioning the continued violence in the area.

"One year ago, when I addressed the great leaders this hall, the war in Gaza was still raging brutally," Trump said. "The hostages were still deep in Hamas tunnels, and there was no end in sight. It was never going to be resolved, but here on the sidelines of the General Assembly, we took the first steps. It changed everything."

"A few weeks later, we ended the war in Gaza, saving untold thousands of lives," he said. "We also brought home all remaining hostages, both living and dead, every single one of them."

"Everyone thought it was a miracle that we were able to do so, and people celebrated in the streets," Trump continued, thanking the U.N. Security Council for its endorsement of Trump's peace plan and Board of Peace, an international organization his administration created to oversee postwar reconstruction.

Toward the end of his speech, the president blasted his U.N. hosts, complaining about the organization's leadership and agencies.

"The United Nations has great, great potential. I’ve said that for many years, but it must stop imposing the far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected," he said.

The president pointed to an effort by "an obscure U.N. body, the International Maritime Organization," to establish a carbon tax. He said his administration halted the effort. "There is no global government, and while I’m president, there will be no global taxes," he said.

The president took aim as well at the U.N.'s Human Rights Council for criticism of the administration's policies on immigration and transgender rights, calling it "unacceptable that, with all the genuine atrocities in the world, the U.N.’s top human rights officials spend their time criticizing the United States for protecting our children from transgender mutilization and transgender insanity, and enforcing our immigration laws."

Trump said in his remarks that the U.S. would "only encourage superintelligence" when it comes to AI development, a notable declaration as warnings about the potential catastrophic consequences of the technology have spread.

"We will only encourage superintelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in," Trump said, adding that the Department of Justice would "watch it closely."

Trump suggests renaming artificial intelligence to 'superintelligence'

01:16

"The United States leads the world in superintelligence and will continue to do so safely and responsibly," he said. "Americans have never been a nation that retreats from a frontier or shrinks from a challenge, no matter how great or how daunting that challenge may be."

Trump touted the new deal between the U.S. and Denmark that will allow the U.S. control over Greenland's security.

"This agreement made with the Kingdom of Denmark, an incredible, beautiful country, and the Greenland people, itself gives the United States permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory," he said.

Trump said the deal, which will be signed today, meant that "no U.S. adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland anymore or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval."

"We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations," he added. "We will be building two very major military bases."

Trump signs deal with Denmark over U.S. military presence in Greenland

01:29

Trump highlighted the U.S. military operation in January to arrest then-President Nicolás Maduro.

"Since that day, hundreds of Venezuelan political prisoners have been freed. They’ve let them out of jails, and we’re working closely with the leaders of Venezuela to forge a much better future for the Venezuelan people," he said.

Trump said last month the U.S. signed the "largest oil deal in history, covering 65 billion barrels of oil, which will benefit both Venezuela and the United States enormously and help drive down the cost of energy all over the world."

Trump said the two countries held a sizable percentage of the world's oil.

"Our actions in Venezuela are proof that the United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere," he added.

Trump highlights Maduro capture and subsequent oil deal with Venezuela

03:39

Trump suggested in his U.N. remarks that Iran is waiting to see how the Republicans perform in the midterm elections before negotiating an end to the war with his administration.

"I have a big decision to make," Trump said. "Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?"

He continued, "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?"

Trump predicted that the U.S. will make a deal with Iran "right after the election."

Trump considers whether to 'annihilate' Iran if a deal is not reached

00:46

At the United Nations in New York this morning, Trump repeated his belief that Iran would have built a nuclear weapon without U.S. military intervention and said he believes Tehran will agree to a peace deal shortly after the midterm elections.

Trump said that during strikes in June of last year, “the U.S. military obliterated their nuclear program beneath mountains of rubble” and that Iran continued building missiles and drones “that threatened the security of every American service member in the region and everyone else in the region.”

Trump also emphasized Iran’s support for Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, calling the militant group “terrorists funded by Iran" who "tortured, mutilated, and killed 1,200 very innocent civilians, including dozens of Americans.”

Trump began his remarks by touting U.S. economic and crime statistics under his administration, referring to lowering levels of unemployment and poverty.

"Our nation is growing, our power is expanding, our country is doing better than ever before, and our future is very, very bright," Trump said.

"Two years ago, our country was dead, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world," Trump said. "Before I took office, we had the worst and most dangerous border on Earth, and now we have the most secure border in American history."

Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly today. Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images

The president also said that last year saw "the largest drop in violent crime ever recorded. The murder rate has plummeted to its lowest level in 125 years, since the year 1900."

The president attributed lower crime numbers to his administration's actions, including his sending "crime busters," an apparent reference to National Guard and federal immigration enforcement personnel, to various U.S. cities.

"When I arrived on Jan. 20 of last year in Washington, D.C., it was riddled with crime, and now crime is down 87%, and we’re going for 100," he said. "Tourism is thriving, restaurants are bustling and people are proud of our nation’s capital."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s decision to bar three media organizations from the White House, saying in an interview on NBC News’ “TODAY” that the president was not closing outlets or arresting reporters.

“We’re not closing CNN,” Rubio said of the ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico. “There aren’t a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC or MS NOW, whatever it’s called, and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They’re just not allowed to work from the workspace at the White House.”

Marco Rubio defends White House media outlet ban

07:34

Rubio also addressed the war with Iran, including its impact on oil and gas prices, arguing that if Tehran were allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, it would use the threat to constrain oil shipments and drive prices up even further. He also discussed concerns about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and the need for a developmental framework to maintain the benefits of the technology while lowering the risks.

Read the full story here.

Oil prices fell sharply fell for a fifth straight trading session, reaching a two-week low on hopes of a renewed diplomatic push to end the Iran war and optimism over the reopening of a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

Brent crude oil briefly slipped below $98 per barrel while U.S. crude oil fell below $93 per barrel, their lowest prices since Sept. 8.

Prices first began sliding overnight on reports that Iran was offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if the U.S. takes steps toward easing pressure on the country.

Read the full story here.

Ohio Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, has been under fire since his wife leveled explosive domestic abuse allegations against him, which he has denied. But a new ad dropping today goes at him for old-fashioned cost-of-living increases in Northeast Ohio.

The ad, first provided to NBC News, is the opening salvo from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s new Ready for the Fight PAC, which he announced earlier this month was readying to spend at least $20 million in battleground races in November’s midterm elections.

Pritzker, a billionaire who is seeking his third term as governor and is a potential 2028 White House contender, has previously poured money into battleground states supporting electoral efforts.

Rep. Max Miller. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images file

The ad highlights Miller’s votes against an Iran war powers resolution that sought to end the conflict in Iran, his health care votes, and his district’s climbing gas prices. It closes with an audio clip in Miller’s own words saying, “The economy is actually doing very well right now.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro thinks he’s figured out the path forward on data centers as part of an evolution that’s caught both detractors and some allies by surprise.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on AI: 'I don't think we can kick the can down the road'

05:56

The governor has gone from touting the benefits of data centers to arguing his administration is cautiously overseeing their growth, especially after signing an executive order last month mandating that data center developers adhere to standards he introduced earlier this year that were, initially, voluntary. In an interview with NBC News, the Democrat — and potential 2028 presidential candidate — argued that skipping the pause many in both parties are advocating for and going straight to policy is the path forward.

Read the full story here.

A federal appeals court yesterday introduced a new wrinkle into the convoluted fight over whether Republicans can use a new congressional map in November’s election, as the GOP tries to eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic House districts.

David A. Lieb / AP file

The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the new map drawn last year should be used this fall, even though the Supreme Court has already twice rejected Republicans on the issue in recent weeks and had apparently put the issue to bed.

Read the full story here.

Once a premier presidential swing state, Ohio morphed into a solidly red state in the last three national elections. But this year is a bit of a throwback, with the Senate contest between appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted and former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown re-establishing the battleground bona fides of the Buckeye State.

The race looms large in the fight for Senate control.

Read the full story here.

The president will deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City today.

U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz told reporters that Trump’s remarks would highlight peace deals the president has worked on, U.S. actions in the Western Hemisphere and progress on his 20-point peace plan in Gaza. It will also touch on the “importance of ensuring that Iran never has a nuclear weapon,” Waltz said.

Read the full story here.