is expected to sign executive orders aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that鈥檚 long been in decline.
According to two senior White House officials, Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the issue before the president鈥檚 announcement, expected Tuesday afternoon.
Here's the latest:
鈥楤oys will be boys,鈥� White House says about feuding between advisers Musk and Navarro
Leavitt said 鈥渨e will let their public sparring continue.鈥�
Elon Musk earlier on X called trade adviser Peter Navarro 鈥渢ruly a moron鈥� and 鈥渄umber than a sack of bricks.鈥� Navarro has been speaking publicly about worldwide tariffs Trump announced last week.
Navarro previously had said Musk, a billionaire who鈥檚 leading Trump鈥檚 government downsizing initiative, was 鈥減rotecting his own interests鈥� by opposing tariffs.
The Tesla electric car company is among several businesses Musk owns.
White House now says Trump tariffs are bargaining chips to get better trade deals
鈥淏ring us your best offers and he will listen,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of other countries potentially negotiating tariff rates with Trump.
She said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coming to Washington to talk trade 鈥渟hould serve as a model.鈥�
Leavitt said China was 鈥渕aking a mistake鈥� by responding with its own steep tariffs.
She insisted that negotiating, rather than steadfastly sticking to high tariffs, wasn鈥檛 an evolution amid stock market turmoil.
鈥楾ailor-made鈥� trade deals, not 鈥榦ff-the-rack鈥� deals
Leavitt says Trump has directed his team to work with countries that have reached out to strike deals in the wake of the president鈥檚 tariff hikes and trade war and to create 鈥渢ailor-made鈥� trade deals for each country.
鈥淭hey are not going to be off-the-rack deals,鈥� Leavitt said.
Leavitt said the Trump administration is willing to speak to any country that comes to the negotiating table.
Trump will host the leaders of El Salvador and Italy at the White House next week
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump will host El Salvador鈥檚 president, Nayib Bukele, for a working visit April. 14.
Trump has been deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, which has agreed to house them in an infamous prison.
Late Monday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to pause a midnight deadline for the administration to return a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Later that week, on April 17, Italy鈥檚 prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, will visit with Trump.
IRS agrees to share tax data with ICE for identifying and deporting people in US illegally
That鈥檚 according to a document signed Monday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The new memorandum of understanding will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants in the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
Treasury says the agreement will help carry out Trump鈥檚 agenda to secure U.S. borders and is part of his larger nationwide immigration crackdown, which has resulted in deportations, workplace raids, and the use of an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants.
However, advocates say the IRS-DHS information sharing agreement violates longstanding privacy laws and diminishes all Americans鈥� privacy.
Hegseth: Panama Canal faces threats from China, but US and Panama will keep it secure
鈥淭he United States of America will not allow Communist China, or any other country to threaten the canal鈥檚 operation or integrity,鈥� Hegseth said, speaking at ribbon cutting for a new U.S.-financed dock at the Vasco Nu帽ez de Balboa Naval Base.
To that end, Hegesth said, the U.S. and Panama have worked in recent weeks to strengthen their defense and security cooperation.
鈥淥ur relationship is growing in part to meet Communist China鈥檚 rising challenge,鈥� Hegseth said. 鈥淐hina-based companies continue to control critical infrastructure in the canal area. That gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama. This makes Panama and the United States less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign. And as President Donald Trump has pointed out, that situation is not acceptable.鈥�
Joe Rogan and Dave Portnoy are among the Trump backers now questioning his tariff policies
As Trump鈥檚 tariffs roil global markets, some of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican鈥檚 campaign are voicing doubts.
Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are adding their voices to a number of congressional Republicans who鈥檝e weighed in against the tariffs set to take effect Wednesday.
Portnoy has said he might have lost up to $20 million since the tariffs were unveiled, although he thinks Trump is 鈥渟mart.鈥�
In March, influential podcaster Joe Rogan said Trump鈥檚 feud with Canada was 鈥渟tupid鈥� and bemoaned the fact that Canadians 鈥渂ooed us over tariffs.鈥�
Ackman has characterized the tariffs as 鈥渁 major policy error.鈥� After Peter Navarro said Musk 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 understand鈥� the situation over tariffs, the Tesla chief and Trump ally called the White House trade adviser 鈥渄umber than a sack of bricks.鈥�
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In Montana, Blackfeet members say tariffs on Canada violate treaty rights
A Democratic state lawmaker and a rancher who are members of the Native American tribe in northwestern Montana have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking to block Trump鈥檚 tariffs.
Short of a complete block, they want tariffs halted at three Montana border crossings or for tribal members.
Indigenous people of Montana have treaty rights that allow them to travel and conduct commerce freely across the border. Those date to 1794, long before the present U.S.-Canada boundary line was established, the lawsuit says.
Plaintiff Jonathan St. Goddard, who ranches on the Blackfeet reservation that鈥檚 along the Canada border, last month broke a tractor wheel and couldn鈥檛 get one locally, so he traveled to Alberta to buy a replacement. He paid $308 coming back across the U.S. border to cover a 25% tariff, he said in a declaration filed with the lawsuit.
鈥淚f tariffs continue, the costs from the tariffs will cause irreparable harm to our family鈥檚 ranch and agricultural business,鈥� St. Goddard said.
The other plaintiff is state Sen. Susan Webber.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says in a trade war 鈥榚verybody tends to lose鈥�
He told reporters Tuesday that he鈥檚 particularly worried about the effect of U.S. tariffs and the trade war it鈥檚 unleashing on 鈥渢he most vulnerable developing countries in which the impact will be more devastating.鈥�
Is the United Nations secretary-general worried a trade war will lead to a global recession?
鈥淚 sincerely hope that we will have no recession because a recession will have dramatic consequences, especially for the poorest people in the world,鈥� Guterres said.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Panama President Jos茅 Ra煤l Mulino
The Tuesday meeting came before Hegseth headed to a ribbon cutting for a new U.S.-financed dock on a former U.S. base.
Hegseth did not make any comments as he left the meeting, but posted a photo of the two men laughing on X.
Hegseth wrote that it was an honor speaking with Mulino. 鈥淵ou and your country鈥檚 hard work is making a difference. Increased security cooperation will make both our nations safer, stronger and more prosperous.鈥�
The meeting comes amid tensions over Trump鈥檚 repeated assertions that the United States is being overcharged to use the Panama Canal and that China has influence over its operations. Panama has denied those allegations.
Minnesota鈥檚 education chief pushes back on Trump threat to cut school funding over DEI
In a letter to the U.S. Education Department, Minnesota鈥檚 education chief says the Trump administration has overstepped its authority with its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The White House last week directed states to gather signatures from local school systems certifying compliance with civil rights laws, including the rejection of what the federal government calls 鈥渋llegal DEI practices.鈥� It said schools that don鈥檛 comply would run the risk of losing funding.
Minnesota鈥檚 education chief Willie Jett said in the letter that there鈥檚 nothing illegal about DEI.
鈥淭hreats to this funding without backing in law or established requirements put key programs at risk that students and schools depend on every day,鈥� Jett wrote.
State leaders in said last week they wouldn鈥檛 comply with an Education Department order.
US trade rep says Trump tariffs are getting results, but things may be 鈥榗hallenging鈥� for awhile
The nation鈥檚 top trade representative said Tuesday that are already getting results, bringing other countries to the negotiating table to discuss reducing their trade barriers.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addressed the Senate Finance Committee a day after and some the president鈥檚 aggressive bid to raise tariffs on almost every nation.
Greer testified that have sought talks to escape Trump鈥檚 import tariffs. He said, for example, that Vietnam is cutting its own tariffs on apples, almonds and cherries. The import taxes are designed to reduce America鈥檚 massive trade deficits, but Greer conceded the adjustment might 鈥漛e challenging at times.鈥�
Congress is getting jittery about Trump鈥檚 trade wars, especially since stocks collapsed after he announced broad tariffs last Wednesday.
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Supreme Court blocks order requiring Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal workers
The employees were let go in aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.
The justices acted in the administration鈥檚 emergency appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California ordering that 16,000 probationary employees be reinstated while a lawsuit plays out because their firings didn鈥檛 follow federal law.
The effect of the high court鈥檚 order will keep employees in six federal agencies on paid administrative leave for now.
A second lawsuit, filed in Maryland, also resulted in an order blocking the firings at those same six agencies, plus roughly a dozen more. But that order only applies in the 19 states and the District of Columbia that sued the administration.
The Justice Department is separately appealing the Maryland order.
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National Park Service restores the original Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad webpage
It comes in the wake of news reports and public backlash over the changes.
鈥淐hanges to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service鈥檚 website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor Department leadership,鈥� NPS spokeswoman Rachel Pawlitz said late Monday in an email. 鈥淭he webpage was immediately restored to its original content.鈥�
She did not say who ordered the changes or for what reason. The changes 鈥� first reported by The Washington Post 鈥� included removing Tubman鈥檚 picture from the top of the page and making multiple edits to the text. A of the pages, using the Internet Archive鈥檚 , revealed changes that removed references to slavery and changed descriptions about the issue and its brutal realities.
The issue comes amid sweeping government changes to comply with President Trump鈥檚 campaign against so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government.
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Trump tariffs threaten 35,000 jobs and entire towns in South Africa鈥檚 citrus sector, group says
The Citrus Growers鈥� Association of Southern Africa says the impending reciprocal tariffs, due to come into effect Wednesday, will be deeply damaging to South Africa鈥檚 largest agricultural export.
The group says the tariffs would likely make South African citrus fruits cost $4.25 more per carton for American consumers. South Africa provides citrus when it is out of season there.
South Africa is the second-biggest exporter of oranges behind Spain and the world鈥檚 fourth-largest exporter of soft citrus fruits, according to the World Citrus Organization.
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House leaders express concern for any US troop cuts in Europe
The top Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Armed Services Committee expressed concerns about reports that the Trump administration is eyeing a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe, saying America must stick with its NATO allies.
Rep. Michael Rogers, R-Mich., the panel鈥檚 chairman, also voiced opposition to any plan for the U.S. to relinquish NATO command. The U.S. historically has held the Supreme Allied Command Europe position.
鈥淯.S. leadership in NATO is essential to ensure armed American forces, including our nuclear weapons, always remain under U.S. command,鈥� said Rogers at the start of a hearing with Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command and the NATO commander.
Cavoli told the committee he鈥檚 recommended that the U.S. maintain its current force totals. There has been roughly 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe.
Trump expected to help plant replacement for historic White House tree
The White House says Trump was participating in an to replace a nearly 200-year-old Magnolia tree that was removed Monday due to safety concerns.
The sapling is a direct descendant of the Andrew Jackson-era Magnolia.
Trump had announced last month that the tree was in 鈥渢errible condition鈥� and would be removed because it had become a safety hazard.
A disagreement over tariffs between two of Trump鈥檚 top advisers is escalating
Elon Musk said on X that Peter Navarro, a trade adviser, is 鈥渢ruly a moron鈥� and 鈥渄umber than a sack of bricks.鈥�
Navarro had previously said Musk was 鈥減rotecting his own interests鈥� by opposing tariffs. He also described Musk鈥檚 electric automaker, Tesla, as a 鈥渃ar assembler鈥� that鈥檚 dependent on importing parts from overseas.
Musk rejected that characterization, citing research that showed Tesla produced 鈥渢he most American-made cars.鈥�
Trump again seeks to boost coal as part of agenda for US 鈥榚nergy dominace鈥�
Trump is expected to sign executive orders Tuesday aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that鈥檚 long been in decline.
According to two senior White House officials, Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue before the president鈥檚 announcement, expected Tuesday afternoon.
Trump, a Republican, has long promised to boost what he calls 鈥渂eautiful鈥� coal to fire power plants and other uses, but the industry has been in decline for decades.
The orders expected Tuesday will direct federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands, according to information from the White House officials.
鈥� Matthew Daly
Trump鈥檚 Tuesday schedule
At 10:30 a.m., Trump will participate in a commemorative tree planting on the South Lawn of the White House.
At 3 p.m., he鈥檒l attend an Unleashing American Energy Executive Order Signing Event.
This evening, at 6:45 p.m., Trump will deliver remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner at the Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
At 1 p.m., Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will deliver a briefing at the White House.
Trump to meet with House Republicans on the budget
The president will host House Republicans at the White House on Tuesday as the GOP leadership continue to wrangle votes for the party鈥檚 budget resolution.
That meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m., according two people with knowledge of it. The people were granted anonymity to discuss a meeting that hasn鈥檛 been made public.
鈥� Seung Min Kim
As a future of US foreign aid cuts comes into focus, so do efforts to respond
With most programs funded by the cut and the agency鈥檚 remaining staff told their jobs will end by September, the reality of the Trump administration鈥檚 work has sunk in.
Billionaire presidential advisor Elon Musk, who led the , has called the agency . Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said many programs didn鈥檛 advance American interests. The administration continues to cancel programs, , and has said it will into the State Department.
Two months into the cuts, some workers and organizations, who once carried out those programs, are developing a variety of initiatives to stand in the breach left by the dismantling of U.S. foreign aid.
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Trump says high tariffs may have prevented the Great Depression. History says different
In the early days of the Great Depression, Rep. Willis Hawley, a Republican from Oregon, and Utah Republican Sen. Reed Smoot thought they had landed on a way to protect American farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition: tariffs.
President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, even as many economists warned the levies would prompt retaliatory tariffs from other countries, which is precisely what happened. The U.S. economy plunged deeper into a devastating financial crisis that it wouldn鈥檛 pull out of until World War II.
Most historians look back on Smoot-Hawley as a mistake that made a bad economic climate much worse. But tariffs have a new champion in President .
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US Steel rises for a 2nd day after Trump orders new security review of Nippon Steel bid
President Joe Biden just before leaving office and Trump had vowed to do the same in previous months. Late Monday Trump ordered the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review the transaction 鈥渢o assist me in determining whether further action in this matter may be appropriate.鈥�
Shares soared 16% Monday and are up nearly 3% before the opening bell Tuesday.
The confidential review will look for potential national security risks from the proposed deal and the U.S. will give Nippon and U.S. Steel time to respond to any concerns.
CFIUS will have 45 days to submit a recommendation to Trump detailing whether any measures proposed by Nippon and U.S. Steel are sufficient to mitigate identified risks.
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Iran鈥檚 foreign minister says he鈥檒l have indirect talks with US envoy over Tehran鈥檚 nuclear program
Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday he鈥檒l meet with in Oman for the first negotiations under the Trump administration seeking to halt Tehran鈥檚 rapidly advancing nuclear program as tensions remain high in the Middle East.
Speaking to Iranian state television from Algeria, Araghchi maintained the talks would be indirect, likely with Omani mediators shuttling between the parties. President Trump, , described them as direct talks.
Years of indirect talks under the Biden administration failed to reach any success, as Tehran now enriches uranium up to 60% purity 鈥� a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Both the U.S. and Israel have threatened Iran with military attack over the program, while officials in Tehran increasingly warn they could potentially pursue a nuclear bomb.
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RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water
U.S. Health Secretary on Monday said he plans to tell the to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. Kennedy said he鈥檚 assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.
Also on Monday, the announced it is reviewing 鈥渘ew scientific information鈥� on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA sets the maximum level allowed in public water systems.
Kennedy told The Associated Press of his plans after a news conference with EPA Administrator in Salt Lake City.
Kennedy cannot order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can direct the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount.
Utah last month became the first state to ban , pushing past who warned the move would disproportionately hurt low-income residents who can鈥檛 afford regular dentist visits.
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China says it will 鈥榝ight to the end鈥� after Trump threatens to impose still more tariffs
China said Tuesday it would 鈥渇ight to the end鈥� and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports.
The Commerce Ministry said the U.S.鈥榮 imposition of 鈥渟o-called 鈥榬eciprocal tariffs鈥欌�� on China is 鈥渃ompletely groundless and is a typical unilateral bullying practice.鈥�
China, the world鈥檚 second-largest economy, has announced retaliatory tariffs and the ministry hinted in its latest statement that more may be coming.
鈥淭he countermeasures China has taken are aimed at safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and maintaining the normal international trade order. They are completely legitimate,鈥� the ministry said.
鈥淭he U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept this. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,鈥� it added.
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Supreme Court allows Trump to deport Venezuelans under wartime law, but only after judges鈥� review
The on Monday allowed the Trump administration to use an 18th century to , but said they must get a court hearing before they are taken from the United States.
In a bitterly divided decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members 鈥渞easonable time鈥� to go to court.
But the conservative majority said the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom.
The court鈥檚 action appears to bar the administration from immediately resuming the flights that last month carried hundreds of migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The flights came soon after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportations under a presidential proclamation calling the an invading force.
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The Associated Press
