A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it, as President Donald Trump has threatened. Trump said Wednesday that without his efforts to restore the aging building, “it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
Earlier on Thursday, a top official at the Kennedy Center said he closed the iconic performing arts center temporarily due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration” of the building. The temporary closure occurred without notice Wednesday and was separate from a vote a day earlier by the Kennedy Center’s board to close the performing arts center indefinitely for repairs, officials said.
Trump is withdrawing his nomination of Lance Schroyer to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the White House said Thursday. The former Oklahoma state trooper has little experience with immigration. The step ensures that an agency at the forefront of Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer.
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Russia and China halt US proposal on Iran sanctions at the UN
The United Nations resolution from the United States would have authorized U.N. experts to keep monitoring sanctions that were reimposed against Iran over its nuclear program.
The U.N. Security Council sanctions remain in effect after Thursday’s vote. There was a “snapback” last year of the sanctions that freeze Iran’s assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures.
The United States had drafted a resolution to extend the mandate of a U.N. expert panel monitoring the sanctions, but it was defeated by the Russian and Chinese vetoes.
U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. Jennifer Locetta said the experts “would have shined the light” on prohibited cooperation between Iran and its partners.
US piles more pressure on Iran to disrupt sanctions evasion efforts
The Trump administration is stepping up efforts to combat Iranian attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. is now going after digital currency networks it says are illegally providing sanctioned Iranian entities with access to the international financial system.
The Treasury and State Departments announced on Thursday that they had targeted two companies and three individuals who have played a role in helping Iran evade sanctions.
The companies are Bitbank and the Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company and three associates of BitBank’s previously sanctioned chief Babak Zajani.
The move freezes any assets those affected may have in U.S. jurisdictions or that come into contact with U.S. financial institutions, bar Americans from doing business with them and could result in criminal action against foreign entities that violate the sanctions.
Data centers figure prominently in former interior secretary’s campaign for New Mexico governor
Data centers are emerging as a flashpoint in New Mexico’s governor’s race with both major party candidates staking out positions on the rapidly growing industry.
Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland vowed Thursday to place a moratorium on new large-scale data center construction in New Mexico if elected governor.
“The bottom line is we don’t have water to waste,” the Democrat said in Albuquerque.
Haaland’s campaign said her proposed moratorium would not affect projects already underway but would remain until “strong, clear” regulations are enacted.
Campaign finance filings showed companies and executives tied to a massive Project Jupiter data center planned in southern New Mexico donated tens of thousands of dollars to Haaland’s campaign.
Those interests didn’t donate to GOP nominee Gregg Hull in the same period. Hull opposes a moratorium, arguing the state should compete to attract data center investment while regulating its environmental and other impacts.
Man accused of ties to bin Laden has 20-year Guantanamo detention reviewed
A man initially accused of being a high-profile al-Qaida figure appeared at a hearing Thursday at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he’s been held without charges for 20 years.
A U.S. government official said at the detention review hearing that Abu Zubaydah had “probably” served as one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted facilitators.
The brief hearing offered a rare glimpse into the secretive military court proceedings of a suspect who had been tortured at CIA black sites during the U.S. war on terrorism. His case remains unresolved 25 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The man’s private attorney, Annika Conrad, acknowledged he had known bin Laden. But she said he never belonged to the militant group of the 9/11 mastermind. She argued Zubaydah poses no security threat to the U.S. and should be transferred out of Guantanamo.
White House slams finding from UN human rights body
The White House issued a scathing statement after experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran.
“The UN Human Rights Council has accomplished nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Thursday.
She added: “The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region.”
US approves visas for top Iranian officials for UN meetings in New York
The State Department says it had approved visas for Iran’s “core delegation” and essential staffers.
The core delegation includes President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due visa privacy laws.
The move is unusual due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and no sign that agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or return to talks on Iran’s nuclear program are close.
And, according to the U.S. government, Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Senate blocks House-passed measure on data centers
The Senate has blocked a House-passed bill that aims to have data centers pay for their substantial energy needs.
Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio sought to pass the measure through unanimous consent. He’s been facing attack ads on the issue as he seeks reelection and as people gather signatures in his state for a referendum to outright ban their construction.
The legislation that Husted sought to pass would require state utility regulators to consider a standard ensuring that data centers pay the full cost of the infrastructure needed to serve them.
“If you create the costs you should pay the costs,” Husted said.
But Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico objected. Heinrich says the bill falls short of what’s needed.
“Rather than voluntary pledges or suggestions to states, Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth,” Heinrich said.
US OKs to $24 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia
The Trump administration’s approval of the sale of the advanced warplanes to Saudi Arabia signals a boost in U.S. military cooperation with Gulf Arab states at a time when the war against Iran is at a stalemate.
The State Department said Thursday it has given the green light for the Saudis to purchase 48 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Also included in the deal are jet engines, secure communication and navigational systems, spare parts and training.
The statement released by the State Department said the sale supports U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally. It called Saudi Arabia “a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region.”
Judge says Kennedy Center must give notice before making any major changes to building
The judge’s order says the Kennedy Center must provide 30 days’ notice before making significant changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said his ruling would “avoid any confusion on that score given more recent events.”
Trump was named the Kennedy Center’s chairman last year by loyalists on the center’s board.
He said Wednesday that his efforts to restore the aging building deserve recognition, saying “if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down. It’s in very, very bad shape, very dangerous shape.”
Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer as his nominee to lead ICE
The White House said Thursday that Trump is withdrawing its nomination of the former Oklahoma state trooper to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The step ensures that an agency at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer.
Schroyer is close to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He has little experience with immigration.
The White House, in a brief statement, offered no comment on the decision.
When he nominated Schroyer in June, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that his pick was “a PATRIOT with real operational experience.” Trump also called Schroyer a “proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”
Appeals court considers a Missouri congressional map backed by Trump
The federal appeals court panel is weighing an attempt to revive Missouri congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked those districts from being used in the November election. But on Thursday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about whether the state should use the new Republican-drawn U.S. House districts.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the impact would be, even if the panel were to rule in favor of the new map.
Local election officials are already printing ballots under the current districts. They face a Friday deadline to mail out absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters.
ICE officer charged in non-fatal shooting is arrested by Minnesota authorities
A federal immigration officer charged with shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in January and lying about the circumstances to investigators was set to appear Thursday afternoon before a Minnesota judge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro faces both state and federal charges stemming from the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during a federal immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area. Prosecutors say Castro falsely told investigators that he had been attacked with a broom and a shovel.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in an online post that it arrested Castro on Wednesday in Minneapolis on an outstanding warrant charging him with assault and false reporting of a crime.
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This item has been revised to correct the middle name of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
Man gets 14-month prison sentence for spraying US Rep Ilhan Omar with vinegar
The man who sprayed vinegar at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall was sentenced Thursday under an agreement with prosecutors.
Sentencing for Anthony Kazmierczak came nearly eight months after the Jan. 27 assault.
Authorities later determined he had sprayed the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota with a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar. He was charged with assaulting a U.S. officer.
During an earlier hearing, Kazmierczak was unable to explain his actions. Omar was not hurt in the attack and continued the January town hall after the incident.
Kennedy Center closed temporarily to assess building's 'risks to public safety’
A top official at the Kennedy Center says he closed the iconic performing arts center temporarily due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration” of the aging building.
Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, said in a court filing Thursday that the building will be closed for at least seven days to “assess existing safety risks in those portions of the main building exhibiting severe structural deterioration.”
The temporary closure, which occurred without notice Wednesday, is separate from a vote
Tuesday by the Kennedy Center’s board to close the performing arts center indefinitely for repairs. The closure may be extended after officials evaluate the center next week.
UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes
Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they’ve found “reasonable grounds” to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including one on a school in the southern city of Minab.
In a non-binding report published Thursday, they also accuse Iran’s theocratic government of carrying out crimes against humanity against its own people.
The report adds to international evidence gathered about possible crimes in the war in Iran, and could eventually be used in efforts to pursue justice in international courts.
The fact-finding mission was created by the Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body. The grouping of independent experts is expected to present their findings next week to the council, which is made up of 47 U.N. member countries.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
House Democratic leader says Republicans are ‘desperate’ as MAGA, Inc. money flows for midterms
Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans have nothing left to offer voters than “trying to unload tens of millions of dollars” on the House, Senate and governors’ races.
“But they can’t even stick to their own brand,” he said.
Jeffries pointed out that the Trump-affiliated group is creating “all of these other entities,” which he suggested was so that they don’t have to disclose MAGA Inc. as the spender in the races.
“That should tell you a lot,” he said.
Jeffries said Democrats will have enough funding to defend their House incumbents and flip seats to take back the majority.
Former US Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, a ‘workhorse’ who shaped water policy, dies at 84
He also guided the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Kyl died Wednesday night from a neurological disorder, said Gordon James, a communications professional who is longtime friends with the Kyl family. Kyl had withdrawn from public life in December 2025 after announcing he’d been diagnosed with dementia.
Kyl spent almost three decades in Congress, serving in both chambers, and watched his party undergo a drastic transformation, with his career spanning Ronald Reagan’s presidency to President Trump’s first term.
Former Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who considered Kyl a mentor, described the former senator in a February 2025 interview with The Associated Press as a true statesman and a “workhorse” among Washington, D.C.’s “showhorses.”
Jeffries calls on Republicans to stay in Washington and work on AI safety
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is blasting House Republicans for leaving Washington until the midterm elections rather than working to ensure the safety of artificial intelligence.
Some in the tech industry have expressed concerns that an AI unshackled from human control could be destructive — a concern President Trump has rejected as a hoax.
“The AI safety issue is very real,” Jeffries said at a news conference.
To help make his point, he’s noting that some industry leaders have called for the development of AI models to slow down.
“This is a serious issue. It requires serious engagement and serious and immediate action,” Jeffries said. “And we’re going to be here as House Democrats over the next several weeks working on this issue and other issues demanding that Republicans come back into town so we can take care of these very real concerns.”
US stocks rise after oil prices fall and pressure from the bond market eases
U.S. stocks are rising Thursday and recovering most of their losses for the week.
Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its moves from the prior day, when the Federal Reserve hiked its main interest rate for the first time in years and suggested more may be ahead as it tries to get the nation’s high inflation under control.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and was on track for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 213 points, or 0.4%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.
Stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil slid 2.3% to $103.38. That’s down sharply from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rallied ‘middle powers’
Carney has repeatedly urged what he calls middle powers to resist economic coercion. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, he warned that when countries negotiate alone with a dominant power, “we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered.”
Trump rebuked him the next day.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, said Ottawa wants “to get as close as we possibly can” to Europe while increasing Canada’s independence.
While associate membership remains to be negotiated, Canada has already taken a major step. This year, it became the first non-European country to join the EU’s 150-billion-euro ($173-billion) SAFE defense procurement program, giving Canadian companies access to joint procurement as Europe increases defense spending.
The two sides have also discussed closer cooperation on energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and digital trade.
Redistricting moved 1 in 10 Americans into a new House district, report finds
The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study.
A report by Protect Democracy found that 34.8 million people — about one in 10 Americans — now live in a different district than they did during the 2024 election cycle. And about one-fifth of all Americans now live in a district where more than a quarter of voters are new to the district compared with the last election cycle.
The findings display the stark overhaul that partisan redistricting fights kicked off by President Trump last year have caused for Americans across the country. The new congressional maps are increasingly drawn in ways that favor partisan politics over factors like geography and shared communities. That raises concerns among scholars about how the country’s hyperpolarized politics are affecting American democracy.
Carney embraces EU associate membership proposal as Trump pushes Canada closer to Europe
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union’s first associate member, saying closer ties with the continent would ensure no country could control Canada’s markets or undermine its sovereignty.
Carney’s speech to the European Parliament repeatedly extolled cooperation between Europe and Canada — but the relationship with the U.S., which has defined Canada’s economy for decades and has increasingly soured, hung over the address.
Trump’s tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbor and seek a far deeper economic, security and political relationship with Europe.
Carney told the parliament he welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal, unveiled Wednesday, though he acknowledged that “associate membership” remains to be defined.
Barbra Streisand calls Kennedy Center controversy ‘galling and painful to witness’
The singer, a Kennedy Center honoree in 2008, questioned the closing of the performing arts center for repairs and called the ongoing controversy surrounding its operation “galling and painful to witness.”
The award-winning superstar said in a statement to The Associated Press that renaming the National Cultural Center after President John F. Kennedy in 1964, following his assassination the previous year was “a fitting choice, because he was a true champion of the arts.”
“Since then, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has stood as one of America’s great cultural venues,” she said. “I was deeply honored to be included in the 31st annual class of Kennedy Center Honorees. For me, and for so many artists, that honor represented something larger than a career recognition. It represented a belief in the importance of art to the life of a democracy.”
She opposes attempts to add President Trump’s name to the center, adding, “You can easily imagine my indignation at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man’s name and unchecked ego.”
Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after Trump-aligned board votes to close it
Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center for repairs. A Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee quickly sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the “unlawful closing.”
The board’s vote Tuesday came after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning President Donald Trump’s name to the building.
The Republican president had said in a social media post that the closure was needed for safety repairs. But he said the repairs, which Congress has allocated $257 million to cover, would only happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.
Activists who've opposed the closure said there's been no vehicle or pedestrian access to the building Wednesday. An Associated Press reporter who approached the main building was told by a security guard that it was closed.
Trump suggests EU allowing Canada as associate member could be a ‘hostile act’
President Donald Trump suggested that the European Union allowing Canada to become an associate member could be a “hostile act” and threatened to respond to the proposed move by imposing more tariffs on the bloc.
Trump conditioned his threat Wednesday on the “intention” of European leaders, saying that, “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.” He also suggested the U.S. could cut off trade with Europe in certain areas.
Trump called the prospect of Canada joining the EU “laughable” and called America’s neighbor a “terrible trade partner.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union’s first associate member, saying closer ties with Europe were meant to ensure no country could control Canada’s markets, impair its sovereignty or undermine its freedoms.
