A federal judge in New Hampshire said he'll certify a class action lawsuit including all children who'll be affected by President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship and issue a preliminary injunction blocking it.
Judge Joseph LaPlante announced his decision Thursday after an hour-long hearing and said a written order will follow. The order will include a seven-day stay to allow for appeal, he said.
The class is slightly narrower than that sought by the plaintiffs, who originally included parents as plaintiffs.
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White House sends Federal Reserve chair a letter regarding the renovation of it headquarters
White House budget director Russell Vought suggested in a Thursday letter that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell misused government money in the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.
Writing to Powell, Vought called the renovation plans an “ostentatious overhaul” with rooftop terrace gardens, VIP dining rooms and premium marble. Vought also suggested that Powell misled Congress by saying the headquarters had never had a serious renovation, saying that a 1999-2003 update of its roof and building systems counts as a “comprehensive” renovation.
Vought sent Powell a series of questions about whether the project complies with federal standards.
President Donald Trump has called for Powell’s dismissal for not cutting the Fed’s benchmark interest rates, with Powell saying the central bank needs to see how Trump’s tariffs influence inflation.
For his part, Trump has engaged in redecorating projects in the White House and ordered the paving over of the grass in the Rose Garden.
Netanyahu is wrapping up US visit but a breakthrough on a ceasefire not clear
The Israeli leader said in a video Thursday that he is trying to wrap up the U.S.-backed 60-day deal, but stresses it will be “temporary.”
He says that during the truce, the sides will begin talks on ending the war altogether. But for there to be a permanent ceasefire, Hamas must agree to give up power and lay down its weapons — a demand it so far has rejected.
“These are our basic conditions,” Netanyahu says. “If this can be achieved through negotiations - so much the better. If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways -- by using force, the force of our heroic army.”
Netanyahu attends Washington memorial for slain Israeli embassy staffers
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a memorial service in Washington on Thursday for two Israeli embassy staffers shot to death outside the embassy in May.
Family members of the two were among those attending the memorial, held at the Israeli embassy, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were fatally shot May 22. A suspect was charged with state and federal murder charges. The two colleagues had been on the verge of getting engaged.
Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, and a psychologist, also attended the memorial, and signed a letter of condolence at the embassy.
Netanyahu was leaving the U.S. Thursday after meeting with President Donald Trump, lawmakers and others over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and other Middle East conflicts and issues.
Top UN official blasts US sanctions on Albanese as ‘unacceptable’
The United Nations is reeling from what some have called the unprecedented sanctions issued Wednesday against Francesca Albanese, who is the independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.
Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, told reporters Thursday that imposing sanctions against U.N. officials or experts sets a “dangerous precedent.”
He added that while member states like the U.S. are entitled to their views and to “disagree with reports” issued by independent investigators, there are ways to deal within the U.N. system.
“The use of unilateral sanctions against special rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,” Dujarric said.
Trump administration rescinds policy against LGBTQ+ discrimination in school nutrition programs
Under the Biden administration, schools were told that protections for LGBTQ+ students extended to food assistance programs.
That Agriculture Department policy was challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Rapides Parish School District in Louisiana and the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization.
The National Women’s Law Center said the administration is encouraging schools to look away from discrimination toward marginalized youth.
The move is the latest from the Trump administration to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people across federal agencies.
Judge’s order puts birthright citizenship issue on fast track back to US Supreme Court
The justices could be asked to rule whether the order issued Thursday by a federal judge in New Hampshire complies with their decision last month that limited judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions.
That ruling from the justices did not address the merits of President Trump’s bid to enforce his executive order signed in January that seeks to deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily.
Federal Judge Joseph LaPlante paused Trump’s order but included a weeklong stay of that decision Thursday to allow the government to appeal, which is expected. The federal appeals court in Boston would be asked to weigh in first before the matter could reach the high court.
Whistleblower turns over emails, text message to lawmakers weighing Trump’s judicial pick
The records released by the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee seek to bolster the allegations of a former Justice Department lawyer who’s accused Emil Bove of suggesting the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders to carry out the president’s deportation plans.
Bove, who was a criminal defense attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department as a top official, is being considered for a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Erez Reuveni, who was fired from the department, alleges that Bove said during a meeting that the department would need to consider telling the courts “f--- you.”
Text messages between Reuveni and a colleague from March seem to reference that profane comment though they don’t mention Bove by name.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said Reuveni’s account is false. And Bove told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that he never advised a department lawyer to defy court orders.
Liberians confused and angry after Trump’s ‘condescending’ praise for Boakai’s ‘beautiful English’
“Such good English,” Trump said Wednesday to Liberian President Joseph Boakai, with visible surprise. “Such beautiful English.”
English has been the west African nation’s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. “Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?”
The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders, amid a pivot from aid to trade in the U.S. foreign policy.
Liberia has had deep ties with the United States for centuries. It was first established with the aim of relocating freed slaves from the United States.
Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump’s engagement with foreign leaders, what some saw as the condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African.
“As a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,” he said. “President Trump was condescending, he was very disrespectful to the African leader.”
▶ Read more about reaction to Trump’s exchange with Boakai
But didn’t the Supreme Court limit nationwide injunctions?
Several federal judges had issued nationwide injunctions stopping Trump’s order from taking effect, but the U.S. Supreme Court limited those injunctions in a June 27 ruling that gave lower courts 30 days to act. With that time frame in mind, opponents of the change quickly returned to court to try to block it.
In a Washington state case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the judges have asked the parties to write briefs explaining the effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Washington and the other states in that lawsuit have asked the appeals court to return the case to the lower court judge.
As in New Hampshire, a plaintiff in Maryland seeks to organize a class-action lawsuit that includes every person who would be affected by the order. The judge set a Wednesday deadline for written legal arguments as she considers the request for another nationwide injunction from CASA, a nonprofit immigrant rights organization.
What to know about the class action lawsuit over birthright citizenship
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a pregnant woman, two parents and their infants, is among numerous cases challenging Trump’s January order denying citizenship to those born to parents living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and others.
At issue is the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” The Trump administration says the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means the U.S. can deny citizenship to babies born to women in the country illegally, ending what has been seen as an intrinsic part of U.S. law for more than a century.
“Prior misimpressions of the citizenship clause have created a perverse incentive for illegal immigration that has negatively impacted this country’s sovereignty, national security, and economic stability,” government lawyers wrote in the New Hampshire case. “The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to … the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws.”
New Hampshire judge to pause Trump’s birthright citizenship order
The federal judge in New Hampshire said Thursday he’ll certify a class action lawsuit including all children who will be affected by President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship and issue a preliminary injunction blocking it.
Judge Joseph LaPlante announced his decision after an hour-long hearing and said a written order will follow. The order will include a seven-day stay to allow for appeal, he said.
The class is slightly narrower than that sought by the plaintiffs, who originally included parents as plaintiffs.
▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship
Civil rights probe targets DEI at George Mason University
The Trump administration is investigating the school over diversity practices the government says amount to illegal discrimination.
The Education Department announced the review Thursday in response to a complaint from multiple professors at Virginia’s largest public university. It represents an expansion of the administration’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which has focused more on K-12 schools and elite, private universities.
The complaint accuses George Mason of adopting DEI policies that favor underrepresented groups and advance “anti-racism” starting in 2020 — the year the university’s president, Gregory Washington, took office. It accuses Washington of renaming the campus DEI office without changing hiring practices.
Similar complaints were leveled against University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, who resigned in June amid a Justice Department investigation into DEI practices.
Last week the Education Department opened a separate investigation into allegations of antisemitism at George Mason.
Rubio says he expects other would-be scammers will use AI to try to impersonate him
That’s after several such instances were discovered last month.
“It’s just the reality of this AI technology that’s going on and it’s a real threat,” Rubio told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Rubio said he found about the attempted impersonation — which targeted at least three foreign ministers, one member of Congress, and a governor — from the senator who got a suspicious message purporting to be from him.
“’Did you call and just try to reach me’ and (he) actually sent me a voice recording,” Rubio said. “It doesn’t really sound like me, if you fell for that call, you know. But maybe there was a better one that I didn’t see because it was on Signal.”
“This is just the reality of the 21st century with AI and fake stuff that’s going on,” he said. “Generally, I communicate with my counterparts around the world through official channels for a reason and that’s to avoid this.”
State Department move to sanction independent UN investigator on Gaza gets mixed response
Outside groups who’d been criticizing Francesca Albanese celebrated what they called a long-awaited move, while advocates for the end of the war in Gaza condemned the action.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of the nongovernmental watchdog UN Watch, had been pushing for years for Albanese to be removed from her post, accusing her of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias. He called it “a bold and courageous move” by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that was unprecedented.
“Then again, no UN official has ever been condemned for Holocaust distortion and antisemitism by France, Germany, Canada, and both Democratic and Republican US administrations,” he said in a statement.
But Muslim and human rights organizations blasted the effort as an attack on free speech and against an independent investigator.
“These sanctions reflect a dangerous attempt to silence international accountability for human rights abuses and war crimes. This is a blatant attempt to intimidate human rights officials who dare to speak the truth about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
Rubio says pause in Ukraine weapons deliveries has been ‘mischaracterized’
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a brief pause in some weapons deliveries to Ukraine was part of a temporary pending review of certain munitions left in America’s stockpiles.
Speaking to reporters after a Southeast Asian regional security conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rubio said the pause was “mischaracterized” as a withdrawal of U.S. support for Ukraine.
“That decision unfortunately was mischaracterized,” he said. “It was a pause pending review on a handful of specific type munitions that frankly is something that is logical that you would do, especially after an extended engagement that we saw both in defense of Israel and in defense of our own bases.”
Trump has no public events today
The only event on his White House schedule is an intelligence briefing at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Rubio says the US and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks
It comes after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia on Thursday.
“I think it’s a new and a different approach,” Rubio told reporters after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president.”
He didn’t elaborate.
Rubio said President Trump has been “disappointed and frustrated” that there’s not been more flexibility from Russia to end the conflict. “We hope that can change ... and we’re going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds talks with Russia’s Lavrov as Ukraine tensions soar
They met Thursday in Malaysia as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and whether Russia’s leader is serious about a peace deal.
Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, European nations and the U.S.
The meeting lasted around 50 minutes. Rubio was seen winking at Lavrov afterward as reporters shouted questions, which they both ignored.
The meeting was their second encounter since Rubio took office, although they’ve spoken by phone several times.
▶ Read more about Rubio at the ASEAN forum
US weapons deliveries to Ukraine will not stall peace talks, Kremlin says
The Kremlin insisted Thursday that the resumption of weapons deliveries between the United States and Ukraine and harsher rhetoric from Trump would not stall peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
“We are still waiting for a signal from Kyiv’s representatives as to their desire or unwillingness to enter into a third round of direct negotiations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “We have always said that we would prefer to use peaceful political and diplomatic means. But until this happens, the military operation continues,” Peskov said, using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine.
The Associated Press
