Iowa senator Chuck Grassley calls for embargo on diesel exports as tariffs and Iran war drive up costs for sector

Donald Trump is facing growing calls, including from within his own party, to boost support for US farmers as his administration faces mounting anger over its treatment of the agricultural sector.

Republican senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa called on the US president to place an embargo on diesel exports this weekend and help farmers grapple with high prices.

Polls show voters who helped elect president unhappy – and may be willing to vote Democrat in midterms

Hispanic voters who helped re-elect Donald Trump in 2024 are discontent with his second-term economic and immigration policies, according to recent polling – indicating they may not be willing to support the president’s party in the midterm elections.

Despite a record number of Hispanic voters casting their ballots for the Republican president, more than 65% said they are displeased with Trump’s handling of his job and 78% said they would prefer to see the Democratic party in control of Congress, according to a September poll from the New York Times/Siena University.

Civil rights groups say plan will make people ‘afraid to vote’ and violates the Voting Rights Act

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A coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials on Friday, seeking to stop them from threatening to deploy federal law enforcement officers to polling stations in the US midterm elections.

The suit, led by the NAACP, alleges that by threatening to deploy law enforcement to survey elections and initiating new voter roll oversight, the Trump administration has violated a section of the Voting Rights Act which prohibits voter intimidation.

Critics had criticized administration for nominating Schroyer, who has no formal experience working in ICE

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), less than three months after announcing his role.

Critics had initially criticized administration officials for nominating Schroyer, who has no formal experience working in ICE, to lead Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.

National Park Service lays out concerns that planned 250ft arch could interfere with historic sites in Washington DC

Donald Trump’s desired triumphal arch in downtown Washington DC will likely contribute “to adverse effects to historic properties”, according to the National Park Service’s planning document, but the construction is still planned to go forward.

The president’s 250ft arch could interfere with some of the most well-known views in the nation’s capital, including the symbolic relationship between Arlington House, the Arlington National Cemetery, the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial, which face each other to represent the reunification of the United States after the civil war.

Mike Johnson cancels votes on Thursday, meaning House members will avoid voting on impeaching Pete Hegseth

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The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, announced on Wednesday that he would again cancel votes scheduled for Thursday, sending lawmakers home one day early ahead of the midterm election recess.

The latest change to the legislative schedule means House members will avoid voting on Republican Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and comes amid a frenzied attempt to propose legislation on artificial intelligence.

Sunny, who joined the Obama family at the White House in 2013, was the second Obama dog after Bo, who died in 2021

Sunny Obama, the Obama family’s second beloved Portuguese water dog, died on Tuesday, Barack Obama announced on Wednesday morning.

“Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family,” the former president wrote on social media, attaching a photo of the 14-year-old dog, whom he called “a force of nature”.

David Streever was issued a ‘warning notice’ after sending an email critical of ICE to the agency’s director in January

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may no longer issue a “warning notice” – threatening prosecution against a US citizen – for criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal judge in Washington DC ruled on Tuesday.

Judge Rudolph Contreras sided with David Streever, a New York man who accused DHS officials of violating his first amendment rights when they showed up first at his home in June with a “warning notice”, claiming he made a threat against former ICE director Todd Lyons, and then to a hotel where Streever and his young daughter were staying.

Senators question FBI chief on move to cut restrictions on agent applicants who have engaged in bestiality

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The FBI director, Kash Patel, defended his agency’s decision to roll back restrictions on agent applicants who have previously engaged in bestiality, arguing the FBI “did not want to punish victims of bestiality” by automatically disqualifying them.

The unusual topic of bestiality emerged during a Senate judiciary committee oversight hearing on Tuesday after Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican John Kennedy questioned Patel’s decision to remove barriers that previously prevented applicants who engaged in prostitution and bestiality from being qualified for a job at the FBI.

Robert Garcia expresses concern over ‘any possible foreign entanglement’ between White House and Umar Kremlev

Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, is investigating potential ties between the White House and a Russian oligarch who paid for a portion of Donald Trump Jr’s wedding.

In a letter sent to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, on Monday, Garcia expressed concern about “any possible foreign entanglement” between the president’s son and the oligarch, Umar Kremlev. Garcia asked Wiles to provide documents, records and communications between the White House and Trump Jr about Kremlev, among other requests.