A federal judge agreed Friday to extend a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s creation and operation of a $1.8 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.
Even though acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the government is scrapping its plans earlier this month, plaintiffs’ attorneys weren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward. President Donald Trump hasn’t publicly and unequivocally endorsed its cancellation.
Meanwhile, a new AP-NORC polling analysis finds independents have grown increasingly unhappy with Trump during his second term, particularly those without a college degree.
Here’s the latest:
Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering Trump’s name removed from building
That denial came Friday. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled last month Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper ruled only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed by Friday.
’A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump’s name. And an email earlier this week sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
▶ Read more
Pakistan says US and Iran agree on ‘final’ text of a peace deal
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that a “final, agreed upon text of the peace deal” between the United States and Iran has been reached and that Pakistan is now working with both sides to finalize the next steps.
“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” he added.
In a post on X, Sharif said Pakistan was engaged in “ongoing intense mediation efforts” and accused unnamed actors of spreading “incessant misinformation” aimed at undermining the process.
The U.S. and Iran did not immediately comment on Sharif’s statement.
Thunderbirds and Blue Angels fly over White House before Sunday’s UFC matches
Dana White, president and CEO of UFC, was on hand to watch as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels did a practice run over the White House, where the lawn is set up for Sunday’s matches.
White is a big Trump supporter. Sunday is also Trump’s 80th birthday.
Trump’s name remains on Kennedy Center as removal deadline approaches
Yet there were signs of activity on this steamy summer afternoon, as workers put up scaffolding around a section of the performing arts venue that includes Trump’s name.
Workers have appeared in the area before so it’s unclear whether they were preparing to immediately take down his name.
Much of the attention is on U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who must decide whether to grant a last-minute pause for his earlier ruling to remove Trump’s name. The judge ruled in May that only Congress could make such changes.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, made a filing earlier Friday opposing the request. An ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, she filed the lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the institution.
▶ Read more
Iran’s top diplomat says a deal with the US is close
Striking an unusually optimistic tone, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that a Pakistan-brokered agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end their war “has never been closer.”
More details here...
