A federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days' notice before demolishing its main building or making other major physical changes, a step that blocks quick action by the Trump administration. Judge Christopher Cooper issued the order on Thursday and denied a request from Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat on the board, for an emergency hearing. The board, chaired by President Donald Trump, voted on Tuesday to proceed with a $257 million renovation, and the building closed to the public on Wednesday. The closure was justified by structural deterioration that officials called a safety risk. A May ruling had found the center illegally added Trump's name to the building.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the European Union would face very serious tariffs, or a halt to large parts of transatlantic trade, if it moves ahead with a plan to bring Canada in as an associate member. Trump called Canada a terrible trade partner and described the idea as laughable. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU is opening the door for Canada to become the bloc's first associate member, a category that does not exist in current EU treaties and would need ratification by every member state. Canadian officials say no formal offer is on the table, and EU diplomats describe the plan as a political signal.
The House passed a short-term spending measure on Tuesday to fund the federal government into early December, voting 370-48 to avoid a shutdown during campaign season. The Senate has already approved the bill by a wide margin, so it now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. Lawmakers needed to act before the fiscal year ends on September 30. The stopgap does not settle the twelve annual appropriations bills, and House appropriators say Senate Democrats have slowed progress. Congress also faces unresolved questions about the cost of the war with Iran, which the Congressional Budget Office puts above $38 billion.
The US Supreme Court late on Monday rejected the Trump administration's plan to give the Postal Service a central role in deciding who can receive a mail ballot, clearing the way for normal mail voting in the November 3 midterms. The 7-2 ruling followed a months-long legal fight and a second federal judge's order blocking the same rules. The plan would have required states to adopt a uniform ballot envelope and upload lists of eligible voters to a federal portal, and the Postal Service could have refused to deliver ballots that failed its checks. A whistleblower report warned millions of ballots might never have been sent.
A federal judge ruled that a Department of Homeland Security plan to cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency's workforce by 50 percent was unlawful. The ruling, issued Friday, is a setback for an administration that has pushed to shrink the disaster agency. A review council had already stepped back from the 50 percent figure in its final report, recommending a staffing review instead. The case lands as Congress weighs bipartisan FEMA reform and as Democrats press claims of political bias in disaster aid.
A new Carolina Journal poll shows former Democratic governor Roy Cooper widening his lead over Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolina's open Senate race. Cooper leads independents 55% to 34% and holds 91% of Democrats, while Whatley takes 81% of his own party. The finding worries GOP strategists defending a seat in a state President Donald Trump won twice. Whatley used the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to tie himself to Trump. High gas prices and climbing mortgage rates are complicating the party's national message.
President Donald Trump arrived in Ireland on Saturday for his first state visit since Catherine Connolly became president, meeting Ireland's leaders in Dublin before heading to his Doonbeg golf resort for the final rounds of the Amgen Irish Open. He said relations between the two countries have never been better and told reporters a united Ireland would be 'fantastic'. Large crowds protested in Dublin and a demonstration was planned in Doonbeg, where Irish authorities mounted one of the largest security operations in the state's history. Trump delayed his arrival to stay in the US for the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
President Donald Trump told CBS News Texas that he does not think Congress would need to approve his plan to send $5,000 to every adult American if Republicans hold the House and Senate. He unveiled the idea during the first Republican midterm convention in Dallas. The payments could cost more than a trillion dollars, and it is not clear what legal authority the president has to send them. Legal experts, economists and some fellow Republicans say the plan faces practical obstacles and long odds in Congress. Party officials in competitive districts have said their candidates will not campaign on the proposal, even as Trump presents it as a way to rescue Republican prospects in November.
A federal appeals court upheld a block on the Trump administration's restrictions on mail-in voting, leaving the rules frozen while the Supreme Court considers whether to intervene before November's midterm elections. Three judges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with District Judge Indira Talwani, who barred the Postal Service from carrying out the executive order. The order would withhold mail ballots from states that do not provide lists of voters who should receive them. Talwani wrote there was no evidence of fraudulent mail voting to support the directive and has blocked it three times. Further appeals are expected.
New Hampshire voters chose a general election matchup that could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Former senator John E. Sununu won the Republican nomination, and U.S. Representative Chris Pappas won the Democratic side, NBC News projected. Sununu, endorsed by President Trump, defeated former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown. Pappas cleared a crowded Democratic field. The seat is open because Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen is retiring. New Hampshire has not elected a Republican senator since 2010, and the November race is seen as one of the GOP's best chances to flip a Democratic-held seat. Polls show Pappas ahead, and the outcome could shape which party controls the chamber after the midterms.