A federal judge in Washington threatened Wednesday to open a high-stakes contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration violated an order he issued last month directing officials to stop planes of Venezuelan migrants from being sent to El Salvador.
The threat of contempt proceedings is coupled with another federal judge’s move Tuesday to open a similar inquiry, where the White House is facing questions over why it has so far apparently failed to comply with directions from the Supreme Court to “facilitate” the return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March.
The administration indicated on Wednesday that it will appeal the order to return Abrego Garcia.
See a recap from Wednesday.
Harvard spokesperson: “There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status” — 9:07 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Nick Stoico, and Tonya Alanez Globe Staff
In a statement Wednesday, Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton responded to reports that the Trump administration is pushing the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status.
“There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status,” Newton said.
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“Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission. It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation,” Newton added. “The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”
Palestinian student detained in Vermont is an avowed Buddhist — 8:50 p.m.
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff
When they start locking up Buddhists in Vermont, you know times have changed.
The Buddhist is Mohsen Mahdawi, who had a green card and a home in the Green Mountain State.
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But those meant nothing on Monday when he showed up for what he was told would be a routine appointment in the process to obtain US citizenship. Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents and targeted for deportation, the latest international student to fall afoul of the Trump administration for speaking out on behalf of Palestinians.
As friends waited for him outside the immigration center in Colchester, Vt., Mahdawi walked out in handcuffs, flashing peace signs before being whisked away in a black SUV.
His friends say those peace signs were genuine, that peace is his underlying philosophy. A Palestinian who has lost friends and family members to the Israeli military, Mahdawi became a Buddhist to deal with that trauma, adopting Buddhist teachings about peace and empathy, his friends say.
Presumably, Trump officials have a less charitable view of Mahdawi, 34, given his leadership role in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University that followed the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.
Trump administration reportedly asks IRS to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status — 8:12 p.m.
By the Washington Post
The Trump administration has asked the Internal Revenue Service’s top attorney to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, according to three people familiar with the situation, amid President Trump’s row with the institution over its handling of antisemitism and diversity practices.
The directive is a significant escalation of the president’s feud with Ivy League institutions and other nonprofit groups his administration views as “woke,” according to the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the topic.
Tax-exempt status is available to charitable, religious and educational organizations, as well as social welfare groups. But the organizations must adhere to tax laws that prohibit them from engaging in certain political activity. There is no proof that Harvard has violated any of those guardrails, experts say.
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Law professors challenge Trump’s sanctions on international court’s top prosecutor — 7:57 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Two law professors filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday challenging the sanctions at the International Criminal Court.
Gabor Rona and Lisa Davis said in court documents that they are also subject to the sanctions because they provided legal services to the prosecutor, Karim Khan, and they intended to continue doing so. They said the sanctions unconstitutionally restrict their First Amendment rights.
Trump signed an order this year accusing the ICC of “baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” It cited an ICC arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Khan was then added to a list of individuals barred from doing business with Americans and facing restrictions on entering the U.S.
The Hague-based court has said it stands by its personnel and will continue to seek justice for victims of atrocities around the world.
Trump hopes for ‘one of the great Easters ever’ — 7:49 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The president addressed about 40 Christian leaders in the White House’s Blue Room for an Easter prayer service and dinner, telling them, “I hope this is going to be one of the great Easters ever.”
He called the death and resurrection of Jesus “two of the most monumental events in history.”
In brief remarks that stuck mostly to a religious message — without the many lengthy asides the president usually relishes when giving speeches — Trump denounced the persecution of Christians in other parts of the world and noted the creation of a Department of Justice task force to combat anti-Christian bias.
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Trump also told those gathered that his administration is filled with “fantastic people, and they’re people that believe like you do.”
Trump taps Clayton as interim US attorney for New York’s Southern District amid procedural spat with Schumer — 6:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump is picking Jay Clayton to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, amid a procedural fight with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
In a post on his social media site, Trump noted that during his first term, Clayton chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission and “earned the respect of everyone.”
Trump first tapped Clayton for the Southern District post in November 2024. But Schumer said he will use a Senate procedure letting home-state senators object to judicial nominees to block Trump’s picks for U.S. attorneys for New York’s Southern and Eastern Districts.
Trump thanked Clayton for “taking on this role while we continue to pursue his Senate confirmation.”
Trump administration to appeal order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia — 6:08 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The administration indicated that it will appeal a federal judge’s order to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. from an El Salvador prison after he was mistakenly deported to his native country last month.
The notice of appeal focused on last week’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland, which she issued soon after the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
The administration said little else in its notice to bring the case to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. But it comes as White House officials have continued to say that Abrego Garcia will not come back or that he would be immediately deported if he did. El Salvador’s president has also said he would not send him back.
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Xinis has increasingly scolded Trump officials in court. On Tuesday she ordered administration officials to provide sworn testimony to determine whether they complied with her orders.
Mother of Maryland woman killed by Salvadoran fugitive is ‘special guest’ at White House briefing — 5:12 p.m.
By the Associated Press
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is holding a press briefing with Patty Morin, whose daughter, Rachel, was killed in 2023 while exercising on a popular hiking trail northeast of Baltimore.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez was convicted of raping and killing Rachel Morin and concealing her body in a drainage culvert.
Leavitt previously announced the unscheduled briefing with a “special guest”
Leavitt has highlighted the Morin case for days. She has expressed anger, saying it received less attention than that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.
Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for failing to heed a Supreme Court order that it must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release.
White House adds briefing with ‘special guest’ — 4:40 p.m.
By the Associated Press
During a relatively sleepy day at the White House, the email arrived in reporters’ inboxes in the middle of the afternoon: an announcement of an impromptu briefing with a “special guest.”
White House staff remained tight-lipped all afternoon, giving scant clues as to who the person was.
Trump administration’s $90 million cut to disaster prevention aid makes ‘communities less safe,’ Healey says — 4:36 p.m.
By Travis Anderson, Globe Staff
Governor Maura Healey blasted the Trump administration for cutting $90 million in disaster preparedness aid meant to help 18 cities and towns in Massachusetts, saying the move “makes our communities less safe and will increase costs for residents, municipalities and businesses.”
In a statement, Healey’s office said the sorely needed funding was revoked from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, also known as BRIC.
“In recent years, Massachusetts communities have been devastated by severe storms, flooding and wildfires. We rely on FEMA funding to not only rebuild but also take steps to protect against future extreme weather,” Healey said in the statement.
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Trump administration has revoked nearly 80 student visas in New England. Here are the totals. — 4:26 p.m.
By Emily Spatz, Globe Correspondent
Schools in New England are reporting that the federal government has revoked nearly 80 student visas of international students, a figure that’s likely much higher, in the past several weeks, according to a review by the Globe.
The revocations, nearly 5,000 nationwide according to one estimate, are the result of the Trump administration’s move to deport international students who have expressed pro-Palestinian viewpoints or pose “national security concerns,” though some students’ legal statuses have seemingly been terminated for non-political reasons.
Wu: Constitution, civil rights laws ‘need to be followed’ in light of recent immigration arrests — 4:18 p.m.
By Emily Spatz, Globe Correspondent
At a press conference, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she has seen the recent video of a Guatemalan immigrant being arrested in New Bedford, during which federal agents shattered the glass on his vehicle while he and his wife were inside. Wu added that she’s heard of similar operations being carried out in the area — even in Boston.
Juan Francisco Méndez, 29, an undocumented immigrant with no Massachusetts criminal record, was taken to an undisclosed location after being arrested Monday, The New Bedford Light reported. He was in his car with his wife waiting for their lawyer to arrive when federal law enforcement officials approached the car and demanded they open the door.
An agent eventually smashed in the right rear window of their vehicle and pulled the couple out, The New Bedford Light reported.
“We have heard anecdotally — although we did not have video of other situations like that — in the greater Boston area, and even in Boston, as some of these immigration operations have been carried out,” Wu said at an event on Boston Public Schools transportation at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language School in Roxbury.
US stocks tumble as Nvidia slides and the fog of Trump’s trade war thickens — 4:14 p.m.
By the Associated Press
US stocks are tumbling Wednesday after Nvidia warned new US restrictions on exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results, while companies around the world said President Trump’s trade war is clouding forecasts for how they or the economy will do this year.
The S&P 500 was 3 percent lower in late trading, an amount that would have vied for one of its worst losses in years before its historic, chaotic swings of recent weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 843 points, or 2.1 percent, with less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was down a market-leading 4.1 percent.
Student association drops lawsuit challenging DOGE access to student loan data — 3:52 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The University of California Student Association, which represents students across nine UC campuses, sued the Education Department in February saying it violated the Privacy Act of 1974 when it allowed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access financial aid databases.
The databases include Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth and other personal information for millions of borrowers.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected a request to temporarily block DOGE’s access to the data in February, saying there was no evidence DOGE would misuse the data.
The association voluntarily dropped the case a week after the Education Department filed a motion to dismiss it.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warns US children diagnosed with autism at ‘alarming rate’ — 3:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
He promised Wednesday to conduct exhaustive studies to identify any environmental factors that may cause the developmental disorder.
His call comes the day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that found an estimated 1 in 31 US children have autism, a marked increase from 2020.
“Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.”
Kennedy described autism as a “preventable disease,” although researchers and scientists have identified genetic factors that are associated with it. Autism isn’t considered a disease, but a complex disorder that affects the brain. Cases range widely in severity, with symptoms that can include delays in language, learning, and social or emotional skills. Some autistic traits can go unnoticed well into adulthood.
Musk’s team is building a system to sell ‘gold card’ immigrant visas — 2:35 p.m.
By The New York Times
Members of Elon Musk’s government-slashing task force are building a system for the United States to sell special immigration visas, which President Donald Trump has labeled “gold cards,” for $5 million apiece.
Engineers associated with Musk’s team have been working with employees from the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to create a website and application process for the visas, according to three people familiar with the discussions and documents seen by The New York Times.
The project represents something of a shift in mission for Musk’s team, the Department of Government Efficiency, from its initial task of cutting government costs toward a new goal of generating revenue.
In late February, Trump announced his idea for a gold card to give “very high-level people” a “route to citizenship.”
State Department shuts down office that flags disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran — 2:24 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that he closed what had been known as the Global Engagement Center because it had taken actions to restrict freedom of speech in the US and elsewhere.
The GEC has been a frequent target of criticism from conservatives for calling out media and online reports it said are biased or untruthful. At times, the GEC identified US websites and social media accounts that it argued were amplifying misinformation, particularly related to the Russia-Ukraine war.
ACLU sues Defense Department school system over banning race- and gender-related books — 1:40 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The American Civil Liberties Union asserts that the removal of race- and gender-related books and curricula violated students’ First Amendment protections against government censorship.
The suit filed Tuesday in US District Court in northeast Virginia says the Department of Defense Education Activity nixed educational materials in line with an executive order issued by Trump in January.
Trump’s order forbids the school system from “promoting, advancing, or otherwise inculcating ... un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist, and irrational theories” connected to race and gender.
Books ranging from Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” to “Hillbilly Elegy” by Vice President JD Vance have since been stripped from some schools’ library shelves, according to the ACLU.
AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits let go in DOGE cuts — 1:02 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the US have been discharged as a result of the Trump administration’s campaign to shrink government workforce and services.
AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps informed volunteers Tuesday they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
More than 2,000 people, ages 18 to 26, serve for nearly a year, according to the program’s website, and get assigned to projects with nonprofits and community organizations or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The volunteers are especially visible after natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Helene last year. The organization said on social media last month that teams have served 8 million service hours on nearly 3,400 disaster projects since 1999.
Stefanik is reportedly considering a New York gubernatorial run — 12:56 p.m.
By the Associated Press
That’s according to a person close to her who was granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Stefanik, R-N.Y., is a member of House Republican leadership and onetime nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations.
New York’s current governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, was elected in 2022.
Stefanik, a close ally and fierce defender of the president, had been nominated to represent the US at the United Nations. But her nomination was pulled last month amid concerns about leaving a Republican House seat vacant when the party has such a narrow majority in the chamber.
US imposes sanctions on Chinese refinery accused of buying Iranian oil — 12:52 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a Chinese refinery accused of purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian oil, saying the proceeds help finance both Tehran’s government and Iran’s support for militant groups.
The sanctioned Chinese refinery received dozens of shipments of crude oil from Iran, the Trump administration said Wednesday. Some of the petroleum came from a front company for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, US authorities said.
Several companies and vessels involved in the shipments also were added to the sanctions list.
The penalties follow earlier efforts by the Trump administration to disrupt the flow of Iranian oil.
Some Head Start centers close in Washington state over funding concerns — 12:44 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A handful of preschools in Washington state have stopped providing Head Start services, saying the federal government hasn’t sent their funding.
Inspire Development Centers in Sunnyside, Washington, closed Wednesday with no plans to reopen until they receive federal money, a statement Tuesday said.
The closure affects more than 300 low-income preschoolers and more than 100 babies and toddlers. More than 50 staff members will be laid off this week, Inspire said.
Head Start, a federal child development program for the nation’s neediest kids, runs through private and public schools, which receive federal money to operate. Inspire said it typically receives annual notice of its funding amount in February, with a finalized award by May 1. But this year, the centers haven’t heard from the Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the Office of Head Start.
Judge finds probable cause to hold Trump administration in contempt for violating deportation order — 12:23 p.m.
By the Associated Press
It regards his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.
US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he the administration must try to “purge” itself of a contempt finding or he’ll launch hearings and potentially refer the matter for prosecution.
“The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses has been satisfactory,” the judge wrote.
The move by Judge Boasberg marks an escalation in a battle between the judicial and executives branches of government over a president’s powers to carry out key White House priorities. The Republican president has called for Boasberg’s impeachment while the Justice Department has accused the judge of overstepping his authority.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping: China will stand with Southeast Asian countries in face of economic shocks — 11:55 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Xi’s remarks were made at a dinner with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim while Xi was on a state visit as part of his Southeast Asia tour.
“In the face of shocks to global order and economic globalization, China and Malaysia will stand with countries in the region to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical ... confrontation, as well as the counter-currents of unilateralism and protectionism,” Xi said.
Xi is visiting Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia this week, days after Trump’s tariff announcements disrupted the global economy, and he’s used the trip to promote Beijing as a source of stability in the region. Although the trip was likely planned before the tariffs uncertainty, it was a chance for Beijing to shore up its own relationships in the region and look for ways to mitigate the 145 percent tariffs Trump has kept on China, even as he paused tariffs for other countries.
First Kennedy presser features supporters in audience — 11:35 a.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
Kennedy’s first press conference as Health Secretary doesn’t only include press. Also in the room are top HHS staff, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, and supporters of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.The non-press attendees applauded when Kennedy entered the room.
EPA can’t end grants from $20 billion Biden-era fund for climate-friendly projects, judge says — 11:25 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The federal judge says some nonprofits awarded billions for a so-called green bank to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects cannot have their contracts scrapped and must have access to some of the frozen money.
The ruling is a defeat for Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, which argues the program is rife with financial mismanagement.
The order late Tuesday by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan “gives us a chance to breathe after the EPA unlawfully — and without due process — terminated our awards and blocked access to funds that were appropriated by Congress and legally obligated,” said Climate United CEO Beth Bafford.
The lawsuit by Climate United Fund and other groups contends that the EPA, Administrator Lee Zeldin and Citibank, which held the grant money, illegally blocked the funds awarded last year and had jeopardized the organizations’ operations.
Iranian state TV says 2nd round of Iran-US nuclear talks will be in Rome — 11:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
That comes after earlier confusion over where the negotiations would be held.
The talks will be mediated by Oman, as they were last weekend in the sultanate’s capital of Muscat, the state TV report said.
On Monday, multiple officials said they would be held in Rome. However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said early Tuesday they’d be held in Oman.
The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
White House is starting new media policy that restricts wire services’ access to the president — 10:55 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Associated Press says the new White House media policy violates a court order by giving the administration sole discretion over who gets to question Trump, and the news agency asked a federal judge Wednesday to enforce that order.
The swift move was in response to a policy issued late Tuesday by the White House, which suffered a courtroom loss last week over The Associated Press’ ability to cover Trump. The plans, the latest attempt by the new administration to control coverage of its activities, sharply curtail the access of three news agencies that serve billions of readers around the world.
The AP filed Wednesday’s motion with US District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, asking for relief “given defendant’s refusal to obey” his order last week. McFadden said the White House had violated the AP’s free speech by banning it from certain presidential events because Trump disagreed with the outlet’s decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills says state will fight lawsuit over transgender students in sports — 10:36 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Trump administration said Wednesday it’s suing Maine’s education department for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex.
Mills, a Democrat, said the lawsuit is really about the federal government imposing its will on Maine and that other states should be concerned.
“Today is the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law,” Mills said in a statement. “This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law.”
RFK Jr.’s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism from health officials — 10:25 a.m.
By the Associated Press
As measles outbreaks popped up across the US this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation’s public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness.
It wasn’t until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas had died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence.
The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it’s one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics.
Members of Congress travel to El Salvador in split trips highlighting prison there — 10:21 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in the Central American nation Wednesday morning as part of a trip meant to assess the condition of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, according to a person familiar with his trip who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
In a video posted to social media prior to his flight, Van Hollen, a Democrat, said the trip was meant to highlight the importance of “due process” and “the rule of law” for all Americans.
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran prison, a move administration officials have said was erroneous.
Representative Riley Moore, a Virginia Republican, posted Tuesday evening that he’d visited the prison.
“I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland,” Moore wrote on social media.
Anti-DEI conservative strategist urges Trump to escalate his Ivy League battle — 10:05 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A prominent opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion programs is imploring President Trump to cut all federal money and strip nonprofit status at Harvard and other Ivy League schools that defy federal orders.
Conservative strategist Christopher Rufo said the government should respond to Harvard’s defiance with the same tools used to force desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement.
“Trump needs to follow through on his threat to defund one of the Ivy League universities,” Rufo said on social media Tuesday. “Cut the funding and watch the university implode.”
Harvard on Monday became the first school to openly defy sweeping orders from the Trump administration, prompting the government to freeze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts.
Rufo said Harvard has discriminated against white and Asian American students, citing events including graduation celebrations specific to certain ethnic groups, along with a 2021 theater performance exclusively “for Black-identifying audience members.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi says Kilmar Abrego Garcia ‘is not coming back to our country’ — 9:55 a.m.
By the Associated Press
She was asked at an unrelated news conference about the case of the El Salvador man living in Maryland who was wrongly deported to an El Salvador prison. The Supreme Court has said the administration must “facilitate” his release.
Bondi said the US government would fly him back on a plane if El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wanted to return him.
“President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That’s the end of the story,” Bondi said. Even if he were to return to the U.S., the government would deport him again, Bondi said.
“He would have come back, had one extra step of paperwork and gone back again. But he’s from El Salvador, he’s in El Salvador and that’s where the president plans on keeping him,” Bondi said.
The Trump administration has alleged he’s a member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations.
Vance, his wife and kids are traveling to Italy and India later this week, his office says — 9:51 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Vice President JD Vance says the trip will take place April 18-24.
In Rome, Vance will meet with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, who’s scheduled to visit the White House on Thursday. He’ll also meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
His India stops include New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, which is known for the Taj Mahal, and include meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vance and his family will also visit cultural sites.
The vice president converted to Catholicism. His wife, Usha Vance, is the first Indian American person to become second lady. They have three young children.
WTO says the volume of trade in goods worldwide is likely to decrease by 0.2% this year — 9:50 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The World Trade Organization says that’s due to Trump’s shifting tariff policies and a standoff with China, but it would take a more severe hit if the US president carries through on his toughest “reciprocal” tariffs.
The decline in trade will be particularly steep in North America even without the stiffest tariffs, the global trade forum said Wednesday, with exports there this year expected to fall by 12.6 percent and imports by 9.6 percent.
The WTO based its report on the tariff situation as of Monday. Initially, 2025 and 2026 were expected to have continued expansion of world trade, but Trump’s trade war forced WTO economists to substantially downgrade their forecast, the forum said.
Trump’s schedule for Wednesday — 9:24 a.m.
By the Associated Press
This morning, at 11:30 a.m., Trump will receive an intelligence briefing. Later this evening, at 6:30 p.m., he will attend an Easter prayer service and dinner.
US shoppers increased their buying last month — 9:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
It’s fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items from gadgets to cars before Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in.
Retail sales rose 1.4 percent in March, after rising 0.2 percent in February, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales fell 1.2 percent in January, hurt in part by cold weather that kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores.
Excluding sales at auto dealers, sales only rose 0.5 percent.
Sales at auto dealers rose 5.3 percent, while electronics retailers had a 0.8 percent increase. Sporting goods retailers enjoyed a 2.4 percent gain.
But analysts expect sales will start falling off as the slew of tariffs increase costs for companies and many retailers are forced to raise prices, hurting shopper demand.
Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports — 8:45 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The administration announced the lawsuit Wednesday against Maine’s education department for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex.
The lawsuit follows weeks of feuding between the Republican administration and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills that’s led to threats to cut off crucial federal funding and a clash at the White House when she told the president: “We’ll see you in court.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the legal action at a news conference in Washington alongside former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has emerged as a public face of the opposition to transgender athletes.
Rubio and Witkoff will travel to Paris for talks on the war in Ukraine — 8:37 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Paris this week for talks with European allies on US efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The State Department said Wednesday that Rubio and Witkoff would be in the French capital Thursday for the meetings, details of which weren’t immediately available.
The pair will have “talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed.”
Rubio will also “discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announces lawsuit over Trump tariffs — 8:22 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Newsom is challenging Trump’s authority to impose a 10% tariff on all imports.
The state, which will file the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, will ask the court to immediately block the tariffs.
Newsom said the tariffs “are wreaking chaos” on Californians and threatening jobs in the state, which has the largest economy in the nation.
“We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue,” he said.
The Democratic governor previously asked countries to exempt California exports from retaliatory tariffs.
Trump says Japanese officials coming to White House to negotiate over tariffs and other issues — 8:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Trump said in a morning post on his social media platform that he’ll attend the Wednesday meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” the president wrote.
Trump’s announcement last week of a 90-day pause on the latest series of duties put Japan’s 24% across-the-board rate on hold, but a 10% baseline tariff and a 25% tariff on cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum exports to the US remain in place.
Japan’s chief trade negotiator, Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, was traveling to Washington for the talks.
Harvard’s challenge to Trump administration could test limits of government power — 8:10 a.m.
By the Associated Press
On Monday, Harvard became the first university to openly defy the Trump administration as it demands sweeping changes to limit activism on campus. The university frames the government’s demands as a threat not only to the Ivy League school but to the autonomy that the Supreme Court has long granted American universities.
Both sides are digging in for a clash that could test the limits of the government’s power and the independence that has made US universities a destination for scholars around the world.
But no university is better positioned to put up a fight than Harvard, whose $53 billion endowment is the largest in the nation. But like other major universities, Harvard also depends on the federal funding that fuels its scientific and medical research. It’s unclear how long Harvard could continue without the frozen money.
For the Trump administration, Harvard presents the first major hurdle in its attempt to force change at universities that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.
Trump says he wants to give money and airplane tickets to immigrants who ‘self-deport’ — 8:08 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Trump said he wants to give money and an airplane ticket to any immigrant who is in the country illegally who chooses to “self-deport,” and work to get those who are “good” back in the US, a break from his usual hardline immigration rhetoric.
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to carry out mass deportations, said in a taped interview with Fox Noticias that aired Tuesday that his administration is focused right now on getting “murderers” out of the country. But for others in the US illegally, he said, he’s going to implement “a self-deportation program.”
Trump offered few details about the plan, including timing, but said the US would provide immigrants airfare and a stipend.
“We’re going to give them a stipend. We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them — if they’re good — if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can,” Trump said.
US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia — 8:05 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.
US District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia. She said they defied a “clear” Supreme Court order.
She also downplayed Monday’s comments by White House officials and El Salvador’s president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as “two very misguided ships passing in the night.”
“The Supreme Court has spoken,” Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office on Monday “is not before the court.”
In her written order published Tuesday evening, Xinis called for the testimony of four Trump administration officials who work for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.
The White House is starting a new media policy that restricts wire services’ access to the president — 4:18 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Fresh from a courtroom loss over The Associated Press’ access to the presidency, the White House on Tuesday put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by news agencies that serve media outlets around the world. It was the latest attempt by the new administration to control coverage of its activities.
The move would block the AP and other wire services that serve billions of readers through thousands of news outlets. It comes after a judge ruled the White House had violated the organization’s free speech by banning it because it disagreed with the outlet’s decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Vermont maple syrup makers face uncertainty amid Canada and China tariff chaos — 3:44 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Making maple syrup in New England’s fickle spring weather can be an unpredictable business. Now President Trump’s ever-changing tariff policies are adding anxiety about an industry that depends on multinational trade.
“Any kind of disruption with our cross border enterprise, we feel it,” said Jim Judd, a fourth-generation sugarer who owns Judd’s Wayeeses Farms in Morgan, Vermont. “It’s uncertain enough making maple syrup.”
Judd, who has been making Vermont’s signature product since the 1970s, says multiple countries contribute to each container of the sticky sweetener. Stainless steel fixtures used connect sap lines and boil the liquid into syrup can originate in China. Packaging often comes from Italy. And the vast majority of equipment is sold by Canada, which produces about four-fifths of the planet’s maple syrup — and sells nearly two-thirds of it to US consumers.
Japan’s chief trade negotiator to visit Washington for tariff talks — 2:28 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Japan’s chief trade negotiator will visit the United States this week for talks aimed at convincing President Trump to remove tariff measures against the East Asian country, officials said Tuesday.
Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa will be in Washington from Wednesday to Friday for talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
China appoints new top international trade negotiator amid tariff tensions with the US — 1:02 a.m.
By the Associated Press
China appointed a new top international trade negotiator on Wednesday amid tariff tensions with the US.
The government said that Li Chenggang has been appointed to replace Wang Shouwen, who participated in the trade negotiations for the 2020 trade deal between the China and the US.
The world’s two largest economies have been steadily increasing tariffs on each other’s goods since the US raised tariffs on dozens of countries. China faces 145 percent taxes on exports to the US, while other countries were given a 90-day reprieve for most duties.
RFK Jr.’s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism from health officials — 12:10 a.m.
By the Associated Press
As measles outbreaks popped up across the US this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation’s public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness.
It wasn’t until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas had died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence.
The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it is one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics.