The White House is claiming victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the US on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime US partner.
Here’s the latest:
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s famous name and controversial views collide in his bid for top health job Robert F Kennedy Jr has said vaccines aren’t safe. His support for abortion access has made conservatives uncomfortable. And farmers across the Midwest are nervous over his talk of banning corn syrup and pesticides from America’s food supply.
The 71-year-old, whose famous name and family tragedies have put him in the national spotlight since he was a child, has spent years airing his populist and sometimes extreme views in podcasts, TV interviews and speeches building his own quixotic brand.
A son of a democratic political dynasty, Kennedy is seeking to become the nation’s top health official under President Donald Trump. To get there, he’s softening those long-held beliefs, hoping to win approval from the republican party.
At stake is Kennedy’s control of the nation’s sprawling $1.7 trillion US health and human services agency, which oversees food and hospital inspections, health insurance for roughly half of the country and vaccine recommendations. The job would finally give him the kind of political power Kennedys have wielded for decades.
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Some key moments from over the weekend The Trump administration’s first weekend in office is already offering signals about how his next four years in the White House may unfold.
Here are some of the key moments:
- 1. Pete Hegseth was quickly sworn in as defense secretary after dramatic senate vote
2. Trump visited Las Vegas and leaned into his pledge to eliminate taxes on tips at a rally
3. The senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary
4. Trump fired about 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies, a sweeping action to remove oversight of his new administration
5. Trump changed the name of Alaska’s Denali back to Mount McKinley, but many Alaskans say they’ll never stop calling the mountain Denali.
6. Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees and floated a plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza. But the idea fell flat
7. Trump eliminated Biden’s “Justice 40” initiative, which required 40 per cent of the benefits from certain environmental programs to go to hard-hit communities
Where things stand with Colombia The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the US on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime US partner.
Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the US and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each other’s goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.
Earlier, the US president had ordered visa restrictions, 25 per cent tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50 per cent in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petro’s decision to reject two Colombia-bound US military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25 per cent increase in Colombian tariffs on US goods.
Trump said the measures were necessary because Petro’s decision “jeopardized” national security in the US by blocking the deportation flights.
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