Comey Pleads Not Guilty in Justice Department Case Accusing Him of Lying to Congress
By AP News
Trump says officials should be jailed as they oppose his use of National Guard troops
Today’s live updates on the Trump administration have ended.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. The officials said they would not be deterred.
National Guard troops from Texas are now positioned outside Chicago, despite a lawsuit by the state and city to block their deployment. The troops’ mission is not clear but the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third largest city, and the president, contrary to statistics, has repeatedly claimed big cities run by Democrats are overwhelmed with crime.
Trump’s comments are the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up. The comments come as Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that highlights the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of Trump.
Trump announces first phase of Israel-Hamas peace deal
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
Trump announced on his social media site Wednesday night that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first Phase” of his peace plan.
“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote. “All Parties will be treated fairly!
California governor criticized Trump, Speaker Johnson over disaster aid
BY TRÂN NGUYỄN
Newsom said it’s “shameful” that the Republican-controlled Congress hasn’t approved disaster aid to help thousands of people who are displaced after devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year.
“It’s been months, not a peep from the president of the United States,” Newsom said at an unrelated press conference. “Not a word from Speaker Johnson.”
Federal officials earlier today charged a 29-year-old man for sparking the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history. The fire killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Trump to get ‘routine yearly check up’ on Friday
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
The president will get what the White House is describing as a “routine yearly check up’ at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday morning.
While press secretary Karoline Leavitt described it as a yearly exam, Trump actually got an annual physical at Walter Reed earlier in April, about six months ago. A physician’s note at the time says the president “remains in excellent health.”
On Friday, he’ll return to the White House afterward but may go to the Middle East, where negotiators are trying to finalize an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, “shortly thereafter,” Leavitt said.
Correction: An earlier post incorrectly described the Walter Reed visit as an annual physical. While the White House described it as an “yearly” exam, Trump got his annual physical six months ago.
Trump to get annual physical on Friday
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
The president will get his annual physical at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday morning, according to the White House.
While there for his “routine yearly check up,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt says, Trump will also speak to the troops.
He’ll return to the White House afterward but may go to the Middle East, where negotiators are trying to finalize an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, “shortly thereafter,” Leavitt said.
Rubio’s note asks Trump to approve social post ‘so you can announce deal first’
BY MEG KINNARD
Secretary of State Marco Rubio writes a note before handing it to President Donald Trump during a roundtable meeting on antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The note that Rubio handed Trump during an unrelated meeting at the White House implores the president to give his OK to a social post related to a Middle East deal.
“You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the hand-scrawled note read, on White House stationary.
Rubio wasn’t part of Trump’s roundtable discussion with conservative influencers but walked into the room, handed Trump the note and whispered something to him.
As Trump fielded some questions from gathered reporters, Rubio stood off to the side, seemingly anxious for the president to come with him to turn toward the Middle East negotiations. Trump told the room “we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East” before he left but gave no other details.
Trump says ‘we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East’
BY MEG KINNARD
President Donald Trump reads a note handed to him by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a roundtable meeting on antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump made that comment after Rubio handed him a note during an event at the White House on Wednesday.
Rubio entered the room where Trump had been holding a roundtable discussion with conservative influencers about anti-immigration enforcement protests in various U.S. cities.
Trump said earlier in that discussion that he might go to the region “sometime toward the end of the week.”
His top Middle East adviser, the prime minister of Qatar and other senior officials joined a third day of peace talks between Israel and Hamas at an Egyptian resort on Wednesday, a sign that negotiators aim to dive deeply into the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war in Gaza.
Chicago judge says ICE violated 2022 consent decree on ‘warrantless’ arrests
BY SOPHIA TAREEN
A federal judge in Chicago says immigration agents have repeatedly violated a 2022 consent decree outlining how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can make so-called “warrantless” arrests.
The ruling comes amid the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment and immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings has extended the consent decree until February. It comes out of an agreement between Chicago groups and the federal government. Among other things, it requires ICE to show documentation for each arrest it makes for people besides those being targeted.
The order applies nationwide, but remedies for individual cases have been focused in six Midwest states covered by the ICE field office in Chicago, where the lawsuit was filed.
Immigrant advocacy groups believe hundreds of people recently arrested around Chicago could qualify for reduced bond or have ankle monitors removed.
“This is likely the tip of the iceberg,” said Mark Fleming with the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Lawmakers clash in Capitol hallways
BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI
The House may be out of session, but that hasn’t stopped its members from clashing in the Capitol’s hallways.
On Wednesday, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries had a heated back and forth with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, hours after House Speaker Mike Johnson sparred with two Democratic senators over the government shutdown.
“You’re making a show of this to make yourself relevant,” Jeffries told Lawler – both New Yorkers — as Lawler held a bipartisan bill temporarily extending ACA tax credits and urged Jeffries to sign it. Jeffries called Lawler an “embarrassment.”
Jeffries previously called a one-year extension of ACA tax credits “laughable.” Little of substance was resolved in the exchange, as the two talked over each other.
“Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut,” Jeffries said.
“Is that the way to talk?” Lawler shot back.
Noem says Democrats are ‘covering up’ violence in Portland
BY CHRIS MEGERIAN
Democratic leaders have said they don’t want National Guard on their streets because it’s not necessary.
Noem rejected their assertion after meeting with the Oregon governor and Portland mayor.
“They are absolutely covering up the terrorism that is hitting their streets,” she said. She said antifa wants “to destroy the American people and their way of life.”
Trump floats trip to the Middle East
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
The president said Wednesday afternoon that he may travel to the Middle East if a Gaza peace deal comes together.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week,” Trump said as he opened a roundtable event on a different matter.
Trump said he could go there on Sunday, adding that “negotiations are going along very well.”
White House hosts roundtable on antifa
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
The president is spending part of Wednesday afternoon hosting a roundtable that highlights the impact of antifa protesters.
Antifa is short for “anti-fascists” and is used to describe far-left-leaning militant groups. They include groups that resists fascists and neo-Nazis, especially at demonstrations.
The roundtable is set to include administration officials and conservative influencers who have been on the ground in Portland and other cities with demonstrations.
US data shows a drop in arrivals of foreign students
BY MAKIYA SEMINERA, CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER
The preliminary data from the National Travel and Tourism Office shows the number of international visitors arriving to the U.S. on student visas declined 19% in August compared with the same month in 2024.
The numbers declined also in June and July, but August is the summer month that typically sees the most foreign student arrivals — 313,138 this year.
The dip is the latest sign of a hit to international enrollment at American colleges and universities as the Trump administration clamps down on student visas.
CBO says federal budget deficit was $1.8 trillion in FY 2025
BY FATIMA HUSSEIN
The Congressional Budget Office says the federal budget deficit was $8 billion less than the shortfall recorded during fiscal year 2024.
The agency says revenues increased by an estimated $308 billion compared to this time last year — and a boost in individual income tax collections and tariff income partly offset the decline in corporate tax receipts.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement that the nation’s debt is about the size of the entire U.S. economy and will exceed its highest ever record as a share of the economy soon.
“We are on track to borrow nearly $2 trillion per year for the next decade. How can anyone think this is sustainable?”
Rubio says Trump may travel to Middle East
BY LISA MASCARO
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was briefing Republican senators privately over lunch at the Capitol on the Israel-Hamas peace plan and other matters.
Rubio said peace in Gaza “all begins with all the hostages coming home and I think we have to be optimistic but there’s still some work to be done.” He said he may be traveling to the region.
“Things have moved so quickly over there we think we may need to be there pretty soon.”
Asked if president would also travel there in event of ceasefire, Rubio said “potentially.”
“That’s up to the president. He’ll have to make that decision. But I anticipate that he would be interested in doing so if the timing could work. Like I said, good progress has been made today. Events are moving in a good direction, but there’s still some work to be done.”
Illinois governor says feds haven’t communicated on National Guard plans
BY CHRISTINE FERNANDO
Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday reiterated that “the federal government has not communicated with us in any way about their troop movements.”
“I can’t believe I have to say ‘troop movements’ in an American city, but that is what we’re talking about here,” he told reporters.
When asked what he would do if a federal court rules in his favor to block National Guard deployment in Chicago yet they continue operations, Pritzker said he would do what is needed to enforce the ruling.
“We would enforce a judicial ruling,” he said. “You should hope that the federal government, the state government, the local government would be able to enforce a federal court’s order. That’s why we went to court.”
