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US Labor Secretary resigns amid investigation
United States Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned amid an investigation into alleged misconduct, including using government resources for personal travel. Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling will take over the role in an acting capacity, according to the White House. “While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn’t mean I will stop fighting for American workers. I am looking forward to what the future has in store as I depart for the private sector,” wrote Chavez-DeRemer on social media. Chavez-DeRemer is the third cabinet member to exit President Donald Trump’s administration since March, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. She previously represented an Oregon district in the House of Representatives. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito opened an investigation into Chavez-DeRemer and her aides in January. Investigators have reviewed evidence that Chavez-DeRemer used the department’s resources for personal travel, the New York Times reported. Her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff resigned last month due to allegations of devising official trips to subsidise Chavez-DeRemer’s visits to family and fr
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UK and US relations sour ahead of King's royal visit
United States President Donald Trump said the fall in the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the United Kingdom is “sad” ahead of the King’s visit to Washington. Last year, Britain was the first country to sign a trade pact deal with the U.S. in May, leading to a strong relationship between the White House and the UK, despite leaders being on different sides of the political spectrum. However, Trump’s tariff policies, threats against Greenland and the war in Iran have tested the alliance. Trump has criticised the UK for not supporting his military efforts in Iran and singled out the UK in particular, denigrating its military, domestic and foreign policies, and questioning its loyalty. Ahead of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the U.S., Trump has threatened to rip up the UK’s trade deal, which secures it a baseline 10% tariff. “We gave them a good trade deal. Better than I had to. Which can always be changed. But we gave them a trade deal that was very good because they’re having a lot of problems,” Trump told Sky News. While Trump still describes King Charles III as a “wonderful person” and a “friend” who he “greatly respects”, the king has expressed concerns about his visit to the U.S
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Trump dismisses concerns of high gas prices
United States President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about much higher gas prices because of the Iran war, even after they’ve nearly doubled since the start of the year. When a reporter at the White House asked Trump how long Americans would continue to see higher gas prices, he said: “They are not very high”. Trump said the prices aren’t as high as what was expected as a result of the war, which he said was aimed at denying Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon. “Gas prices have come down very much in the last three or four days,” Trump said. According to the AAA, gas prices have risen by 49% since the start of 2026, but have dropped an average of 7 cents per gallon after a two-week ceasefire was announced. The AAA also found that the average price of regular gasoline across the nation rose from US$3.17 a year ago to $4.09 today. Diesel has climbed from $4 to $5.61. This comes as voters turn on Trump’s handling of the economy and the war. According to a survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, 65% of voters blame Trump either “a lot” or “some”. The same poll found that only 28% of voters approve of the way Trump is handling the economy. This matches Trump’s previous all-time low ratings for
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US eyes automatic draft registration for young males
Anyone old enough to remember the folk rock band, America, may recall the lines from the early 1970s classic, Sandman, which laconically asks: Oh I almost forgot to ask, did you hear of my enlistment? Fast forward fifty-plus years and this question may no longer be a rhetorical reference to being drafted to serve in Vietnam. If the United States President Donald Trump – exempt from serving in Vietnam due to bone spurs - has his way, young American men could be automatically enrolled in the American military draft system by December under a proposed federal rule. This would signal the most significant change to Selective Service registration in decades and shift responsibility from individuals to the government. The proposal, submitted on 30 March by the Selective Service System to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, follows a legislative mandate contained in the National Defence Authorisation Act signed into law in December 2025. The measure requires automatic registration of “every male citizen” and other eligible men aged 18 to 26, replacing a system that has relied on self-registration since 1980. While the move doesn't technically reinstate conscription, which has not been used since 1973 during th
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Trump administration considers cutting TSA workers
The Trump administration is proposing to cut 9,400 workers and just over US$1.5 billion from the 60,000-employee Transport Security Administration that handles airport security operations. President Donald Trump said he is considering requiring smaller airports to drop TSA and use private security in a first step towards privatising the agency created after the September 11 attacks in 2001. According to the White House, privatising smaller airports would cut the TSA payroll by more than 4,500. The TSA proposes to ⁠cut another 4,800 jobs by improving efficiency, ending ⁠staffing at exit lanes and eliminating redundancies. This comes after Trump signed an executive order to pay 50,000 airport security workers after they worked without pay during a partial government shutdown. During the shutdown, many TSA workers walked off the job and nearly 500 quit, causing long lines at major airports.

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Trump signs executive order to limit mail-in voting
United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order cracking down on mail-in voting, in a move that voting rights advocates have called unconstitutional. The order will require the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of verified U.S. citizens in each state who are eligible to vote. The executive order will almost certainly be challenged in court, which could block it from being enforced in time for the November midterm elections. “We want to have honest voting in our country, because if you don’t have honest voting, you can’t have, really, a nation if you want to know the truth,” Trump said in the Oval Office after signing the order. While signing the executive order, Trump claimed that cheating with mail-in voting was “legendary”. Repeated studies have found that documented cases of voter fraud, especially by non-citizens, are exceedingly rare. Trump even voted by mail himself recently in Florida. Voting-rights advocates have said that Trump’s planned restrictions on voting would disenfranchise millions of Americans. “There’s not a single provision in here that will withstand judicial review. This is a wholly unconstitutional EO,” Center for Election Innovation executive direct
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Xi Jinping to head to White House in May
China's President Xi Jinping is set to head to Washington DC to meet with United States President Donald Trump in May. The meeting has been anticipated for months, with the pair last speaking face-to-face at an airport summit in October of last year. This current meeting, set for 14-15 May at the White House, has already faced delays at the request of the Trump administration, who cited the war in Iran as the reason. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the new date for the meeting to reporters this week. “I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event,” Trump said in a social media post.
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Homan confirms deployment of ICE agents to airports
Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that ICE agents will be deployed to ease security lines amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. The agents will help airport security agents who have been working without pay since the shutdown on 14 February, which led to more than 400 TSA officers quitting their jobs. Trump said Homan will lead the effort on a post on Truth Social. “On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” Trump posted. “The great Tom Homan is in charge!!!” Homan further confirmed Trump’s announcement in an interview with CNBC. “We will be at the airports tomorrow, helping TSA move those lines along,” Homan said, adding that ICE will assist in areas like guarding exit doors to relieve TSA agents for screening travellers. “We’re simply there to help TSA do their jobs in areas that don’t need their specialised expertise.” Details of the plan are stil
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Vance to hold oil meeting as concerns grow
United States Vice President JD Vance is set to host oil executives at the White House this week, as fears for a global energy crisis grow in the wake of conflict in the Middle East. The meeting will also have Energy Secretary Chris Wright in attendance, along with the board of the American Petroleum Institute. The board is comprised of some of the biggest oil company executives globally, and is the biggest oil and gas lobby group in the U.S. The meeting comes in response to growing concerns that the world could be facing a fuel and energy crisis, as fighting increases in Iran and surrounding nations, disrupting the export flow of gas, oil and petroleum. “We are fighting against it, and we promise that when this conflict draws to a close, when this operation draws to a close, we’re going to see those energy prices come back down to reality, because that’s what the president promised to do,” said Vance, speaking at an event on Wednesday.