New Orleans Immigration Crackdown Sparks Fear as Federal Arrests Intensify 
UN Chief Says Gaza Operation “Fundamentally Wrong” as Concerns Over War Crimes Grow 
U.S. Expected to Expand Travel Ban to More Than 30 Countries 
Trump and Lula Discuss Trade, Sanctions, and Security in “Productive” Phone Call 
California Launches Portal for Reporting Alleged Misconduct by Federal Immigration Agents 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
Honduras Election Turmoil Deepens as Nasralla Alleges Fraud in Tight Presidential Race 
Maduro Confirms “Respectful” Call With Trump, Signals Openness to Diplomatic Dialogue 
Pentagon Probe Finds Hegseth’s Use of Signal Risked Exposing Sensitive Yemen Strike Details 
Trump’s Name Appears on U.S. Institute of Peace Ahead of Rwanda–Congo Deal Signing 
U.S. Defense Chief Pete Hegseth Defends Controversial Second Strike on Suspected Drug-Smuggling Vessel 
Michael Dell Pledges $6.25 Billion to Boost Children’s Investment Accounts Under Trump Initiative 
UN General Assembly Demands Russia Return Ukrainian Children Amid Ongoing Conflict 
Taiwan Signals Openness to Renew Ties with Honduras as Election Unfolds 
Cuba Reaffirms Anti-Drug Cooperation as Tensions Rise in the Caribbean 
Some recorded conversations by journalist Bob Woodward with Donald Trump have been released to the public revealing his deliberate choice to downplay the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, newly released recordings reveal Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner discussing how the president planned to prioritize his political agenda first before science.
The recordings with Kushner were released to CNN, revealing in detail what Trump planned to do in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The death toll in the United States has now exceeded 225,000 with millions of Americans infected. Despite Trump’s claims that the pandemic is dying down and the virus is going away, there have been huge spikes in cases as of late, some attributed to his campaign rallies. In contrast to the administration’s claims of a booming economy, there has been a collapse and a high unemployment rate. These recordings also come as Trump seeks reelection.
“The last thing was kind of doing the guidelines,” said Kushner in the recording. “And that in my mind was almost like -- you know, it was almost like Trump getting the country back from the doctors. Right? In the sense that what he now did was, you know, he’s going to own the open up.”
The White House adviser also detailed that there were three phases of the pandemic; the panic phase, the pain phase, and the comeback phase. Kushner claimed that the country was speeding through the first two phases and was now in the third phase.
“Trump’s now back in charge. It’s not the doctors. They’ve kind of -- we have, like, negotiated a settlement,” said Trump’s son-in-law.
Meanwhile, Trump has unusually tried to court the votes of suburban women voters by saying that reelecting him would bring their husbands back to work, which was deemed sexist by critics. Trump previously won over white women voters back in the 2016 elections, but this year sees the demographic leaning towards his Democratic challenger Joe Biden by 54 percent to 45 percent. This would be the first time since 1996 that favorability for a Democratic candidate among white women voters went up and even more so past the 50 percent mark.
