“President Donald Trump on Monday said he thought someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf as it seeks to end the war with Russia,” Reuters reports.
Said Trump: “Maybe it’s time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate.”
“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the federal government said Monday that they had reached a settlement to close 19 federal inquiries. The agreement made UNC the latest school to align itself formally with the Trump administration’s vision for higher education,” the New York Times reports.
“The university, which did not acknowledge wrongdoing, will not pay any money in connection with the agreement, setting it apart from schools that pledged to shell out tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. But it agreed to abide by the Trump administration’s views on matters like admissions; diversity, equity and inclusion; and the punishment of student groups for actions perceived as antisemitic.”
“The campaign of Republican David Flippo, who faces an unexpectedly tough race to fill a red House seat in Nevada, credited a dead woman from a prominent Nevada family for a donation, according to federal disclosures,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The attribution marked the latest in a string of stumbles for the campaign, including missing deadlines for financial disclosures and retracted claims about military awards.”
“Federal prosecutors are planning to use DNA evidence to prove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) committed immigration fraud, as part of the sprawling investigation into the congresswoman,” the New York Post reports.
“People familiar with the years-long criminal probe said the feds have made use of whistleblowers, government records and now obtained DNA in an effort to substantiate decade-old allegations that Omar — and possibly members of her family like her father — defrauded immigration authorities.”
“The polls are, I think, intentionally inflating the size of the battleground.”
— Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini, quoted by Politico.
“Democrats in battleground states seeking to flip control of Congress in November are counting on a potent weapon: the deep cuts to Medicaid that Republicans approved last year in their signature legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Politico reports.
“In recent Senate debates in Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and South Carolina, Democratic candidates went after their opponents for supporting the law, which will reduce federal funding to the low-income health insurance program by hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming years. They also vowed to restore the money to the program if elected.”
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Donald Trump’s approval at 31%, while 66% disapprove.
The same poll finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 47% to 35%.
“A proposed tax on billionaires remains short of majority support as Californians begin casting ballots,” according to a new Citrin-Politico poll.
“Likely voters are essentially where they were a month ago, the survey found, with 46% in favor of Proposition 40 and 43% opposed — despite a recent push by backers of the measure, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to rally support for the one-time, 5% tax on billionaires’ assets.”
“President Donald Trump downplayed expectations for a November meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid speculation over renewed U.S. efforts to reach out to the reclusive regime in Pyongyang,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “I don’t know. I’m not sure that anybody’s asking for a meeting, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is very good.”
“A GOP-aligned super PAC has more than tripled its investment in the Ohio Senate race over the last week as it seeks to boost a socialist candidate — an apparent attempt to sink former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s chances,” Politico reports.
“President Donald Trump is giving New Mexico another branding pitch, urging the state to swap ‘Mexico’ for ‘America’ and suggesting the change could boost everything from home values to state pride,” Fox News reports.
Said Trump: “New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!”
“President Trump has embarked on a campaign swing across a remarkably conservative swath of America in a six-day blitz that began Monday, trying to boost Republican turnout in places the party did not view as competitive just a few months ago,” the New York Times reports.
“With just two weeks to go until the midterm elections, Mr. Trump’s itinerary reflects how worried the GOP is about its prospects for holding onto the House and Senate, and winning governor’s races nationwide.”
Bloomberg: Trump’s rally blitz tests his pull with midterm voters.
“Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate arrested last year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents amid campus protests, appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday in an attempt to prevent his deportation,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident who is married to an American, became an early and high-profile example of President Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.”
Deadline: “Attorneys for the BBC want to subpoena Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought an election conspiracy indictment against Donald Trump, as the network defends itself against the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit.”
“President Donald Trump said Monday that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss how to end the Ukraine war, while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,” CNBC reports.
“Trump suggested that that meeting, which Putin reportedly proposed, could take place without Zelensky present.”
Bloomberg: Trump open to Putin, Xi summit but would focus on nuclear arms.