Shooting prompts Trump-style DOJ push for ballroom construction to resume

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche late April 27 asked a federal judge to lift his order halting PresidentDonald Trump’s planned$400 million ballroom, in a filing remarkably close in style and tone to the president’s social media posts.

Blanche wrote that the shooting attack at the White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday demonstrated that “reasonable minds” could not oppose the proposed heavily secured ballroom in a filing to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon. Leon ruled onMarch 31 that aboveground constructionon the project must stop until the project had been approved by Congress in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historical Preservation.

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation” is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words “in the United States” to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like a Governmental Agency, which it is not,” the filing began.

Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a possible shooter opened fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. President Donald Trump, who was in attendance, said a shooter was apprehended in a social media post.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump were evacuated out of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner minutes after it began, as attendees took cover on the floor.

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Trump officials evacuate White House press dinner amid reported shooting

Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a possible shooter opened fire duringthe annual White House Correspondents' Association dinnerin Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. President Donald Trump, who was in attendance, said a shooter was apprehended in a social media post.Trumpand first ladyMelania Trumpwere evacuated out of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner minutes after it began, as attendees took cover on the floor.

“After the Saturday night attempted assassination, which could have never taken place in the new facility, reasonable minds can no longer differ — The injunction must be dissolved,” Blanche wrote, going on to describe the preservation group as suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS.”

Trump has repeatedly said, including in a briefing immediately following the shooting, that the 20,000-square-foot addition would have prevented a would-be shooter from getting close to him. But the proposed ballroom's capacity is 1,000 and would not have accommodated the 2,500-strong guest list for the correspondents' dinner.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on April 17 put Leon's preliminary injunction blocking construction on hold and set oral arguments in thecase for June 5.

National Trust for Historic Preservation stands firm

National Trust President and CEO Carol Quillen said the group is not planning to drop the lawsuit.

"We are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law. Ballroom construction is continuing unabated until June 5th at the earliest because the injunction is on hold," she said. "We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House. Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the Administration could seek at any time.”

The annual correspondents’ dinner,held for years at the Washington Hilton, descended into chaos when a gunman tried to run past a security checkpoint and shots were fired. The suspect, Cole Allen of Torrance, California, was apprehended by security officials andindicted Monday on charges of attempting to assassinate the president.

Trump, Vice PresidentJD Vanceand Cabinet members were immediatelyevacuated from the cavernous ballroomin the basement of the hotel, packed with more than 2,500 journalists, politicians and celebrities.

The filing described the many safety features of the proposed ballroom, for which the East Wing was demolished in October.

“The bullet proof windows and glass, and the heavy steel, drone proof roof, protect what is below. With such a facility, it would have been impossible for an attack like that which took place last Saturday evening in D.C.,” the filing said.

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“Saturday’s narrow miss — which marks the third assassination attempt on President Trump since 2024 — confirms what should have already been obvious: Presidents need a secure space for large events, that currently does not exist in Washington, D.C., and this Court’s injunction stalling this Project cannot defensibly continue.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert backs ballroom

His allies have also rallied behind the cause.

House SpeakerMike Johnsondescribed the shooting as "surreal” after Secret Service rushed him to safety in a April 27 Fox News interview. He touted the proposed ballroom as "the most secure compound in the world."

“It won’t have hotel rooms above it, and it will have 7-inch thick glass, for example, on the windows,” he said.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she was working with her team to draft legislation ensuring the White House Ballroom is completed in anX poston Sunday: “I don’t believe congressional approval is required for the project, but if it’ll keep activist judges on the sideline, so be it. More to come this week.”

Leon ruled March 31 that construction should stop except for "actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds."

The Trump administration argued inan April 3 motionthat the entire ballroom construction needed to proceed or it would leave the Executive Mansion "open and exposed" and create "grave national-security harms" to the building, the president and his family and staff.

Leon said on April 16 that he found the administration's attempt to sidestep his previous ruling "incredible, if not disingenuous."

Blanche’s filing also contends that the lawsuit would not have been brought if it had been proposed by another president.

“But, because it is DONALD J. TRUMP, a highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don’t, especially those who assume the Office of President, this frivolous and meritless lawsuit was filed. Again, it’s called TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” it said.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump-style DOJ court filing renews pressure to let ballroom work resume

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 30, 2026

Shooting prompts Trump-style DOJ push for ballroom construction to resume

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche late April 27 asked a federal judge to lift his order halting PresidentDonald Trump’s planned$400 ...

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McDonald's is the latest fast food chain to offer fancier drinks

Fast food chains, thirsty for new ways to grow, are amping up their beverage offerings.

McDonald’s said Tuesday it will launch six crafted beverages in U.S. restaurants on May 6. It’s joining other chains, like KFC, Wendy’s and Taco Bell, that have elevated their drinks in order to lure customers away from rivals likeStarbucksandDutch Bros.

McDonald’s will offer three refreshers, including a mango pineapple flavor with strawberry boba and a blackberry passion fruit flavor with freeze-dried dragon fruit. It will also offer three crafted sodas, including a dirty Dr Pepper with vanilla flavoring and a topping of cold foam.

McDonald's said visual appeal — think bright colors and foams — and drinks as a form of self-expression are increasingly important to customers.

“Our fans have an obsession with beverages – to them, drinks are more than just drinks. And soon, our beverages won’t just be a reason you come to McDonald’s, they’ll be THE reason,” Alyssa Buetikofer, the chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA, said in a statement.

The drinks are also more profitable for fast food chains than the standard soda fountain drinks or plain coffees. A small Pineapple Citrus Sparkling Energy drink cost $3.29 on Tuesday at a Michigan Wendy's, while a small drink from the restaurant's Coca-Cola Freestyle machine cost $1 less.

McDonald's said it's also adding a “beverage specialist” role at its 14,000 U.S. restaurants. Those employees will have dedicated spaces behind the counter where they can focus on drinks. Initially, high-performing employees will be selected for those roles, but eventually all employees will be encouraged to rotate through the beverage positions.

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McDonald’s has been working on a beverage upgrade for years. In late 2023, the company announced it wouldopen small storescalled CosMc’s which would sell customizable drinks and treats to appeal to afternoon snackers. McDonald’s said its sales often slump in the afternoon between mealtimes, and it wants to change that.

“This is a $100 billion category that’s growing faster than the rest of (casual dining) and with superior margins. And it’s a space that we believe we have the right to win,” McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at the time.

McDonald’s got creative with the CosMc’s menu, which included a turmeric spiced latte and a prickly pear slushie with popping candy on top. But it wound upclosing its eight CosMc’slocations last spring. Kempczinski said many of the drinks were too complex for regular McDonald’s store operations, but he said the company would test some drinks at U.S. stores in the future.

Other chains are also jumping on the beverage bandwagon. KFC’s Kwench drink menu did so well in tests in Manchester, England, last year that it’s rolling out to 3,000 stores this year in the U.K., Australia and Canada. The menu includes shakes, like a Strawberry Shortcake Krunch, as well as boba refreshers and iced coffees.

Taco Bell, which is also owned by KFC parent Yum Brands, has a separate beverage brand called Live Mas Café. At kiosks within U.S. Taco Bell stores, employees dubbed Bellristas blend drinks like Churro Chillers milkshakes, iced coffees and fizzy energy drinks. Taco Bell opened its first Live Mas Café at the end of 2024 and added 30 more locations last year.

In a November conference call with investors, Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said that if sales perform well at those 30 locations, the Live Mas Café concept will likely be part of Taco Bell’s long-term growth plan.

“Through Live Mas Café, (we) add a new consumer use case, which is the destination beverage visit,” he said.

Wendy’s added customizable cold foam iced coffees and two sparkling energy drinks to its U.S. menu last fall. Burger King has also upgraded its beverage options, starting with a Frozen Cotton Candy drink with an optional foam topping that debuted in 2024 and returned last summer.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 29, 2026

McDonald's is the latest fast food chain to offer fancier drinks

Fast food chains, thirsty for new ways to grow, are amping up their beverage offerings. McDonald’s said Tuesday it will launch si...

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Jeopardy! Champ Jamie Ding's 31-Game Winning Streak Comes to an End: Here's What He Says About Losing (Exclusive)

Jamie Ding's 31-game winning streak finally came to an end on April 27

NEED TO KNOW

• He still remains the 5th-winningest contestant in the show's history, but missed besting 2019 champion James Holzhauer by one game

• He says that he's sad his run is over, but is at least glad it was a runaway

Jamie Ding'swinning streak onJeopardy!has come to an end.

After 31 straight games and winning $882,605 in prize money, the New Jersey native and Princeton grad was bested by Greg Shahade on the Monday, April 27, episode. WhileDingsays he's sad his run is over, he also says he's happy it ended in the way it did.

"I think my last game is unusual, because I was a super champ, but I also lost in a runaway, which I feel like is the first time that ever happened," he tells PEOPLE of Shahade beating him by 13,990 points.

"It almost makes me feel better about the thing because there wasn't really one clue or whatever that everything hinged on," Ding continues. He says that's why he opted to write a farewell note, that said "TTFN," (ta ta for now) on his final jeopardy answer

"It being a runaway means that I got to write a goodbye message instead of nothing at all," he says. "I wouldn't have done that if there had even been a chance of me coming out with the victory."

Of course, the trivia wiz wishes he could have kept the streak going — he just missed bestingJames Holzhauer'sstreak, who won 32 consecutive games in 2019.

"Part of me is not OK and thinks that it would've been nice to go for more games. But on the other hand, it could have ended much earlier than it did," Ding, 33, says. "There were several people who were really strong and played well, and had a couple of things broken differently, I would have been done for weeks ago. So I'm both upset and pleased. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened kind of thing."

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Despite the streak ending, Ding says he's just pleased he had a chance to bring so many people together, and loved hearing how families were gathering around the TV together each night to root for him.

"I kept hearing how it was bringing people together, and I love that very much. I've heard people say, 'It's nice to have something positive on TV!'" he says.

According toJeopardy!'s official Leaderboard of Legends, Ding is still ranked at No. 5 in both consecutive games won and highest all-time winnings in regular-season play.

The only contestants to win more consecutive games than Ding are James Holzhauer in 2019 (32 games), Matt Amodio in 2021 (38 games), Amy Schneider in 2022 (40 games) and Jennings — who secured 74 wins in a row back in 2004.

Ding adds that "as an immigrant and a person of color, I was able to become part of the history of an American institution."

"Jeopardy!really is an institution and America's turning 250 years old and the federal government is going after immigrants in a way unlike anything that we've seen in the recent past," he says. "So I hope that immigrants can be seen in a positive light too."

Read the original article onPeople

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 28, 2026

Jeopardy! Champ Jamie Ding's 31-Game Winning Streak Comes to an End: Here's What He Says About Losing (Exclusive)

Jamie Ding's 31-game winning streak finally came to an end on April 27 NEED TO KNOW He still remains the 5th-w...

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Inside Trump’s push to hire 140 new immigration judges - many with little to no experience in the field: report

The Trump administration haspurged more than 100 immigration judgesand hired more than 140 in their place, but many have no relevant legal experience in the field, according to a report.

In a bid to carry out the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, as set out by President Donald Trump when he returned to office, the Justice Department replaced manyimmigration judges hired under the Biden administrationwith a more “malleable workforce,” a former appointee toldThe Washington Post.

There are approximately 700 immigration judges handling over three million cases across the country—andthey work for Trump’s Justice Department,and are not part of the judicial branch. They are responsible for deciding whether undocumented migrants should be granted asylum and be allowed to remain in the country, or whether they should be deported.

Many immigration judges quit or retired when Trump returned to the White House, inaddition to the more than 100 the Justice Department fired, according to thePost.

The new hires include an attorney who has represented three Jan. 6 rioters and a Minnesota-based attorney who asked what could be done to support the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers amid the crackdown in Minneapolis, where two American citizens were killed by federal agents.

Kerry Doyle told the outlet that she was hired under Biden to serve as an immigration judge but was then fired last year before she heard any cases. “They’re trying to create a malleable workforce that will do what they want without question,” Doyle, a former ICE official, told the outlet. “That’s what I think the goal is.”

Two-thirds of the new hires, who are paid between $159,951 to $207,500 per year, have no relevant legal immigration experience listed in their biographies, according to thePost’s analysis ofannouncementsby the Justice Department. Only 24 percent of them had worked for ICE, the immigration courts or for the Department of Homeland Security.

The National Association of Immigration Judges told the outlet that the usual training for new appointees has been cut from five weeks to three.

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The Independenthas contacted the Justice Department for comment.

Under the second Trump administration, the immigration courts have been overhauled, largely overseen by deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.

The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals has reportedly ushered in new orders for judges to dismiss cases on the request of the federal government so that defendants can be arrested. Judges have also been advised to grant asylum “more sparingly,” according to the newspaper.

Eyebrows have been raised at some of theappointments, which the Justice Department has been recruiting for in social mediaposts.

Melissa Isaak, an Army veteran, was named a temporary immigration judge in Atlanta this month. Isaak defended three Jan. 6 rioters accused of storming the Capitol after Trump lost the 2020 election, but she later withdrew from two of the cases, according to thePost. Isaak also falsely claimed that statistics show more men are victims of domestic abuse than women.

Another recruit appointed this month was Minnesota-based lawyer Nathan M. Hansen, who reportedly shared social media posts about the “Haitian invasion of Ohio,” as peddled by Trump and Vice President JD Vance during the 2024 presidential campaign. Hansen has promoted other conspiracy theories, including “Pizzagate,” which baselessly alleged Democrats were running a child sex trafficking ring out of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, according to the newspaper.

In a recent news release, the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review agency touted the new appointees.

“EOIR remains committed to reducing the immigration court backlog and unwinding the policies of the Biden Administration that included a de facto open border and amnesty,” said the agency’s director, Daren K. Margolin. “These new highly qualified immigration judges have sworn to decide the cases before them based on the law — that is, the laws passed by the United States Congress.”

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 28, 2026

Inside Trump’s push to hire 140 new immigration judges - many with little to no experience in the field: report

The Trump administration haspurged more than 100 immigration judgesand hired more than 140 in their place, but many have no relevant le...

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Strait of Hormuz stuck in limbo as Trump mulls Iran's latest offer

What to know about the Iran war today:The White House says the Trump administration is discussing — although not "considering" — an Iranian proposal that would see Iran and the U.S. mutually drop their respective restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, but delay talks on the Islamic Republic's contentious nuclear program.Oil prices continued ticking up Tuesday with no clear sign of a solution to end the war emerging. The price of international benchmark Brent Crude topped $111 dollars a barrel early in the day, extending Monday's gains by about 2%. Fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been a major sticking point in efforts to cement a wider peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, continues. Israel warned more Lebanese civilians to flee their homes Tuesday ahead of military operations. Japanese supertanker among 4 ships tracked entering Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian blockade

Four civilian ships appeared to leave the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday without Iranian interference, including a Japanese oil tanker carrying some two million barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia.

The Panama-flagged crude oil tanker Idemitsu Maru called at Saudi Arabia's Juamyah industrial port in early March, according to open source data from the MarineTraffic ship tracking website. For the past week it had remained anchored off the coast of Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf, until late Monday, when it sailed toward Iran's Larak island in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday morning, tracking data showed the vessel passing south of Iran's Larak island, which analysts say the regime had used as a "toll booth" to collect fees from some ships before military authorities declared the strait entirely closed again last week.

It was unclear whether the tanker's Japanese owner, Idemitsu Kosan Co, paid Tehran to secure the ship's transit.

The other three ships that appear to have left the Gulf via the strait include a Chinese-owned tanker, a container ship with links to Iran through its management company, and a Turkish cargo ship that had been stuck in Iraqi ports since the start of the war on Feb. 28. All three were at least partially loaded, according to the tracking data.

The Chinese oil/chemical tanker, which is part of the shadow fleet of ships used by Russia to transport Russian oil in breach of Western sanctions, switched off its location transponder before exiting the strait.

All four appeared to have passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident by Tuesday, less than a week after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked andseized at least two commercial shipsin the same part of the narrow waterway.

Israeli military warns residents in 16 more Lebanese towns and villages to evacuate

In its latest warning to Lebanese civilians to flee their homes, Israel's military told people in 16 towns and villages in the neighboring country to evacuate on Tuesday ahead of military operations.

Most of the locations appeared to be about 10 miles north of the border between northern Israel and southern Lebanon, over which Israeli forces have sent a significant ground force to occupy a swath of territory in recent weeks, which Israeli leaders say is necessary to remove the threat posed by the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of violating a tenuous ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration between the Israeli and Lebanese governments since it was first signed several weeks ago.

"In light of Hezbollah's terrorist organization violating the ceasefire agreement, the Defense Army is forced to act against it with force," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee said in his warning to residents of the Lebanese towns and villages,issued Tuesday via social media.

He said the Israeli army did not intend to harm civilians, and "for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area" to the north.

Lebanese authorities say Israel's aerial and ground assault in the country has killed more than 2,500 people and displaced more than 1 million from their homes.

The Israeli government and military have said forces will remain in a buffer zone that spans the countries' border and extends at least six miles into Lebanese territory, and that residents will not be allowed to return home, until the Hezbollah threat is removed.

Oil prices keep ticking up, stocks mixed as White House mulls Iran's latest proposal

Oil prices jumped and stocks sank Tuesday as the White House cast doubt on President Trump's willingness to accept an Iranian proposal to mutually lift restrictions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to end the eight-week-old war.

Oil prices rallied more than 2%, with Brent topping to top $111, to extend Tuesday's gains.

The White House said Mr. Trump and his team met Monday to discuss the offer, but spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president had made his "red lines" clear. Sources told CBS News that Iran's offer did not include any immediate concessions on its contentious nuclear program, which Mr. Trump has made the cornerstone of his demands for a peace deal.

Hopes for a deal had been rising before last weekend, but Mr. Trump then scrapped plans for his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to travel to Islamabad for talks as it became clear Iran wasn't willing to engage on Washington's terms.

Iran's envoy to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani told a Security Council session the country would first need guarantees Washington and Israel would not attack again if it was to offer security assurances in the Gulf.

Stock prices were more mixed on Tuesday, with European shares opening with gains after a retreat in Asia.

The price of Brent crude before the war was around $70 per barrel, and it briefly shot to nearly $120 earlier in the conflict. Benchmark U.S. crude added $2.18 on Tuesday to trade at $98.55 a barrel.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 rose a modest 0.1% on Monday to another all-time high, while the Dow industrials dipped 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.2%. The outlook for Tuesday was slightly less optimistic, with futures for the S&P 500 slipping 0.1% and the Nasdaq down 0.4%.

Israeli spy chief says operations in Iran and Lebanon bringing info "from the heart of the enemy's secrets"

The head of Israel's Mossad has praised the spy agency's "groundbreaking" operations in the war against Iran and Hezbollah, saying it acquired intelligence "from the heart of the enemy's secrets."

"In the campaigns against Iran and Hezbollah, we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the IDF, on both defense and offense," David Barnea said, referring to the Israeli military.

His remarks were delivered during a commendation ceremony at Mossad headquarters on Monday and published Tuesday.

"We acquired strategic and tactical intelligence from the heart of the enemy's secrets," Barnea said, adding that Mossad had "proved new, groundbreaking operational capabilities in target countries."

A ceasefire in the war with Iran, which began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, has so far held.

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Iranian-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the initial U.S.-Israel strikes.

President Trump announced a ceasefire on the Lebanese front earlier this month, which has since been extended, though Hezbollah and Israel have continued exchanging fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Hezbollah's rockets and drones remained a key threat that demanded ongoing action by the Israeli military, adding that Israel would continue to carry out strikes.

Hezbollah has said it is responding to what it considers Israeli ceasefire violations.

Barnea said the military and Mossad had changed Israel's "strategic posture" and "strengthened its might," but added that the agency would "not rest on our laurels."

"When we see a threat, we will act with full force," he said.

Deputy Iranian defense chief says war shows U.S. can no longer "impose its policies on independent nations"

Iran's deputy defense minister said Tuesday that his country's ability to withstand the U.S.-Israel attack reflected "a broader global shift away from a 'unipolar unjust order' toward a multipolar world," according to Iran's ANA news agency.

ANA said General Reza Talaei-Nik made the remarks during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he held meetings with the defense ministers of that country, Russia, Pakistan and Belarus.

"The United States is no longer in a position to impose its policies on independent nations," the agency quoted him as saying. "Iran's resistance has made this clear globally."

It said Talaei-Nik claimed Washington would "eventually be forced to abandon its 'illegal and irrational demands'" and accept an agreement to end the war.

Iran revises death toll from elementary school strike down to 155 from over 175

Iranian state media shared a breakdown on Tuesday of the death toll from an airstrike that hit an elementary school on the first day of the U.S.-Israel war against the Islamic Republic.

Seventy-three boys and 47 girls were killed in the Feb. 28 strike on an elementary school in the southern city of Minab, state broadcaster IRIB and local media reported.

Twenty-six teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and a pharmacy technician at the clinic next to the school were also killed, IRIB said in a Telegram post.

That put the death toll at 155 instead of the more than 175 that had been reported earlier by Iranian officials.

An American Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school, and apreliminary U.S. assessmentsuggested last month that the U.S. was "likely" responsible for the attack but that the school was not intentionally targeted. It may have been hit due to the use of dated intelligence which wrongly identified the area as still part of an Iranian military installation, a person briefed on the preliminary intelligence told CBS News in March.

President Trump initially suggested that Iran itself may have been responsible, despite Iran not having Tomahawk missiles.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack in a video address to the United Nations Human Rights Council as a "calculated, phased assault."

Rubio says "core issue" remains preventing Iran regime from "sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point"

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked in aFox News interviewabout Iran's latest proposal to postpone discussions on its nuclear program but end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade and ends the war.

"It's better than what we thought they were going to submit," Rubio said of the offer, while questioning whether it was genuine.

"They're very good negotiators," he said, "and we have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point."

"There's no doubt in my mind that at some point in the future if this radical clerical regime remains in charge in Iran, they will decide they want a nuclear weapon," Rubio said. "That fundamental issue still has to be confronted. That still remains the core issue here."

White House says Iranian proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz "being discussed"

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump met with his national security team Monday morning after Iran proposed a deal that would see both countries agree to the mutual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but delay the nuclear conversation.

"The proposal was being discussed. I don't want to get ahead of the president or his national security team," Leavitt said. "What I will reiterate is that the president's red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear."

Mr. Trump has been adamant that the objective of the war is now to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. He's indicated that any deal to end the conflict must include a handover of the Islamic Republic's enriched uranium, which is currently thought to be buried under facilities badly damaged by U.S. strikes in June 2025, and an end to Iran's domestic enrichment program.

Leavitt said she didn't want to go so far as to say the administration was "considering" the Iranian proposal.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 28, 2026

Strait of Hormuz stuck in limbo as Trump mulls Iran's latest offer

What to know about the Iran war today:The White House says the Trump administration is discussing — although not "considering...

Read More