Trump aides tried to block appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to US, reports say – US politics live

Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Demand for Student Race Data

A group of Democratic attorneys general had sued to overturn the Trump administration’s new policy that demanded the past seven years of student application data.

Judge skeptical over Trump ballroom project amid new bid to halt it

A federal judge seemed freshly skeptical of President Trump’s White House ballroom construction project as he weighed a new bid by preservationists to halt it. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday sharply pressed the Justice Department (DOJ) over the varying authorities it listed as reasons the president’s $400 million construction project should be allowed to proceed without congressional approval. “This has been a case…

‘I’m sick of stupid’: from excoriating Noem to breaking with Trump, Thom Tillis goes for fiery final act in Congress

<p>The Republican senator from North Carolina will not seek re-election after Trump threatened to primary him</p><p>In the last US Senate hearing before <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/kristi-noem">Kristi Noem</a>’s ouster, some of the fiercest criticism the homeland security secretary received came not from outraged Democrats, but from an ally of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a>.</p><p>“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms Noem, disaster,” said Thom Tillis, the senior Republican senator from North Carolina, at the outset of a 10-minute skewering of the secretary he dubbed a “performance evaluation”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/thom-tillis-republican-senator">Continue reading...</a>

Middle East crisis live: Trump reportedly considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran’s Kharg Island - The Guardian

<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi0gFBVV95cUxNUG1oWXgwZHM4d0VnZXAtN0JfbWV2dFFIU0FXejVyZjh4QnB3SGdabWtTQTZmTWxIX0Q4NGdIQlNLRHM2QTFYM0dodTBhWmRQSGhfQ3VFQXNEdzFvZnpYMHI5cHZUTEJGSUV5TkNWc1FSTGcxYXhDd0ZydUVrQi1hTDJQYjB3MWpFTWs0c2xhZDVIZXVTTFk0X0lRc3R0cGZGR0RDSDhSVG94Vzktdzg1dWVjanBYclFncWd6YXJBazVMWU5PT3d0Q0N5eGFwZk9YSmc?oc=5" target="_blank">Middle East crisis live: Israel strikes Tehran; Netanyahu suggests need for ‘ground component’ in Iran war</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">The Guardian</font><strong><a href="https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZjbmt0TXpZd1NoRUtEd2pHdV9qYkVCR2V6bWUwVlpWVC1DZ0FQAQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en&oc=5" target="_blank">View Full Coverage on Google News</a></strong>

NCAR sues its partners to to block Trump administration’s “arbitrary and capricious” selloff of Boulder lab - The Colorado Sun

Trump mulls risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to open strait

<p>The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/19/strait-hormuz-coalition-allies-statement-uk" target="_blank">Strait of Hormuz</a>, four sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> President Trump can't end the war, at least on his terms, until he breaks <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/13/iran-war-mines-strait-of-hormuz" target="_blank">Iran's chokehold</a> on shipping through the strait. In the meantime, global <a href="https://www.axios.com/energy-climate/oil-companies" target="_blank">energy</a> prices are surging.</p><hr><ul><li>But an operation to take over Kharg Island, which sits 15 miles offshore and processes 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, could put U.S. troops more directly in the line of fire.</li><li>Thus, such an operation would only be launched after the U.S. military further degrades Iran's military capa...