Hundreds of federal employees who lost their jobs in Elon Musk鈥檚 cost-cutting blitz are being asked to return to work.
The General Services Administration has given the employees 鈥 who managed government workspaces 鈥 until the end of the week to accept or decline reinstatement, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Those who accept must report to work on Oct. 6 after what amounts to a seven-month paid vacation.
鈥淯ltimately, the outcome was the agency was left broken and understaffed,鈥 said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 have the people they needed to carry out basic functions.鈥
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Iranian president says Israeli and US attacks dealt 鈥榞rievous blow鈥 to trust
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian鈥檚 comments Wednesday at the U.N. marked the first time he鈥檚 spoken in a global forum since the 12-day Israel-Iran war over the summer that saw the assassination of many of the Islamic Republic鈥檚 highest military and political leaders.
Pezeshkian is in New York as series of crippling U.N. sanctions loom over Tehran if it doesn鈥檛 make a deal with European leaders by Saturday. But before even landing in New York, any diplomatic efforts by Pezeshkian and Iran鈥檚 foreign minister Abbas Araghchi were overshadowed when the country鈥檚 Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei ,rejected any direct nuclear talks with the U.S.
The comments also come as analyzed by The Associated Press show Iran has begun rebuilding targeted missile-production sites. A key component is likely still missing 鈥 the large mixers needed to produce solid fuel for the weapons.
Zelenskyy says the world is in 鈥榯he most destructive arms race in history鈥
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy鈥檚 comments to at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday came a day after he met with President Trump, who expressed support for Ukraine鈥檚 efforts and criticized Russia.
said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader鈥檚 repeated to end the war.
Zelenskyy called on the international community to act against Russia now, asserting that Vladimir Putin wants to expand his war in Europe.
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Trump is earning lower marks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, poll shows
About 4 in 10, 37%, of U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is handling , down slightly from the 44% who approved in March, according to the most recent poll from .
Slightly fewer Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the conflict 鈥 72%, compared with 82% of Republicans who approved of the way Trump was handling the issue in March. Democrats are also slightly less likely to approve: 9% now, down from 14% in March.
Despite this, Trump鈥檚 approval on foreign policy has been steady. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve, in line with April.
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Trump鈥檚 lowest issues among Republicans: Trade and health care, polling shows
Only about 7 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump鈥檚 approach to with other countries and health care 鈥 marking the lowest issue ratings among his base, according to the most recent poll from .
Americans overall aren鈥檛 thrilled about how he鈥檚 handling these issues, either. Only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling either trade negotiations with other countries or health care. These have been steadily low in recent AP-NORC polls but roughly track with Trump鈥檚 overall approval. They were also similarly low in his first term.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump has 鈥済one too far鈥 when it comes to imposing . That includes about 9 in 10 Democrats but also roughly 6 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 Republicans. Very few Americans, including Republicans, want Trump to go further on imposing tariffs.
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Bessent says the US is discussing $20 billion swap line with Argentina
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on social media site X on Wednesday morning that the U.S. is ready to repurchase Argentina鈥檚 debt bonds, is in negotiations with Argentinian officials for a $20 billion swap line with the country鈥檚 central bank and is undergoing other actions to bolster Argentina鈥檚 economy in the midst of severe volatility in the country鈥檚 financial markets.
This comes after President Trump gave libertarian Argentinian President Javier Milei his 鈥渇ull backing and endorsement鈥 Tuesday. Argentina at the end of October heads into crucial congressional midterms.
Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have criticized the move as a bailout for a close personal friend of Trump.
Trump is weaker on the economy with independents, new polling shows
The economy is often a fraught point for presidents, and there are indications that Americans continue to be concerned about the country鈥檚 economic state, according to the most recent poll from .
Just 37% of U.S. adults approve of Trump鈥檚 handling of the economy. That鈥檚 down slightly from August, when 43% approved, but broadly in line with his overall approval.
The economy is a particularly weak issue for Trump among independents. Only about 2 in 10 independents approve of how Trump is handling the economy, much lower than the share who approve of his handling of border security and crime.
In Trump鈥檚 first term, closer to half of U.S. adults approved of his handling of the economy. This height of his success on this issue came at the beginning of 2020, right before sparked .
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Hillary Clinton 鈥榳elcomes鈥 Trump鈥檚 shift on the Russia-Ukraine war
Clinton dealt with Russian President Vladimir Putin when she was secretary of state in the Obama administration.
She was asked about Trump’s turnabout during a wide-ranging interview on MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淢orning Joe鈥 and said, 鈥淚 welcomed what the president said.鈥
Usually a Trump critic, Clinton said his comments suggested he鈥檚 鈥渃oming to grips鈥 with the fact that Putin doesn鈥檛 respond to rhetoric.
鈥淗e only responds to strength,鈥 she said.
Trump said Tuesday he now believes Ukraine can win back all the territory it has lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from his past calls for Ukraine to concede the land to end the war.
Trump鈥檚 biggest strengths are border security and crime
Trump has turned border security into a strength of his second term, a sharp reversal from his first term in office.
Most Americans approve of Trump鈥檚 approach to border security. He gets higher marks on that than on his handling of the presidency overall or other issues that had previously been top strengths, including immigration and crime. This has also emerged as a unique strength of his second term. Only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approved of Trump鈥檚 approach to border security in 2019, during which time Trump was focused on securing funding for .
His approval on immigration is slightly lower than it was early in his second term, but it remains a bit higher than his overall job approval.
Trump鈥檚 strongest issues have changed from first term, poll finds
President Trump鈥檚 second-term strengths look different from his first, according to new polling.
Once , Trump鈥檚 approval is now relatively low on the economy 鈥 and he鈥檚 leaning on , border security and immigration. Concerns about the economy and immigration , but polling over the past year shows Americans鈥 faith in the Republican president鈥檚 handling of the economy is low 鈥 particularly among independents 鈥 and his .
Now, Trump鈥檚 strongest issues are border security and crime, but there were signs of potential weakness on crime in the most recent poll from .
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Ukrainians cautious after Trump shifts his stance, saying they can win the war against Russia
Ukrainians were cautious Wednesday in their response to a in U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 views on their prospects for defeating Russia鈥檚 invasion, after he said they could win the and retake land captured by Moscow.
Some Ukrainians expressed hope that Trump鈥檚 words would be backed up by concrete support for Ukraine in Washington, while others were wary about the American president鈥檚 unpredictability.
Russian officials, meanwhile, said developments on the battlefield showed Ukraine is unable to reclaim the occupied territory and dismissed Trump鈥檚 description of Russia as a 鈥減aper tiger.鈥
鈥淩ussia isn鈥檛 a tiger, it鈥檚 more associated with a bear,鈥 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 鈥淭here are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.鈥
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