Trump confirms $12bn in assistance for American farmers amid concerns over trade and high prices – liveNEWS | 09 December 2025From 5h ago 14.42 EST Trump confirms $12bn in assistance for American farmers At his roundtable in the White House’ cabinet room, Donald Trump announced $12bn in assistance for American farmers. “We love our farmers,” the president said. “They’re the backbone of our country.” Trump also noted that China had committed to buying $40bn in American soybeans. “I asked president Xi if he could even up it, and I think he’ll do that,” the president added. The package comes as farmers – some of Trump’s most loyal supporters – have expressed frustration at the rising costs associated with the president’s sweeping tariffs, and the repercussions of escalating trade tensions with China. Share Updated at 15.53 EST
34s ago 19.58 EST Edward Helmore The Brazilian-born mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew – who was recently detained by US immigration authorities – has rejected the Trump administration’s characterizations of her as an absentee parent. Bruna Ferreira, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in November during a traffic stop in Massachusetts and was being held at a Louisiana detention center, said in an interview with the Washington Post that the White House’s statements that she had never lived with her son or spoken with Leavitt “in many years” were incorrect. Ferreira, 33, had a relationship with Leavitt’s brother, 35-year-old Michael Leavitt. They had a son, Michael Leavitt Jr, now aged 11. She said she was offended by the White House’s characterizations, calling them “disgusting”. She said she takes her son to Dave & Buster’s, a food and video games chain; ferries him to school, cheers at sports games; and fills his bedroom with “everything a young boy needs”. Read the full story here: Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House portrayal of her after ICE arrest Read more Share
28m ago 19.31 EST The creator of the ICEBlock app, Joshua Aaron, is suing the Trump administration, alleging it abused government power and infringed on his free speech by asking Apple to remove ICEBlock from the App Store. Aaron said that ICEBlock, which uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of US immigration agents, represents constitutionally protected speech. Aaron “believes that speech about publicly observed law and immigration enforcement activity – the expression enabled by ICEBlock – lies at the heart of the interests the first amendment was intended to protect”, according to the complaint. The app, first launched in April, allows users to alert others when they see ICE agents within a 5-mile radius of their current location. In June, Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, said the app and its founder were “obstructing justice”. ICEBlock had more than 1 million users at the time of its removal, according to the complaint. Share Updated at 19.43 EST
51m ago 19.07 EST The South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace condemned House Republican leadership in an opinion piece published in the New York Times on Monday. “I came to Congress five years ago believing I could make a difference for my constituents, for South Carolina and for a country I love deeply. I was the first woman to graduate from the Citadel’s Corps of Cadets. I don’t scare easily,” Mace said. She added: “But I’ve learned that the system in the House promotes control by party leaders over accountability and achievement. No one can be held responsible for inaction, so far too little gets done. The obstacles to achieving almost anything are enough to make any member who came to Washington with noble intentions ask: Why am I even here?” Mace, who represents the state’s first congressional district, is running for governor. Share Updated at 19.44 EST
1h ago 18.44 EST Jeremy Barr David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is not giving up in its aggressive campaign to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), launching a hostile bid for the entertainment company despite the announcement on Friday that Netflix had agreed to buy its studio and streaming operation. Netflix’s bid for WBD’s storied Hollywood movie studio, as well as its premier HBO cable network, valued the company at $82.7bn. But it did not agree to acquire WBD’s traditional television assets, including the news network CNN and the Discovery channel. Paramount’s all-cash tender offer sent directly to shareholders on Monday morning would be for the entire company, and puts a total enterprise value of $108.4bn on WBD, a major premium to its stock price. In making its case to shareholders, Paramount claimed its acquisition of the company provides significantly better value for shareholders, and would be much likelier to survive regulatory scrutiny. WBD said it would “carefully review and consider” the bid, and advise its shareholders on how to respond within two weeks. David Ellison and his father, the billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison, whose family is financially backing the offer, are both friendly with the Trump administration, which had previously indicated that it supported a Paramount purchase of WBD. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, had even had early conversations with a senior Trump aide about what changes he might want to see at CNN. Read the full story: Paramount launches $108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery Read more Share
2h ago 18.15 EST In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump threatened to add an extra 5% tariff on Mexico, alleging the country violated a water-sharing treaty. “The U.S needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, and the rest must come soon after. As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water,” Trump said on Monday. He added: “That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY. The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our Farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW.” Share Updated at 18.18 EST
2h ago 18.07 EST Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, was asked to clarify the funding source for the $12bn farm aid package announced earlier today, to which she replied that the money will be coming from Commodity Credit Corporation funds. “We are using CCC funds, so we have set aside 12bn,” Rollins told reporters on Monday. “We had to, kind of, you know, move some things around, but we’ve got that 12bn set aside. 11bn announced today, 1bn we’re holding back for specialty crops, but as the president said today, he’s open to more.” Her remarks come after the administration announced one-time payments directed toward crop farmers in bridge payments. Monday’s statement on the aid reads: “The $12bn in farmer bridge payments, including those provided through the FBA Program, are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).” Share Updated at 18.15 EST
2h ago 17.47 EST Trump says the US will allow Nvidia H200 chip shipments to China President Donald Trump will allow the chipmaker Nvidia to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to a post on Truth Social. “I have informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security,” Trump wrote on Monday. “President Xi responded positively!” Trump said the commerce department was finalizing details of the arrangement and the same approach would apply to other AI chip firms such as Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. “We will protect National Security, create American Jobs, and keep America’s lead in AI,” Trump wrote. “NVIDIA’s U.S. Customers are already moving forward with their incredible, highly advanced Blackwell chips, and soon, Rubin, neither of which are part of this deal.” Share
2h ago 17.30 EST Transportation secretary announces $1bn in grants for airports to improve experiences for families Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said earlier today that he wants airlines and airports to offer travelers healthier food options, exercise equipment and family-friendly features like playspaces and nursing facilities. To do so, he announced“$1bn in funding for grant programs to make the experience better in airports”. Duffy said that he had reached out to a majority of major US airline CEOs asking them what they could do to improve the experience. “I’m looking forward to hearing back from airlines on what they have in their future plans to improve the experience when we get on their airplanes and fly safely through the national airspace,” Duffy said at Reagan National airport in Washington DC. Last month, Duffy asked airlines to add healthier options and remove salty pretzels and calorie-laden cookies. Duffy also urged airports to add more dedicated spaces for young children and exercise equipment and to boost places for mothers to nurse their children. Share Updated at 17.35 EST
3h ago 17.12 EST Lawmakers could withhold a quarter of defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget unless he provides unedited videos of military strikes on boats in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific, Politico reports. The demand was subtly tucked into the final draft of the annual defense policy bill, which calls for “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command” to the House and Senate armed services committees. Members of Congress have been demanding more information for weeks about the administration’s plans for Venezuela. Donald Trump has said he has no problem releasing the video. But, despite the president’s statement, Hegseth did not commit to doing so over the weekend. Since August, the Trump administration has put a $50m bounty on the Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s head, launched the biggest naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and carried out a series of deadly airstrikes on alleged drug boats that have killed more than 80 people. Share Updated at 17.25 EST
3h ago 16.55 EST Shrai Popat I’ve been speaking with Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, about today’s supreme court arguments. He notes that while the court may side with the administration in Slaughter’s case, they “might not do that in a sweeping way, and take each independent agency as it comes to them”. Tobias added that the justices seemed to acknowledge that the Federal Reserve “deserves unique treatment”, which is relevant in the case of governor Lisa Cook – who the president sought to fire this year. The supreme court said that Cook could remain on the Fed board while they prepare to hear her case in January. Slaughter’s removal, and today’s arguments, ultimately “undermines” Congress as a co-equal branch of government, according to Tobias. “I don’t think we’re having a wholesale end of the modern administrative state, but each one of these is hopefully going to be taken up on its own merits,” he added. Share
3h ago 16.38 EST As reported earlier, Crockett entered the Senate race in Texas after former Democratic representative Colin Allred announced he was dropping out. Here’s what the former Dallas congressman said in a statement: “In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt. That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the US Senate.” Allred also expressed that he is “nowhere near done serving my community and our state” and that he is running in the new 33rd District, a Democratic seat that was redrawn by a Republican-led redistricting effort. “The 33rd district was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy but it’s also the community where I grew up attending public schools and watching my mom struggle to pay for our groceries ... It’s the community where I was raised, and where Aly and I are now raising our two boys. It is my home,” Allred said. View image in fullscreen Colin Allred speaks to the media with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington DC, on 12 January 2022. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA) Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy Share Updated at 17.02 EST
4h ago 16.20 EST Lucy Campbell Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas filed to run for US Senate, a move expected to shake up the race after rising to fame amid her fierce clashes with Republicans, especially during Texas’ controversial mid-decade redistricting effort. Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats, entered the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas. The 44-year-old is running for the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, who is seeking reelection in the GOP-dominated state. Crockett’s announcement came hours after former representative Colin Allred ended his own campaign for the Democratic nomination in favor of attempting a House comeback bid. She faces a 3 March primary against Democratic state representative James Talarico, a former teacher with a rising national profile fueled by viral social media posts challenging Republican policies such as private school vouchers and requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Read the full story here: Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett launches bid for US Senate seat Read more Share Updated at 16.27 ESTAuthor: Yohannes Lowe. Coral Murphy Marcos. Shrai Popat. Lucy Campbell. Source
