As a man who wears his Christian beliefs on his sleeve, JD Vance is no doubt acutely conscious of Jesus Christ’s dictum from his sermon on the mount declaring that “blessed are the peacemakers”.
Yet the US vice-president, a Catholic convert who recently found himself at odds with Pope Leo, is discovering the difficulties of living up to that standard while serving a mercurial political master who is waging a war Vance once cautioned against.
“Jesus Christ does not support genocide,” a heckler shouted as Vance spoke during a meeting of the rightwing Turning Point USA group at the University of Georgia this month.
The episode illustrated the predicament facing the vice-president as he seeks to keep younger voters opposed to overseas military adventures on board while eyeing up a run for the presidency in 2028.
The challenge is only getting tougher for Vance as he assumes the potential role of point man in an endeavor to bring an early end to the war with Iran that he previously warned for years that the US should avoid.
A US special forces soldier is due in federal court in New York on Tuesday on charges that he used classified information about the mission to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to win more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket, AP reported.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, has been charged with the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
The case comes during heavy scrutiny on prediction markets, which allow people to trade or wager on almost anything, as policymakers call for stricter regulation of the platforms amid concerns about insider trading .
Prosecutors said Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of Maduro’s capture and had signed nondisclosure agreements centered on the operations, but he eventually placed a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by 31 January.
Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets, flagged the suspicious activity and turned it over to the government, according to CEO Shayne Coplan.
Van Dyke, who is stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, was granted bond after a court hearing in North Carolina last week and will continue his case in New York. Court records did not list an attorney for him in New York.
Nebraska on Friday will become the first state to enforce work, volunteer or education requirements for new Medicaid applicants, eight months before the federally mandated requirements kick in.
Advocates worry that the state is launching so rapidly that key details remain unresolved and some people who are eligible for coverage will lose it, AP reported.
State officials say they’re prepared, training staff and sending letters, emails and texts to people who could be impacted.
Health policy experts, advocates and other states will be watching closely.
“It can be used as a lesson for other states, both where things go well and where things don’t go well,” said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
Updated
Kimmel defends Melania ‘widow’ joke after the Trumps call for him to be fired
Jimmy Kimmel has refused to apologise for a joke made days before the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting in which he described Melania Trump as glowing “like an expectant widow”, after both Donald Trump and the first lady accused him of inciting violence.
On Monday Melania Trump accused Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” and “atrocious behavior”, and said it was “time for ABC to take a stand” against the comedian, who has long been critical of Trump and his policies.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host made the joke on Thursday, well before the Saturday attack on the White House correspondents’ dinner, during a skit in which the ABC host pretended to be the event’s MC.
“Our first lady Melania is here,” Kimmel said. “So beautiful, Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
During his Monday night monologue, Kimmel responded to the Trumps, telling viewers: “You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job? We’ve all been there, right?”
Kimmel pointed out he made the joke three days before the alleged assassination attempt. “Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together,” he said. “It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not – by any stretch of the definition – a call to assassination. And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence, in particular.”
US president Donald Trump has said American elections are “rigged, stolen and a laughing stock all over the world” in his latest attempt to drum up support for his Save America Act.
Calling on Republican lawmakers to support his proposal, he wrote on Truth Social:
America’s Elections are Rigged, Stolen, and a Laughingstock all over the World. We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a Country any longer. I am asking all Republicans to fight for the following:
SAVE AMERICA ACT!
1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE.
3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).
Suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at press dinner
The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner appeared in federal court on Monday and was charged with three federal crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president.
The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence.
The first charge carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
Allen was being represented by lawyers with the federal defender’s office and sat beside them in court in a blue jail jumpsuit. Three US marshals sat directly behind him during his appearance.
Allen has no record of criminal charges or a civil court history in Los Angeles county, according to a records search.
The weapons he had on him Saturday night included a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a pistol and three knives, according to Jocelyn Ballantine, a federal prosecutor.
Judge Matthew Sharbaugh asked Allen if he had taken any drugs in the last day or so, to which Allen responded no.
Trumps continue to host British royals but will meet off-camera over clash fears
Hello and welcome to our coverage of US news as the Trumps continue hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit.
As expected, the British royals have a packed itinerary of events this morning including been greeted by Donald and Melania Trump at the White House, signing the guest book and exchanging gifts.
Apart from the greeting, most of the events are closed to the media and Charles will be spared the potential humiliation of being upbraided in public by Trump after the White House agreed that any meeting between the two men should be held off camera.
British officials have pushed for the Oval Office meeting between the monarch and the US president to be held off camera for fear of a repeat of the scenes when Trump berated the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in front of the world’s press.
Sources involved in planning the trip say Charles will pose for the cameras at the start of his centrepiece bilateral meeting on Tuesday, but will not be filmed talking about anything substantive.
The this afternoon, at 3pm, the king will address Congress. He is expected to allude to recent strains between the UK and US in a rare address by a monarch to the US Congress as he will underline that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”.
The king’s remarks in a speech to both houses on Tuesday will come after Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a trade deal signed by the UK and US, mocked the Royal Navy and insulted the UK prime minister.
In his speech, the king is expected to reflect that while the UK and US have not always agreed on all matters over the past 250 years, the foundations of their “democratic, legal and social traditions” – stretching all the way back to Magna Carta – are such that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”.
In other developments:
Cole Allen was accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump in Saturday when he was tackled with two guns outside the White House correspondents’ dinner.
An FBI affidavit in support of the charges quoted from a manifesto Allen sent to family just before the thwarted attack in which he said: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
In the aftermath of the thwarted attack, three Republican senators called for the public to immediately fund the construction of the White House ballroom Trump has his heart set on. “Hell no,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded.
During his interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump repeated a false claim he has made at least three times: that the BBC used AI to put words in his mouth and alter his remarks to supporters before the Capitol riot on January 6 2021.
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