Letitia James warns of ‘powerful voices trying to silence the truth’ – US politics live

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Shrai Popat

The firings of hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been reversed, according to several reports citing officials familiar with the matter, and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers.

On Friday, the White House budget office announced that as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, reductions in force (RIFs) across agencies have begun.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which houses the CDC, initially said that all employees that received layoff notices “were designated non-essential by their respective divisions”.

However, over the weekend, the administration rescinded more than half of the 1,300 termination notices it sent to public health officials at the CDC, according to Axios and Reuters, citing sources familiar. Around 600 people at the agency remain fired.

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), informally known as “disease detectives”, as well as the team that compiles the widely respected scientific journal, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, were among the employees reinstated.

Edward Helmore

Barack Obama took aim at institutions and businesses who made deals or worked out settlements with the Trump administration, noting on a new podcast episode: “We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand.”

In a talk with Marc Maron on the comedian’s last edition of his long-running WTF With Marc Maron, the former US president said institutions – including law firms, universities and businesses – that have changed course during the Trump administration should have stood by their convictions.

Instead of bending to the administration, Obama noted that universities should say: “This will hurt if we lose some grant money in the federal government, but that’s what endowments are for. Let’s see if we can ride this out, because what we’re not going to do is compromise our basic academic independence.”

He also noted that the organizations that did concede to Trump should be able to say: “We’re not going to be bullied into saying that we can only hire people or promote people based on some criteria that’s been cooked up by Steve Miller,” in reference to the top White House aide and architect of Trump’s hardline immigration policy.

Edward Helmore

Republican and Democratic senators Lindsey Graham and Mark Kelly have dug their heels in over the government shutdown – which is now approaching two weeks, with the former saying that the closure won’t push him to meet Democrats’ demands for a restoration of Obama-era healthcare subsidies.

Graham said on NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday that he was in favor of the Senate voting to reopen the government and prepared to “have a rational discussion” with Democrats – but not with the government shut down.

“I’m willing to vote to open the government up tomorrow,” Graham said. “To my Democratic friends: I am not going to vote to extend these subsidies.”

Graham, speaking to Democrats, added: “It’s up to you. If you want to keep it shut down, fine. It’s not going to change how I approach healthcare.”

The senator’s comments came as Vice-President JD Vance warned that permanent cuts to the federal workforce will only get “deeper” as the shutdown continues.

Vance told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures that “the longer it goes on, Maria, the more significant they’re going to be. If you remember, we went nine days before announcing any significant layoffs.

“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance continued.

President Donald Trump will visit Malaysia on 26 October, the country’s foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said on Tuesday, adding that he was “looking forward” to witnessing a ceasefire deal between south-east Asian neighbours Thailand and Cambodia.

Tension over undemarcated points on the two nations’ 817km (508 mile) land border erupted into a deadly five-day conflict in July, killing at least 48 and temporarily displacing hundreds of thousands in their worst fighting in more than a decade.

“During the summit, we hope to see the signing of a declaration, known as the Kuala Lumpur Accord, between these two neighbours to ensure peace and a lasting ceasefire,” Mohamad told the media.

US news outlets refuse to sign new Pentagon rules to report only official information

Edward Helmore

Several leading news organizations with access to Pentagon briefings have formally said they will not agree to a new defense department policy that requires them to pledge they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official.

The policy, presented last month by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been widely criticized by media organizations asked to sign the pledge by Tuesday at 5pm or have 24 hours to turn in their press credentials.

The move follows a shake-up in February in which long-credentialed media outlets were required to vacate assigned workspaces which was cast as an “annual media rotation program”. A similar plan was presented at the White House where some briefing room spots were given to podcasters and other representatives of non-traditional media.

On Monday, the Washington Post joined the New York Times, CNN, the Atlantic, the Guardian, Reuters, the Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost and trade publication Breaking Defense in saying it would not sign on to the agreement.

Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor, said the policy runs counter to constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

“The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,” Murray wrote in a statement published on X. “We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government.”

Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto asked president Donald Trump on Monday if he could meet with Trump’s son Eric, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, according to comments by the leaders picked up by a microphone after Trump had addressed a Gaza-focused summit in Egypt.

Trump and Prabowo, who were also seen on video, appeared to be unaware that a live microphone was recording their conversation.

The two spoke in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh after Trump delivered remarks to a group of world leaders gathered for the summit, which followed the announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The White House, Prabowo’s office, Indonesia’s foreign ministry and the Trump Organization’s Indonesian business partner, MNC Group, did not respond to requests for comment on the exchange, Reuters reported.

It was not clear in the audio whether the two were referencing the Trump Organization or any business deals involving the president or his family.

Letitia James pushes back against 'powerful voices trying to silence truth'

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.

We start with news that New York attorney-general Letitia James struck a defiant tone Monday during her first public appearance since being indicted on federal fraud charges related to her purchase of a home in Virginia.

The Democrat took the stage to thunderous and sustained applause and chants of “We love Tish” during a boisterous rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Washington Heights neighborhood, AP reported.

James warned of “powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent” and “weaponize justice for political gain,” though she stopped short of naming president Donald Trump, who had pushed for months for justice department officials to bring charges against her.

“We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” James said. “This, my friends, is a defining moment in our history.”

She called on supporters to protect “every norm and every rule of law” as she vowed she “will not capitulate.”

“You come for me, you got to come though all of us!,” James roared, to loud cheers. “Every single one of us!”

A federal grand jury indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general, last week for bank fraud and making false statements. Two charges were brought against James, who had brought a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization in 2022 that Trump claimed was a malicious prosecution.

Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, personally presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday, the person said. US attorneys do not typically present to a grand jury.

In other developments:

• Republican and Democratic senators Lindsey Graham and Mark Kelly have dug their heels in over the government shutdown – which is now approaching two weeks, with the former saying that the closure won’t push him to meet Democrats’ demands for a restoration of Obama-era healthcare subsidies.

• Argentina’s libertarian leader is lavishing praise on Trump ahead of his first White House meeting with the US president on Tuesday. “It is an honor to consider you not only an ally in the defense of those values, but also a dear friend and an example of leadership that inspires all those who believe in freedom,” Javier Milei said.

• Trump has vowed to use the power of his presidency to ensure that Israel recognises it has achieved “all that it can by force of arms”, and begin an age of cooperation in the Middle East that may ultimately extend as far as peace with Iran.

• Trump is expected to posthumously award Charlie Kirk the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom later today. Kirk was shot and killed last month while speaking at Utah Valley University.

• Several leading news organizations with access to Pentagon briefings have formally said they will not agree to a new defense department policy that requires them to pledge they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official.

• US military veterans increasingly face arrest and injury amid protests over Donald Trump’s deportation campaign and his push to deploy national guard members to an ever-widening number of American cities. The Guardian has identified eight instances where military veterans have been prosecuted or sought damages after being detained by federal agents.

• Barack Obama took aim at institutions and businesses who made deals or worked out settlements with the Trump administration, noting on a new podcast episode: “We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand.”

• The firings of hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control have been reversed, according to several reports citing officials familiar with the matter, and the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers.