The Latest: Trump speaks on Americans' economic worries and blames Democrats at Pennsylvania rally

President Donald Trump road-tested his claims that he's tackling Americans' affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania — a trip that came as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump's economic leadership has faltered.

Following dismal results for Republicans in last month's off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.

The president has consistently blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for inflation even as his own aggressive implementation of policies has pushed up prices that had been settling down after spiking in 2022 to a four-decade high.

The trip hints the dilemma faced by Trump. He wants to take credit for rewiring the U.S. economy with his large tariff hikes and extension of income tax cuts, but he also continues to blame Biden for the increase nationwide in inflation rates that occurred this year during his own presidency. Overall, inflation is tracking at 3% annually, up from 2.3% in April when Trump rolled out a sweeping set of import taxes.

Here's the latest:

Trump says he'll broker peace between Cambodia and Thailand

After rattling off a list of wars he claims credit for ending, the president said he would use his sway to end renewed combat between Cambodia and Thailand.

''Tomorrow I'll have to make a phone call,'' Trump said. ''Who else could say, ‘I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia'?''

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on both sides to live up to their peace agreement.

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro appears alongside Utah governor as Trump speaks

As Trump was speaking in Pennsylvania, the state's Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, was in Washington appearing alongside Utah GOP Gov. Spencer Cox at the National Cathedral for an event focused on political civility.

''Leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity,'' Shaprio said, recounting the political violence that has occurred in his state, including an attempted assassination against Trump and an arson attack at the governor's mansion.

''If we think that a president of the United States or a governor is going to change where we are right now, we are fooling ourselves,'' he said. ''I truly believe that the people of our country are the ones who are going to have to change this.''

The event was interrupted several times by protestors who were escorted from the Cathedral.

Trump wraps up Pennsylvania rally

He spoke for just over 90 minutes.

Trump in his second term has largely eschewed the raucous rallies that defined his three presidential campaigns and his first term. But he seemed to enjoy himself Tuesday, reviving many of his applause lines as he went after his critics and boasted about his own record.

Trump heaps praise on writer of speeches he doesn't read

The president gave a shout-out to his head speechwriter more than an hour into a speech that was mostly ad-libbed.

''I haven't read practically anything off this stupid teleprompter,'' Trump said. ''And then my speechwriters keep getting awards for some of the finest speeches, and I haven't even read them.''

It was one of many quips from an ebullient Trump who seemed to have fun working his audience.

Trump introduces people he says will benefit from the tax code changes in his ‘big, beautiful bill'

Another woman, waitress Donna Zajack, said her newly tax-free tips will help with her daughter's tuition.

Trump pointed to one man, saying he plans to buy a house with the money he'll save from tax-free overtime. The man was not invited on stage.

Trump's new visual aids

Trump is rolling out new charts as he makes the case that the economy is thriving despite Americans' concerns about the cost of living.

''Biden Price Increases & Trump Price Decreases,'' one chart's title reads.

Trump defends foreign travel, a source of division in the GOP

The president lashed out at ''the stupid people'' who criticized his travels abroad including a May trip to the Middle East.

Trump went on a tangent about the issue as he recalled a conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The issue has been a source of tension with some Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Trump defended his trips, saying they generated billions in foreign investment for the U.S.

''Somebody complained that I was making a foreign trip,'' Trump said at his rally in Pennsylvania. ''They say, ‘He shouldn't be leaving the country.' Yeah, let's sit around and twiddle our thumbs.''

Trump says a West Virginia National Guardsman who was shot last month while patrolling in Washington, D.C., is recovering.

''Today I got a call that he got up from bed. Do you believe that? He got up. He got up,'' Trump said of 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.

''Now, he didn't speak,'' Trump added. ''He's not ready for that yet. I mean, he got hit in the head.''

Trump said U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who was killed in the shooting, is ''looking at us from heaven, from above.''

Trump's message: ‘They caused the high prices'

He summed his message up succinctly: ''They caused the high prices and we're bringing them down.''

''If I had one message tonight ...'' he added, before breaking off on a two-minute tangent recognizing members of his White House staff. ''But that's our message,'' he said, returning to his point. ''They gave you high prices. They gave you the highest inflation in history. And we're giving you — We're bringing those prices down rapidly.''

The president has consistently blamed Biden for inflation even as his own aggressive implementation of policies has pushed up prices that had been settling down after spiking in 2022 to a four-decade high.

A Democrat is elected Miami mayor for first time in nearly 30 years

Eileen Higgins defeated Republican Emilio Gonzalez, who was endorsed by Trump.

The local race drew attention from the both Democratic and Republican parties and leaders.

Higgins' victory provides Democrats another boost ahead of a midterm election when the GOP is looking to maintain its influence in Florida, including in a Hispanic-majority district in Miami-Dade County.

The area has shifted increasingly rightward politically in recent years, and the city may become the home of Trump's presidential library.

Trump says his chief of staff told him to start campaigning again for midterm elections

Trump says his White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told him he needs to start campaigning to help Republicans in the midterm elections.

But Trump says Wiles said the president was needed to help Republicans in next year's elections, which will decide control of the House and Senate. Voters generally favor the party out of power in the White House during the midterm elections.

Wiles told the online conservative talk show ''The Mom View'' that Trump's return to the campaign trail would help to turn out voters who would otherwise sit out the election.

Trump's rally has the same feel as his campaign events, despite smaller venue

He's mixing ad-libbed commentary with his written remarks boasting about the economy and going after his enemies.

He has taken several digs at the ''fake news'' and his predecessor, ''sleepy Joe Biden,'' drawing cheers and laughter from his enthusiastic audience.

Trump is taking the stage in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.

He walked out to Lee Greenfield's ''God Bless the USA,'' the song that has traditionally marked the start of his campaign rallies. He was met with chants of ''USA, USA!''

Judge extends order blocking health department from sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco had initially halted the data sharing in August, but the order covering 22 states that had sued the administration over privacy concerns was set to expire Tuesday.

Chhabria said in a court hearing it will now remain in effect until Jan. 5, a timeframe the judge said will give attorneys for the federal government and the states time to file further briefs. The judge said he wanted attorneys to lay out their reasoning as to whether he had the authority to, for example, allow the policy to be used narrowly only pertaining to non-citizens enrolled in Medicaid but not more broadly, saying that thus far, ''the scope of the policy, who it applies to, has not been adequately explained.''

Democratic Leader seeks all-House briefing on deadly boat strikes

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is asking for Hegseth to brief all members on the strikes near Venezuela.

''We need an all-member briefing for the House of Representatives,'' Jeffries told The Associated Press.

''They haven't committed to it,'' he said of Hegseth. ''But we're going to continue to press our case.''

US military flies 2 fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela

Public flight tracking websites showed a pair of U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets fly over the body of water bounded by Venezuela for more than 30 minutes.

A U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that the jets conducted a ''routine training flight'' and said they stayed in international airspace. The official likened it to previous exercises aimed at showing the reach of U.S. planes.

The move is the latest action that the U.S. military has taken as it has built up warships in the region and launched deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats. Those attacks are drawing new scrutiny from lawmakers.

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— By Konstantin Toropin

The president also said Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett will be a ''gift to Republicans'' as she launches a new Senate campaign in Texas.

Trump made the comments aboard Air Force One a day after Crockett launched her campaign, telling Trump, ''I'm coming for you.'' Crockett is running for the seat held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn in what could be a critical race for both parties.

Crockett is a favorite GOP target and an outspoken Trump adversary.

The president didn't hold back when asked about the race: ''I can't imagine she wins. Maybe she'll get the Democrat nomination, but I think it's a gift to Republicans, she's a terrible representative.''

Trump, running late, makes his way to Pennsylvania rally

The president was late leaving Washington, where he had been attending a Christmas party at the vice presidential residence.

Trump's event in the Pocono Mountains will be held indoors in a conference center ballroom at the Mount Airy Casino Resort, a smaller venue than the arena rallies that could host thousands during his campaign.

DOJ ends monitoring of illegal dumping in Houston in retreat from environmental justice

The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn from an agreement with the city of Houston to curb illegal dumping in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

The action is part of the Trump administration's broad elimination of jobs and programs dedicated to environmental justice.

The Justice Department and Houston officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Federal authorities also quietly ended a similar agreement over wastewater problems in rural Alabama, according to three former law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move wasn't made public.

Bessent spoke about Russia oil sanctions with Ukrainian Prime Minister

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he spoke with Ukraine's Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, Tuesday morning about President Trump's ''commitment to securing a lasting peace in Ukraine,'' in a post on X.

Bessent said in the post that the pair discussed Treasury's October sanctions on Russia's oil giants, Lukoil and Rosneft, which are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow's brutal war on Ukraine.

Newsom memoir will seek to build a more nuanced portrait of California's governor

Gavin Newsom is writing a memoir he says will be ''a truly vulnerable book'' about his family, his struggles growing up with dyslexia and his political career.

It's the latest effort by Newsom, the California governor and a potential 2028 presidential candidate, to build more nuance into his public persona. He has long pushed back against a narrative that's dogged him since the start of his political career — that he had a privileged upbringing and rode the coattails of his father's wealthy and connected friends to political success.

He acknowledged the perception among many voters that he's a slick politician.

''A lot of people look at me in the stark white shirt, the blue suit and yeah, the gelled hear, and they think, ‘Oh I know this guy. I know him better than I'd ever want to know him.' I get it,'' Newsom says in a video announcing the book.

Alarm grows over surge in violence in Rwanda-Congo conflict; one of Trump's touted peace deals

International alarm over a surge in fighting between Rwanda and Congo is growing less than a week after the two countries signed a peace deal in Washington that Trump has hailed as one of several agreements that are evidence of his peace-making prowess.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, members of the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes expressed ''profound concern'' over recent developments in Congo's South Kivu region where new deadly violence blamed on the Rwandan-backed M23 militia group has exploded in recent days.

The group, which includes Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the European Union, urged all sides ''to uphold their commitments under the Washington Accords of 4 December 2025 and immediately deescalate the situation.''

Rubio calls Egyptian, Saudi counterparts to discuss urgent need for peace in Sudan

The State Department said Rubio spoke Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss the issues.

The department said Rubio and Abdelatty discussed the implementation of the President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza as well as ''ongoing engagements to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan.''

There was no mention of the Gaza plan in the readout of Rubio's call with the prince, but there was a reference to the outcomes of Trump's recent meeting in Washington with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at which Gaza was a main topic as well as ''developments in Yemen and the urgent need to advance peace efforts in Sudan.''

Fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has surged despite attempts to broker an end to the fighting, which began in 2023 and has killed more than 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million others. Aid groups warn that the true death toll is likely far higher.

Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas won't seek reelection after district was redrawn

''Let me be clear: I'm not stepping back from the fight. I'm stepping into a new one,'' he said in a statement.

The U.S. Supreme Court this month allowed the challenged Texas congressional redistricting plan to be used in next year's election, despite a lower-court ruling that the map likely discriminates on the basis of race.

The Texas congressional map enacted last summer at President Donald Trump's urging was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats.

US concerned by uptick in Cambodia-Thailand fighting after Trump-mediated peace deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is concerned by an uptick in fighting between Cambodia and Thailand along their contested border less than two months after the two countries signed a peace in Malaysia pushed for by President Trump.

The Cambodia-Thailand deal — one of several Trump has hailed as evidence of his negotiating abilities — has been faltering for weeks but took a big hit when fighting broke out following a weekend skirmish in which two Thai soldiers were injured. Five days of fighting since has left dozens dead on both sides and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.

Opponents of Trump-backed redistricting in Missouri submit a petition to force a public vote

Opponents of Missouri's new congressional map submitted thousands of petition signatures Tuesday calling for a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by President Trump as part of his quest to hold on to a slim Republican majority in next year's elections.

Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office — well more than the roughly 110,000 needed to suspend the new U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year.

The signatures must still be formally verified by local election authorities and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who's argued the referendum is unconstitutional. But if the signatures hold up, the referendum could create a significant obstacle for Republicans who hope the new districts could help them win a currently Democratic-held seat in the Kansas City area in the November election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reaffirms his refusal to cede land to Russia

It's a resistance to U.S. pressure for painful concessions to Russia as he moved ahead Tuesday to rally more European support for his country.

''Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don't want to give up anything. That's what we are fighting for,'' Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat late Monday.

''Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don't have such right,'' he said. ''According to Ukraine's law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don't have a moral right either.''

In an interview with Politico released Tuesday, President Trump again pressed Zelenskyy to accept the U.S. proposal that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, arguing that Moscow retains the ''upper hand'' in its nearly 4-year-old invasion, and that Zelenskyy's government must ''play ball.''

US job openings barely budged in October, coming in just below 7.7 million

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to September's 7.66 million.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed the layoffs rose and number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in the labor market — fell in October.

Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. The job market has cooled partly because of the lingering effect of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in 2022 and 2023 to combat an outburst of inflation.

Overall, it's a puzzling time for the American economy, buffeted by President Trump's decision to reverse decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade and instead impose double-digit tariffs on imports from most of the world's countries.

Maxwell's lawyer said his client took no position about the requested unsealing

Except to note that her plans to file a habeas petition could be spoiled because the public release of materials ''would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial'' if the habeas request succeeded.

Lawyers for the Epstein estate took no position.

Former Democratic congressman begins campaign in red Virginia district vulnerable to gerrymandering

Former Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello said Tuesday he would challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire in the midterm elections next year.

Perriello, elected for one term in 2008, was the last Democrat to win Virginia's 5th Congressional district, which McGuire now represents. It's a district where President Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 points, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. McGuire was first elected to the district in 2024 after defeating former Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a bitter primary.

Virginia Democrats who control the statehouse have indicated McGuire's seat may be vulnerable if they're successful in their efforts to redraw the state's Congressional maps ahead of elections next November. The General Assembly in October endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting, though another legislative vote is needed to refer the amendment to a statewide ballot.

Judge grants Justice Department request to unseal Ghislaine Maxwell records in sex trafficking case

A federal judge said Tuesday the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled after the Justice Department in November asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Maxwell and Epstein's cases, along with investigative materials that could amount to hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents.