The Latest: UN approves US Gaza plan with possible future path to an independent Palestinian state

The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved a U.S. plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

The vote was a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza's future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. During nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Arab nations and the Palestinians had pressed the United States to strengthen the original weak language about Palestinian self-determination.

The U.S. resolution endorses U.S. President Donald Trump 's 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head. It also authorizes the stabilization force and gives it a wide mandate, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory.

Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote.

The Latest:

Effort to reprimand US representative over election filing controversy advances in the House

The House advanced on Monday a resolution to disapprove of conduct by Rep. Chuy Garcia over the timing of his announcement to not seek reelection.

''We are not here to adjudicate the character of Chuy Garcia,'' said Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, a fellow Democrat who brought the resolution. Perez said she introduced the motion, which was opposed by nearly all of the Democratic caucus, ''with humility, fear and conviction.''

She later added: ''No good work means you are able to end your career with impunity and choosing your successor.''

EPA moves to limit scope of clean water law to reduce amount of wetlands it covers

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it is redefining the scope of the nation's bedrock clean water law to significantly limit the wetlands it covers, building on a Supreme Court decision two years ago that removed federal protections for vast areas.

When finalized, the new ''Waters of the United States'' rule will ensure that federal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act is focused on relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water, such as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes, along with wetlands that are directly connected to such bodies of water, the EPA said.

▶ Read more about the EPA's protections

Trump introduces himself at McDonald's summit as their first former fry cook to become president

Trump was referencing his 2024 campaign appearance at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania where he worked the french fry station.

That visit came as he sought to counter Democratic candidate Kamala Harris' accounts of working at the fast-food chain as a college student.

At the summit in Washington, Trump also described himself as one of McDonald's ''all-time, most loyal customers.'' That's because on his campaign plane, before he was elected and began flying on Air Force One, ''we served only McDonald's almost every time.''

Business leaders set to participate in US-Saudi investment forum on Wednesday

Overlapping with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's visit with Trump, the two nations have an investment summit at the Kennedy Center that will include the heads of Salesforce, Qualcomm, Pfizer, the Cleveland Clinic, Chevron and Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil and natural gas company.

The list of the speakers and panelists was obtained from a person close to the event. The person requested anonymity to provide a list of some of the attendees before they were officially announced.

—Joshua Boak

UN approves US plan for Gaza

Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote. The U.S. and other countries had hoped that Moscow would not use its veto power on the United Nation's most powerful body to block the resolution's adoption.

The U.S. resolution endorses Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that he would head.

The vote was a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza's future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

▶ Read more about the resolution

National Science Foundation announces new location for its headquarters

The new location near the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will allow the NSF to make ''responsible use of federal facilities'' and support ''the needs of our workforce and the research community,'' said the science foundation's acting director Brian Stone.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is set to move into NSF's current building. AFGE Local 3403, the union representing NSF employees, said in a statement the foundation is wasting taxpayer dollars by rushing ''to a building that will not support the needs of our mission.''

Runoff in Texas congressional race set for Jan. 31

Texas is set to have a runoff Jan. 31 to determine which of two Democrats will fill a vacant congressional seat in Houston that will narrow Republicans' already slim U.S. House majority.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set the date Monday for the contest in the 18th District between Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards.

Menefee and Edwards are seeking to serve the final 11 months of the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner's term. Turner, a former Houston mayor, died in March. They advanced in a first-round election Nov. 4 from and all-parties field of 16 candidates.

Menefee is Harris County's top civil lawyer and Edwards is a former Houston City Council member.

Trump says he will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia on eve of crown prince's Washington visit

Trump said Monday he will sell F-35 advanced fighter jets to Saudi Arabia on the eve of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Washington visit, as he praised the kingdom for its long partnership with the United States.

''I will say that we will be doing that,'' Trump said when asked if he would sell the jets to Saudi Arabia. ''We'll be selling F-35.''

▶ Read more about selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia

FEMA acting chief David Richardson departs after 6 months on the job, officials say

The acting chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency left his job Monday after just six months, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the latest disruption in a year of mass staff departures, program cuts and policy upheaval at the agency charged with managing federal disaster response.

David Richardson is leaving the post after replacing previous acting head Cameron Hamilton. DHS did not comment on the reason for his departure.

A former Marine Corps officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and also led the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office, Richardson had no previous emergency management experience when he assumed the role of ''senior official performing the duties of administrator'' in May.

Melania Trump and Usha Vance to visit North Carolina military families on first road trip together

The first lady and second lady of the United States will visit with military communities on Wednesday to show appreciation for those who serve at the holidays, Melania Trump's office has announced.

The pair will make stops in Richlands, North Carolina; Camp Lejeune; and Marine Corps Air Station New River. Camp Lejeune is the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast.

Trump and Vance will participate in activities with military-connected students and also address service members and their families.

Trump blames his raspy voice on shouting at people over trade talks

''I was shouting at people because they were stupid about something having to do with trade in a country,'' Trump said. ''And I straightened it out, but I blew my stack at those people,'' Trump said.

The president declined to say which country he was yelling at, but he said a ''country wanted to try and renegotiate the terms of their trade deal and I wasn't happy about it.''

Trump said of his health that he feels ''great.''

Trump leads meeting with FIFA task force, announces new system for visa interviews

The president is hosting another meeting of the White House's task force on FIFA as the administration continues preparations for next year's World Cup in North America.

The Trump administration is balancing a strict immigration system with ensuring that visitors for the global soccer tournament can enter the United States without issue.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the new system the ''FIFA pass'' - or the ''prioritized appointments scheduling system.''

Trump said he ''strongly'' encourages World Cup travelers to the U.S. to apply for their visas ''right away.''

Conservative think tank sees more fallout over Tucker Carlson

One of the 14 members of the Heritage Foundation's board of trustees has announced his resignation over the think tank's position defending an interview commentator Tucker Carlson did with a white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Trump defended Carlson over the same interview last night.

George had earlier said he felt the conservative movement could not treat the ideas of those ''who openly preach white supremacy and the hatred of Jews'' as legitimate.

Comey's lawyers had sought the grand jury materials

''The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted,'' Fitzpatrick wrote ''However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.''

The 24-page opinion is the most blistering assessment yet by a judge of a criminal case against Comey that is already subject to multiple other challenges, including motions seeking its dismissal on the grounds that the interim U.S. attorney who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed and that the prosecution itself constitutes a vindictive prosecution.

The sole prosecutor who defense lawyers say presented the case to the grand jury was Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience who was appointed to the job just days earlier.

The Justice Department engaged in a ''disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps'' when it secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge ruled Monday in directing prosecutors to produce to defense lawyers all grand jury materials from the case.

Those problems, wrote Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, include ''fundamental misstatements of the law'' by a prosecutor to a grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of potentially privileged communications in the investigation and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings.

North Carolina governor says Trump administration is ‘stoking fear'

Democrat Josh Stein said the Border Patrol effort to arrest immigrants in Charlotte isn't making his state's largest city any safer.

The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates. Charlotte residents have reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores. One U.S. citizen was targeted twice within minutes, going into and out of a restaurant.

The Department of Homeland Security has said it's focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies.

Trump and Mamdani will ‘work something out,' president says

Trump indicated he plans to meet with New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have cast each other as political foils.

Trump has for months slammed Mamdani, falsely labeling him as a ''communist'' and predicting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the democratic socialist was elected. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalized American citizen, and to pull federal money from the city.

Mamdani, for his part, has become a symbol of the resistance to Trump and his administration's anti-immigrant agenda, but said he's willing to work with anyone, including the president, if it can help New Yorkers.

Foreign enrollment at US colleges holds steady, for now

Foreign students enrolled at U.S. colleges in strong numbers this fall despite fears that a Trump administration crackdown would trigger a nosedive, yet there are signs of turbulence as fewer new, first-time students arrived from other countries, according to a new report.

Overall, U.S. campuses saw a 1% decrease in international enrollment this fall compared with last year, according to a survey from the Institute of International Education. But that figure is propped up by large numbers of students who stayed in the U.S. for temporary work after graduating.

The number of new students entering the United States for the first time fell by 17%, the sharpest decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic. International students at the graduate level saw the biggest backslide this fall, with a 12% drop.

Some universities are seeing backslides that have punched big holes in tuition revenue.

The Trump administration has sought to reduce America's reliance on foreign students. The White House is pushing colleges to cap enrollment of foreign students and enroll more from the U.S. In June, the State Department began screening visa applications more closely after temporarily halting all interviews.

Visa processing has continued to lag in some countries, including India, the largest source of America's foreign students. Education firms have reported that future college students are now showing decreased interest in the U.S. and more in Europe and Asia. While international enrollment remained relatively steady, there are concerns about its sustainability.

''There are warning signs for future years, and I'm really concerned about what this portends for fall '26 and '27,'' said Clay Harmon, the executive director of AIRC: The Association of International Enrollment Management, which represents colleges and recruitment agencies.

New analysis shows more US consumers are falling behind on their utility bills

Past due utility balances jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank. That overlaps with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period. It's a warning sign for the U.S. economy and another political headache for Trump.

Troubles paying electricity and natural gas bills reflect an economic quandary as Trump promotes the artificial intelligence industry as a key part of the economic boom he's promised. AI data centers massively use electricity, threatening higher bills for everyday Americans.

Trading on Wall Street is mixed ahead of first US government employment data in more than six weeks

Nvidia's profit report Wednesday could suggest whether AI company stocks are overvalued. And in the absence of government produced economic data, the reports of some of the nation's biggest retailers, including Home Depot, Target and Walmart, could provide insight into the health of the American consumer.

On Thursday, the Labor Department will release September hiring and unemployment numbers, marking the beginning of the end of a data drought caused by the 43-day federal government shutdown. The statistical blackout meant that the Federal Reserve, businesses, policymakers and investors have largely been in the dark about inflation, job creation, GDP growth and other measures of the U.S. economic health since late summer.

▶ Read more about today's financial markets action

Almost two weeks after Republicans lost badly in elections in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, many GOP leaders insist there is no problem with the party's policies, its message or Trump's leadership.

Trump says Democrats and the media are misleading voters who are concerned about high costs and the economy. Republican officials aiming to avoid another defeat in next fall's midterms are encouraging candidates to embrace the president fully and talk more about his accomplishments.

Those are the major takeaways from a series of private conversations, briefings and official talking points involving major Republican decision-makers across Washington, including inside the White House, after their party's losses Nov. 4.

Trump insists the economy under his watch has never been stronger, even as an increasing number of voters report a different reality in their lives.

▶ Read more about how much the fate of the GOP is tied to Trump

Republican strategist Doug Heye said Trump's approach is not necessarily helpful for the Republican Party or its candidates, who already face a difficult political environment in 2026 when voters will decide the balance of power in Congress. Historically, the party occupying the White House has significant losses in nonpresidential elections.

''Republicans need to relay to voters that they understand what they're going through and that they're trying to fix it,'' Heye said. ''That can be hard to do when the president takes a nonmetaphorical wrecking ball to portions of the White House, which distract so much of Washington and the media.''

The issue that unites the country at a time of polarization

Concerns about daily household costs are universal, according to a new survey from the American Communities Project and Ipsos. But people still feel very differently about the future of the country, depending on where they live.

The survey evaluated moods and priorities across the 15 different community types, such as heavily Hispanic areas, big cities and different kinds of rural communities.

Trump's split with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Trump's statement followed a fierce fight within the GOP over the files, including an increasingly nasty split with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had long been one of his fiercest supporters.

Trump publicly called it quits with Greene last week, said he would endorse a challenger against her in 2026 and posted Sunday, ''The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!''

Greene said the country deserves transparency: ''I have no idea what's in the files. I can't even guess. But that is the questions everyone is asking, is, why fight this so hard?'' Greene said.

Epstein case transparency is not just about Trump

Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, had many prominent acquaintances in political and celebrity circles besides Trump.

''I don't even know how involved Trump was,'' Khanna said. ''There are a lot of other people involved who have to be held accountable.''

Khanna asked Trump to meet with those who were abused. Some will be at the Capitol on Tuesday for a news conference, he said.

GOP House speaker seems to expect a decisive House vote to release the files

''We'll just get this done and move it on. There's nothing to hide,'' Mike Johnson now says.

Massie said he's aiming now for a veto-proof majority with 100 or more Republican votes in favor. Khanna voiced more modest expectations for GOP support.

What would the Epstein files bill do?

The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein's victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted.

Lawmakers who support the bill have been predicting a big win in the House this week with a ''deluge of Republicans'' voting for it, bucking the GOP leadership and the president.

Attorney General will investigate Epstein's ties to Clinton and other political foes

Last week, congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump. None of the men Trump mentioned in a social media post demanding the probe has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein's victims.

Georgia election case against Trump and others lives on

A longtime prosecutor, Pete Skandalakis, announced he will take over the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the case.

Willis was disqualified over an ''appearance of impropriety'' created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she'd chosen to lead the case.

Commercial airlines to resume regular schedules