President Donald Trump hosted a high-powered group of tech executives at the White House on Thursday as he showcased research on artificial intelligence and boasted of investments that companies are making around the United States.

Trump has exulted in the attention from some of the world’s most successful businesspeople, while the companies are eager to remain on the good side of the mercurial president.

While the executives praised Trump and talked about their hopes for technological advancement, the Republican president was focused on dollar signs. He went around the table and asked executives how much they were investing in the country.

Notably absent from the guest list was Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump who was tasked with running the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year.

Here’s the latest:

Venezuelan jets fly over US warship in the Caribbean

A pair of Venezuelan fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham in the international waters of the Caribbean on Thursday, Pentagon officials said.

A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss operational details, confirmed that two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the destroyer, which is part of a group of at least seven U.S. warships that have been deployed to the area as part of a mission to target drug smuggling.

The maneuver comes days after the Trump administration revealed that it ordered a strike on a speedboat that it claims was carrying 11 drug smugglers, killing all of them.

In a social media post late Thursday, the Pentagon called the maneuver by Venezuela “highly provocative” and argued that it was “designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations.”

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— By Konstantin Toropin

Trump to attend US Open men’s final on Sunday

The White House says the president will make a daytrip for the match in Queens, New York, which begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner is playing Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday. The other semifinal match features Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz.

Trump was a frequent attendee of the U.S. open during the decades he lived in New York, but hasn’t attended in recent years — including during his first term.

The president has built most of his domestic travel around visiting major sporting events since returning to the White House in January, including attending the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and UFC matches.

US considers banning Iranians from shopping at Costco during UN meeting

The administration has already denied visas for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and his large delegation to attend the U.N. General Assembly this month. It is now considering ramping up restrictions on several other delegations that would severely limit their ability to travel inside New York City.

Potential travel and other restrictions could soon be imposed on delegations from Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Brazil, according to an internal State Department memo seen by The Associated Press.

The movements of Iranian diplomats are severely limited in New York, but one proposal being floated would bar them from shopping at big, members-only wholesale stores like Costco and Sam’s Club without first receiving State Department permission.

Such stores have been a favorite of Iranian diplomats posted to and visiting New York because they can buy large quantities of products not available in their economically isolated country relatively cheaply and send them home.

Bill Gates praises Trump’s COVID-vaccine initiative and says he’s talking to Trump about eradicating diseases

The Microsoft founder, as he sat next to Melania Trump, spoke about what he called the “second phase” of his career working on global health issues, including “areas like vaccines.”

“The president and I are talking about taking American innovation to the next level to cure and even eradicate some of these diseases,” Gates said.

He said Trump mentioned polio, and said they are working on new science to try to cure HIV and sickle cell disease. Gates said the U.S. has “the seeds” of the science needed to cure those.

“The same way that Warp Speed took those seeds and put them together, I think something fantastic can be done.”

Gates’ comments were made just hours after RFK Jr.’s contentious hearing over vaccine policy.

Google CEO on antitrust case: ‘Glad it’s over’

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told Trump “I’m glad it’s over” after the president commented that the tech giant had a “very good day,” apparently referring to a federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday that rejected the Justice Department’s push to have Google sell its popular Chrome web browser.

The five-year antitrust case that could have ended in the breakup of the storied Silicon Valley company instead ended with U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta prescribing what most analysts and antitrust experts viewed as a light-handed punishment. The ruling propelled the stock price of Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. to a new high of $230.86 during Wednesday’s trading.

Trump says ‘real’ economic numbers that matter will come a year from now

Trump seemed largely dismissive of the impact of Friday’s jobs report and said the “real numbers” will start to make themselves known a year from now.

The president was asked Thursday during a dinner with tech leaders whether he would commit to saying the data was credible for the first job report numbers since he fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after last month’s revisions.

He says the jobs right now are largely construction jobs, but “you’re going to see job numbers like our country has never seen before.”

Trump says he’d like to see two candidates drop out of New York City mayoral race

The president said “no” when he was asked by a reporter if he had encouraged or urged any of the candidates to leave the race, but he then said he would like to see the field winnowed to a one-on-one matchup with the Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

Trump called Mamdani a “Communist” and said he didn’t know how he had a lead in the race.

“I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-one, and I think that’s a race that could be won,” Trump said.

Trump says RFK Jr. ‘means very well’

Trump says he didn’t have a chance to watch Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate hearings on Thursday but heard that he did “very well.”

He said, “He’s a very good person” and “he means very well.” He said the health secretary has got different ideas, but that he likes the fact that he’s different.

The contentious three-hour hearing devolved into multiple screaming matches as Kennedy fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership.

Trump says he’ll speak to Putin next

Trump was asked by a reporter during the tech leaders dinner whether he planned to speak to Putin in the “near future” after talking to Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy earlier Thursday.

He said, “I will be, yeah. We’re having a very good dialogue.”

Trump sits next to Zuckerberg at tech leaders dinner

Trump is hosting tech leaders in an event at the White House.

Trump was seated at the center of a long table between first lady Melania Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Melania Trump chaired a meeting of the White House’s new Artificial Intelligence Education task force on Thursday afternoon.

The event was planned to be the first in the newly paved Rose Garden but moved to the White House State Dining Room because of rain.

Trump asked the tech leaders to say a little bit about their companies and talk about their investments in the United States. Zuckerberg estimated that his company would be spending roughly $600 billion through 2028.

US to target visas of Central Americans doing China’s bidding

The U.S. State Department is imposing visa restrictions on “a number” of Central Americans who have allegedly undermined the rule of law in Central American countries on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the move is part of U.S. efforts to counter “China’s corrupt influence in Central America and stop its attempts to subvert rule of law.”

The brief State Department statement Thursday did not name any individuals or countries, but rumors had circulated in Guatemala this week that some mayors, national lawmakers and business people could be at risk of losing their U.S. visas.

Those targeted and their immediate family members would be ineligible for U.S. entry, the statement said.

Rubio has made pushing back against China’s influence in the region a priority of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

Trump administration targets Boston in latest sanctuary city lawsuit

The Trump administration sued the city of Boston and its leaders Thursday in its latest attempt to target policies seen as interfering with immigration enforcement.

The administration has filed a series of similar lawsuits against other cities, including Los Angeles, New York City, Denver and Rochester, New York.

The latest suit alleges that Boston’s sanctuary city policies are illegal under federal law and that the city’s refusal to cooperate with immigration authorities has resulted in the release of dangerous criminals.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has called Boston the safest major city in America and has defended its law limiting cooperation with immigration officials as a valid exercise of local authority.

Trump to seek Department of War rebrand

The president has been talking for a while about restoring the original name of the Department of Defense, a shift that would reflect his administration’s focus on projecting military toughness and lethality.

Now, he plans to sign an executive order on Friday advancing his goal.

Although permanently changing the name would require legislation, Trump’s order would authorize the use of “secondary titles” such as “Department of War” and “secretary of war” for “official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts” and more.

The order was first reported by Fox News and was confirmed by a White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss the move before the announcement.

“DEPARTMENT OF WAR,” Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media.

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— By Chris Megerian

Lawyers for ousted CDC chief dispute RFK Jr.’s account of her firing

At a contentious three-hour Senate hearing focused on recent upheavals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly tried to discredit Dr. Susan Monarez, who was abruptly removed from her post last week after less than a month as the agency’s director.

Monarez has repeatedly said that she was told to “preapprove” recommendations by Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisers, many of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views.

“No, I never said that to her,” Kennedy said, when asked about her account.

Kennedy later said Monarez was fired because she had proven to be “untrustworthy.”

Attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell called Kennedy’s claims “false” and “patently ridiculous” in a written statement. They added that Monarez would be willing to repeat her account “under oath.”

Republicans at Thursday’s hearing declined a request from the committee’s ranking Democrat to place Kennedy under oath.

US sanctions three Palestinian human rights organizations

The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on three organizations that advocate for Palestinian rights because they allegedly engage in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute Israeli nationals without Israel’s consent.

Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights were hit with diplomatic and economic sanctions — the U.S. uses an executive order that relates to imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court as its authority.

“We oppose the ICC’s politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The ongoing actions of the ICC set a dangerous precedent for all nations and we will actively oppose actions that threaten our national interests and infringe on the sovereignty of the United States and our allies, including Israel.”

Joe Biden received skin cancer surgery

A video published by Inside Edition on Thursday showed the former Democratic president with a fresh scar on the right side of his forehead when leaving church in Delaware recently.

Kelly Scully, a spokesperson for Biden, said he recently had Mohs surgery. The procedure involves slicing away thin layers of skin to remove any signs of cancer.

Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest two years ago, while he was president. The lesion was diagnosed as basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

He was also diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer earlier this year.

Chicago Latino leaders urge people to keep protests peaceful

Chicago Latino leaders on Thursday called on residents to remain peaceful while protesting during Mexican Independence Day celebrations in the city, arguing that Trump would use any unrest as justification for sending federal troops to the city.

“We will not allow others to use our fear or our anger against us,” said Berto Aguayo, from the Chicago Latino Caucus Association. “We will not take the bait. We will know our rights. We will protect each other and peacefully protest.”

Chicago Mexican independence festival postponed due to potential immigration crackdown

“It was a painful decision, but holding El Grito Chicago at this time puts the safety of our community at stake — and that’s a risk we are unwilling to take,” said the organizers of the downtown festival, originally scheduled for Sept. 13 and 14. A new date has not yet been announced.

Though Mexican Independence Day falls on Sept. 16, celebrations in Chicago span more than a week and draw hundreds of thousands of participants for lively parades, festivals, street parties and car caravans.

“The fact that the federal government is sending troops as we start these celebrations is an insult,” Illinois Sen. Karina Villa, a Democrat, said at a Thursday new conference. “It is a fear tactic. It’s unforgivable.”

Michigan GOP Senate candidate prods Detroit mayor on crime

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said Thursday that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan should call President Donald Trump for “backup” to reduce violent crime in the city.

The announcement from his campaign comes as Trump considers sending National Guard troops to some American cities.

Duggan is a longtime Democrat who is running for governor of Michigan as an independent. Most violent crime has been on the decline in Detroit in recent years, following a national trend seen in many cities.

“Rogers is proving himself just another uninformed, grandstanding politician,” Duggan’s spokesperson John Roach said in a statement.

Trump asks Supreme Court to allow another firing

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court Thursday to let the president fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of emergency petitions over the president’s removal power.

Trump first moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but lower courts ordered her reinstated because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for problems like misconduct or neglect of duty. The Justice Department, though, argues that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and the president is free to remove commissioners without cause.

The justices have allowed the firings of several other board members on of independent agencies already.

Demolition at White House for Trump’s ballroom doesn’t need planning commission approval

Demolition to build President Donald Trump’s new ballroom off the East Wing of the White House can begin without approval of the commission tasked with vetting construction of federal buildings, the Trump-appointed head of the panel says.

Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary, said during a public meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday that the board does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work.

“What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” said Scharf, who called Trump’s promised ballroom “one of the most exciting construction projects in the modern history” of Washington.

Crews are expected to soon break ground on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom likely to greatly alter the look and size of both the White House’s East and West Wings.

Trump’s dinner with tech leaders is being moved indoors due to weather

Though the president was planning to hold the first official gathering on his newly paved-over Rose Garden, the event was being moved to the White House State Dining Room because of inclement weather, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rain began falling at the White House Thursday afternoon.

Massachusetts to require insurers to cover vaccines if state recommends, even if CDC doesn’t

Massachusetts insurance carriers will be required to cover vaccinations recommended by the state’s health department, regardless of whether those continue to be recommended by the federal government, Gov. Maura Healey announced Thursday.

The Democrat says that’s meant to ensure Massachusetts residents can afford the vaccines they need and want, “even if the federal government issues narrower recommendations.”

The announcement comes after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s extensive restructuring and downsizing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has long set the nation’s guidance on which vaccines are recommended and who should get them.

“We won’t let Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy get between patients and their doctors,” Healey said in a statement.

Vaccinations that Massachusetts insurers would be required to cover under Healey’s guidance include respiratory virus vaccines, like COVID, flu and RSV, and routine vaccines for children, like measles, chickenpox and Hepatitis B.

Justice Department probes mortgage fraud claims against Lisa Cook of Federal Reserve, AP source says

The Justice Department has issued subpoenas as part of an investigation into mortgage fraud allegations against Lisa Cook, who is fighting a Trump administration effort to remove her from her role as a Federal Reserve Governor.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that subpoenas had been sent in connection with the probe, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

▶ Read more about Lisa Cook

Kids need AI training for the jobs of the future, first lady says

First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday called on business and technology leaders to invest in AI training for America’s schoolchildren, saying it would empower students with the skills they need for jobs of the future.

The first lady’s comments came at a Thursday meeting of the White House’s new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which she chairs. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sat beside Trump, along with several Cabinet heads and government and business leaders.

“As leaders and parents, we must manage AI’s growth responsibly,” Trump said, calling for both action and caution. “During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children — empowering, but with watchful guidance.”

Last month, the first lady launched a nationwide contest for students in grades K-12 to use AI to complete a project or address a community challenge. The project was aimed at showing benefits of AI, while Trump has also highlighted its drawbacks.

Rubio says ‘we don’t like the humanitarian suffering’ in Gaza

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that the war in Gaza could end “tomorrow” if Hamas disarmed, surrendered and released the remaining hostages.

But, as scenes of famine play out in parts of Gaza, he said that “we don’t like the humanitarian suffering.”

“We’ve provided a lot of aid,” Rubio told reporters alongside his Ecuadorian counterpart in Quito. “We’re prepared to provide aid now, and we’re prepared to provide a lot of aid after the war ends as well.”

He also dismissed reports about any Israeli annexation of the West Bank, saying, “That’s not a final thing. That’s something that’s been discussed among some elements of Israeli politics.”

The United Arab Emirates warned this week that it would be a red line.

Kennedy decried the number of childhood vaccinations

As Sen. Roger Marshall — a physician — spoke critically of the number of vaccines he said U.S. children are required to get, a staffer behind him held up a white sign with “76 Jabs!” printed in red. Marshall, a Kansas Republican, has previously questioned the necessity of giving children a high number of shots.

The current childhood vaccination schedule recommends routine protection against 18 diseases. How many shots between birth and age 18 that entails can vary for many reasons. The list recommends a once-a-year flu vaccination, for example. That would also include a yearly COVID-19 vaccine for at least some children depending on how Kennedy’s attempts to curtail that shot pan out.

Some on the list may not be recommended for every child, such as a preventive shot for RSV in young babies.

And another variable depends on what type of vaccine is used against a particular disease, where one choice may require two doses and another three.

Kennedy falsely claims that many vaccines haven’t been properly studied but decades of research leading to and after their approval has shown those on the market are safe and effective — including placebo-controlled studies.

There is no evidence that the childhood vaccine schedule is harmful. It’s backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and doctors say multiple vaccines are not a problem.