Melania Trump focuses on 'power of love' at International Women of Courage Award ceremony
First lady Melania Trump spoke this afternoon at the secretary of state's 2025 International Women of Courage Award ceremony, highlighting a theme this year of building strength through love.
"Today, we celebrate courage, a strength that is based in love," Trump said. "This truth is illustrated to our honorees who prove that love can inspire extraordinary valor, even with the face of vulnerability."
Their remarkable stories are "a testament to the power of love in practice for family, community and our world,” she said.
Melania Trump struck a personal note at the start of her speech, saying she has relied on the “power of love” to “exhibit bravery in the face of unforeseen circumstances” in her own life, but did not go into details.
The speech marked a rare public appearance for the first lady, who has not been in the national spotlight much since her husband’s return to the Oval Office in January. Her remarks this afternoon follow her tradition during the president’s first term of speaking at the annual award ceremony.
The International Women of Courage Award, launched in 2007 by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, seeks to recognize women across the world who have advanced global human rights and protections for women and girls. This year's recipients include women who have championed women's rights causes in Burkina Faso, Israel, Papua New Guinea, Romania, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Yemen and the Philippines.
HHS worker describes lack of clarity amid layoffs: 'There are no instructions'
One Health Department worker spoke with us outside its offices in Rockville, Maryland, amid the layoffs happening today. This staffer — who’s still employed at HHS — did not want to share her name or show her face on camera.
The staffer waited in line for an hour and a half to get into the office this morning with staff who were made to go through magnetometers and increased security. She confirmed that workers found out at the door that they had been fired because the notices came early in the morning.
“So if you’ve already started out to work, you wouldn’t have seen it," she said. "Or if you didn’t have a work computer with you, you wouldn’t have known until you actually got through the line. And then when you got through the line, if your PIV card didn’t work, then you knew that you were RIFed. So that was your notification."
She described a lack of clarity in the process for those who had lost their jobs.
“You have to do the offboarding process, and you have to do a whole lot of things there. And we’re like, who do we go to? We don’t know who to go to. There are no instructions of what’s going to happen," she said.
Some federal agencies launch a ‘deferred resignation’ effort to encourage workers to leave
At least six federal agencies are offering workers a new “deferred resignation” opportunity in the latest attempt by the Trump administration to slash the size of the U.S. government.
Employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Agriculture Department on Monday night received emails, which were obtained by NBC News, presenting them with the option to resign while staying on paid leave for several months. Department of Transportation employees received a similar notice on Tuesday morning about the program, according to an email obtained by NBC News.
Spokespersons for the General Services Administration and the Department of Energy told NBC News that the deferred resignation program was opening up to its eligible employees as well, and the Defense Department said its civilian workforce received a similar offer Friday.
Booker's aide arrested for allegedly carrying a gun on Capitol grounds
A staff member for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was arrested yesterday after carrying a pistol on Capitol grounds without a license, U.S. Capitol Police alleged in a statement.
The employee, Kevin Batts, is listed on the website LegiStorm as a special assistant for Booker in his Newark office.
The Capitol Police said in the statement that a member of Congress led Batts around security in the Hart Senate Office Building yesterday afternoon, so he was not screened. The police agency and Booker's office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about who that member of Congress was.
After entering the Capitol, Batts, a retired law enforcement officer, later told police officers outside the Senate gallery that he was armed, and he was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license, the Capitol Police statement said.
“All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia,” the statement said.
NOTUS was first to report the news of the aide's arrest.
Jeff Giertz, a spokesperson for Booker, said the senator's office "employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this."
China, Japan and South Korea will jointly respond to U.S. tariffs, Chinese state media says
China, Japan and South Korea will jointly respond to U.S. tariffs, Chinese state media said, though Tokyo and Seoul pushed back against the assertion.
Japan and South Korea are looking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, while China may purchase chip products from the two U.S. allies, Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account tied to the state-run broadcaster CCTV, said yesterday in a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The three countries also agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation and discuss export controls, it said.
The South Korean Trade Ministry said the report was “somewhat exaggerated,” while the Japanese trade minister said there was no such discussion, Reuters reported.
China, Japan and South Korea, which have often been at odds over a number of issues, held their first economic dialogue in five years Sunday in Seoul as they brace for additional tariffs from the U.S., with which they all have strong trade relationships.
In a statement after that meeting, the three countries reaffirmed that “trilateral efforts in the economic and trade sectors are essential for fostering the prosperity and stability of the regional and global economy.”
Separately, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russia’s RIA state news agency in an interview published today that increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were unfounded and “will cause serious damage not only to the global market and trade order, but also to the reputation of the States themselves,” Reuters reported.
Trump still plans to impose auto-related tariffs Thursday, press secretary says
Trump still plans to impose auto-related tariffs this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at today's daily briefing.
Leavitt made the comment after she was asked if those tariffs would still take effect April 3. "Yes, they will," she said. She added that April 2 would "go down as one of the most important days in modern American history" as the White House is set to impose reciprocal tariffs.
"Those days of America, beginning tomorrow, being ripped off are over," she said. "The president’s historic action tomorrow will improve American competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our massive trade deficits and ultimately protect our economic and national security."
Leavitt added, "If you make your product in America, you will pay no tariffs.”
The Trump administration is planning to slap sweeping tariffs on a wide range of goods tomorrow, and the U.S. will begin collecting them Thursday.
Trump and the White House have already said that they would impose 25% tariffs on all foreign-made autos and parts even if the vehicles are manufactured in the U.S.
‘JFK’ director Oliver Stone to testify to Congress about the newly released assassination files
Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, whose 1991 film “JFK” portrayed President John F. Kennedy’s assassination as the work of a shadowy government conspiracy, is set to testify to Congress today about thousands of newly released government documents surrounding the killing.
Scholars say the files that Trump ordered to be released showed nothing undercutting the conclusion that a lone gunman killed Kennedy. Many documents were previously released but contained newly removed redactions, including Social Security numbers, angering people whose personal information was disclosed.
Johnson says 'there’s a constitutional path' to a third Trump term
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this morning there is a 'constitutional path' for Trump to seek a third presidential term, but acknowledged it would require an amendment to the Constitution.
"I just told everybody to read the Constitution, there’s a constitutional path," Johnson told NBC News. "You have to amend the Constitution to do it, and that’s a high bar."
Johnson added that while he and Trump have "joked about it," he believes Trump "recognizes the constitutional limitations."
The speaker's comments come days after Trump told NBC News that he is "not joking" about the possibility of seeking a third term, which the Constitution prohibits, and claimed that there are "methods" for doing so.
Democrat-led states sue Trump admin over $11B in health funding cuts
Democratic officials in 23 states and Washington, D.C., sued the Trump administration over its decision to “abruptly and arbitrarily” terminate $11 billion in federal funds for Covid and other public health projects.
“This funding provides essential support for a wide range of urgent public health needs such as identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases; ensuring access to immunizations; fortifying emergency preparedness; providing mental health and substance abuse services; and modernizing critical public health infrastructure,” the suit read.
The states claimed that it was illegal to cut the funding, and “without these federal funds, the modernized systems face risks including delays in care and in reporting and identifying outbreaks, which could exacerbate the spread of disease and puts at risk California’s preparedness for future pandemics.”
Trump boosts his candidates in Wisconsin and Florida races
Trump urged his supporters in a series of Truth Social posts to vote for his preferred candidates in today's elections in Wisconsin and Florida.
In the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, Trump boosted conservative candidate Brad Schimel, the former state attorney general, writing that Schimel is an "America First Patriot." Trump also encouraged Wisconsin voters to support a ballot measure that would enshrine the state's voter ID law into the state Constitution.
Trump urged his supporters in Florida to head the polls in the 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, which are hosting special elections to replace former GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, who is now Trump's national security adviser. Trump easily won both districts in November, but the races are expected to be decided by closer margins given lower turnout and Democratic energy.
"Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA," Trump wrote of Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, the GOP candidate in the 1st District.
Trump also boosted GOP state Sen. Randy Fine in the 6th District, writing that Fine "has been a tremendous Voice for MAGA."