Author: admin

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Americans’ financial situation was “not even a little bit” of a motivating factor for him reaching a deal to end the war in Iran, despite a new report that inflation rose for a second consecutive month and hit a three-year high.

Trump made the comment on Tuesday as he took questions from reporters as he left the White House for a high-stakes trip to China.

“Not even a little bit,” the president said when asked to what extent Americans’ financial situations were motivating him to make a deal with Iran, as the war stretches into its 11th week.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump continued. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers pressed Trump to clarify whether he was considering the financial impact of the war on Americans. He doubled down.

“The most important thing, by far, is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

“What about the pressure on Americans and prices, right now?” ABC’s Travers asked.

“Every American understands,” Trump said.

He added, “They understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran has a nuclear weapon, the whole world would be in trouble because they happen to be crazy.”

When pressed on his 2024 campaign promise to bring down inflation in light of Tuesday’s report showing prices rose 3.8% in April compared to last year, Trump insisted his policies are “working incredibly.”

A recent poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos found about two-thirds of Americans (65%) disapproved of how Trump is handling the economy. About three-quarters of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living in the U.S. (76%) with just about a quarter approving (23%). Nearly as many disapprove of how he’s handling inflation (72%), up from 65% who disapproved in February. 

Several of the poll’s participants spoke to ABC News about the financial strain they’re experiencing because of soaring gas prices.

As of Tuesday, the national average for a gallon of gas in the U.S. was $4.50, according to data from AAA, up more than $1.50 since the war began in late February.

Trump, who on Monday floated a gas tax holiday to bring some financial relief to Americans, reiterated on Tuesday his belief that prices will go back down once the conflict comes to an end.

“When it’s over, you’re going to have a massive drop in the price of oil,” Trump told reporters.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday he does not trust Pakistan and questioned the country’s role as a mediator in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran after a recent report suggested the Pakistanis are working closely with Iran. 

“I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them,” Graham said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.

On Monday, CBS News reported U.S. officials told the outlet that Pakistan had allowed Iranian military aircraft to be parked at its airfields, “potentially shielding them from American airstrikes.”

CBS reported the U.S. officials, who spoke only under condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues, said that days after President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran in early April, Tehran sent multiple aircraft to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan.

Leaving the White House on Tuesday for his trip to China, Trump told reporters the Pakistanis have been “great.”

“The Pakistanis have been great, the field marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan have been great,” he said.

Graham first asked Caine if the report was accurate, but Caine would not comment, citing the classified nature of the intelligence. Graham then asked Caine if such a move would be inconsistent with Pakistan’s role as a mediator. 

“I wouldn’t want to comment on that based on the ongoing negotiations impact and Pakistan’s role,” Caine responded.

Graham asked Hegseth the same question.

“Again, I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of these negotiations,” Hegseth responded.

“I want to get in the middle of these negotiations,” Graham replied. “I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them. If they actually do have Iranian aircraft parked in Pakistan bases to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me we should be looking maybe for somebody else to mediate.”

“No wonder this damn thing is going nowhere,” he added. 

In a statement provided to ABC News, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs “categorically rejected” the CBS News report, suggesting it was misleading and sensationalized. The statement confirmed that Iranian aircraft are in Pakistan but said American aircraft are also allowed to use its airfields.

“Following the ceasefire and during the initial round of the Islamabad Talks, a number of aircraft from Iran and the United States arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams, and administrative staff associated with the talks process,” the statement said. 

“Some aircraft and support personnel remained temporarily in Pakistan in anticipation of subsequent rounds of engagement,” the statement said. 

The ministry added that the aircraft within its borders “arrived during the ceasefire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement.”

The ministry defended Pakistan’s stance as an “impartial, constructive, and responsible facilitator in support of dialogue and de-escalation.”

“Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context,” the statement said.

ABC News’ Habi Khan contributed to this report. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, was charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent for China, the Justice Department announced on Monday.

Wang agreed to plead guilty, the DOJ said.

The City of Arcadia said Wang resigned from her position on Monday.

Starting in late 2020, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun worked together to operate a website called U.S. News Center that “purported to be a news source for the local Chinese-American community.”

The Justice Department said in a plea agreement that Wang and Sun “received and executed directives from PRC (People’s Republic of China) government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website, and sometimes sought approval from PRC government officials to circulate other pro-PRC content.”

In one instance in November 2021, Wang wanted to circulate an article about the Chinese and Russian ambassador asking for Americans to respect the PRC’s “democratic rights.”

“This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send,” she said.

In her plea agreement she admitted to not notifying the attorney general that she was working for the PRC.

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Kash Patel sparred with the Senate Appropriations Committee’s top Democrat over the director’s alleged questionable behavior when Patel appeared before the panel for a budget hearing on Tuesday.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the committee, addressed reports of Patel’s alleged misuse of FBI resources and a story in The Atlantic that alleged he has had “bouts of excessive drinking” and job performance issues.

“What we are learning about what’s happening at the FBI is anything but normal,” Van Hollen said. “Director Patel, as you ask for more taxpayer resources, we cannot look away from the credible, extremely troubling reports about your misconduct at the FBI.”

Patel said last month that he’s “never been intoxicated on the job,” following the report. Patel sued The Atlantic over the article, demanding $250 million in damages.

Van Hollen later grilled Patel on the report asking Patel if, per The Atlantic report, he had “episodes of excessive drinking.”

Patel shot back, calling the report a “total farce.”

In a heated exchange, Patel then claimed without evidence that Van Hollen was “slinging margaritas” just over a year ago with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant who the government said in court was erroneously deported to El Salvador.

The moment is a reference to when Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia, who had been deported against a judge’s orders to the notorious CECOT prison. At the time, the senator said at one point during the meeting monitored by the El Salvador government, El Salvador officials put glasses on the table where they were meeting that appeared to have liquid inside with salt or sugar rims on top.

Van Hollen insisted that neither he nor Abrego Garcia touched those glasses and said it was clear they didn’t based on photos of the meeting taken by El Salvadoran officials.

In his opening statement, Patel lauded the men and women of the FBI, listing off a litany of accomplishments including a quick response by FBI agents during a shooting at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner last month.

Patel is appearing alongside other Department of Justice agency heads regarding the agencies’ 2027 budget requests. Patel is joined by Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole, United States Marshals Service Director Glady Serralta and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Robert Cekada.

When Patel last testified on Capitol Hill in September 2025, he faced questions from Democrats about the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk and his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.