NTD News Today

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops stationed in Germany, with a decision expected “over the next short period of time.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made news recently when he said on April 27 that Iran was “humiliating” the United States.

The United States had more than 36,000 active-duty troops stationed in Germany as of December 2025. Only Japan had more U.S. troops, with more than 54,000.

The suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, Cole Allen, is making his initial court appearance today. A petition to keep the suspect in custody reveals he is accused of planning the attack for weeks. Allen faces life in prison if convicted on just the attempted assassination of the president charge.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe I to determine whether U.S. corporations can be held liable for “aiding and abetting” human rights abuses committed by foreign governments.

This landmark lawsuit was brought by practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual group persecuted in China.

The plaintiffs allege that Cisco Systems and its executives designed and customized the “Golden Shield”—a sophisticated surveillance and internal security system—specifically to help the Chinese Communist Party identify, track, and arrest them for their faith. Many plaintiffs reported being detained, tortured, or having family members killed as a result of this surveillance.

The man accused of shooting a U.S. Secret Service agent as he tried to breach security at a Washington dinner where President Donald Trump was present is expected in court on Monday to face criminal charges. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is scheduled to make his first appearance in Washington federal court, two days after authorities said they foiled an attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

Tech giants Elon Musk and Sam Altman are facing each other in court on Monday. Musk is suing the maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, and its leaders, including CEO Sam Altman. Musk says he was deceived by the executives when OpenAI became a for-profit operation, after originally billing itself as a nonprofit mission. OpenAI’s lawyers counter that Musk is motivated by a compulsion to control OpenAI and prop up his own AI lab xAI, which he founded in 2023 shortly after OpenAI launched ChatGPT and sparked the AI boom.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on April 24 that a U.S. blockade on Iran is going global, adding that Tehran had a chance to make a "good deal" with Washington. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. Central Command continues to maintain a strict blockade on all ports in Iran. Caine said 34 ships had been turned around as of Friday morning. He added that the U.S. military would continue to interdict Iranian vessels in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

President Donald Trump has extended a waiver of the century-old Jones Act for 90 days, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to transport fuel and other goods between U.S. ports to ease price increases triggered by the Iran war and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The waiver applies to a range of goods, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, fertilizer, and refined petroleum products.

The U.S. Senate voted early on April 23 to advance a $70 billion funding blueprint for immigration enforcement agencies, moving Republicans a step closer to unlocking a party-line bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. Lawmakers voted 50–48 in predawn hours to adopt the nonbinding budget resolution and send it to the House of Representatives, overcoming demands from Democrats for new restrictions on enforcement operations.

Trump said on April 23 that he has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to restrict traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The president's post on Truth Social came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil. The president said he would order U.S. minesweeping ships to continue to clear any mines that may have been set in the strait.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on April 22 about the department's fiscal year 2027 budget request. It's the sixth of seven hearings on that budget plan.

Virginia voters on April 21 approved a new congressional map that could boost the chances of the Democratic Party winning four additional U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections.

Democrats are looking to offset GOP gains in Texas after its new map was drawn to favor the Republicans in Congress.

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, appears before the Senate Banking Committee for his nomination hearing on Tuesday. President Trump selected the former Fed board member in January as the next head of the U.S. central bank. Several issues will likely be on the agenda, including central bank independence and the potential path of monetary policy.

President Trump told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday that he did not want to extend a ceasefire with Iran, adding the U.S. was in a strong negotiating position and would end up with what he called a great deal. Washington has expressed confidence that talks with Iran will go ahead in Pakistan, and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining.

President Donald Trump said U.S. representatives will arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening in preparation for negotiations with Iran. And the United States said it had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to run its blockade on Sunday.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan on Monday, prompting authorities to urge residents to stay away from coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to 10 feet were expected.

Oil prices dropped by more than 10 percent on Friday, after Iran's foreign minister said that the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remaining ceasefire period. President Donald Trump announced on Friday, however, that the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports remains in effect until a deal with Iran is negotiated.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies for the second day before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the department's priorities for fiscal year 2027.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Israeli and Lebanese leaders had agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire. "These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST," he wrote, adding that he has directed U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with the two countries to achieve lasting peace.