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25 states sue Trump administration over latest round of tariffs

August 3, 2026 / 5:55 PM EDT / CBS News

A coalition of 25 states on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that it exceeded its authority in imposing a new round of sweeping tariffs last month.

The import duties, enacted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, target 60 economies with rates ranging from 10% to 12.5%.

“This is President Trump’s third attempt to illegally impose tariffs that would make life more expensive for American families and small businesses, and this is the third time we’re taking the administration to court over this misuse of power,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

Section 301 authorizes a U.S. president to impose tariffs and other sanctions on countries found to engage in unfair trade practices. U.S. trading partners haven’t done enough to crack down on imports produced with forced labor, the Trump administration said in announcing the new levies.

A White House spokesman on Monday defended the president’s tariff policies.

“The United States is using its lawful authority to obtain the elimination of unreasonable acts, policies and practices that burden U.S. commerce,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to CBS News. “A foreign country’s failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is unreasonable and burdens U.S. commerce, including American workers, and must be addressed. Section 301 tariffs have proven to be a legally durable tool since the president’s first term, and they remain so now.”

“Tariffs are taxes”

The states’ lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, alleges that the tariffs are not designed to address forced labor, but rather are an effort by the White House to replace levies that the Supreme Court struck down in February. The states also argue that an investigation led by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to set the stepped-up tariffs was rushed and overly broad in hiking the levies.

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“Tariffs are taxes, and the American people cannot and should not shoulder the extra costs that come from the president’s failed and illegal economic policy — no matter how much the President wants them to,” Bonta said.

Joining California in the suit were Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Although U.S. tariff rates have fallen this year, the levies remain an important part of the White House’s trade policies. Mr. Trump has said tariffs are necessary to revive U.S. manufacturing, reduce the nation’s trade deficit and generate federal revenue.

The U.S. effective tariff rate has fallen this year to 7.4%, from 9.4%, after the Trump administration replaced temporary Section 122 duties with Section 301 tariffs on imports from 60 economies, according to Fitch Ratings.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

US House panel seeks briefing on OpenAI’s AI agent security breach

August 3, 2026 9:29 PM UTC / Updated 2 hours ago / Reuters

[1/2]The OpenAI logo in this illustration taken June 11, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The ​U.S. House ‌of Representatives’ cybersecurity ​committee ​asked OpenAI CEO ⁠Sam ​Altman for ​a briefing on the ​company’s ​rogue AI agent ‌that ⁠attacked AI platform Hugging ​Face, ​according ⁠to a ​letter ​from ⁠the committee.

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Reporting ⁠by ​Courtney ​Rozen; Editing by ​Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump slams Jeanine Pirro for dropping Reflecting Pool vandalism cases, says she “choked”

August 3, 2026 / 6:54 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — President Trump on Monday publicly rebuked Jeanine Pirro, his handpicked U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, for dropping the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism cases, but ignored questions about whether he intends to fire her.

The Justice Department submitted a court filing Friday moving to dismiss vandalism charges against 67-year-old former Olympian David Hearn, saying the Interior Department incorrectly attributed damage in the pool’s lining to vandalism and that evidence showed “contractor error” and a “botched installation” were to blame.

That move did not rest well with Mr. Trump, who said Pirro “choked” and “made a mistake.”

“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.”

“Frankly, I think she choked,” he said. “…I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”

According to court filings reviewed by CBS News in D.C. Superior Court, since Friday, Pirro’s office also moved to dismiss or said it would drop its prosecutions against three more people who were charged with vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. Two had been facing misdemeanor charges and one was charged with a felony.

The president snapped at one reporter who asked if he’s reconsidering Pirro’s role as U.S. attorney and ignored another question from a reporter about whether he’ll fire Pirro.

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The president had previously voiced his displeasure on Truth Social, writing Saturday, “I disagree 100%” with Pirro’s decision on the Reflecting Pool case. But Monday’s comments in the Oval Office went further.

Asked if the president is considering removing Pirro from her post, the White House referred CBS News to the president’s comments in the Oval Office.

Hearn, who lives in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, said he stopped by the pool on June 19 while on a 64-mile bike ride, and authorities arrested him after he reached down to touch it. He was accused of ripping a piece of sealant from the pool, but he denied any wrongdoing.

Attorneys for Hearn said in a statement Friday that the case “should never have been brought” and that the government “owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”

Moving to drop the charges was an about-face for Pirro. She held a news conference when the case against Hearn was first announced, saying: “One of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are the images of national monuments that are being debased, roped, torn down, graffitied, and damaged by individuals. This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that’s why we are here today.”

Jacob Rosen contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-pirro-choked-folded-like-an-umbrella-reflecting-pool-vandalism-case/

US State Department to close consulates in Canada, Japan and Indonesia, sources say

2026-08-03T22:35:03.364Z / Reuters

A general view of a U.S. State Department sign outside the U.S. State Department building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• State Dept planning to close consulates in Japan, Indonesia and elsewhere
• Expected closures represent a rare moment of Washington shrinking its global footprint
• Trump administration last year weighed shutdown of nearly dozen consulates worldwide

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five foreign missions in a rare downsizing of America’s global diplomatic footprint, according to people familiar with the notice.

In the notice sent to some congressional committees late last week, the State Department said it planned to close its posts in St. George’s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. The people familiar with the notice spoke on the condition of anonymity because the notice was not public.

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The expected closures, which have not been previously reported, represent a rare example of the U.S. closing multiple foreign missions in a downsizing that is not tied to a particular geopolitical event.

Early last year, during the opening months of the Trump administration, the State Department began preparations to shut down nearly a dozen foreign missions, Reuters and other media outlets reported at the time, as part of a broader push by the Republican president to transform the U.S. bureaucracy so that it is fully aligned with his “America First” agenda.

The White House Office of Management and Budget had advocated for an even more ambitious closure program, targeting up to 30 foreign missions. Some administration officials have privately argued that some smaller foreign missions are inessential and not cost effective.

Democrats and some former foreign policy and national security officials argue that cuts to the U.S. diplomatic footprint – coupled with the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provided billions of dollars worth of aid globally – risks undermining American leadership, while leaving a dangerous vacuum for adversaries like China and Russia to fill.

While the State Department did undergo a broad bureaucratic overhaul last year – cutting dozens of bureaus and hundreds of staff – no foreign missions were shuttered.

Asked for comment on Sunday, the State Department issued a statement that did not confirm the closures but said it was focused on ensuring that the nation’s diplomatic footprint was efficient and effective. The department added that it was committed to following congressional notification procedures.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has portrayed cost-cutting measures as necessary to right-size an organization many conservatives see as bloated and overly bureaucratic.

The U.S. mission in St. George’s, Grenada, is an embassy. The posts in Medan, Winnipeg and Nagoya are consulates, while the post in Douala is an “embassy branch office.” Consulates and branch offices typically represent U.S. interests in regions outside a foreign country’s capital city, where the U.S. embassy is typically located.

During the administration of former President Joe Biden, the U.S. government opened several foreign missions, all of them in the Pacific region, where the U.S. is competing for influence with China.

While China does not have a functioning foreign mission in Douala or Winnipeg, it does have a diplomatic presence in St. George’s, Nagoya and Medan.

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump says oil companies should cut gas prices after making “too much money”

August 3, 2026 / 5:12 PM EDT / CBS News
By Aimee Picchi

President Trump on Monday urged U.S. oil companies to take action to ease gasoline prices, saying that the energy giants “made too much money” from high oil prices due to the Iran war.

Mr. Trump’s remarks come as Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell more than 4% on Monday to about $84 a barrel amid hopes for diplomatic progress in ending the conflict. Yet oil prices remain considerably higher than their pre-war levels, and U.S. gasoline prices are above $4 a gallon, up from about $3 a gallon before the war.

In a recent CBS News poll, about half of Americans said elevated fuel costs are causing them financial difficulties. About eight in 10 of those polled said the Trump administration isn’t focusing enough on lowering consumer prices.

On Monday, Mr. Trump predicted that oil prices would “drop through the floor” when the Iran conflict is over. He also specifically criticized Chevron and ExxonMobil for profiting from higher oil prices, which have surged as the war largely halted the flow of crude transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“But they made too much money, too much money. Chevron, too much money. Exxon Mobil, too much. Too much money,” Mr. Trump said Monday at the Oval Office during an executive order signing.

“I’m not happy about it”

The president pressed oil companies to do more to help consumers.

“When you look at one company, where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they’re going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price,” Mr. Trump said Monday. “I’ll say it loud and clear: I’m not happy about it.”

ExxonMobil declined to comment. Chevron didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former President Joe Biden, Mr. Trump’s predecessor in the White House, also attacked oil companies for their profits as inflation spiked during his tenure.

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Trump directly criticized Chevron CEO Mike Wirth in a Sunday interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. In a social media post, Mr. Trump also said Wirth had failed to praise the Trump administration for helping the energy industry.

“The only thing he conveniently forgot to mention is that, without the genius, foresight, strength, and stability, of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!,” Mr. Trump posted.

Trump also said Chevron is benefiting from operating in Venezuela. Executives from the company have said that increased crude imports from Venezuela are helping curb U.S. gas prices.

Oil companies don’t set fuel prices in the U.S. According to the Energy Information Administration, crude oil accounts for 51% of the cost of a gallon of gas, making it the biggest factor in determining prices at the pump.

Marketing and distribution, which include the cost of transporting fuel to gas stations across the U.S. and retailers’ operating costs, make up another 11% of the total cost of gas. Refining — the process of breaking down crude oil into different components — accounts for 20% of fuel prices.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/oil-prices-slide-amid-confusion-over-iran/

Blanche rescinds anti-weaponization fund but loopholes remain

2026-08-03T23:00:33.072Z / CNN Politics

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Published 7:00 PM EDT, Mon August 3, 2026

Blanche rescinds anti-weaponization fund but loopholes remain

The Lead

Maggie Haberman joins The Lead.
1:27 • Source: CNN

Mamdani’s grocery giveaway hits ID snag as critics cry foul: ‘Make it make sense’

Critics compare the proposed customer card for discounted groceries to voter ID laws the mayor opposes

August 3, 2026 5:13pm EDT / Fox News

By Charles Creitz

Mamdani grocery proposal includes ID verification as Dems oppose SAVE America Act

New York Mayor Zohran K. Mamdani and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Jeanny Pak discuss ways to ensure only New Yorkers use the city-run grocery stores.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s game plan for government-run grocery stores faced criticism Monday after a city official told reporters a “library-card-esque system” may be employed to prevent abuse of the 30% discounted markets.

Mamdani took a question from a reporter who asked about preventing bulk purchases of groceries at the artificial discount from being re-sold at MSRP or higher.

The mayor responded that the government grocery Request-for-Proposal makes clear “this is a program for New Yorkers to be able to put food on the table, not a program for people to be able to make a quick buck through reselling. I’m going to pass it over to our EDC head, Jeanny Pak, to add some additional details.”

MAMDANI’S CITY GROCERY PLAN COULD LEAVE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR EVERY BANANA

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds up bananas as he speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

It was Pak’s follow-up that raised eyebrows, given Mamdani and many Democrats’ staunch opposition to voter ID and Republicans’ SAVE America Act moving through Congress.

“[W]e are looking to make sure that we target New Yorkers, whether it be a sort of a library card-esque thing, and also we manage who’s buying and that is focused on everyday New Yorkers,” Pak said.

“So, we are mindful of that, and so we’re going to make sure that we have all the things in place to ensure that that does not happen.”

SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS

When asked about the apparent divergence between Pak’s response referencing a possible ID card-type system and opposition to voter ID, a Mamdani spokesperson said it was an apples-to-oranges contrast.

“Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply. This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn,” Mamdani’s spokesperson said.

“It is a practical inventory management tool to ensure affordable groceries remain available for the people who need them instead of being cleared off shelves for resale.”

EXPERTS SCORCH MAMDANI’S GROCERY PLAN AS AN ‘ILLUSION’ THAT WILL HAVE TAXPAYERS FOOTING THE BILL

The spokesperson pointed to the mayor’s comments specifically regarding bulk-buying concerns, saying that was the premise of the reporter’s question — not whether people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey or upstate New York would be able to shop at the subsidized outlets.

“To be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone,” the spokesperson said.

“There will be no system to verify identity, residency, or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop.”

Instead of an “ID,” the spokesperson said the stores may employ a “customer card” similar to loyalty programs at other grocers like ShopRite, Food Lion or Weis.

The “customer card” would be designed by the “private operator” of the city-run store to “help manage supply and prevent people from buying large quantities of discounted staples for resale” and is strictly intended to “make sure the savings reach families putting food on the table.”

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La Marqueta, a Latino marketplace in East Harlem, is chosen as the site of the first city-owned grocery store announced by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on April 14, 2026.(Kendall Rodriguez/Newsday RM/Getty Images)

Customers will not need to apply through City Hall or any agency, the spokesperson added.

Critics were unconvinced.

“ID for government cheese,” said Philadelphia radio host Rich Zeoli.

“After all, we have to make sure no one crosses the border and if they do, the police will be called. So it’s good to see Mamdani now supports ID (just not for voting), border control, and law enforcement,” Zeoli tweeted.

Former Texas congressional candidate Nick Plumb commented on X that “Mamdani wants to protect taxpayer funded grocery store[s] from non-NYC residents they’ll need an ID card to enter. You can[t] make this up.”

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a supporter of voter ID who also opposed the Old Dominion’s recent failed attempt to redraw congressional lines to Democrats’ advantage, also criticized the mayor.

“So let me get this straight: Taxpayer-funded grocery store? Better show a valid ID or you can’t buy milk,” Miyares said.

“Voting for the people who decide how those taxes get spent? A valid ID is somehow ‘racist’ and ‘oppressive’. Unbelievable,” he said.

When asked whether the mayor’s office believed the loyalty card system constituted a form of identification, a Mamdani spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to a paragraph in the Request for Proposal (RFP) that prospective store operators must follow:

“The Operator(s) will create a voluntary free-to-access membership card program to monitor sales activity, and implement the discount program and any associated demand management measures. The savings card shall not be required for physical access to N.Y.C. Groceries site(s) and shall be made easily available to any individual requesting one,” the section read.

“Make it make sense,” added FOX News host Sean Hannity.

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New York Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney added: “So ID for government grocery stores to stop people abusing the system is fine, but requiring ID to vote not? Got it.”

SAVE Act supporter Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., added on X that the hypocrisy must “stop.”

“Democrats: Are fighting to ensure you don’t have to show an ID before voting in our elections. Also Democrats: Want you to show an ID before entering a supermarket.”

“Oh, the irony is too much,” said X CEO Elon Musk.

Brown University’s president, who clashed with Trump over funding, steps down

August 3, 2026 9:04 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago / By Julia Harte / Reuters

Brown University President Christina Paxson listens during a press conference as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 16, 2025. REUTERS/Taylor Coester/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Aug 3 – Brown University President Christina Paxson said on Monday that she would leave her post at the end of the academic year, following a difficult period in ​which she clashed with President Donald Trump’s administration over its threats to slash the ‌Ivy League school’s federal funding.

Paxson said she had planned to leave her job one year earlier, but extended her tenure at the university, located in Providence, Rhode Island, to “navigate a federal funding freeze that ​imperiled our mission,” according to an open letter, opens new tab published on the school’s website.

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Brown was an ​early target of the administration during Trump’s second term in office as ⁠it cracked down on U.S. universities over what it called antisemitic student protests against Israel’s ​war on Gaza, diversity policies and a host of other issues.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, ​have said the administration has wrongly labeled criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories as antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights as support for extremism.

After administration officials threatened to block $510 million ​in federal grants for Brown, Paxson reached a deal in July 2025 to restore the funding. ​The terms required the university to conduct a third-party evaluation of its campus climate, including for Jewish ‌students, ⁠and propose actions to improve it.

In October, though, Paxson declined an administration offer sent to nine elite universities, which said schools would be favored for federal funding if they capped the number of international students, defined gender based on biology and banned the use of race or ​sex in hiring and ​admissions.

Accepting the deal would “restrict ⁠academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance,” Paxson said at the time.

In her farewell letter on Monday, Paxson wrote that “while ​the federal landscape remains volatile for all colleges and universities, Brown is ​receiving major ⁠grants for pioneering research that will lead to tremendous innovation for this country.”

Paxson also helped the university navigate tragedy during her tenure.

In December, a former student opened fire on campus, leaving two students ⁠dead ​and nine wounded. The shooter went on to kill ​a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor before being found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Federal authorities subsequently scrutinized Brown’s ​emergency notification and campus surveillance systems.

Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Will Dunham

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FBI agent accused of stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency

2026-08-03 4:57 PM ET / CNN

By Sean Lyngaas

The logo of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen at the Los Angeles Federal Building on June 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. Daniel Park, 32 from Washington state, was arrested by the FBI at John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 3, 2025, as he was arriving. He is a suspect in the investigation into the May 18, 2025, bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images/File

An FBI agent stole more than $900,000 in cryptocurrency from accounts the agency was monitoring after he said he became frustrated by what he saw as government inaction over the misuse of crypto accounts, according to court records made public on Monday.

The agent, Patrick Steven Yaroch, came across the crypto holdings while a member of the FBI’s national security investigative squad focused on an “adversarial nation” and grew “frustrated when he could not do more to disrupt” an unnamed person’s use of the crypto accounts, according to an affidavit in Yaroch’s case. Using his internal agency access, he later allegedly transferred the crypto holdings to his personal account.

The FBI fired Yaroch, and he was arrested last week. A criminal complaint lists charges against him related to the interstate transport of stolen goods and the receipt of stolen goods.

An attorney for Yaroch was not listed in court records. CNN has contacted an email associated with Yaroch for comment.

The FBI gathers a slew of intelligence on cryptocurrency accounts allegedly used by criminal and state actors in Russia, China and elsewhere. But when and how to act on those accounts – whether to seize them or use them to collect more intelligence – is often decided on a case-by-case basis.

The affidavit also reflects how artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies are changing criminal investigations.

The month before his arrest, Yaroch allegedly asked ChatGPT: “If you had a bucket of money (around $1 million) and you wanted to leave the USA and become a resident or citizen of an EU country, what would you do?”

ChatGPT responded, according to the affidavit, with an answer catered to Yaroch’s age and lifestyle.

“At 37, with a young family, a goal of potentially retiring around 40, and a clear interest in eventually building a slower-living vineyard/agricultural lifestyle in places like Cilento or Portugal’s Dão region…” the AI agent reportedly said.

“As soon as the FBI became aware of these allegations, we immediately took action, began an investigation, and ultimately executed an arrest warrant for this individual last week,” an FBI spokesperson told CNN. “We hold our employees to the highest ethical standards, and this conduct is not tolerated at the FBI. We are conducting a thorough investigation in the aftermath, and as this is an ongoing matter, we will have no further comment.”

The affidavit includes emotional details the FBI says were gathered from interviews with Yaroch and a former colleague from the FBI’s Boston Division in which Yaroch confided.

“I f—d up,” Yaroch told FBI agents when they interviewed him at his house last month, according to the affidavit.