Trump news at a glance: a tale of two ceasefires as US and Iran claim different terms

Hegseth claims Iran ‘begged’ for ceasefire after US and Tehran agree to two-week pause

After 40 days and 40 nights of war, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, on Wednesday pointed to divine providence while telling reporters that Iran’s weapons factories had been reduced to rubble, its military rendered ineffective for years and its supreme leader left wounded and disfigured, all for a temporary ceasefire.

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JD Vance claims US is not interfering in Hungary election

JD Vance has pushed back against claims that the US is interfering in Hungarian politics, describing the accusations as “darkly ironic”, as a set of polls suggested the opposition Tisza party could win a supermajority in the forthcoming elections.

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Nato chief says Trump ‘clearly disappointed’ by US allies’ refusal to join Iran war

Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, has said Donald Trump was “clearly disappointed” that the US’s allies had refused to join its war against Iran, following a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday.

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Pam Bondi will not appear at scheduled House hearing on Epstein files, DoJ says

Pam Bondi, the former US attorney general, will not appear next week for a scheduled deposition before the House oversight and government reform committee to answer questions about the justice department’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and its release of the Epstein files, the committee said.

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Democrats renew push to curb Trump’s Iran war as calls to use 25th amendment mount

Democratic party leaders have vowed to renew the effort to curb Trump’s war in Iran next week after several days of escalating tactics that culminated in a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday evening.

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US ignoring evidence Russia is helping Iran because it trusts Putin, says Zelenskyy

The US has ignored compelling evidence that Russia has been helping Iran to target US bases in the Middle East because it “trusts” Vladimir Putin, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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What else happened today:

• The California supreme court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff and gubernatorial candidate who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his investigation into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.

• Several major US airlines have raised their baggage fees in recent days, blaming ongoing volatility in oil markets caused by the US-Israeli war in Iran that has almost doubled jet fuel prices.

• Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gave the keynote speech at a conference on Wednesday morning, one which was hosted by a prominent climate-denying thinktank that previously compared those concerned about the climate crisis to the Unabomber on billboard posters in 2012.

• The family of a man who was killed at Florida State University last year plans to sue ChatGPT and its parent organization, OpenAI, for allegedly telling the accused gunman how to carry out the mass shooting.

• Two teen alleged Islamic State supporters accused of trying to detonate explosive devices during a protest outside the home of New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, freely discussed how many people they might kill, with one remarking: “I want to start terror, bro,” according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

• Jasveen Sangha, who pleaded guilty last year to selling a fatal dose of ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday. Known as the “Ketamine Queen,” Sangha was the fifth defendant to take a plea deal and admit guilt in the case and received the harshest sentence.