President Trump "deserves the Nobel Peace Prize many times over," the White House said Sunday, after organizers of the prestigious award ruled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado can't give her Nobel to him.
Why it matters: Machado is due to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C., this week and she had indicated she wanted to give him her Nobel after praising the U.S. raid in Caracas that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
President Trump zeroed in on Cuba's regime in a flurry of Truth Social posts Sunday morning, demanding it negotiate "BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
The big picture: Since the stunning U.S. operation that captured Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, the administration has threatened new international interventions.
President Trump is considering several options for supporting the protests in Iran and weakening the regime, two U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Those discussions are taking place as the protests intensify and the death toll rises, and after Trump said publicly that he was willing to use military force if the Iranian regime killed protesters.
President Trump said on Saturday that his administration is ready to help the protesters in Iran get the freedom they are looking for.
Why it matters: In his remarks, Trump went further than he has so far and suggested the U.S. could intervene in favor of the protesters regardless of whether the regime uses violence against them.
President Trump declared a national emergency to shield Venezuelan oil revenue held by the U.S. government from seizure by private creditors, framing it as critical to U.S. national security and regional stability.
The big picture: Control of Venezuelan oil — some $2.5 billion worth — is now a cornerstone of the White House's strategy in the Western Hemisphere and an opening for U.S. companies in the wake of Nicolás Maduro's capture.
U.S. oil giants signaled interest in Venezuela on Friday but stopped well short of committing to massive and rapid new investments there during a meeting with President Trump.
Why it matters: The White House envisions a key role for U.S. companies in reviving output from Venezuela following the toppling of President Nicolás Maduro.
MAGA is pressing the Trump administration to write a new chapter in America's expansionist history — one that adds territory and influence as part of a new Western empire.
Why it matters: On its face, MAGA's imperial turn is a head-spinning reversal for a movement built around hostility to "endless wars" in the Middle East.
A drug marketed as "pink cocaine" is turning up more often in U.S. nightclubs and busts, alarming health officials because it's usually not cocaine at all. And no two batches are the same.
Why it matters: The potent powder — part of a new wave of polydrugs — is a dangerous cocktail of drugs, commonly ketamine and ecstasy, sometimes mixed with methamphetamine or fentanyl.
