US news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-08-18 · by Cecilia Nowell, Lucy Campbell, George Chidi and Tom Ambrose
Trump says Kim Jong-un has responded to his overtures but doesn't offer details
Donald Trump has said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has responded to his overtures after he ordered the US to scale back military exercises with South Korea.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked why Kim had not responded to his overtures.
asserted
Kim → say → overtures
Trump shot back at the reporter: “How do you know he hasn’t responded?”
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he → shoot → reporter
The reporter then asked again if he had.
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he → ask → ?
“Um, yeah he has,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → say → ?
Asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at, Trump said “it’s very positive”, but provided no further detail.
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it → ask → detail
He added:
Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect and we met on numerous occasions, actually two primary occasions, spoken and spent time.
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we → add → time
I understand him.
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I → understand → him
He understands me.
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He → understand → me
Their relationship was a dominant theme during Trump’s first term, including a series of meetings between them, but has received less emphasis in his second term.
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relationship → include → term
Our live coverage is ending now.
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coverage → end → ?
In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here.
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you → find → coverage
Donald Trump voted by mail in Florida’s Republican primary, Politico reports, citing Palm Beach County voting records.
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Politico → vote → records
The White House has confirmed the president’s mail-in vote, according to the New York Times, which added that this is at least the third time the president has mailed his ballot.
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president → confirm → ballot
In March, the president signed an executive order restricting the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections that will decide control of US Congress.
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that → sign → Congress
Trump has repeatedly criticized mail-in voting, calling for restrictions on the policy for years and falsely claiming that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud.
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defeat → criticize → fraud
A federal judge has blocked the US Postal Service from implementing part of the executive order, although Trump’s administration has asked the supreme court to intervene.
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administration → block → court
A northern California county plans to hire Tina Peters, the prominent Colorado election denier recently released from prison, to work on elections.
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county → plan → elections
Shasta county, a conservative region home to 182,000 people, has emerged as a center of the US election denialism movement in recent years.
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county → emerge → years
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office said the state is investigating Peters’ hiring.
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state → say → hiring
CNN has shared a statement saying it stands behind reporter Kristen Holmes after Donald Trump repeatedly told the CNN reporter to “be quiet” and accused her of being “a fake reporter” during questioning over conditions onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
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Trump → share → Lincoln
Shortly after the president reprimanded Holmes, the White House invoked her children in a social media post further attacking the reporter.
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House → reprimand → reporter
Donald Trump again threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of his effort to end the US-Israel war on Iran, as the two-month window to negotiate peace with Iran expired on Monday with no end to the conflict in sight.
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window → threaten → sight
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News, the second time he has directed such a threat at Muscat, a longtime US strategic partner that has traditionally served as a key backchannel between Washington and Tehran.
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that → get → Washington
Trumpsaid that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded to his overtures after he ordered the US to scale back military exercises withSouth Korea.
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he → respond → Korea
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked why Kim had not responded to his overtures.
asserted
Kim → speak → overtures
Trump shot back at the reporter: “How do you know he hasn’t responded?”
asserted
he → shoot → reporter
The reporter then asked again if he had.
asserted
he → ask → ?
“Um, yeah he has,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → say → ?
Asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at, Trump said “it’s very positive”, but provided no further detail.
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it → ask → detail
Trump also claimed he had third-hand reports that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is “beautifully maintained” despite extensive accounts of deteriorating living conditions during its lengthy deployment in the strait of Hormuz.
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carrier → claim → Hormuz
“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time – a good period of time – but over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer,” Trump said, describing an exchange with a veteran, whom he did not name, over the weekend.
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he → have → weekend
It has been more than 250 days since the Lincoln has touched land, and reports have described shortages of supplies and water and plumbing problems.
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reports → touch → supplies
Several sailors have attempted to leap from the ship according to their reports, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon.
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sailors → attempt → Pentagon
In Israel, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Benjamin Netanyahu for more than four hours after the Israeli prime minister rejected a US-backed peace plan for the Gaza war that included a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the devastated territory.
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that → meet → territory
Netanyahu has said he rejected any withdrawal that would take place before Hamas fully disarms.
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Hamas → say → place
Kushner was said to have told Netanyahu not to create obstacles to a peace deal, US officials told media outlets.
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officials → say → outlets
He also told Fox News that progress in getting Hamas to give up its weapons and move forward with a Gaza peace plan could materialize in about a month.
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Hamas → tell → month
Elsewhere, the US supreme court rejected for a second time Trump’s attempt to overturn a jury verdict in 2023 that found him liable for sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll, and later defaming her.
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him → reject → her
The court announced the decision in an unsigned order, without providing an explanation.
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court → announce → explanation
The decision leaves intact the $5m civil judgment against Trump, that was returned by the jury after the two-week trial in 2023.
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that → leave → 2023
…and 59 more, not listed.
