Trump Says Kim Jong Un Will Be Fine Because ‘He Has 57 Nuclear Weapons’President Donald Trump took questions from the press Wednesday after summoning reporters to first watch him sign a piece of stone that he then had placed into a helipad he’s having installed on the South Lawn of the White House.Asked if he and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un are exchanging letters, Trump demurred.“I can’t tell you that. But I get along with him great,” he told reporters, before divulging what’s likely confidential information about the size of the rogue state’s nuclear arsenal.“He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” Trump continued. “Should’ve never allowed it to happen… but he’s got ‘em. I get along with him very well. I can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong Un very well. And he’s gonna be fine.”Latest Live UpdatesTrump Neglects To Mention His FDA Nominee's Extremist Anti-Abortion PastAs expected, President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Heidi Overton to oversee the Food and Drug Administration.In a social media post, Trump praised Overton’s medical pedigree as “a prestigious White House Fellow in [Trump’s] First Term.”Trump didn’t mention Overton’s past as the chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, which has called to restrict access to abortion pills.“We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES,” the president wrote.Overton takes over for Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned after just 13 months after mass layoffs and controversies that prioritized political interests over science. According to the Associated Press, virtually all of the FDA’s senior career officials resigned, retired or were forced out in the first year of the second-term Trump administration.Trump Shrugs Off Negotiations With Iran Because ‘The Situation Is So Good’President Donald Trump told reporters he’s unsure about reopening negotiations with Iran because “the situation is so good” right now.“Maybe at some point,” he said, “but right now I think the situation is so good. But maybe at some point.”Trump then reiterated his call for Iran to disavow nuclear weapons, despite having said just minutes earlier that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will be fine because “he has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons.”Trump Gloats About Primary Defeat Of Impeachment WhistleblowerPresident Donald Trump gloated Wednesday about the “gratifying” primary election defeat of a former national security official who played a key role in Trump’s first impeachment.In an upset in Florida’s Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate, democratic socialist Angie Nixon was projected to defeat Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.During Trump’s first term, Vindman was removed as director for European affairs at the National Security Council after testifying during the 2019 impeachment proceedings that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden ahead of the following year’s presidential election. In a Truth Social post, Trump called Vindman a “treasonous creep” who lost to a “Radical Left Lunatic.”The president went on to claim that the “Dumocrats Fake Impeachment effort massively failed” and argue Vindman “should be prosecuted for what he did.”Nixon will face Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody for the Florida seat in November’s general election.Trump To Nominate Anti-Abortion Extremist To Head FDAPresident Donald Trump is set to pick anti-abortion extremist Dr. Heidi Overton, the deputy director of his domestic policy council, to be the next head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to Reuters. Before serving in Trump’s current administration, Overton was the chief policy officer at the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute when it called on the FDA to reinstate in-person dispensing requirements for abortion pills. Overton applauded the overturning of federal abortion protections as “a huge victory for life” and has called for more restrictions on abortion pills. If confirmed by the Senate, Overton will take over the FDA after her predecessor Marty Makary stepped down amid complaints from anti-abortion advocates who claimed he wasn’t doing enough to restrict abortion access. Overton would step into the role in the middle of a highly controversial safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone — spearheaded by a junk science report created by anti-abortion extremists. Decades of evidence-based research and peer-reviewed studies have already proven mifepristone to be extremely safe and effective.Ex-Obama Adviser Calls Ossoff's Natalie Harp Jab ‘Gratuitous’David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama during his presidency, has criticized Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) for his “with Natalie” jab at President Donald Trump.Ossoff triggered the White House and prompted a media frenzy with his allusion to the close relationship between the president and Natalie Harp, a White House aide, in a speech he made Sunday that also condemned Trump for his war on Iran, golfing too much, business dealings and sleeping through meetings.The line about Harp has angered conservative media talking heads, and appears to have crossed the line for Axelrod, a prominent centrist Democratic Party voice.In an X post Wednesday, the CNN contributor praised Ossoff as an “eloquent” and “incisive” critic of Trump, but said the two-word reference to Harp “seemed gratuitous and unnecessary.”“Probably thrilled some in the base, who figured it was just giving Trump a taste of his own nasty medicine,” he added. “But they distracted and detracted from the power of the message.”No one has been more consistently eloquent or incisive in exposing @realDonaldTrump than @Ossoff. The paragraph from his weekend speech that has gotten so much attention was a brutal takedown.But two words in it, "with Natalie" seemed gratuitous and unnecessary.They juiced the…— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 19, 2026Fired Columnist Ross Barkan Apologizes 'For Mistakes I Made' Failing To Cite SourcesFired columnist Ross Barkan apologized Wednesday for failing to cite sources, saying he’s sorry “for mistakes I made.”“Let me first begin by saying I’m sorry,” Barkan posted on X. “I truly am sorry for the mistakes I made. None of them, genuinely, were willful or intentional.”New York Magazine fired him as a columnist last week over instances of plagiarism. An independent editorial review by the publication found Barkan had not properly cited 67 columns he had written.“Upon conclusion of the review, we have determined that we will no longer publish his column,” a statement from New York Magazine said. “We regret that this work did not live up to our editorial standards, and apologize to the writers whose work was not properly attributed.”On Tuesday, Penguin Random House suspended the sales of his upcoming book, “The Revolutionary: Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics.” In Barkan’s apology, he said he “never intended to crib anyone’s work.”“In the course of writing many columns a week, I did not use citations as aggressively as I should have and did not paraphrase well enough,” Barkan said in his statement. “I never intended to crib from anyone’s work. I promise all of you that. I recognize, though, how I failed. I am sorry to the journalists whose work I did not properly cite.”“I’m going to take some time away and self-reflect,” the statement added. “I promise to do a much better job going forward.”Israel Launches Criminal Probes Into Killings Of Hind Rajab And Palestinian ParamedicsIsrael’s military on Wednesday announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in the war in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics.The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. Its statement said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on the five cases.Both the killing of Rajab and her family, trapped in a vehicle and pleading for help by phone in February 2024, and the killing of 15 medics in May 2025 drew international outcry.Read more at The Associated Press:Trump Changes Tune After Rep. Cory Mills' Primary DefeatPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday attempted to distance himself from Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) after the scandal-plagued lawmaker lost his reelection race.Amid allegations of domestic violence and campaign finance violations, Mills is projected to lose the Republican primary in Florida’s 7th Congressional District to Ryan Elijah, a former TV reporter.Trump endorsed Mills for reelection in February, but has not mentioned him since.In the aftermath of primary, Trump suggested he told Mills, “a friend of mine,” to “get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen.”The president called Elijah a “great candidate” who “stands for EVERYTHING MAGA.” “He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump added.Ex-Fauci Advisor Pleads Guilty In COVID-19 Records SchemeA former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal government documents related to the COVID-19 pandemic and grant research funding.Dr. David Morens, 78, pleaded guilty in a Maryland federal court on Tuesday to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government. He faces up to five years in prison and will be sentenced on Nov 12.Prosecutors said Morens, while working as a senior adviser with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), used his personal email account to intentionally conceal or destroy records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants and an investigation into the pandemic’s origins.He did this while receiving gifts from the CEO of a New York-based nonprofit who wanted the National Institutes of Health, part of the NIAID, to revive a large research grant related to bat coronavirus, prosecutors said.Fauci was not charged in the case.Natalie Harp Rode In Trunk Of SUV To Trump Court Hearing: CNNWhite House aide Natalie Harp’s close relationship with President Donald Trump has become the talk of town — in Washington D.C., at least — after a knowing allusion to the president’s “travel with Natalie” by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).But just how tight is the bond between the president and his 35-year-old “human printer,” a sobriquet that refers to her role in giving Trump physical copies of supportive online articles to read while on-the-go?CNN has some insight. According to a report published Tuesday, Harp was with Trump in New York City in October 2023 as he was set to travel to a court hearing.Harp was told there was not enough room in the motorcade, CNN alleges, which prompted “a screaming match” and the loyal aide insisting that Trump had personally asked her to be at the courthouse.Citing two sources familiar with the matter, the outlet added: “Denied a seat but determined not to be left behind, Harp jumped into an SUV trunk.”The broadcaster said it obtained a photo of Harp’s unconventional mode of travel.Read more at CNN:See All Updates