The Latest: Trump campaigns in Alabama ahead of the midterm elections

President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail as he seeks to shore up lagging enthusiasm in the Republican Party ahead of next month’s midterm elections on Nov. 3. He attended a rally in Alabama on Friday and then travels to Ohio on Saturday. He could have his work cut out for him: Just 26% of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the economy overall, a new low, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The Group of Seven industrial nations plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with “substantial” amounts of diesel after it hit record high prices in the U.S. Trump and the GOP face pressure to address surging prices ahead of the elections.

Here's the latest:

Trump wraps up Alabama rally, saying, ‘See you Saturday night’

Trump signed off by telling the crowd to get out and vote for Republicans, adding, “I love Alabama.”

He’ll be back a week from Saturday for the Alabama vs. Georgia football game.

Trump repeats $5,000 pledge

The president continues to promise that every American will receive a check for that amount if Republicans retain control of Congress, even though GOP lawmakers are barely campaigning on the pledge.

“If the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression, in my opinion, the likes of 1929. Not a good time,” Trump said during his campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama.

He continued: “If the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pocket and economic success for our country like we have never seen before.”

Trump regularly repeats the promise of checks, even though few Republican lawmakers have endorsed the idea. Several have raised concerns about costs to the nation’s coffers and potential impact on inflation.

Cyclospora found at Mexican farm linked to lettuce outbreak, FDA says

The Food and Drug Administration said it found the cyclospora parasite at a farm identified as the source of a massive lettuce-borne outbreak. Friday’s announcement brings the agency’s investigation into the outbreak to a close.

While the FDA said it identified the parasite in water from the Taylor Farms site, it’s unclear how it got there. FDA investigators first arrived at the site more than six weeks ago.

Nearly 13,000 cases of diarrhea and related illnesses in the U.S. have been linked to lettuce. The FDA has said for weeks that the company’s site was likely the source of the contamination.

Federal officials announced the end of the outbreak last month.

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Trump will go to Alabama again next week

As he started his rally in Mobile, the president made some travel news: He’ll return to the state next Saturday to attend the Georgia-Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa.

“They say it’s going to be a good game,” Trump told the crowd. “I would think so.”

Georgia is ranked No. 2 and Alabama is No. 7 in AP’s latest college football poll.

Trump’s Alabama rally is underway

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. local time, the president kicked off his political rally in Mobile.

It’s his second political event in as many days, and Trump will travel to Ohio on Saturday to campaign there.

Before Trump arrived at the venue, Sen. Tommy Tuberville — the GOP nominee for governor of the state — was warming up the crowd.

Clyburn suggests Democrats not focus on impeaching Trump if they win House majority

During an event Friday in Charleston with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn said instead that his party should perhaps “look at Hegseth,” referencing the Defense secretary. Later he also mentioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Both names drew applause from the crowd.

“How do we go here and make headway in this area rather than just headlines?” Clyburn said of efforts to improve Americans’ lives. Trying to impeach Trump a third time would tie Democrats up “for months” and would still depend on an uncertain Senate conviction, he added.

“I don’t think we’re at that point,” Clyburn said.

Former GOP Rep. David Rivera sentenced to 10 years for secret Venezuela lobbying

The former Miami congressman and longtime friend of Secretary of State Marco Rubio was sentenced Friday in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on Venezuela’s behalf during the first Trump administration.

Rivera, 61, has been jailed since jurors found him guilty in May on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of his work for former President Nicolás Maduro ’s government.

The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami’s role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Latin America, highlighting the city’s reputation as a magnet for both anti-communist crusaders and corruption among its sizable exile population.

Attorneys for Rivera plan to appeal and applied in June for a presidential pardon. Rivera faces additional federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case.

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Environmental groups sue Trump administration over eased vehicle fuel economy rules

The lawsuit challenges the relaxation of key vehicle fuel economy rules, a decision that the groups say will make vehicles less efficient, contribute to more pollution and increase gas consumption.

On Monday the Trump administration lowered Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards that set out how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline. The announcement was made as the administration negotiated with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The environmental groups filed the petition for review Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the rules.

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FBI gives employees a classified ‘Patel Report’ about times it ‘fell short’

The report examines what the bureau says are past chapters “where this institution fell short,” according to an internal message obtained Friday by AP.

It was unclear what episodes are chronicled in the new “Patel Report.” But the document’s existence is in keeping with Director Kash Patel’s vocal criticism of leaders who preceded him and his determination to rid the FBI of agents he contends have politicized the bureau.

Patel’s critics say he is the one who has weaponized the FBI and his scrutiny of predecessors and their decision-making is part of an effort to rewrite history in favor of Trump.

As director he has encouraged investigations of former senior officials and presided over sweeping terminations, including of employees who participated in years-old investigations of Trump, were photographed taking a knee during a 2020 racial justice protest and contributed to a disputed analytical memo about Catholic extremism.

The FBI declined to comment on the report.

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Trump headed back to Texas

The president, who spent part of his Thursday at a truck manufacturer in Texas, plans to travel again to the Lone Star State for the second time in less than a week.

Trump will headline a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on Wednesday, according to the Republican National Committee.

The president and his party are in an all-out push to hold on to a Senate seat in Texas, where scandal-plagued Republican Ken Paxton is running against Democrat James Talarico.

Sen. Bernie Sanders will rally with Maine Senate hopeful Troy Jackson

Sanders will join Jackson for three rallies next weekend as the Democratic nominee tries to unseat five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Sanders, a Vermont independent, says in a statement that the Maine election “could well determine whether we have a Republican Senate” that is a rubber stamp for Trump or one that holds Trump accountable.

“Troy will not only take on Trump, he will fight for the working families of Maine,” Sanders said.

The rallies will be Saturday in Bangor and Sunday in Lewiston and Biddeford.

2026 midterms are nigh, but it’s already 2028 in South Carolina

The state’s leadoff primary for Democrats in the next presidential cycle has many of the handfuls likely to throw their hats in the ring flooding the state in the midterm campaign’s closing days.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is in Charleston Friday night, plugging his new book at an event with U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, in addition to stumping with candidates. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona helps 1st District hopeful Nancy Lacore kick off canvassing on Saturday, and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna is meeting with Democrats, too.