The Latest: Trump lashes out at Federal Reserve in speech to Detroit Economic Club

President Donald Trump was in Michigan Tuesday to promote his efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing, as he tries to counter fears about a weakening job market and worries that still-rising prices are hurting Americans’ pocketbooks. The day trip included a tour of a Ford factory in Dearborn that makes the best-selling F-150 pickups.

Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club, the president essentially accused the Fed of stealing his joy by not being bullish about lowering interest rates.

It comes as the Trump administration’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has sparked an outcry, with defenders of the U.S. central bank pushing back against Trump’s efforts to exert more control over it. Federal data from December showed inflation declined a bit last month as prices for gas and used cars fell — a sign that cost pressures are slowly easing.

After last year’s election losses for the GOP, the White House said Trump would put a greater emphasis on talking directly to the public about his economic policies after doing relatively few events around the country earlier in his term.

The Latest:

House passes bill codifying Trump order to rinse away showerhead regulations

The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday advanced legislation aimed at fulfilling Trump’s long-running desire to “make showers great again” by voting to loosen federal efficiency standards for showerheads.

The bill — dubbed the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing, or Shower ACT — passed 226-197, with 11 Democrats crossing the aisle in support.

Republicans have argued the measure would wash away unnecessary regulations and allow more water to flow through showerheads. Democrats warn the relaxed standards could soak consumers with higher utility bills and worsen environmental impacts.

The legislation is light on details, and its prospects in the Senate are uncertain. Still, it’s part of a broader effort by House Speaker Mike Johnson to codify Trump’s executive actions in federal law.

In April, Trump signed an executive order calling for an immediate end to water conservation standards that limit the gallons per minute flowing through showerheads and other household appliances.

Multiple Americans detained in Venezuela have been released, the Trump administration says

“This is an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities,” the State Department said Tuesday.

It comes after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a nighttime raid earlier this month.

The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelans and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the military operation that deposed Maduro.

As of Tuesday evening, the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization’s count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.

But the government did not provide evidence of the releases or a time range in which they were carried out, nor did it identify those freed.

Trump says Renee Good may have in ‘normal circumstances’ been a ‘solid’ person

But, the president said in his interview, “her actions were pretty tough.”

He said that video of the moment when an immigration agent fatally shot her in Minneapolis, “can be viewed two ways, I guess,” but said “there are a couple of versions of that tape that are very, very bad.”

It wasn’t completely clear what he meant by that.

Trump offers little defense when questioned on whether Powell investigation appears to be retribution

The president was asked in an interview that aired Tuesday night on the “CBS Evening News” about the Justice Department’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump was asked if the probe appeared to be political retribution for Powell having resisted Trump’s repeated hectoring to lower interest rates.

Trump said Powell is “either corrupt or incompetent.” When asked again about the appearance of retribution, he said, “I can’t help what it looks like.”

White House responds to Trump flipping off heckler at Ford plant

While Trump was in Michigan, someone at the auto plant yelled something at the president that included the words “pedophile protector.”

Trump, in a video published by TMZ, appeared to respond by mouthing the F-bomb at the person and raising his middle finger.

White House spokesman Steven Cheung said, “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”

It’s not the first time Trump has dropped an expletive with cameras rolling.

‘No basis’ for civil rights probe in Minnesota ICE shooting, Justice Department official says

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” The statement, first reported by CNN, did not elaborate on how the department had reached a conclusion that no investigation was warranted.

The decision to keep the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.

Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that Good was engaging in “an act of domestic terrorism” when she pulled forward toward him.

Trump says JPMorgan Chase CEO is wrong in criticizing his moves against Powell

Trump said he thinks JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is wrong in saying it’s not a great idea to chip away at the Federal Reserve’s independence by going after Chair Jerome Powell.

“Yeah, I think it’s fine what I’m doing,” Trump said Tuesday in response to a reporter’s question at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a day trip to Michigan. He called Powell “a bad Fed person” who has “done a bad job.”

“We should have lower rates. Jamie Dimon probably wants higher rates. Maybe he makes more money that way,” Trump said.

Trump: US is awaiting ‘accurate’ numbers of protesters killed in Iran before acting

Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he is expecting a report on the number of protesters who have been killed in Iran since protests began last month as the internet blackout has complicated the death toll.

“The killing looks like it’s significant, but we don’t know yet for sure,” he said. “I’ll know within 20 minutes. We will act accordingly.”

In the last week, the Republican president has escalated threats of U.S. intervention in Iran, saying as recently as this morning that the Islamic Republic will “pay the price” for the hundreds of Iranians that have been killed. But Trump appeared to use more careful rhetoric when pushed by reporters late Tuesday about what kind of action he will take.

“It would seem to me that they have been badly misbehaving, but that is not confirmed,” he said.

RFK Jr. shares the supplements he takes, but cautions he shouldn’t be seen as a role model

The health secretary was open about his dietary supplement routine on The Katie Miller Podcast — but he warned that he shouldn’t be seen as a pinnacle for what others should take.

In response to Miller asking, Kennedy said he takes Vitamin D, quercetin, zinc, magnesium, Vitamin C and “a bunch of other stuff.”

How does he choose which supplements to take? In a relatable way — and one that’s not necessarily medically advised.

“My method is I read an article about something, you know, and I get convinced that, oh, I gotta have this stuff,” he said. “And then I get it and then six months later I’m still taking it. I don’t remember what the article said. So, I end up with a big crate of vitamins that I’m taking, and I don’t even know why.”

RFK Jr. on Trump’s diet: ‘I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is’

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a podcast posted online Tuesday said the president eats healthily at Mar-a-Lago and at the White House — but not when he’s traveling.

In the interview with Katie Miller, who is married to top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Kennedy said people who travel with the president get the idea that he’s “pumping himself full of poison all day long.” He said that while on the road, the president tries not to get sick by eating food he trusts from McDonald’s and other “big corporations.”

“He has the constitution of a deity,” Kennedy said of Trump. “I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is.”

Still, Kennedy praised Trump’s overall health and said he eats well “usually.”

Trump is “the most energetic person” that “any of us have met,” Kennedy added.

Plane used in boat strike off Venezuela was painted to look like a civilian aircraft, AP sources say

The plane used by the U.S. military to strike a boat accused of smuggling drugs off the coast of Venezuela last fall also was carrying munitions in the fuselage, rather than beneath the aircraft.

That raises questions about the extent to which the operation was disguised in ways that run contrary to military protocol.

Details of the plane’s appearance, first reported Monday by The New York Times, were confirmed by two people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson says “the U.S. military utilizes a wide array of standard and nonstandard aircraft depending on mission requirements.”

U.S. military guidelines on the laws of war prohibit troops from pretending to be civilians while engaging in combat. The practice is legally known as “perfidy.”

The Defense Department manual specifically notes that “feigning civilian status and then attacking” is an example of the practice.

FACT FOCUS: Trump repeats false claims when discussing Greenland’s security in the Arctic

Trump has made an American takeover of Greenland a focus of his second term in the White House, calling it a national security priority while repeating false claims about the strategic Arctic island.

In recent comments, he has floated using military force as an option to take control of Greenland. He has said if the U.S. does not acquire the island, which is a self-governing territory of NATO ally Denmark, then it will fall into Chinese or Russian hands.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

Trump criticizes 5 Republican senators who voted to limit his ability to attack Venezuela again

Trump questioned why they would be against what he says was the most successful U.S. military attack in 100 years, the operation that captured Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face drug charges.

Congress has the authority to declare war but the president didn’t give any lawmakers advance warning of the operation.

“It’s one thing if the attack failed,” Trump said. “But here we have one of the most successful attacks ever and they find a way to be against it. It’s pretty amazing. And it’s a shame.”

Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana last week voted with Democrats to send a message of disapproval about Trump’s actions against the South American nation.

The measure still must clear the Republican-controlled House and be signed into law by the Republican president — steps that appear unlikely.

Republican-controlled North Carolina elections board rejects Sunday voting in several counties

Tuesday’s state board decisions apply to early in-person voting for a handful of mostly rural counties in the March 3 primary only.

But the refusals signal possible broader clashes ahead for the fall general elections. The U.S. Senate seat held by departing Republican Thom Tillis will be atop ballots.

North Carolina Democrats and allies have been historically favorable to Sunday voting, “Souls to the Polls” drives occur in African American churches.

But many state and county boards are reconsidering Sunday voting after a 2024 law stripped board appointment powers from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. Many Republicans don’t like voting on a church day and say election workers need rest.

The state board also rejected efforts to place primary early-vote sites on some university campuses. Students backing school sites in Greensboro attended the meeting. Early in-person voting begins Feb. 12.