President Donald Trump‘s administration abandoned on Friday the U.S. government’s legal defense of a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden that had banned agreements commonly signed by workers not to join rivals of their employers or launch competing businesses.
The U.S. Justice Department filed motions in federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Atlanta to dismiss separate appeals of rulings by two judges that struck down the 2024 U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule concerning “noncompete” agreements. Republicans and business groups have criticized the rule.
The move was expected after FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed to the post by Trump and had previously criticized the rule, said in February that the agency was reviewing it. The appeals involve legal challenges to the rule by a marketing firm and a real estate developer, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.
Dropping the appeals means the courts will not have a chance to address the novel question of whether the commission, which enforces federal antitrust laws, can adopt sweeping regulations such as its nationwide ban on “noncompete” agreements.
More than 20% of U.S. workers have signed noncompete agreements, according to the FTC. The agency, in adopting the rule, had said the agreements limit worker mobility and suppress wages and competition for labor.
Ferguson and other Republicans on the commission have said the FTC has limited rulemaking powers and cannot adopt blanket bans on what it views as anticompetitive conduct.
During Trump’s first term as president, his administration had argued in court that while specific provisions of noncompetes can be unlawful, the agreements themselves were not.
The FTC on Thursday announced its first legal action of Trump’s second term related to noncompete agreements, a settlement barring the largest U.S. pet cremation business from enforcing these agreements with 1,800 workers.
The agency in that case, opens new tab said that the company’s broad agreements, signed even by low-level employees, unlawfully suppressed competitors’ entry into the pet cremation market.
Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday.
The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate and collect duties, or taxes, after the U.S. eliminated the “de minimis” exemption for lower-value parcels.
Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the United States until a solution is implemented with regard to U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or less, which had been the cutoff for imported goods to escape customs charges.
“The global network saw postal traffic to the U.S. come to a near-halt after the implementation of the new rules on Aug. 29, 2025, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency-approved qualified parties,” the UPU said in a statement.
The UPU said information exchanged among postal operators through its electronic network showed traffic from its 192 member countries — nearly all the nations in the world — had fallen 81% on Aug. 29 compared with a week earlier.
The Bern, Switzerland-based agency said the “major operational disruptions” have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren’t willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to CBP-qualified companies.
Before the measure took effect, the postal union sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to express concerns about its effect.
The de minimis exemption has existed in some form since 1938, and the administration says the exemption has become a loophole that foreign businesses exploit to evade tariffs and criminals use to get drugs into the United States.
Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs now require vetting and are subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
While the change applies to the products of every country, U.S. residents will not have to pay duties on incoming gifts valued at up to $100, or up to $200 worth of personal souvenirs from trips abroad, according to the White House.
The UPU said its members had not been given enough time or guidance to comply with the procedures outlined in the executive order President Trump signed on July 30 to eliminate the duty-free eligibility of low-value goods.
A normally raucous, colorful parade to mark Mexican Independence Day in Chicago turned quiet and nervous on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he intended to ramp up deportations in the nation’s third-largest city.
In a break from traditional celebrations, twirling folklorico dancers decked in glimmering jewelry and billowing, multi-colored dresses distributed “know your rights” pamphlets to sparse crowds in the city’s historically Mexican Pilsen neighborhood. Horses wore the colors of Mexico’s flag in their tails, while their riders wore neon-orange whistles around their necks in case they needed to alert attendees of Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Along the sidelines, volunteers also kept watch for ICE.
“This place would normally be packed,” Eddie Chavez, a lifelong Pilsen resident, said while waving a Mexican flag in a lone row of lawn chairs along the parade route. “Now it’s empty, like a ghost town.”
Trump alluded to immigration raids in Chicago in a Truth Social post that echoed the movie Apocalypse Now.
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” his post said, opens new tab, above an image of Trump in a military uniform juxtaposed against flames and Chicago’s skyline. “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”
Illinois Govornor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and vocal critic of Trump, said on Tuesday he believed ICE raids would coincide with Mexican Independence day festivals scheduled for this weekend and next weekend. Some Mexican festivals in the Chicago area were postponed or canceled, opens new tab amid fears of immigration raids.
“We’re scared, but we’re here,” said Isabel Garcia, a dancer in Saturday’s parade wearing a marigold-yellow dress and multi-colored ribbons and flowers in her hair.
“We’re Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they’re not going to stop us.”
ICE has not responded to requests for comment on whether it sent more agents to Chicago, and residents said they had not seen significantly stepped-up immigration enforcement so far.
A large protest against ICE was expected later on Saturday in Chicago, after thousands turned out for a Labor Day protest on Monday.
Trump last month deployed National Guard troops to Washington, saying they would “re-establish law, order, and public safety.” In addition to Chicago, he has suggested the possibility of deploying troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chicago-ice-fears-turn-mexican-parade-into-ghost-town-2025-09-06
Attorney General Pam Bondi cited crimes that occurred outside of Boston to criticize the city’s mayor in a head-scratching interview with Fox News.
Bondi, 59, told Sean Hannity that Boston—one of the safest major cities in America—is actually “not” safe, citing a trio of grisly crimes. She singled out Mayor Michelle Wu, claiming the 40-year-old Democrat has lost control of the city.
“A Haitian national was charged with raping a child in a migrant center,” she said. “An 18-year-old illegal alien from Haiti molested a 10-year-old child. An illegal from El Salvador, 11 counts of rape against a child … I could go on and on about the crimes in the Boston area. So, if she’s not going to protect the people of Boston, we are.”
As Mediaite first noted, the alleged migrant center incident took place 20 miles from Boston, the alleged molestation took place 30 miles outside city limits, and the incident involving the Salvadoran national took place on Nantucket, an island about 100 miles south of the state capital.
Wu, of course, has zero jurisdiction over crimes that take place well outside Boston’s city limits. It would be the equivalent of blaming President Donald Trump for something that occurred over the border in Mexico or Canada.
The Trump administration, which has already deployed the National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., has signaled plans for similar actions in other Democrat-controlled cities, including Boston.
Reached for comment, Wu’s office said in a statement: “For months, the Trump DOJ, DHS, and ICE have been spreading blatant lies and threatening to ‘bring hell’ to cities like Boston who refuse to bow down to their authoritarian agenda, so this unconstitutional attack is not a surprise.”
It continued, “This country was born facing down bullies, with Bostonians leading the way. Today, Boston is the safest major city in the country because we have worked to build trust in the community, so that everyone feels safe seeking help or reporting a crime. We will not be bullied or intimidated into abandoning the efforts that make Boston a safe home for everyone.”
The administration sued Boston and Wu on Thursday over an ordinance that limits local police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Wu responded that same day, “This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise. Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country—but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda.”
Boston is not suffering from a crime spike. It reported its lowest homicide rate since 1957 last year, and other violent and property crimes are on a “downward trend.”
Bondi refused to let those facts get in the way of her talking point.
“Michelle Wu is one of the worst offenders in the entire country,” she told Hannity. “She says Boston is safe. It’s not.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pam-bondi-takes-aim-at-boston-citing-crimes-from-elsewhere
President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown.
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. Trump signed an executive order Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”
The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.”
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday called Trump’s post “not normal.”
“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most-populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and that officials there were bracing for it to begin as early as Friday.
In recent days, personnel from Immigration and Border Protection as well as Customs and Border Protection have begun trickling into the city, White House officials told CNN.
The Trump administration has also reserved the right to call in the National Guard if there is a reaction to the operation that warrants it, the officials said. The Chicago operation is being modeled off of a similar operation carried out in Los Angeles in June. A judge ruled this week that the June deployment broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on US soil in most cases; the Trump administration has appealed.
White House officials have made clear the Chicago immigration crackdown is distinct from the idea the president has floated to use federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to carry out a broader crime crackdown in the city, similar to the operation in Washington, DC.
When asked by a reporter Tuesday about sending National Guard troops into the city, Trump said, “We’re going,” adding, “I didn’t say when. We’re going in.”
Democratic officials who represent Chicago and Illinois also condemned Trump’s post Saturday.
“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” wrote Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on social media. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Trump’s post on X as “Stolen valor at its worst,” writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it.”
Rep. Mike Quigley, who represents part of Chicago, said Saturday afternoon on CNN that the post is an example of Trump “edging more and more toward authoritarianism.”
“This is a scary time. For those who haven’t paid attention, it’s time to watch what this president is doing,” Quigley said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/06/politics/trump-chicago-war-meme-post
President Donald Trump welcomed guests Friday evening to the “Rose Garden Club” – the iconic White House outdoor space that now appears strangely reminiscent of another exclusive location.
The new Rose Garden features a limestone patio with country club-style chairs, tables, and striped umbrellas – echoing Trump’s private Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago.
Trump hosted a dinner for allies in Congress and spoke about some of the changes he’s made to the iconic White House garden since taking office in January.
“You’re the first ones in this great place,” the president said. “We call it the Rose Garden Club and it’s a club for senators, for congresspeople, and for people in Washington, and frankly, people that can bring peace and success to our country.”
Long gone is the central grassy area that Trump claimed was prone to getting muddy and is now replaced with tiles. But flowers remain along the border.
Friday evening’s setup featured four rows of six tables with white tablecloths draped across each one. The white chairs featured bright yellow seat cushions, in the same color scheme as the umbrellas.
Each table was outfitted with a classic country club-style place setting and included a basket of rolls and a saucer with pats of butter.
White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung posted a photo on X, giving a closer look at the individual table settings. Each person appeared to receive a gold-embossed welcome paper that read “The Rose Garden Club.”
“We picked a great stone,” Trump told the audience, referencing the limestone flooring. “And we have a great speaker system.”
The president recently installed a new speaker system in the Rose Garden which he showed off to reporters last month.
Trump has received criticism for making dramatic changes to the historic Rose Garden, which was established in 1913 by former first lady Ellen Louise Wilson, wife of former president Woodrow Wilson, and renovated during former president John F. Kennedy’s administration.
The president reportedly wanted to “recreate” the patio experience at his Mar-a-Lago club to host guests and entertain people, the New York Times reported earlier this year.
Before returning to the White House, Trump often spent evening downtime sitting on the patio at Mar-a-Lago with fellow club members, the Times reported. The president enjoyed sitting back and controlling the club’s playlist from an iPad, the report said, a tech set-up he has now recreated at his Washington abode.
But the Rose Garden revamp is just one of various aesthetic projects the president has embarked upon at the White House.
The Oval Office now features a plethora of gilded accents, from the ceiling’s crown molding to the side table lamps. Every detail has seemingly been turned to the yellow-gold – even the fireplace screen.
The portraits of famous Americans hanging in the Oval Office have had their frames swapped from wood to intricate gilded ones.
Each president has control over the decor of the Oval Office. They’re allowed to switch out the rug, curtains, couches, and even the desk. Pictures and accolades are put on display to show off a president’s accomplishments.
Trump has also made small changes elsewhere – he added two 88-foot American Flag poles to the White and South lawns of the White House and moved prominent portraits of former presidents to a hidden stairwell.
More changes are coming. The president said he would add a lavish $200 million ballroom to the White House to serve as a place to host state dinners and other events.
National Guard troops have reportedly been deployed to clean up trash across Washington, D.C. The effort comes amid President Donald Trump’s crime emergency declaration, and the trash pickup is reportedly costing an estimated $1 million daily. The troops have allegedly collected over 500 bags of trash and cleared over 3 miles of roadways, compensating for a reduced National Park Service workforce.
The National Guard stated, “Guardsmen have cleaned more than 3.2 miles of roadways, collected more than 500 bags of trash, and disposed of three truckloads of plant waste.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/national-guard-removes-d-c-trash-for-1m-daily/ss-AA1M1vGE
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller couldn’t help but note Venezuela’s “rich resources and reserves” Saturday when speaking to a reporter in Washington, D.C., his comments made amid the Trump administration’s growing fixation on enacting regime change in the South American nation.
“It is a drug cartel that is running Venezuela; it is not a government, it is a drug cartel, a narco-trafficking organization that is running Venezuela,” Miller said, fielding questions from reporters. “The people of Venezuela have been suffering and struggling under the reality of a nation that is so rich in resources, so rich in reserves, that is run by (Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro, the head of the cartel.”
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have risen in recent weeks, especially after the deadly U.S. precision strike this week on a supposed drug vessel heading toward American shores, an execution-style strike that has widely been condemned as amounting to murder.
President Donald Trump escalated tensions further when on Friday, he indicated that the United States would shoot down Venezuelan jets were they to fly over American naval ships, with at least eight warships and one submarine currently deployed off of Venezuela’s coast.
“Many Americans may not realize that the drugs killing their kids are coming from Maduro; also, the criminal aliens killing their kids are coming from Maduro,” Miller continued.
“So he’s sending his drugs, he is sending his killers, his assassins into our communities, and he’s working directly with other designated foreign terrorist organizations like the [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia], and all the Mexican drug cartels, so it’s one continuous loop.”
Maduro was indicted by the Justice Department on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges in 2020, with the Trump administration issuing a $50 million bounty for his capture.
Given the Trump administration’s designation of drug cartels as terrorists, which permits the administration to carry out execution-style strikes on drug traffickers, a Trump official has admitted that Trump is keeping the idea of assassinating Maduro via strike “as an option.” Trump officials have also spoken favorably about the idea of enacting regime change in Venezuela.
“Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker, a fugitive from justice in America,” Miller said.
