The Latest: Trump to announce that US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf
President Donald Trump plans to announce in Saudi Arabia next week that the United States will now refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia, according to two U.S. officials. This weekend’s meeting between
U.S. and Chinese delegations in Switzerland will be their first major talks since Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump said only 21 hostages held by Hamas are believed to be still alive. He spoke as Israel approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time.
And a newly declassified intelligence assessment confirms that American spy agencies found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government, undercutting Trump’s justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan immigrants.
The Latest:
Columbia University lays off nearly 180 after Trump pulled $400M over his antisemitism concerns
Columbia University said Tuesday that it will be laying off nearly 180 staffers in response to Trump’s decision to cancel $400 million in funding over the Manhattan college’s handling of student protests against the war in Gaza.
Those receiving non-renewal or termination notices Tuesday represent about 20% of the employees funded in some manner by the terminated federal grants, the university said in a statement Tuesday.
“We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources,” the university said. “Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”
University spokesperson Jessica Murphy declined to say whether more layoffs were expected, but said Columbia is taking a range of steps to create financial flexibility, including maintaining current salary levels and offering voluntary retirement incentives.
Read more about the layoffs at Columbia
Declassified intelligence memo contradicts Trump’s claims linking gang to Venezuelan government
A newly declassified U.S. intelligence assessment confirms that analysts at American spy agencies found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government, contradicting statements the Trump administration used to justify invoking the Alien Enemies Act and deporting Venezuelan immigrants.
The relatives of Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. who were flown to a prison in El Salvador by the U.S. government who alleged they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, protest outside of the United Nations building in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
The redacted memo from the National Intelligence Council said there was no indication that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro or other senior government officials are directing the actions of Tren de Aragua, a gang that originated in a prison in Venezuela. That is even as some mid- to low-level Venezuelan officials may have ties to the gang for financial gain, the document says.
Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to speed the deportations of people his administration has labeled members of the gang. The 18th century wartime law was created to give the president the power to imprison or deport noncitizens in a time of war. It has been used three times, most recently when Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
Read more about the declassified document
Trump says only 21 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now believed to be alive
Trump said Tuesday that three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, leaving only 21 believed to be still living.
One American, Edan Alexander, had been among the 24 hostages believed to be alive, with the bodies of several other Americans also held by Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
The president’s comments came as Israel approved plans Monday to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, in a bid to recover the hostages and try to fulfill its war aims of destroying Hamas. If implemented, the move would vastly expand Israel’s operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition.
Read more about Trump’s comments on the hostages
Top US officials will meet with Chinese delegation in Switzerland in first major talks of trade war
Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation this weekend in Switzerland in the first major talks between the two nations since Trump sparked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their counterparts in Geneva in the most-senior known conversations between the two countries in months, the Trump administration announced Tuesday. It comes amid growing U.S. market worry over the impact of the tariffs on the prices and supply of consumer goods.
After plans for the talks had been announced, Bessent said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that as the U.S. has engaged in negotiations with various trading partners, “China has been the missing piece.”
Trump had claimed previously that the U.S. and China were holding negotiations on lowering tariffs, which Beijing has denied, saying Trump must first lower his stiff tariffs.
Read more about the upcoming meeting
Trump plans to announce that the US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf, officials say
Trump plans to announce while on his trip to Saudi Arabia next week that the United States will now refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia, according to two U.S. officials.
Arab nations have pushed for a change to the geographic name of the body of water off the southern coast of Iran, while Iran has maintained its historic ties to the Gulf.
The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” is dominant in many countries in the Middle East. The government of Iran — formerly Persia — threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps.
The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases.
Read more about Trump’s expected announcement