Trump poised to send scores of federal agents to San Francisco

In other developments:

Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief has said. The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow. (Vlad the cad wants all the REE)

Trump administration officials confirmed to various outlets on Wednesday that the White House’s East Wing will be demolished “within days”, a revelation given that the administration has not submitted plans for the new ballroom to the federal agency that oversees construction of federal buildings.(Are there even plans? Price of gold plate goes up.)

The president declared himself the arbiter of whether or not his own administration should pay him damages over past federal investigations, telling reporters that any such decision “would have to go across my desk”. Trump insisted on Tuesday that the government owed him “a lot of money” for previous justice department investigations into his conduct, while at the same time asserting his personal authority over any potential payout. (This has to be one of the more bizarre stories underscoring our times)

A small boat half-filled with brown packages is seen moving along at sea and then explodes and floats motionless in flames, in a brief video released by the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth. The operation happened off coast of Colombia, marking the first such strike in the Pacific. Seven previous attacks in Caribbean killed at least 32 people. (Invade already, tell farmers to lower beef prices again.)

The University of Virginia (UVA) has become the latest school to agree to the Trump administration’s demands concerning discrimination in admissions and hiring after significant pressure from the justice department.

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Maine, said on Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognised as a Nazi symbol. (Yep, you can Nazi it now.)

Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley spoke for nearly 23 hours on the Senate floor to press the case that Trump is acting as an authoritarian by prosecuting political enemies and deploying the military into Merkley’s home town of Portland. (Dems have no effect on what's happening it seems)