Global Leaders Push Back as Trump Imposes New Forced Labor Tariffs 
Russia Says It Hit Ukrainian Ports, Cargo Ships in Odesa and Chornomorsk 
Iran Rejects U.S.-Backed Ceasefire as Trump Escalates Military Threats, Oil Tops $100 
Trump Says No Decision on Major Iran Strikes as U.S.-Tehran Talks Intensify 
Arizona Primaries Set High-Stakes Governor and House Battles Ahead of Midterm Elections 
Zelenskiy Says Ukraine-U.S. Drone Deal Includes American Factory for Advanced UAV Production 
Rubio Rejects AI ‘Kill Switch’ Claims as U.S. Defends American Technology Abroad 
Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Reinstate $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee 
US Military Completes 13th Straight Night of Iran Strikes as Trump Warns of Further Action 
Trump Education Department Removes Disparate Impact Rules, Sparking Civil Rights Backlash 
Russian Bomb Strikes Hit Zaporizhzhia, Sloviansk, Injuring Dozens in Eastern Ukraine 
US-Mexico USMCA Talks Advance as Auto Rules Remain Major Sticking Point 
Trump Praises Nigeria’s Tinubu, Signaling Stronger U.S.-Nigeria Security Ties 
ASEAN Forum Puts Middle East Conflict, South China Sea Tensions in Spotlight 
Trump Threatens Iran With 'Major Military Punishment' as Red Sea Attacks Push Oil Above $100 
Maduro U.S. Drug Trafficking Trial Set for June 2027 as Immunity Defense Looms 
A Rasmussen poll report, on Monday, showed Donald Trump’s ratings plunged to its lowest for the past year. A source said the President of the United States is unlikely to negotiate the reopening of the government until his original demand for the border wall fund is met.
The said survey closed with 46 percent of the respondents saying they Strongly Approve of Trump’s performance while 32 percent stated they Strongly Disapprove of his job. Rasmussen also noted that the President’s approval rating has been declining since he fixated on the border wall as the primary solution to border security issues.
For starters, Trump has been pressuring the Democratic lawmakers to pass a funding bill that includes more than $5 billion specifically allocated for the building of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The political standoff in the Capitol Hill has led to the partial government shutdown since last Dec. 22, 2018.
This has affected around 800,000 federal employees who are reportedly ordered to continue working and shall be paid retroactively once the government reopens. Trump’s shutdown is now the longest in the history of the United States.
CNN also reported, on Monday, that a recent SSRS-conducted survey showed 57 percent of the total number of respondents disapprove “the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president.” Thirty-seven percent of the 848 poll takers said they approve of his performance while the remaining 7 percent had no opinion on the matter.
The same CNN-SSRS poll showed 56 percent of the respondents were opposed to the building of a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border while 39 percent said otherwise. However, a source of the media company said Trump “[is] not going to budge even 1 inch” when it comes to the wall funding he demands.
....I am doing exactly what I pledged to do, and what I was elected to do by the citizens of our great Country. Just as I promised, I am fighting for YOU!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
That insider report is apparent in the President's Twitter posts. He updates his Twitter followers on a daily basis to manifest that he is not ready to make a compromise. “For decades, politicians promised to secure the border, fix our trade deals, bring back our factories, get tough on China, move the Embassy to Jerusalem, make NATO pay their fair share, and so much else - only to do NOTHING (or worse),” Trump tweeted on Monday.
