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The Trump administration is preparing to extend a temporary waiver to the century-old Jones Act in an effort to ease gasoline prices for American drivers, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The move comes as President Donald Trump intensifies his criticism of oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron, accusing them of earning excessive profits while consumers continue paying high prices at the pump.

The Jones Act requires cargo transported between U.S. ports to travel on vessels that are built in the United States, owned by American companies, and staffed by U.S. crews.

By temporarily relaxing those requirements, the administration hopes to make it easier to transport fuel across the country, reducing shipping bottlenecks and increasing supply in regions facing higher prices.

Industry leaders had anticipated that the waiver would be renewed before the end of July. Instead, administration officials have continued negotiations with maritime industry representatives and members of Congress over possible revisions that would preserve flexibility for moving critical fuel supplies while narrowing the waiver’s scope, according to three people familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The existing waiver is scheduled to expire on Aug. 16. If renewed, it would continue what has already become the longest suspension of Jones Act requirements since the waiver program was established.

Government figures show the exemption was invoked nearly 200 times during the four-and-a-half-month period ending in late July.

With the November midterm elections approaching, the administration is searching for additional ways to reduce gasoline prices, which remain above $4 per gallon on average nationwide.

In recent months, the White House has pursued several strategies to ease fuel costs, including boosting oil supplies and providing regulatory flexibility. Trump also publicly increased pressure on Exxon and Chevron this week, saying the companies should return more of their profits to consumers through lower prices at gas stations.

Neither Exxon Mobil nor Chevron responded to requests for comment.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday in Brownsville, Texas, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the waiver has already helped bring down fuel prices in California and along the East Coast, adding that another extension appears likely.

Wright predicted gasoline prices would continue falling over the next several weeks.

“President Trump believes in markets and he believes in capitalism. But he’ll use every tool he has, including the bully pulpit, to try to encourage and put pressure to lower energy prices for Americans,” Wright said at a press conference when asked about Trump’s comments on Exxon and Chevron.

Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, said the most powerful tool available to any U.S. president would ordinarily be encouraging Saudi Arabia to increase oil production. However, he noted that option is currently limited because exports remain constrained by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz stemming from the conflict involving Iran.

McNally said other proposals—including a windfall profits tax, government-imposed gasoline price controls, or legal action against major oil companies—would either be politically difficult, economically risky, or unlikely to produce meaningful price reductions.

He added that while extending the Jones Act waiver would increase the number of tankers available to move fuel domestically, its overall impact on gasoline prices would likely amount to only a few cents per gallon.

Opponents of extending the waiver are urging the administration to impose tighter geographic restrictions and conduct closer reviews of each shipment permitted under the exemption.

Sources said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, and members of the White House Energy Dominance Council have all participated in ongoing discussions about the future of the waiver.

No final decision has been reached, and officials cautioned that the details could still change before an announcement is made.

Several senior Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, have urged the administration to limit the waiver’s reach, arguing that frequent exemptions could weaken the U.S. merchant fleet and undermine the national security objectives behind the Jones Act.

A White House official said the administration continues to evaluate how the waiver is being used and that discussions remain active. The official added that any decision will be announced directly by the president or the administration.

Maritime organizations have intensified their campaign against another extension, with the American Maritime Partnership resuming television advertisements on CNBC and Fox News while also launching a digital advertising campaign alongside the American Waterways Operators.

AMP President Jennifer Carpenter argued that the waiver has primarily benefited foreign shipping companies and major energy firms rather than American consumers.

“The waiver has shifted routine domestic commerce to foreign operators, including entities linked to China and Russia, while undermining the U.S. maritime industrial base,” Carpenter said.

Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the U.S. military campaign against Iran has ultimately left America in a weaker strategic position, arguing that diplomacy—not continued military action—is the only realistic way to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He also warned that the conflict is exposing growing divisions within the Republican Party ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

During an appearance on MS Now’s Morning Joe, the Kentucky Republican described the conflict as unnecessary and said he never would have supported launching it.

“This is a war of choice, and it wouldn’t have been my choice,” Paul said.

Paul acknowledged that U.S. forces inflicted significant damage on Iran’s military but argued that the broader consequences have outweighed those battlefield successes.

“I think if you look at it objectively, one step forward, we decimated their military, but two steps backward in that they militarized the Strait (of Hormuz). The Strait has never been militarized. By any objective viewing, we are worse off than we were before the war.”

Asked by co-host Willie Geist what outcome would best serve U.S. interests, Paul answered that ending the conflict as quickly as possible should be the priority.

“The sooner the war ends, the better.”

Although Paul said eliminating Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium would be “a noble goal,” he argued that military force alone cannot accomplish that objective.

“The only way you’ll do that is you have to negotiate,” he said.

Paul’s remarks highlight the growing debate within Republican ranks over the administration’s approach to Iran. While many GOP foreign policy hawks have supported military action, others within President Donald Trump’s political base have voiced deep reservations about the United States becoming entangled in another prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

That divide could create political challenges for Republicans as the midterm elections approach, with party leaders seeking to maintain support for the administration’s national security policies while addressing concerns among voters who favor a more restrained foreign policy.

Paul has become one of the leading Republican advocates for pursuing negotiations with Iran, maintaining that diplomacy offers the best chance of achieving a lasting agreement and preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons without extending the military conflict.

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British broadcaster Piers Morgan engaged in a heated confrontation with senior Hamas terror official Ghazi Hamad during a televised interview, forcefully condemning Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and rejecting the terrorist group’s attempts to defend its actions.

The exchange grew increasingly tense as Morgan accused Hamas of committing horrific atrocities against Israeli civilians during the assault, while Hamad repeatedly interrupted and disputed Morgan’s characterization of the events.

“Listen, I’m sorry, but you crossed every line of humanity and morality. On October the 7th, the actions of Hamas crossed every single moral, ethical and humanitarian line. Your people committed acts of utter barbarism against innocent Israelis. You did. We saw it with our own eyes,” Morgan said.

As Hamad continued insisting Morgan’s description was inaccurate, the journalist pushed back even harder.

“Your people, your Hamas terrorists…just to be clear: Your Hamas terrorists, your people, they deliberately posted themselves committing their atrocities in real time.”

Morgan went on to acknowledge Hamas’s stated rationale for its actions but firmly rejected it as a justification for the violence.

“I understand your position and I understand that you believe you’re fighting an occupation. You believe you’re there for ‘freedom fighters’…I understand Hamas’s position. However, I brand Hamas terrorists because the actions on October the 7th were the actions of a terrorist organization that committed a series of despicable crimes against the Israeli people. There is no justification.”

The terrorist responded by accusing Morgan of presenting an unfair account of the conflict, saying the interviewer was “not fair”.

Morgan then challenged Hamad with a direct question about one of the most shocking aspects of the October 7 attack.

“Let me ask you one simple question: Why would you take hostage a baby? What possible justification? Never mind all the other crimes that were committed that day. Why would you kidnap a baby?”

In response, Hamad denied that Hamas had intended to abduct civilians, claiming that its fighters “had no instruction to do that. We never planned to take civilians.”

A controversial advertising campaign for an adults-only museum that has appeared prominently on New York City buses for months will be removed from the MTA’s fleet far sooner than originally planned, following sustained pressure from parents, religious organizations, and elected officials who argued the displays were inappropriate for public spaces frequented by families and children.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed that the advertisements will be phased out of the bus system within the next 60 days, significantly shortening a contract that had been expected to remain in effect through the end of the year.

The decision comes after months of advocacy and growing public criticism over the campaign, which many community leaders said exposed children to adult-themed imagery in places where families have no practical way to avoid it.

The concerns took center stage at a recent meeting of the MTA Board, where transit officials were urged to reconsider allowing the agency’s buses to serve as rolling advertisements for an adults-only attraction.

Representatives argued that mass transit vehicles are used and seen every day by countless children, parents, and commuters, making them an inappropriate venue for advertising material many riders find offensive.

During the meeting, speakers called on MTA leadership to adopt advertising standards that better reflect the public nature of the transit system and the diverse communities it serves. They emphasized that while adults are free to visit such attractions, promoting them so prominently throughout the city imposes unwanted exposure on families simply going about their daily routines.

The public testimony capped months of outreach to transit officials, community leaders, and policymakers aimed at persuading the MTA to remove the advertisements before the contract expired.

In a written response to those efforts, the MTA informed advocates that the museum’s advertisements would be rotated off the system within 60 days, accelerating the previously scheduled timeline.

The announcement came as opponents were preparing to challenge the next phase of the campaign. According to advocates, the museum had planned to dramatically expand its advertising partnership with the MTA by wrapping the entire exterior of buses with promotional graphics and incorporating even more explicit imagery than what is currently displayed.

That prospect prompted additional concern among community organizations and elected officials, several of whom urged the MTA to halt the expansion and remove the existing advertisements altogether.

Politicians from multiple districts echoed the concerns raised by parents and religious groups, arguing that the widespread campaign was inappropriate for a public transit system used by millions of New Yorkers, including large numbers of children. They joined calls for the MTA to withdraw the ads, citing the need to preserve a family-friendly environment on the city’s buses.

With the MTA now confirming that the advertisements will disappear from its fleet over the coming weeks, advocates say the decision represents a significant victory for families who objected to the campaign and urged transit officials to exercise greater discretion over the advertising displayed on publicly operated vehicles.

A Canadian woman who was caught on video assaulting a teenage girl wearing patriotic clothing during a Fourth of July weekend confrontation on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk has been ordered deported from the United States after pleading guilty to a reduced assault charge.

An immigration judge in Texas ruled Tuesday that 33-year-old Kaitlyn Tracey will be removed to Canada. The deportation order came shortly before Tracey entered a guilty plea in New Jersey to a single count of simple assault, a misdemeanor, resolving the criminal case stemming from the July 3 incident.

Tracey participated in the hearing by telephone from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas, where she has been held since being transferred from New Jersey.

As part of the plea agreement, Tracey admitted guilt to one misdemeanor assault charge. She was sentenced to one day in jail but received credit for time already served after spending time in the Ocean County Jail following her arrest.

Authorities said the altercation began after Tracey confronted a group of four teenagers on the Point Pleasant boardwalk, including a girl wearing a USA 250 tank top. According to police, the confrontation escalated into an argument before Tracey slapped the teenager across the face in an incident captured on video.

The Department of Homeland Security previously said Tracey had overstayed her visa and was living in the United States illegally at the time of her arrest.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Tracey’s attorney urged the court to view his client more favorably, describing her as someone who had contributed positively while living in the United States.

“She arrived here on a passport some years ago. She met her husband and didn’t leave, but while she was [here], she maintained employment and was a productive member of society,” attorney Francis Hodgson told Judge Guy P. Ryan, characterizing the incident as simply “unfortunate.”

Hodgson also argued that Tracey had accepted responsibility for her conduct.

“[Tracey has] taken responsibility for her role in it, and this is a reasonable judgment, Judge, that is consistent with other similar-type matters that happen every day during the summer on this boardwalk,” Hodgson said.

Prosecutors told the court that the victim’s family, whose daughter was identified only by the initials M.H., agreed to the plea arrangement.

Although one of the girl’s parents attended the hearing virtually, the individual did not appear on camera or address the court directly.

Judge Ryan instead read portions of the family’s victim impact statement into the record.

“The parents recite that, ‘Thank goodness for cameras and cell phones to have documented this incident’,” he said, adding that the family comes from an immigrant background and is “proud of their country and celebrated its independence.”

“The notoriety and publicity of this matter has indicated that they’re proud of their country, love their country, they have core values and refer to the history of their family,” the judge stated.

The judge concluded by noting that the victim and her parents “look forward to justice being served, and they thank all the agencies involved.”

Tracey, who had been living in Asbury Park with her husband, Matt Geroni, for the past three years, originally faced multiple charges, including child endangerment, simple assault, harassment, and obstruction.

Following her arrest, she was initially detained at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark before being transferred to an ICE processing center in Laredo, Texas, where deportation proceedings continued.

Officials have not announced when Tracey will be returned to Canada or whether she will ever be permitted to reenter the United States. During sentencing, however, Judge Ryan indicated that any prohibition on returning would likely remain in place “for a very long time.”

Tracey’s husband did not attend Tuesday’s court hearing. Previously, he posted videos on TikTok criticizing the conditions at the Delaney Hall detention center, describing them as “horrible,” and urging followers to help secure his wife’s release from ICE custody, “even if that means back to Canada.”

Geroni, who refers to himself on social media as the “Jester of the Jersey Shore” and the “Clown of Asbury Park,” has also drawn attention for a series of inflammatory online posts.

Among them were videos posted last August in which he expressed hostility toward President Donald Trump and his family.

“Praying the entire Trump family gets cancer. And I mean everybody, like little kids ….,” one caption read alongside a video showing Geroni kneeling with his hands clasped.

In another post published the following day, he wrote, “Praying the next assassination attempt works.”