US Politics LIVE updates: Saudi Arabia says it has shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca

The House on Tuesday voted to approve a measure that would require President Donald Trump to end his war with Iran, offering a potent political rebuke of the administration’s handling of the war just weeks before the midterms.

This is now the third time that the House — led by Democrats, but with help from at least a few Republicans — has ordered Trump to withdraw troops from Iran.

But Democrats argue this vote is their most important push yet, coming as one of the chamber’s last votes before the November elections.

Seven Republicans backed the measure, up from four GOP votes for the last two resolutions.

Three new Republicans voted with Democrats on Tuesday’s vote: Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, who both represent competitive seats in Iowa, and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is leaving Congress after this term.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly considering providing military support for Saudi Arabia against the Houthis after the kingdom requested it.

Saudi Arabia asked the British government for operational support to help the Saudi military fight off the Iran-backed group's push along Yemen's Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and to defend against Houthi strikes, according to Bloomberg.

The Houthi advances and ensuing attacks forced Saudi Arabia to close the east-to-west oil pipeline, which carries 4 per cent of global crude.

It's not expected to be reopened for about six weeks.

Reports say Burnham has been advised that further Houthi advances risk the safety of international shipping, which could trigger soaring energy prices in Britain. 

He is understood to have agreed to send British military advisors to Saudi Arabia to support its effort.

The Saudi government previously asked the United States for military assistance.

In a rare display of bipartisan unity, Republican and Democratic legislators have recommended that Jeffrey Epstein-linked billionaire Leon Black be held in contempt of Congress.

Members of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee unanimously decided after Black refused to appear this month for a sworn deposition and produce requested nondisclosure agreements.

Black is the former chief executive of a private equity firm that members of Congress say funnelled millions to Epstein.

Republican Representative James Comer, the committee chair, said Black is “hiding behind litigation to delay having to provide answers to the American people”.

Donald Trump plans to send Israel 20,000 one-tonne bombs, previously withheld by the Biden administration over concerns it could cause mass civilian casualties in Gaza.

They’re part of a proposed $US2.8 billion ($3.9 billion) weapons sale to Israel.The package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Such weapons prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.

The one-tonne bombs have been dropped multiple times in deadly attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel regularly deployed MK-84 bombs in parts of Gaza it had designated as safe for civilians, The New York Times reported in 2023.

Saudi Arabia’s military has intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of the holy city of Mecca as it attempted to enter the site’s airspace.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, said it was the second Houthi attempt to target the holy site following an attempted ballistic missile attack in 2017.

He said coalition forces will not hesitate to take all necessary measures against the Houthi threat.

They come from the radical ends if American politics, but Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon have appeared on the same stage to sound the alarm on rapid advances by AI.

Sanders, the democratic socialist senator, and Bannon, the former Trump adviser and ardent MAGA supporter, did not sit beside each other at the Washington DC event but spoke just a few moments apart, reports CNN.

Sanders told the Pro-Human Assembly that AI will wipe out jobs, create a “mass surveillance state,” compromise people’s well-being and jeopardise the integrity of elections.

Bannon spoke of the world reaching a “Cold War moment” from a technology Americans did not ask for. He accused AI firms of trying to form a cartel to control the technology.

Their comments show they’re poles apart from the views of Donald Trump about risks from AI, who described them as a “hoax”.

New photographs obtained by CBS News show how Iranian air strikes inflicted major damage on American bases across the Middle East.

Members of the US military deployed to the region sent the images to the broadcaster on condition of anonymity due to strict media regulations in the armed services.

"This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public," one armed forces member said.

"We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face."

One photo shows the wreck of a $US300 million ($420 million) Boeing E-3 Sentry reconnaissance plane at the Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, following a direct hit by Iranian projectiles.

In another, smoke can be seen billowing from a large building at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a pivotal staging post for the US Army.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has maintained Iranian drones and missiles have caused only minor damage to American bases.

The Pentagon did not respond to CBS' request for comment.

Here is some of Trump’s reaction to the court ruling that his name cannot be added to the Kennedy Centre building.

Writing in a Truth Social post shortly after the board voted to close the cultural centre, Trump said that repair works would not start until after an appeal court rules on a Justice Department appeal of Judge Christopher Cooper’s earlier order barring the first renaming, with Trump’s name on the building.

“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the US Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” the president wrote.

He also announced that he has raised $US17 million to date in donations for the center to “keep it afloat”.

The Associated Press is also reporting exchanges between Trump and board members at the virtual meeting on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

It included clashes between Trump and Democrat Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who has led the campaign to block efforts to memorialise the president at the Kennedy Center.

At one point, Beatty referred to Trump as someone who caused “extreme harm,” according to a participant in the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Trump said Beatty was “incompetent” and “holding up everything”.

The Kennedy Center board voted on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) to close most of the famous arts venue just hours after a US federal judge blocked the institution from returning Donald Trump’s name to the building.

The president wrote on Truth Social the closure was needed for safety repairs.But he also said the overhaul would only go ahead if the board, stacked with his backers, was allowed to add his name to the building.

A federal judge has twice said that can’t happen without the approval of Congress.

“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” District Judge Christopher Cooper said in the latest ruling.

- With The Associated Press