USA TODAY is reporting that President Donald Trump used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to threaten to "annihilate" Iran, predict the demise of Cuba's government, tout oil "spoils" won from assaulting Venezuela and attack international organizations for infringing on the United States. It said Trump's prediction that Cuba's government would collapse prompted the country's delegation to walk out of the assembly hall. The president called Cuba "an absolutely failed state" that "will fall," adding that the U.S. would not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America.
USA TODAY also is reporting that Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, is demanding a congressional investigation into Donald Trump Jr. after a Russian oligarch bankrolled his private island wedding party in the Bahamas in May. It said the criticism from Curtis represented a striking departure from the GOP's general reluctance to use its congressional oversight powers to scrutinize the Trump family. USA TODAY reported that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, declined to comment on Curtis' request before reading his colleague's letter, telling a reporter, "I just got to town."
In an exclusive interview, USA TODAY is reporting that Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking advantage of U.S.-led peace negotiations with Ukraine to buy more time on the battlefield. It said Tsahkna issued some of the sharpest European criticism of the White House's efforts to end the war, saying, "Putin has just used Trump to win more time and put more pressure on Ukraine."
USA TODAY also is reporting that a Suffolk poll shows Democrat El-Sayed leading in the Michigan Senate race, a contest key to control of the Senate, with half of voters casting their ballot "to change the direction" of the president. It said Trump has voiced support for a temporary ban on U.S. diesel exports, a proposal Republican midterm candidates are pushing to lower fuel prices.