Washington state violated federal safety rules when it granted a commercial driver’s licence to an illegal immigrant now accused of vehicular homicide in a deadly Florida car crash, and New Mexico State Police did not administer a required English Language Proficiency test during a traffic stop involving the same individual, a preliminary review from the Department of Transportation found.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that he had launched an investigation into an August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County, where a semi-truck driver allegedly made an illegal U-turn that caused a fatal collision with a minivan, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. Authorities have identified the driver of the truck as 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who crossed into the country in 2018. 

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A 37-year-old woman, a 54-year-old man, and a 30-year-old man died in the crash. Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide. Duffy said the investigation by the feds would support Florida’s criminal investigation. 

“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Duffy said. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures.”

Duffy said that the probe from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would focus on Singh and White Hawk Carriers, the California-based company that owned the truck involved in the crash, which has a history of safety violations. 

Initial findings from the Department of Transportation indicate that Washington issued Singh a regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) on July 15, 2023, even though illegal immigrants and asylum seekers are not eligible for such licenses. 

California also issued Singh a limited-term/non-domiciled CDL on July 23, 2024. Duffy said that the issuance of this license was still under investigation to determine if it was done in accordance with federal law. The Trump administration and California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom have clashed in recent days over responsibility for the fatal crash. 

The investigation also found that Singh was pulled over by New Mexico State Police on July 3, and given a roadside inspection and speeding ticket. Investigators found that law enforcement did not administer an English Language Proficiency test despite being required to under Trump administration guidelines implemented on June 25. 

When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interviewed Singh, officials found that he was not proficient in English and did not understand basic road signs. He could only provide correct responses on two out of twelve verbal questions and only identified one out of four highway traffic signs, investigators found. 

“Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles,” Duffy added. “We will use every tool at our disposal to hold these states and bad actors accountable. President Trump and I will restore safety to our roads. The families of the deceased deserve justice.”

President Trump renews his push to eliminate mail-in voting by executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms. The U.S. Navy deploys three destroyers off the coast of Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s escalating war on drug cartels. The White House touts a string of recent victories, including progress on a Ukraine peace deal, a sharp drop in D.C. crime, and a record-high stock market.

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Trump Vows to End ‘Corrupt’ Mail-In Voting

Topline: President Trump announced on Monday that he is renewing his push to eliminate mail-in voting nationwide by executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, calling the practice a “fraud.”

“We’re going to stop mail-in ballots because it’s corrupt,” Trump said Monday, arguing that it is the “only way” Democrats can win elections. The president is also taking aim at electronic voting machines, which he called “seriously controversial,” in favor of watermarked paper ballots. The expected executive order is likely to face immediate legal challenges, as states constitutionally control election administration.

Democrats have vowed to fight the move. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) said any measure making it harder to vote would be “dead on arrival in the Senate.” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold called Trump a “weak president grasping at straws,” and claimed that mail ballots do not help one party over another. However, data from the 2024 election shows that Democrats were significantly more likely than Republicans to vote by mail, with an 18-point split between the two parties.

U.S. Deploys Warships to Confront Venezuelan Cartel

Topline: The U.S. Navy has deployed three guided-missile destroyers to international waters off the coast of Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s escalating military confrontation with Latin American drug cartels.

The deployment includes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 4,000 sailors and Marines, P-8 spy planes, and at least one attack submarine. The move is a direct challenge to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. has indicted and designated as the head of a “narco terror cartel.” Maduro responded by threatening to deploy 4.5 million of his own militiamen.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump “is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.” The U.S. currently has a $50 million bounty on Maduro.

The military action has a historical precedent. In 1989, former President George H.W. Bush sent 20,000 troops into Panama to arrest dictator Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. That invasion was justified by a legal memo asserting the president’s authority to arrest fugitives in other countries.

White House Touts Wins on Peace, Crime, and Economy

Topline: The Trump administration is touting a series of major victories on foreign and domestic policy, including significant progress toward a peace deal in Ukraine, a dramatic drop in D.C. crime, and a record-high stock market.

Following his summit with Vladimir Putin, President Trump is pushing for a trilateral meeting with the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to finalize a peace deal immediately. European leaders, who had previously been critical of Trump, are now expressing optimism about his approach after he secured a major concession from Putin on a U.S.-backed security guarantee for Ukraine.

At home, the federal takeover of the D.C. police is yielding dramatic results. The D.C. Police Union reports that in the last seven days, carjackings are down 83%, robberies are down 46%, and violent crime is down 22%. Attorney General Pam Bondi says nearly 500 arrests have been made since the crackdown began.

The economic news is also positive. The DOW Jones Industrial Average touched an all-time high on Tuesday, defying predictions of a bear market. A new poll of economists shows that a majority now expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September, a move Trump has long advocated for that would likely boost the housing market.