Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced he will step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July’s parliamentary election. Ishiba, who took office in October, had resisted growing demands from within his own party for more than a month. Sunday’s resignation came one day before his Liberal Democratic Party was to decide whether to hold an early leadership election, a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved. Ishiba said he would start a process to hold a party leadership vote to choose his replacement and that there was no need for the motion.

President Donald Trump is planning to join an evening patrol in the nation’s capital. Trump told a conservative commentator that he'd be going out “with the police and the military” in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening. It would be just the latest show of force from the White House amid the Republican's controversial crackdown on the Democratic-led city. Federal and local police have been deploying vehicle checkpoints and sometimes asking people about their immigration status. The activities are rattling people in some of the city neighborhoods. One daycare was partially closed Thursday when staff became fearful about possible federal agents nearby.

Oklahoma will require applicants for teaching jobs from California and New York to pass an exam that the state’s top education official says is designed to safeguard against “radical leftist ideology.” Opponents decry the exam as a “MAGA loyalty test.” Ryan Walters, the state public schools superintendent, said Monday that any teacher coming from the two blue states will be required to pass Oklahoma’s PragerU assessment test before getting a certification. PragerU is short for Prager University and promotes itself as a leading conservative nonprofit. State education officials say the 50-question test is finalized and will be rolling out “very soon.”

Conservative activist Laura Loomer complained on social media about children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioned how they got visas. The next day, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told “Face the Nation” on CBS that the action came after ”outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it.” Loomer had posted videos of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month for medical treatment with the aid of an organization called HEAL Palestine. The organization says it brings “severely injured children” to the U.S. on temporary visas for treatment they can’t get at home.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno has emerged as an interlocutor for conservatives in Latin America seeking to connect with the Trump administration. The Bogota-born Moreno visits Colombia this week as part of a three-nation Latin America tour. The Ohio senator defeated an incumbent last year with the help of Donald Trump’s endorsement and the highest political ad spending in U.S. Senate race history. He expressed concern in an interview with The Associated Press about Colombia's direction under President Gustavo Petro and suggested that U.S. sanctions might be needed. Moreno also will visit Mexico, focusing on cooperation against drug cartels, and Panama.