President Donald Trump is hoping that separate phone calls Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make progress toward a ceasefire in the .
Trump expressed his hopes for a 鈥減roductive day鈥� Monday 鈥� and a ceasefire 鈥� in a social media post over the weekend. His effort will also include calls to NATO leaders.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the upcoming conversation would be 鈥渋mportant, given the talks that took place in Istanbul鈥� last week between Russian and Ukrainian officials, the first such negotiations since March 2022.
Trump has struggled to end a war that began with Russia鈥檚 invasion in February 2022, and that makes these conversations a serious test of his reputation as a dealmaker after having claimed he would once he was back in the White House, if not even before he took office.
Here's the latest:
Trump call with Putin underway as he hopes for ceasefire progress in Russia-Ukraine war
President Donald Trump has grown 鈥渇rustrated鈥� with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House said Monday ahead of separate calls Trump is holding in hopes of making progress toward a ceasefire in the .
Trump expressed his hopes for a 鈥減roductive day鈥� Monday 鈥� and a ceasefire 鈥� in a social media post over the weekend. His effort will also include calls to NATO leaders. But ahead of the call, Vice President JD Vance said Trump is 鈥渕ore than open鈥� to walking away from trying to end the war if he feels Putin isn鈥檛 serious about negotiation.
The call was underway shortly after 10 a.m., press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, promising additional details after it concludes.
Trump administration will accept Boeing 747 donation from Qatar
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the aircraft 鈥渨ill be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.鈥�
The plane is a gift to the U.S. Air Force, she told reporters. It will be retrofitted to the 鈥渉ighest standards鈥� by the Defense Department and the Air Force, she said.
鈥淭his plane is not a personal donation or a gift to the president of the United States,鈥� Leavitt said.
Democrats and even some of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 allies have been critical of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 decision to accept the gift from Qatar for use as a future Air Force One.
Leavitt says U.S. will insist that Iran give up uranium enrichment
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not have details Monday on the next round of nuclear talks with Iran but said the U.S. is committed to insisting that Iran give up the enrichment of uranium, what Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday called a 鈥渞ed line.鈥�
鈥淲e are 100% committed to that red line,鈥� Leavitt said.
Leavitt said Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made that point 鈥渋ncredibly clear鈥� in discussions with the Iranians.
White House urges Republicans to 鈥榰nite鈥� behind his 鈥渂ig, beautiful鈥� tax cuts
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it鈥檚 鈥渁bsolutely essential鈥� that Republicans unite and pass the bill so that Trump can deliver on the agenda he was elected to enact.
The during a rare vote Sunday night but it has a long journey through Congress to get to 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 desk for his signature in the face of opposition from some GOP lawmakers.
Leavitt said Americans gave Republicans a 鈥渙nce-in-a-generation鈥� opportunity to 鈥渃ourse correct our country鈥� and 鈥渢here is no time to waste.鈥�
Vance says U.S. open to 鈥榳alking away鈥� from Ukraine war talks
Vice President JD Vance says the U.S. is open to walking away from trying to negotiate a ceasefire to end Russia鈥檚 war against Ukraine.
鈥淚鈥檇 say we鈥檙e more than open to walking away,鈥� Vance told reporters before leaving Rome after meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Vance said Trump has been clear that the U.S. 鈥渋s not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes.鈥�
"We鈥檙e gonna try to end it, but if we can end it, we鈥檙e eventually gonna say, You know what? That was worth a try, but we鈥檙e not doing it anymore.鈥�
Trump 鈥榝rustrated鈥� by Russia and Ukraine ahead of critical calls
President Donald Trump is 鈥渇rustrated鈥� by both Russia and Ukraine ahead of separate calls Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine鈥檚 Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
鈥淗e鈥檚 grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday morning. 鈥淗e has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible.鈥�
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 call with Putin is set to take place around 10 a.m. to be followed by his conversation with Zelenskyy.
Trump takes steps to shield information from the public
Donald 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 administration says it鈥檚 the most transparent in history.
But his second administration has taken even more drastic steps than his first to shield key
It thousands of government websites of history, legal records and data it finds disagreeable.
Such secrecy suggests 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 second term will leave less for the nation鈥檚 historical record than any before it. It also suggests that what the administration does eventually authorize for release will be sanitized to reinforce a public image the president himself wants projected 鈥� no matter the facts.
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 massive import taxes haven鈥檛 done much economic damage - yet
For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 massive import taxes 鈥� tariffs 鈥� would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don鈥檛 match the doom and gloom:
Inflation actually , and in April.
For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didn鈥檛 translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.
Still, 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 tariffs are huge 鈥� the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s
Libraries cut some services after 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 order to dismantle small agency
Libraries across the U.S. services weeks after the Trump administration鈥檚 move to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Maine has temporarily closed its state library and others across the country have paused their interlibrary loan programs. The reductions in services coincide with a lawsuit filed by more than 20 state attorneys general and the American Library Association to restore funding.
They argue only Congress has the authority to control federal spending. E-book and audiobook programs are especially vulnerable to budget cuts, even though those offerings have exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic.
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 new executive order targets barcodes on ballots
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted.
Voting equipment, it says, Those few technical words could have a big impact.
Voting machines that give all voters a ballot with one of those codes are used in hundreds of counties across 19 states.
Trump, in justifying the move, said in that his intention was 鈥渢o protect election integrity.鈥�
Trump tax cut package advanced out of House committee
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 big bill advances in rare weekend vote: House Republicans narrowly advanced 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 big tax cuts package out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote, but just barely, as conservative holdouts are demanding and green energy programs before giving their full support.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.
Democrats say they will fight what House party leader Hakeem Jeffries calls an 鈥渆xtreme and toxic bill.鈥�
Former President Biden diagnosed with cancer
Former President has been his office said Sunday. Trump posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and 鈥渨e wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.鈥�
The finding came after the 82-year-old reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to discover a nodule on his prostate. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.
The Associated Press
