Moscow is ready to work toward ending the fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday following a two-hour phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Putin said that Russia and Ukraine would need to find compromises to suit all parties.
Trump has struggled to end a war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and that makes these conversations a serious test of his reputation as a dealmaker after having claimed he would quickly settle the conflict once he was back in the White House, if not even before he took office.
Here's the latest:
Schumer legislation would ban U.S. from using foreign plane as Air Force One
New legislation introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer would ban the U.S. from using a foreign plane as Air Force One.
Schumer is introducing the bill in an effort to prevent President Donald Trump from accepting a new $400 million plane from Qatar.
White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the aircraft “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”
The bill would prevent the U.S. from spending taxpayer dollars to retrofit a foreign-owned plane for presidential use.
“There’s absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure,” Schumer said.
Trump to meet with House Republicans before key vote
President Donald Trump will look to build momentum with House Republicans for his tax cut and immigration bill with a visit to the Capitol on Tuesday.
Trump will meet with House Republicans during their weekly conference meeting, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public.
The legislation Republicans are hoping to pass this summer faces a critical test in the House this week with Speaker Mike Johnson seeking a vote before Memorial Day, even though GOP lawmakers still have some differences on the bill.
Johnson is working to hold his narrow House majority together to pass the president’s top domestic priority of extending the tax breaks while pumping in money for border security and deportations.
Melania Trump makes rare White House appearance
The first lady spoke before the president signed legislation targeting “revenge porn.”
The law will it a federal crime to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent, including AI-created “deepfakes.”
She said that artificial intelligence is “digital candy” for the next generation, “but unlike sugar this new technology can be weaponized.”
Trump spoke after his wife, saying it is “so horrible what takes place.”
Trump hosting Kennedy Center board at the White House as part of push to remake the arts there and nationwide
Trump is hosting the Kennedy Center ’s leadership at the White House, reinforcing how much attention he’s devoting to remaking a premier cultural center amid a larger effort to overhaul the social and ideological dynamics of the national arts scene.
The Monday night meeting of the center’s board in the State Dining Room comes after Trump fired its previous members and announced in February that he’d serve as the board’s chair.
Members include White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Lee Greenwood, whose “God Bless the USA,” plays at Trump rallies as well as many official events.
In the view of Trump and top leaders in his administration, molding the Kennedy Center to his own liking can help create a new arts and social culture nationwide.
Judge bars Trump administration from shutting peace institute that sought to end violent conflicts
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with its dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an organization taken over in March by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the think tank, which was created and funded by Congress to focus on resolving violent conflicts around the globe, was taken over illegally by DOGE through “blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by the organization’s former board members and president, had maintained that the Institute of Peace was established by law as an independent, nonprofit organization. The plaintiffs also argue the firing of the board members did not meet any of the steps required by the law that created the organization.
▶ Read more about the U.S. Institute of Peace
Putin talks to Trump for 2 hours, says Russia is ready to work toward ending fighting in Ukraine
Moscow is ready to work toward ending fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday following the phone call with President Trump.
Putin said Russia and Ukraine would need to find compromises to suit all parties.
▶ Read more about Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine
Supreme Court allows Trump to strip protections from 350,000 Venezuelans; deportations could follow
The court’s order, with only one noted dissent, puts on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month.
The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.
▶ Read more about Trump and Venezuelan immigrants
CBS News CEO quits amid potential Trump lawsuit settlement
CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said Monday that she’s resigning after four years, the latest fallout at the network as its parent company considers settling a lawsuit with President Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with his former political opponent.
McMahon, who’s led both the network news division and news for the CBS-owned stations, said in an email message to staff that “it’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It’s time to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”
McMahon has made clear she opposes settling with Trump — just like “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who quit last month.
▶ Read more about CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon
Appeals court clears the way for Trump’s anti-union order
An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.
The Friday ruling came after the Trump administration asked for an emergency pause on a judge’s order blocking enforcement at roughly three dozen agencies and departments.
The majority ruled on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because Trump hasn’t ended any collective bargaining agreements yet. The government says Trump needs the executive order so his administration can cut the federal workforce to ensure strong national security. Union leaders argue the order is designed to facilitate mass firings.
Trump administration is taking action against travel companies in India
The Trump administration is taking action against travel companies in India that it believes are helping people enter or stay in the U.S. illegally.
The State Department announced in a statement on Monday that it would impose travel bans on “owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies based and operating in India for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States.”
No targets were identified in the statement, which is standard practice when multiple individuals are affected due to privacy laws.
“Our immigration policy aims not only to inform foreign nationals about the dangers of illegal immigration to the United States but also to hold accountable individuals who violate our laws, including facilitators of illegal immigration," the statement said.
Trump call with Putin underway as he hopes for ceasefire progress in Russia-Ukraine war
President Donald Trump has grown “frustrated” 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 war in Ukraine.
Trump expressed his hopes for a “productive day” Monday — and a ceasefire — 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 “more than open” to walking away from trying to end the war if he feels Putin isn’t 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 “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”
The plane is a gift to the U.S. Air Force, she told reporters. It will be retrofitted to the “highest standards” by the Defense Department and the Air Force, she said.
“This plane is not a personal donation or a gift to the president of the United States,” Leavitt said.
Democrats and even some of Trump’s allies have been critical of Trump’s 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 “red line.”
“We are 100% committed to that red line,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made that point “incredibly clear” in discussions with the Iranians.
White House urges Republicans to ‘unite’ behind his “big, beautiful” tax cuts
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s “absolutely essential” that Republicans unite and pass the bill so that Trump can deliver on the agenda he was elected to enact.
The bill narrowly cleared a key House committee during a rare vote Sunday night but it has a long journey through Congress to get to Trump’s desk for his signature in the face of opposition from some GOP lawmakers.
Leavitt said Americans gave Republicans a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to “course correct our country” and “there is no time to waste.”
Vance says U.S. open to ‘walking away’ 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’s war against Ukraine.
“I’d say we’re more than open to walking away,” Vance told reporters before leaving Rome after meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Vance said Trump has been clear that the U.S. “is not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes.”
"We’re gonna try to end it, but if we can end it, we’re eventually gonna say, You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore.”
Trump ‘frustrated’ by Russia and Ukraine ahead of critical calls
President Donald Trump is “frustrated” by both Russia and Ukraine ahead of separate calls Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“He’s grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday morning. “He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible.”
Trump’s 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 Trump’s administration says it’s the most transparent in history.
But his second administration has taken even more drastic steps than his first to shield key documents and information from the public.
It is scrubbing thousands of government websites of history, legal records and data it finds disagreeable.
Such secrecy suggests Trump’s second term will leave less for the nation’s 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 — no matter the facts.
Trump’s massive import taxes haven’t done much economic damage - yet
For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that Trump’s massive import taxes – tariffs – would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom:
Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid 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’t translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.
Still, Trump’s tariffs are huge – the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s
Libraries cut some services after Trump’s order to dismantle small agency
Libraries across the U.S. have cut back on some digital services weeks after the Trump administration’s 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.
Trump’s new executive order targets barcodes on ballots
Trump’s executive order seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted.
Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include “a barcode or quick-response code.” 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 the order that his intention was “to protect election integrity.”
Trump tax cut package advanced out of House committee
Trump’s big bill advances in rare weekend vote: House Republicans narrowly advanced Trump’s big tax cuts package out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote, but just barely, as conservative holdouts are demanding quicker cuts to Medicaid 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 “extreme and toxic bill.”
Former President Biden diagnosed with cancer
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday. Trump posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
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
