President Donald Trump thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for the release of 16 prisoners, urging him to release an additional 1,300 prisoners.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered rare public praise for the Trump administration on Thursday, calling it “energetic and sincere” just one day before his first in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since 2019. The talks, set for Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, will mark Putin’s first visit to American soil in a decade.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is urging President Donald Trump to ban AR-15 rifles as part of a broader push to address violent crime in U.S. cities. Appearing Tuesday on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, Scott said, “The president could also do some very simple things for us, Jake. Not just for Baltimore, but for the whole country… The president can say, no one will no longer be able to go into a store and buy an AR-15.”
Georgia’s 2026 gubernatorial race is still nearly a year away, but major endorsements are already shaping the field. President Donald Trump formally endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones this week, signaling his choice in the Republican primary. In a social media post with multiple phrases in all caps, Trump praised Jones for being one of the first in the Georgia Legislature to endorse his presidential campaign and for working “tirelessly” in 2016, 2020, and 2024. He concluded, “Burt Jones for governor has my complete and total endorsement – he will never let you down!”
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate part of the federal grant funding it recently suspended for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) over civil rights violations and antisemitism concerns.
Speaking from the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the honorees for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors and confirmed he will personally host the event. Trump said he initially declined the invitation, joking, “Are you fools asking me to do that? I’m President of the United States. I won’t do it.” He ultimately agreed after a request from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, saying, “Okay Susie, I’ll do it. That’s the power she’s got.”
The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy to permanently end race-based admissions policies, concluding a lawsuit brought by Students for Fair Admissions Inc. The group, which has successfully challenged affirmative action in higher education, dropped its legal challenges this week after the Trump administration secured the agreement.
