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.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is co-founding Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup positioned to compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink. According to The Financial Times, the company plans to raise $250 million at an $850 million valuation, with a large portion of its funding expected from OpenAI’s ventures arm.
Igor Babuschkin, co-founder of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, announced Wednesday that he is leaving the company to start his own venture capital firm, Babuschkin Ventures. The new firm will focus on AI safety research and funding startups that aim to “advance humanity and unlock the mysteries of our universe.”
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.”
China has imposed a 75.8 percent tariff on Canadian canola products, accusing Ottawa of “dumping” underpriced canola seed into the Chinese market to harm domestic farmers. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the measure Tuesday, with implementation beginning Thursday. Beijing’s move is widely viewed as retaliation for Canada’s 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) last year under then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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!”
An Illinois judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Illinois State Sen. Jil Walker Tracy that sought to arrest 33 Texas House Democrats who fled the state to block legislative action. The case, filed in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Adams County, aimed to domesticate Texas quorum warrants so Illinois law enforcement could detain the lawmakers and return them to Texas.
Three Pittsylvania County, Virginia, deputies were injured Wednesday night while serving warrants in the town of Gretna after a suspect allegedly opened fire on them. The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said the deputies were not directly struck by bullets but were wounded by shrapnel during the exchange. All three sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover.
