Zelenskyy and Vance to meet after Macron warns not to ‘capitulate’ to Russia | First Thing

European leaders to put pressure on US vice-president to involve them in talks over Ukraine. Plus, Texas judge fines New York doctor for mailing abortion pills Good morning. The US vice-president, JD Vance, is to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other European leaders in Munich, after widespread criticism of Donald Trump’s statements on … Read more

Federal employee layoffs begin after Trump and Musk order cuts

The United States government is beginning a new wave of mass firings following President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s order for sweeping cuts. It comes as the Trump administration advised all federal agencies to fire probationary employees, workers who have been on the job for less than a year. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for TODAY.

How Saudi Arabia’s crown prince became a central player in US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a central player in the pursuit of a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, in large part due to the political capital it wields with its massive oil reserves.  President Donald Trump suggested Riyadh as a meeting place to kick off face-to-face talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir … Read more

Cameras have appeared outside homes of Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ activists. Why are they there?

Cameras are hidden in unmarked boxes on utility poles in a move residents and advocates call ‘creepy’ and ‘corrosive’ What appear to be cameras hidden in unmarked boxes have appeared on utility poles outside the Atlanta homes of some people connected to the movement against the police training center known as “Cop City”, raising constitutional … Read more

Want to defeat Trump? Support unions | Eric Blanc

Organized labor could be Trump’s kryptonite Can anybody stop Trumpism? Progressives are understandably worried. Though federal judges may temporarily pause some of the new administration’s most brazenly illegal executive orders, a hyper-conservative supreme court lies waiting in the wings. And looking ahead to 2028, it’s hard to feel hopeful about defeating Maga given that the … Read more

Trump ordered to temporarily lift USAid freeze and allow foreign aid funding

Judge challenges administration’s dismantling of US foreign assistance and sets five-day deadline to prove compliance A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily lift a funding freeze that has shut down US humanitarian aid and development work around the world, and he has set a five-day deadline for the administration to prove it … Read more