Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump could meet in February, Kremlin says

MOSCOW, Feb 19 – Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could meet this month, although the first face-to-face encounter between a Russian and a U.S. leader since 2021 could take longer to prepare, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Trump said on Tuesday he would probably meet Putin this month and dismissed Ukraine’s concern about being left out of U.S.-Russian talks in…

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See impacted agencies, including NPS, NIH, IRS

In a flurry of activity at the end of the week, the Trump administration fired more than 10,000 federal workers across multiple agencies as part of its “large-scale reductions” in the government workforce. This is likely just the beginning of the job cuts, as President Donald Trump and top White House aide Elon Musk seek to continue slashing…

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Trump moves to slap tariffs on nearly every nation

On Friday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: President Donald Trump made another major move on tariffs Thursday. USA TODAY World Affairs Correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard takes a look at the impact from President Trump’s executive order to freeze spending, pending a review, at the U.S. Agency for International Development. RFK Jr. was sworn in Thursday as Secretary of Health and…

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Trump wants Israel to end ceasefire if hostages aren’t freed by Saturday

On Tuesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Hamas says it will stop releasing hostages, while accusing Israel of ceasefire violations. Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement. USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen breaks down why a group of states sued over billions in research cuts. Also in the courts, a judge extended the pause on…

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China denounces Trump tariff: ‘Fentanyl is America’s problem’

BEIJING — China’s government on Sunday denounced the Trump administration’s imposition of a long-threatened 10% tariff on Chinese imports while leaving the door open for talks with the U.S. that could avoid a deepening conflict. Beijing will challenge President Donald Trump’s tariff at the World Trade Organization — a symbolic gesture — and take unspecified “countermeasures” in response to…

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