Talk of the Town
(WASHINGTON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States are expected to be held in the United Arab Emirates.
“I think that it will be the first trilateral meeting in Emirates. It will be tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said as he spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is considering imposing tariffs on countries that don’t support his efforts to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at an unrelated event on rural health care at the White House.
His comments leave many questions about what it would mean with recent U.S. trade agreements struck with European allies, particularly those with the United Kingdom and European Union.
Trump’s tariff threat comes after European nations have voiced objections to Trump’s repeated messaging about taking over Greenland, either by buying the island territory or by using military force.
In a show of support for Greenland, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that a group of French troops were on the ground there to take part in military exercises with Danish forces and those from other NATO countries, including Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
Macron’s announcement came a day after top officials from Greenland and Denmark, following meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, said “fundamental disagreements” remained with the Trump administration on the issue.
“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting. Rasmussen called that outcome “totally unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House members and senators on Friday touted “constructive” conversations with members of Denmark’s parliament during a delegation trip to Copenhagen.
The group — which included Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, Democratic Sen. Peter Welch, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Democratic Rep. Sarah Jacobs, Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer and others — said the visit was to nurture the relationship between Denmark, Greenland and the United States and to reassure NATO partners that many members of Congress do not support any effort by the United States to acquire Greenland.
“I think it’s important that it be recognized that when it comes to matters of relationships with our friends, with our allies, as we have here in Denmark, as we have in Greenland, that it is — it is not a subject of Republicans versus Democrats. It is a recognition, again, of a strong and continuing relationship over decades,” Murkowski said.
Coons, who led the delegation, said the trip was designed for members of Congress to “listen respectfully” to NATO allies and to return to the United States “share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature”.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric, but there’s not a lot of reality in the current discussion in Washington,” Coons said.
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, one of Greenland’s representatives in the Danish parliament, said the group also discussed pressure that people in Greenland feel in light of President Trump’s recent rhetoric.
“We have also talked about the human dimension, the pressure that people are feeling back home in Greenland. I think it was well received, and of course, they understand the concerns that we have in Greenland,” Larsen said.
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(WASHINGTON) — The House Judiciary Committee wants former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before the panel behind closed doors about his investigations into President Donald Trump.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday requested an interview by Oct. 28 and is demanding documents and communications as well.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — The United States has carried out another strike against an alleged drug vessel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday.
“Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,” Hegseth wrote on X, where he posted a video of the attack.
It marks the 10th strike in international waters around Latin America since early September. Eight of the attacks have occurred in the Caribbean Sea and two took place in the Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth said six people were killed in the overnight attack.
At least 43 people are believed to have been killed in the U.S. strikes so far.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The overnight strike came after two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers flew what was described as a training mission over the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, sources familiar with the operation told ABC News.
The strikes are part of what the administration has called its “war” against drug cartels. But the lethal force has raised several legal questions, as past administrations have relied on law enforcement to interdict drug shipments.
“We’re finally treating the cartels as the core national security threat that they really are. The cartels are waging war on America,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday where he was joined by Hegseth and other officials to discuss the administration actions against cartels.
The president was asked if he would seek a traditional declaration of war from Congress as they ramp up their campaign against drug cartels and traffickers.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead. Okay.”
Trump again hinted at the possibility of land attacks to target drug cartels, saying on Thursday “the land is going to be next.” He previously said he was “looking into” possible land strikes against Venezuela.
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