Trump Says No Deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war was made with Putin

By The Associated Press, 08/15/25

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reach a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska on Friday, as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed but heaped praise on one another.

Putin said he and Trump had reached an "understanding" on Ukraine and warned Europe not to "torpedo the nascent progress." But Trump said, "There's no deal until there's a deal" and said he plans to speak with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders soon.

The high-profile summit ended without an agreement to end, or even pause, the brutal conflict — the largest land war in Europe since 1945 — which has raged for more than three years....

Putin and Trump made statements after the talks but left the room full of reporters without taking questions....

Alaska to Take Center Stage at Trump-Putin Summit

https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/russia-at-war/alaska-to-take-center-stage-at-trump-putin-summit

Alaska will take a rare step into the spotlight as it plays host to the high-stakes summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, creating a key backdrop for a meeting the administration hopes will open a path towards ending the Ukraine war. 

The 49th state has usually taken a place on the periphery of U.S. national politics, especially in recent years. But the setting here is notable as Trump and Putin descend on the former Russian colony for a meeting the former has long sought as part of his promises to end the fighting in Eastern Europe. 

Alaskans believe it is fitting that talks between the two nations will come to their shores.

“You can see the impact of Russian colonialism on Alaska to this day,” said Brandon Boylan, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“If President Trump was going to host President Putin in the U.S. and it wasn’t going to be at the White House, I’m actually not surprised it’s here in Alaska, given the very rich history that Alaska has between the two states,” Boylan said. 

National Guard Troops Arrive in Washington After Trump Declares Federal Control

By Joseph Lord, 08/12/25 

National Guard troops started arriving in Washington on Tuesday to begin enforcing President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement and security. They’re part of an 800-member deployment ordered by the administration.

Trump announced on Monday that he would activate the guard and take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, citing a crime emergency in the city.

Speaking ahead of the National Guard troops’ arrival, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president’s emergency proclamation “is only the beginning.”

She said: “Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety, and endangers law-abiding Americans.”

Leavitt said Tuesday that the addition of National Guardsmen to the federalized D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would assist to “end violent crime in our nation’s capital as part of the President’s massive law enforcement surge.”

Trump Threatens to Federalize D.C. over Lax Approach to Minors Committing Crimes

President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of sending the National Guard to Washington, D.C., as part of his potential plan to take over the federal city to crack down on crimes committed by minors.

Trump threatened to end D.C. home rule on Tuesday if the city did not step up when it comes to prosecuting minors who commit serious crimes. Trump claimed the city's lenient attitudes toward underaged criminals had emboldened them.

The threats come after former 19-year-old Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward Coristine was assaulted by an alleged group of juveniles over the weekend who were apparently trying to carjack a vehicle in Northwest D.C.

Trump was asked whether he would consider taking over Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department as a means to boost law enforcement activity in the capital, to which the president responded he was considering it, NBC News reported.

“We’re considering it. Yeah, because the crime is — is ridiculous,” Trump told reporters. “We have a capital that’s very unsafe, you know, we just almost lost a young man. Beautiful, handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him the night before last. 

The Extreme Legal Theory Behind Trump’s First Month in Office

By Michael Waldman, 02/20/25* 

Over President’s Day weekend, Donald Trump posted, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” This is a quote attributed to Napoleon — you know, the guy who crowned himself emperor. For a long time, the trope went that people who were delusional thought they were Napoleon. No one’s laughing now.  

Less incendiary but perhaps more consequential, yesterday Trump signed an executive order that purports to seize control of independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. These expert bodies fight monopolies, police bank safety, organize the broadcast industry, and more. They are central to the entire edifice of modern government, built up over the past 140 years, which ensures that the free market does not devolve into an abusive free-for-all. 

The new president’s power grab may get clothed in legalistic garb by the highest court in the land, and some academics and advocates will applaud the decision. Very soon, we will be hearing a lot about the “unitary executive theory.” 

The framers of the Constitution were vague about what the president could and could not do. They knew that George Washington would be the first, but beyond that, things were a bit fuzzy. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in 1952 that what they intended “must be divined from materials almost as enigmatic as the dreams Joseph was called upon to interpret for Pharaoh.”

Musk Mobilizes the Masses

Elon Musk isn’t messing around, and he just got a massive scalp to prove it.

The billionaire owner of X started his day by posting a photo of the 1,500-page spending bill in Congress with this question: “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?”

Scores of Musk posts and reposts followed Wednesday, sending members of Congress scrambling to quickly declare their opposition as calls and emails began flooding the Capitol.

By the afternoon, President-elect Donald Trump declared his opposition. And within hours, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pulled the bill he had unveiled just a day earlier.

Trump Says He’s ‘Safe and Well’ After Apparent 2nd Assassination Attempt

Former President Donald Trump said in an emailed statement that he is safe, after the FBI said that it is investigating a suspected assassination attempt after shots were reported in his vicinity at his Florida golf course.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the FBI said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

A representative of U.S. Secret Service said at a news conference on Sept. 15 that Secret Service personnel opened fire on a suspected gunman “located near the property line” of the Trump International Golf Course, adding that it’s under investigation.

Off Topic: The Trump Assassination Attempt…

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