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Trump’s plan to give Ukrainian land to Russia ‘a capitulation,’ Germany warns, as Putin thanks North Korea for troops

Ceding large swathes of Ukrainian land to Russia under a peace proposal suggested by US President Donald Trump would be “a capitulation,” Germany’s defense minister warned on Sunday, as North Korea acknowledged for the first time it had deployed troops to fight for Moscow.

Ukraine knew that it may have to cede some territory to reach a lasting ceasefire deal “but they will certainly not go as far — or should not go as far — as the latest proposal by the American president,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told German public broadcaster ARD.

“Ukraine on its own could have got a year ago already what was included in that (Trump proposal), practically through a capitulation,” he said. “I cannot discern any added value.”

Trump has been frustrated that his efforts to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv after three years of war have so far fallen short, and the White House has since mounted an increasingly urgent push to strike a deal.

A US peace plan includes American recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea – the southern Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed more than a decade ago – and would grant Russia additional Ukrainian territory occupied since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to officials familiar with the plan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday conceded that Ukraine lacks the military might needed to retake Crimea by force but has long made it clear that making territorial concessions is a red line. Recognizing Crimea as Russian would also be illegal under Ukraine’s constitution.

“This [territory] is not my property. This is the property of the Ukrainian people,” he said at a Friday briefing.

Following Trump and Zelensky’s remarkable face-to-face meeting at the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, the US president said they briefly discussed the issue of Crimea and that he believes Zelensky “wants to make a deal.”

Trump also criticized President Vladimir Putin in some of his strongest comments against the Russian leader to date.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said Sunday as he returned to Washington to begin what aides say will be a critical week in determining the future of US-led efforts to broker an end to the war. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform sent as he returned from Rome, Trump raised the prospect of applying new sanctions on Russia after its deadly assault on Kyiv last week, and questioned whether Putin is interested in peace, saying, “it makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

The next week will be “very critical” in determining whether the US can continue attempting to broker peace in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday, telling NBC that “we’re close” to a deal “but not close enough.”

North Korean troops in Kursk

On Monday, North Korea publicly acknowledged for the first time that it deployed troops to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, touting its combat sub-units’ contributions to “precious victory” in the invaded Russian region of Kursk.

“The operations for liberating the Kursk area to repel the adventurous invasion of the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian authorities were victoriously concluded,” North Korea’s Central Military Commission said, according to state-run news agency KCNA.

Putin on Saturday claimed his country’s forces have recaptured Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Kyiv insists its troops are fiercely battling to preserve their foothold in the territory.

“Our Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship,” Putin said in a statement Monday.

“We pay tribute to the heroism, high level of special training and self-sacrifice of the Korean soldiers who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our homeland as their own,” he added.

North Korean soldiers have been supporting Russia’s battle to oust Ukraine’s forces from its borders, while Kyiv had poured precious resources into holding onto its territory there, with the view of using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. The operation was also launched to relieve pressure from the embattled eastern front line.

Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence reports found that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to fight in Russia, but Pyongyang had never confirmed their presence.

In March, South Korea’s military said 3,000 more North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia, replacing the roughly 4,000 troops who were killed or injured in combat.

North Korea’s Central Military Commission said leader Kim Jong Un ordered the deployments based on a strategic partnership treaty with Russia, KCNA reported.

Putin and Kim signed a landmark defense pact in Pyongyang last year, as the two autocratic nations ramped up ties to a “new level,” and pledged to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked.

“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim reportedly said, adding that a monument would be erected to commemorate his troops’ actions.

Russia acknowledged the involvement of North Korean soldiers in its operations for the first time on Saturday. In a post on Telegram, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, thanked the North Korean soldiers, praising their “high professionalism, steadfastness, courage and heroism in battle.”

As well as troops, South Korea’s military said in March that North Korea has sent a “significant amount” of short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of pieces of 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.

The US Department of State said it was concerned by North Korea’s direct involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine

North Korea’s “military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to (North Korea) in return must end,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that North Korea had “effectively admitted to its criminal actions” by finally officially announcing the deployment.

“North Korea’s involvement in the war in Ukraine is a violation of UN resolutions and an illegal act that threatens world peace. This must be condemned by the international community,” the ministry added.

North Korea’s confirmation that its troops were fighting in Russia, months after they were deployed, mirrors Putin’s long-standing denials that Russian troops had been deployed to Crimea in 2014.

The crisis there started shortly after 2014 mass protests in Ukraine that toppled the country’s Russian-backed regime of Viktor Yanukovych. Russian soldiers dressed as civilians or in uniform without identifying insignia – at the time referred to as “little green men” – started popping up outside government buildings and military bases across Crimea.

While Moscow denied any involvement in the appearance of the little green men in Crimea, the territory held a sham referendum on joining Russia just weeks after the covert operation. Putin would later acknowledge he had deployed Russian troops there.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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China rejects Trump’s claim that Xi has called him by phone

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has not spoken to US President Donald Trump on the phone recently, Beijing said Monday, reiterating that no talks are taking place between the two countries to resolve their tariff war.

The statement from a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson is an outright rejection of Trump’s claim in an interview with Time magazine last week that Xi had called him, as the world’s two largest economies remain locked in a dispute over sky-high trade levies.

“As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state,” Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference. “I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue.”

China has maintained its tough public stance on the trade war even as Trump softened his tone last week, saying that astronomical US tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially” and promising to be “very nice” at the negotiating table as he attempts to get Xi to initiate talks.

“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump said, referring to Xi, in the Time interview published on Friday.

According to publicly available records, the last time the two leaders spoke by phone was on January 17, days before Trump’s inauguration for his second term.

Since last week, Trump has repeatedly said that his administration is talking with Chinese officials to strike a trade deal – only to be met with flat denials from Beijing each time.

On Friday, hours before Trump’s interview with Time was published, China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US not to “mislead the public” on trade negotiations between the two sides.

Trump’s apparent willingness to deescalate the trade war has been brushed off by Beijing, which has instead demanded the US remove all tariffs on China.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has imposed levies of 145% on Chinese goods, though he exempted imports of electronics such as smartphones and computers from his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs.

China has raised tariffs on US imports to 125%, but it has also quietly rolled back the levies on some semiconductors made in the United States, according to import agencies, as Beijing tries to soften the blow of the trade war on its all-important tech industry.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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China and Philippines unfurl competing flags on disputed South China Sea sandbars, reviving tensions

China and the Philippines have each unfurled their national flags on tiny sandbars in the South China Sea, staking competing sovereignty claims in strategic waters seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflict.

The rival photo opportunities unfolded on Sandy Cay, a string of three uninhabited sandbars which lie near a Philippine military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands.

The release of the images comes as US and Philippine forces hold their largest-ever annual joint military drills in nearby waters – and just weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to enhance America’s military alliance with the Philippines to “reestablish deterrence” to counter “China’s aggression” in the region – during his first trip to Asia.

Bracketed by China and several Southeast Asian nations, parts of the vital South China Sea are claimed by multiple governments, but Beijing has asserted ownership over almost all of the waterway, in defiance of an international court ruling.

Over the past two decades, China has occupied a number of obscure reefs and atolls far from its shoreline across the South China Sea, building up military installations, including runways and ports.

The public relations wrestling match over Sandy Cay risks further stoking long-running tensions between the Philippines and China. It also poses a key test to the Trump administration on how it will respond, especially as key cabinet officials have repeatedly emphasized the need for the US to focus its attention and resources on countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Competing claims

The latest maritime dispute surfaced last week, when China’s state-controlled media claimed that China Coast Guard “implemented maritime control” and “exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over Tiexian Reef – the Chinese name for Sandy Cay – in mid-April.

A photo aired on China’s state broadcaster Saturday showed four Chinese officers in black uniforms walking along the white sandbar as a fifth officer held an inflatable boat by the water. Another photo showed four officers holding up a Chinese flag in what the broadcaster described as “a show of sovereignty.”

“China Coast Guard officers landed on Tiexian Reef to conduct patrols and recorded video evidence of the illegal activities carried out by the Philippine side,” said the state broadcaster CCTV. It added that the officers also cleaned up leftover plastic bottles, wooden sticks and other debris on the reef.

The Philippines was quick to unleash its own publicity move in response, sending teams to multiple sandbars.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Philippines Coast Guard said the country’s navy, coast guard and police deployed four teams in rubber boats to Pag-asa Cay 1, Cay 2 and Cay 3 – names the Philippines uses to refer to Sandy Cay.

During the inter-agency operation, the officers “observed the illegal presence” of a nearby China Coast Guard vessel and seven Chinese maritime militia vessels.

An image posted by Philippines Coast Guard spokesperson, Jay Tarriela, on X showed five officers holding the national flag on a white sandbar.

In a statement late on Sunday night, a spokesperson for the China Coast Guard said six personnel from the Philippines had “illegally landed” on the Tiexian Reef despite “warnings and dissuasion” from the Chinese side.

“China Coast Guard law enforcement officers then boarded the reef to verify and deal with the situation in accordance with the law,” spokesperson Liu Dejun said, urging the Philippines to “immediately stop its infringement.”

At a press conference Monday, Tarriela said each team had brought with them a Philippine flag to pose for photos on the sandbars on early Sunday morning.

“The other objective of our operation is to check whether the Chinese government installed different infrastructure or monitoring devices or whatsoever,” Tarriela told reporters.

“(From) the photos and videos we have already, we can totally debunk the lie and disinformation the People’s Republic of China that they have already occupied the Pag-asa cays.”

Military alliance

Confrontations between China and the Philippines in the contested waters have become increasingly fraught in recent years, fueling fears of a global conflict that could drag in the US, a mutual defense ally of Manila.

Sandy Cay lie near Thitu Island, known as Pag-asa Island by Manila and the site of a Philippines military facility. In 2023, Manila opened a coast guard monitoring base there to counter what it called Chinese aggression in the vital waterway.

Under the Biden administration, US officials repeatedly assured the Philippine that the US would come to its defense if attacked in the South China Sea.

US President Donald Trump is a more mercurial figure who has long viewed historical US agreements through a more mercantile lens and has called for allies to pay more for protection.

But Trump’s cabinet contains vocal China hawks, notably Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have both spoken publicly on needing to push back against China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

On April 21, the US and the Philippines kicked off their annual Balikatan – meaning “shoulder to shoulder” – military exercises, which are expected to run for three weeks and have grown in scale each year.

This year, the US military has deployed an anti-ship missile launcher for the first time on the northern tip of the Philippine archipelago, just across the strait from Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing has vowed to take by force if necessary.

The Philippines also hosted Japanese forces as full-fledged participants for the first time as party of the multinational military drills, a sign of strengthening security cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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Yemen’s Houthis claim dozens killed in alleged US airstrike on prison holding African migrants

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a US airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The US military had no immediate comment.

The strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country’s decadelong war to kill African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations who risk crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as “Operation Rough Rider,” which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The US military’s Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,” Central Command said. “We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada.

Graphic footage shows aftermath

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

The rebels’ Civil Defense organization said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack.

Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there.

A woman’s voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: “In the name of God.” An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.

African migrants caught in middle

Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators “received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.”

Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.

Monday’s alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis back in 2022 on the same compound, which caused a collapse killing 66 detainees and wounding 113 others, a United Nations report later said. The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the U.N. said. The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the U.N. said it was known to be a detention facility.

“The coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility,” the U.N. report added.

That 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in the years long war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels and came after the Houthis struck inside the UAE twice with missiles and drones, killing three in a strike near Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

US military: 800 strikes conducted so far

Meanwhile, US airstrikes overnight targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people, the Houthis said. The American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign.

The overnight statement from Central Command also said “Operation Rough Rider” had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials.

“Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,” the statement said. “The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.”

“We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region,” it added.

The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are also the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

US discusses deadly port strike

The US is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

“US strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel, which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should “quickly hand over” the devices to authorities.

“A field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals,” the Houthis warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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Defunding DEI: Here’s how the Trump administration has undone Biden’s very prized programs

President Donald Trump shut down all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices across the federal government during his first week in office and signed a number of executive orders to quickly undo former President Joe Biden’s efforts. 

The president, just hours after taking the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. He also quickly signed an order making it ‘the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.’ 

A day later, the president directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to notify heads of agencies and departments to close all DEI offices and place those government workers in those offices on paid leave. 

That move quickly forced those offices to take down all outward facing media — websites, social media accounts, and more — for those DEI offices, and required the withdrawal of any final pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans. 

Trump also canceled current and impending contracts focused on DEI initiatives, with Elon Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that move saved the federal government $420 million. 

The president also issued two other executive actions that day targeting DEI. 

One was an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI. 

The other was a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration. 

In the memo rolling back Biden’s DEI hiring practices at the FAA, Trump ordered the secretary of transportation and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden’s DEI hiring programs and return to nondiscriminatory, merit-based hiring.

Trump also required that the FAA administrator review the past performance and performance standards of all agency employees in critical safety positions and make it clear that anyone who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure flight safety and efficiency.

‘Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,’ the memo read.

The memo stated: ‘All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.’

Trump also rescinded Biden’s order on diversity initiatives, ‘Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,’ which he signed on his first day in office in 2021. 

In February, the Department of Education also warned state education departments that they must remove DEI policies or risk losing federal funding.

That move came after Trump signed executive orders directing agencies to provide a plan to eliminate federal funding for ‘illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.’

 

The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the cancellation of such programs across the private sector. 

Meta, in January, canceled its DEI programs, as did McDonald’s. And after the 2024 election, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota also ended DEI programs. 

As recently as April, according to Forbes, IBM, Gannett, and Constellation Brands Inc., made changes to DEI policies. Earlier this year, UnitedHealth Group, MLB, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Disney, GE, PayPal, Chipotle and more scaled back or canceled their DEI programs. 

Meanwhile, in March, the National Institutes of Health rescinded the agency’s ‘Scientific Integrity Policy’ implemented during the last few weeks of Biden’s term, to peel back any DEI requirements. 

That Biden-era policy said that DEI was an ‘integral’ part of ‘the entire scientific process,’ and pushed NIH’s chief scientist and top scientific integrity official to ‘promote agency efforts regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.’ It also instituted agency-wide policy directives ordering supervisors at the NIH to ‘support’ scientists and researchers who are ‘asexual’ or ‘intersex,’ while imploring NIH leadership to ‘confer with relevant offices’ when additional DEI expertise is needed.  

‘The Biden administration weaponized NIH’s scientific integrity policy to inject harmful DEI and gender ideology into research,’ said Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, Andrew Nixon. ‘Rescinding this (scientific integrity) policy will allow NIH to restore science to its golden standard and protect the integrity of science.’      

The Biden administration also funded grants related to DEI, such as one for roughly $165,000 that was focused on ‘queering the curriculum’ for family medicine doctors to guide them in their treatment of transgender patients. Those grants have been canceled. 

And earlier this week, multiple federal agencies told Fox News Digital that they have dropped millions of dollars in contracts for LinkedIn services over the business social network’s embrace of DEI. 

The Departments of Treasury, Interior and Veterans Affairs dropped LinkedIn — a move to comply with the president’s executive orders banning federal agencies from contracting with companies that embrace DEI policies. 

‘Every American taxpayer should be angry that the Biden administration wasted so much money on contracts like these,’ an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘Under the leadership of President Trump, we have been combing through hundreds of thousands of contracts here at the Department alone and are canceling wasteful, woke, and downright ridiculous contracts that do not align with the will of the American people.’ 

A LinkedIn spokesperson told Fox News Digital, in response, that: ‘Like every business, the organizations that use our products change, often driven by shifts in their budgets and priorities. We’re keeping our focus on helping our customers achieve the objectives they’ve set.’ 

Fox News Digital’s David Spector and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

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Waltz doubles down on Hegseth praise amid ongoing Pentagon controversy

Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks.

Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

‘Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?’ Bartiromo asked Waltz on ‘Sunday Morning Futures,’ citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department.

‘I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,’ Waltz fired back. ‘That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.’ 

In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is ‘leading from the front’ at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon.

‘He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,’ Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a ‘media narrative,’ and one he vowed they ‘are going to power through.’

Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week.

The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership.

But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: ‘Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.’

 ‘There is a record number of generals,’ he said. ‘And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.’

Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said ‘no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.’

‘And now there is,’ he told Bartiromo.

‘Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,’ Waltz said. ‘And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.’

Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month.

Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll. 

These oustings were described as both ‘baffling’ and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year.

‘The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,’ Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.

The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement. 

‘Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,’ Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a ‘smear campaign.’

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Trump kicks off whirlwind week marking his 100th day back in the Oval Office

President Donald Trump’s 15th week in office will include his 100th day back in the White House, which he will celebrate by hosting a rally in Michigan – the last state he campaigned in before polls opened on Election Day of last year. 

‘President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post announcing the rally. 

Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024 all ended with rallies in the battleground state of Michigan. Trump’s visit to Macomb County this week follows his final 2024 campaign rally in Grand Rapids, where he joined the crowds just after midnight in the final hours before his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The event is billed as a celebration of Trump’s ‘LEGENDARY start to his presidency,’ according to the Republican National Committee’s website. The rally will be held at Macomb Community College in Warren and will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

Trump wraps up his 100th day in office with more executive orders signed than any other president over the same period since President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trump has signed at least 137 executive orders, ranging from dismantling the Department of Education, establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, and stripping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the fabric of the federal government following the Biden administration. 

‘Very critical week’ for Russia and Ukraine peace talks 

Trump returned from Rome on Saturday after attending Pope Francis’ funeral mass at the Vatican with first lady Melania Trump. Trump met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy during the trip as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage and negotiations for peace stall. 

‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday. 

‘It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!’ he added.

While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a matter of 24 hours, but negotiations have proven difficult. Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday followed Russia launching a missile strike on Kyiv that injured dozens and killed at least 12. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that the coming week will be ‘very critical’ as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned this month that the U.S. might ‘move on’ from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. 

‘I think this is going to be a very critical week,’ Rubio said on Sunday. ‘This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.’

Trade talks expected to advance following reciprocal tariff pause 

Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, customized tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations this month, sparking a trade deal negotiation blitz as dozens of nations began knocking on the proverbial doors of the White House in the hopes of striking more favorable terms. 

The White House has met and spoken with a handful of nations looking to make deals, including South Korea last week. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said negotiations with the Asian nation have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week. 

‘We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,’ Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. ‘We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.’

‘So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,’ Bessent continued. 

Congress reconvenes with eyes on passing Trump-backed budget

Congress will reconvene on Monday following a spring recess, with Republican lawmakers expected to resume talks on a budget plan to advance Trump’s first-year agenda, including extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and carving out millions in funds for border security.

Democrats on Capitol Hill protested on Sunday ahead of Republicans returning to the table for budget plan talks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took to the steps of the Capitol on Sunday morning while flanked by supporters to protest the budget plan. 

‘Republican leaders have made clear their intention to use the coming weeks to advance a reckless budget scheme to President Trump’s desk that seeks to gut Medicaid, food assistance and basic needs programs that help people, all to give tax breaks to billionaires. Given what’s at stake, these could be some of the most consequential weeks for seniors, kids and families in generations,’ the two Democrat lawmakers wrote in a statement of the protests. 

Trump has repeatedly called on Republican lawmakers to pass the ‘big, beautiful’ tax and spending package to advance his first-year agenda. 

Trump to deliver University of Alabama’s commencement speech 

Trump is expected to travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday where he will deliver a commencement speech to graduating students at the University of Alabama. 

‘I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT. Stay tuned for times and dates!!!’ Trump posted to Truth Social last week. 

Trump is expected to deliver his speech from the school’s Coleman Coliseum arena on Thursday evening. 

‘The University of Alabama is honored to have been selected as one of the universities President Donald J. Trump will visit to deliver a spring commencement address,’ the university said in a statement this month.

Trump-funded American flags to be installed at White House 

Trump previewed last week that his administration is in the midst of purchasing and installing massive flag poles to feature Ol’ Glory on both the north side lawn and south lawn of the White House. Trump told the media he will personally fund the flags and said they could be ready sometime this week. 

‘We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot-tall American flag on this side and another one on the other side, two flags, top of the line,’ he told reporters on Wednesday outside the White House, adding they will be ‘paid for by Trump.’

‘They needed flagpoles for 200 years. It was something I’ve often said, you know, they don’t have a flagpole per se. So we’re putting one right where you saw us, and we’re putting another one on the other side, on top of the mounds. It’s going to be two beautiful poles.’

Trump added on Wednesday that the flags will ‘arrive in about a week or so.’ An American flag is currently only flown from the White House roof. 

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Greenland’s prime minister says island cannot be bought, US has ‘not been respectful’

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Sunday that comments from U.S. officials about the Arctic island have been disrespectful and that the island cannot be purchased, in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of buying the strategic territory.

Nielsen said Greenland ‘will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone’ as he stood by Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a joint press conference at Frederiksen’s Marienborg official residence in Lyngby, Denmark.

The Greenlandic prime minister was meeting with Frederiksen on the second day of a three-day official visit to Denmark. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

‘The talks from the United States have not been respectful,’ Nielsen said. ‘The words used have not been respectful. That’s why we need in this situation, we need to stand together.’

Political parties in Greenland recently agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government amid Trump’s targets on the territory.

This, as the island has for years been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark.

Nielsen’s three-day visit seeks to address future cooperation between the two countries.

‘Denmark has the will to invest in the Greenlandic society, and we don’t just have that for historical reasons. We also have that because we are part of (the Danish) commonwealth with each other,’ Frederiksen said.

‘We of course have a will to also continue investing in the Greenlandic society,’ she added.

Nielsen is scheduled to meet Denmark’s King Frederik X on Monday before returning to Greenland with Frederik for a royal visit to the island.

Frederiksen and Nielsen were asked whether a meeting had been planned involving them and Trump.

‘We always want to meet with the American president,’ Frederiksen said. ‘Of course we want to. But I think we have been very, very clear in what is the [Danish commonwealth’s] approach to all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Times Square billboard pops up rallying around ‘historic’ Trump accomplishment during first 100 days

A nonprofit patient’s rights advocacy group has placed a billboard in New York City’s Times Square praising President Donald Trump for ‘delivering’ on a major healthcare promise within his first 100 days in office. 

The billboard, placed by PatientsRightsAdvocate.org, (PRA) will run from April 28 to May 4 and touts Trump’s executive order signed in February directing the departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to make healthcare prices transparent.

‘President Trump delivers healthcare price transparency,’ the billboard, along with a picture of Trump resembling Superman says. ‘First 100 Days!’

Trump’s order directed the departments to ‘rapidly implement and enforce’ the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which he claims were slowed by the Biden administration.

The departments will ensure hospitals and insurers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.

PRA says that more than 1 in 3 Americans postponed or avoided care due to ‘fear of unknown costs’ and that 100 million Americans are in medical debt, which represents the country’s largest cause of personal bankruptcy. 

 ‘The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic,’ Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, said in a statement. 

‘Patients soon will have access to actual prices, not estimates, before they receive care. Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs,’ Fisher continued. ‘Soon, patients will be able to shop for the best quality of care at the best price. Prices protect patients with remedy and recourse from overcharges, errors, and fraud. We are closer than ever to shifting the power to the consumer to live healthier and longer lives at a far lower cost.’  

Andrew Bremberg, former assistant to President Donald Trump and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the first Trump White House, also touted Trump’s executive order, saying that the president ‘built on his first term healthcare legacy and signed an even stronger price transparency executive order. 

‘His efforts to deliver real prices, not estimates, underscore his unwavering commitment to the American people. President Trump has a bold vision to transform the American healthcare system with price transparency as the catalyst.’ 

The executive order notes a number of concerns with current healthcare pricing, including that prices vary between hospitals in the same region.

‘One patient in Wisconsin saved $1,095 by shopping for two tests between two hospitals located within 30 minutes of one another,’ according to the statement.

The White House claims one economic analysis found Trump’s original price transparency rules, if fully implemented, could deliver savings of $80 billion for consumers, employers and insurers by 2025.

‘The hospital wanted me to pay $3,700 up front for a simple fibroid removal surgery,’ Arizona patient Theresa Schmotzer said in a statement at the time of the billboard’s placement. ‘Because that seemed high, I went looking for what it should cost. I found the actual price online and saw that my share was only $700 not $3,700. Because I had access to real prices, not estimates, I saved $3,000. President Trump’s executive order on healthcare price transparency will allow more people to find real prices and save.’  

States across the country have been pushing similar measures in the form of legislation to ensure that patients are given more transparency about the healthcare costs they are assuming, including in Ohio, where legislation was recently signed into law requiring hospitals to post exact prices in dollars and cents for all available services. 

‘They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost,’ Trump wrote in a statement when he signed the executive order. ‘And this is about high-quality care. You’re also looking at that. You’re looking at comparisons between talents, which is very important. And, then, you’re also looking at cost. And, in some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.’

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

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Trump threats boosted Canada’s Carney, hurt Conservatives as country votes for new leader

OTTAWA- In a dramatic reversal, the governing Liberals, who were trailing the official opposition Conservatives in the polls earlier this year, appear poised to win their fourth consecutive term in office thanks to President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty, according to election watchers.

‘It looks like there will be a Liberal government, which seems to be what the polls point to, and it would be a very big surprise if the Conservatives won,’ Angus Reid, founder and chair of the Angus Reid Institute, told Fox News Digital.

In an Angus Reid Institute poll released on Dec. 30, the Conservatives were in super-majority territory with 45% support, compared to the Liberals at 11%. The results of a poll released on Saturday had the Liberals at 44% with a four-point lead over the Conservatives at 40%.

‘This really has been an extraordinary election in that, by all rights, Canadians had it with the Liberals’ woke policies and with their misspending and didn’t like Trudeau,’ Reid said.

He explained that the political dynamic changed when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canada’s 23rd prime minister and Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president in January, and former central bank governor Mark Carney succeeded Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader in March.

‘Between tariffs and threats of annexation, Trump became the single most important issue in the country overnight,’ said Reid. ‘That gave Mark Carney an opportunity to be the first out of the gate to say that we’re not going to put up with this – we’re a sovereign nation and we’re going to fight.’

The campaign has been a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives and led by two starkly different leaders who focused on strengths that their critics considered weaknesses.

Carney, a 60-year-old former senior executive at Goldman Sachs who never held elected office prior to winning the Liberal leadership, has called on voters to consider – during a time of economic crisis fueled by Trump’s threats – his experience, which includes running the central banks of Canada and England, and as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. 

His detractors, however, have accused him of being out of touch and ‘not connected to the common man’ and has spent a fair amount of time outside Canada, as a former deputy national Conservative Party campaign manager told Fox News Digital last month.

Meanwhile, Poilievre’s message to voters is that he is the agent for ‘change.’ However, his opponents claim the 45-year-old Conservative leader is part of the political establishment, having spent almost half of his life as a member of Parliament since he was first elected in 2004 – and the change he touts came with a shift in Liberal leadership from Trudeau to Carney.

The results of an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in Canada, released on April 21, showed a narrow three-point lead for the Liberals at 41% over the Conservatives at 38%. 

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital that the Liberals were ahead of the Conservatives by 12 points in mid-April and have lost ground since ‘because of the effect of Donald Trump, both positive and negative.’

‘When Donald Trump is in the news saying 51st-state stuff, that brings the focus back to the major issue that the Liberals lead on, which is dealing with him,’ said Bricker.

‘But over the past two weeks, Donald Trump has kind of gone dark on Canada. He’s been focused on China, U.S. government funding of Harvard University, and to the extent he’s talking about trade, it’s about global trade deals.’

That, said Bricker, has resulted in many Canadians returning to their pre-Trump main issue of affordability, through the lens of the Liberals running the government over the past decade.

Ultimately, the outcome of Monday’s general election will be decided by geography, according to Bricker, whosaid that the national vote ‘will be won or lost’ in Ontario, particularly in Toronto and the surrounding so-called 905 region, which refers to the telephone area code, where there are 55 ridings (electoral districts) and about 4.5 million eligible voters.

‘The 905 voted overwhelmingly for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals three times,’ said Bricker. ‘If they do it again, the Liberals will win a fourth consecutive term in office.’

Last week, Carney said if he remains prime minister following the election that he would have a meeting with Trump ‘within days’ as part of an ‘ambitious and broad-ranging discussion’ on a new trade and security deal between Canada and the U.S.

Reid said that the Liberals’ improved showing was not just about Canadians warming to Carney, but also about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s failure to turn the dial from focusing on a consumer carbon tax, which the Liberal leader canceled on April 1 in his first act as prime minister, and ‘still reflecting on Trudeau long after he had gone, instead of jumping right away onto the Trump threat and becoming something that he would lead the charge on.’

The irony, in Reid’s view, is that ‘Trump imperiled the campaign of an individual who could be in many ways his stepbrother in Canada,’ he said about Poilievre, who he called ‘mini-Trump,’ and his ‘anti-woke,’ smaller-government stance – ‘Trump-esque policies that the American right might want to see in Canada and certainly a lot of Canadians on the right want to see.’

According to Elections Canada, a record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots in advance polls over the Easter weekend. With the country having six time zones, the results aren’t expected to be known until late Monday evening.

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