Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, days before the White House’s Friday deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil. Earlier talks between Russia and Ukraine, and Russian and U.S. officials, made no progress on ending the three-year war following Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
Here's the latest:
Rubio says ‘a lot has to happen’ before a Trump-Putin meeting
Secretary of State Marco Rubio lowered expectations for the president to meet soon with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, saying in an interview with Fox Business: “Today was a good day, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead.”
Rubio said Trump meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would help secure an agreement to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but he said, “We’ve got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing.”
“There’s still many impediments to overcome,” Rubio said.
Trump says Apple is ‘coming home’
Announcing that Apple will invest $600 billion in the U.S., the president said of the company: “They’re coming home.”
He said Apple investments will create 20,000 jobs, including in Kentucky.
Trump opens Oval Office event by mentioning Fort Stewart ‘atrocity’
Before talking with Cook about Apple’s investment, the president spoke of the “horrible person” who shot five soldiers earlier Wednesday at one of the country’s largest Army bases.
“The entire nation is praying for the victims and their families,” Trump said, adding that “hopefully they will fully recover.”
Officials said a sergeant shot five soldiers at Fort Stewart before he was quickly tackled by other troops, forcing a brief lockdown. The Army said it is investigating the shooting.
Apple posts $100 billion investment news to its website
Just ahead of Wednesday’s expected Oval Office meeting between Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company posted a release about the increase in U.S. investments.
Cook said Apple would increase its investment in U.S. manufacturing by an additional $100 billion over the next four years.
As part of the Apple announcement, the investments will be about bringing more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the United States as part of an initiative called the American Manufacturing Program, but it is not a full commitment to build its popular iPhone device domestically.
Earlier Wednesday the White House called the move a manufacturing industry “win.”
Trump has been criticizing the tech company and Cook for efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid his tariffs on China.
UCLA says Trump administration has frozen $584 million in grants, threatening research
Chancellor Julio Frenk of the University of California, Los Angeles, made the announcement Wednesday. It is nearly double the amount that was previously thought.
UCLA is the first public university whose federal grants have been targeted by the administration over allegations of civil rights violations related to antisemitism and affirmative action. The administration has frozen or paused federal funding over similar allegations against private colleges.
“If these funds remain suspended, it will be devastating for UCLA and for Americans across the nation,” Frenk said in a statement, noting the groundbreaking research that has come out of the university.
The departments affected rely on funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy, Frenk said.
The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Trump could meet with Putin as soon as next week, White House official says
The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.
News of the potential meeting came hours after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Trump posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” in which “great progress was made.”
Trump said he updated America’s allies in Europe about the meeting and they will work toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “in the days and weeks to come.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky.” Her statement did not address the potential timing of a meeting.
— Michelle L. Price
Wall Street closes higher, led by a rally for Apple
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%.
Apple alone accounted for more than a third of the S&P 500’s gain ahead of an announcement at the White House where it’s expected to increase its U.S. investments by an additional $100 billion over the next four years.
Trading elsewhere on Wall Street was mixed following a jumble of profit reports.
Trump wields influence over GOP and keeps potential successors vying for his favor
Trump has not directly said he thinks JD Vance should be the heir to his “Make America Great Again” base of support.
He acknowledged this week that his vice president is probably the favorite to succeed him “at this point,” but then mentioned Marco Rubio as well, telling reporters at the White House that his Secretary of State is “somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form” on a future political ticket.
Trump’s remarks Tuesday reflect his massive influence over the Republican party, and keeps anyone hoping to succeed him vying for his favor, both inside his administration and in the wider Republican field of possible contenders.
▶ Read more on how Trump is managing Republican contenders
Trump looms over Democratic field for Georgia governor
Another Georgia Democrat launched a campaign for Georgia governor on Wednesday, looking to succeed the term-limited Republican Brian Kemp.
And unlike his leading competitors, state Sen. Jason Esteves and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond says his message will not be focused on opposing Trump.
Thurmond told the AP in an interview that he’s going to fight for the people of Georgia on pocketbook issues, pitching himself as someone who can bridge racial and political divides to become the first Democrat to win the state’s top office in 28 years.
“It’s not fighting Trump,” he said. “I’m going to fight for Georgia residents.”
Brazil requests consultations at World Trade Organization over Trump’s tariffs
Brazil requested consultations at the World Trade Organization over the Trump tariffs taking effect Wednesday.
Trump has directly tied the 50% tax in U.S. imports of many Brazilian goods to the prosecution of his embattled ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, now under house arrest.
“The United States has flagrantly violated key commitments the country has agreed upon at the WTO,” Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “Brazil’s government reiterates its availability for negotiation and hopes these consultations contribute to a solution.”
The U.S. government has not made comments about Brazil’s move.
Trump pressuring Russia by auctioning oligarch’s superyacht
The United States is auctioning off a $325 million Russian superyacht as Trump seeks to increase pressure on Putin to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The Amadea, seized three years ago and currently docked in San Diego, has its own helipad and swimming pool, with room for 16 guests and 36 crew members.
Determining its real ownership has involved researching an opaque trail of trusts and shell companies. The U.S. contends that sanctioned former Russian politician Suleiman Kerimov owns it, through a straw owner, Eduard Khudainatov, who ran the state-controlled Russian oil and gas company Rosneft.
A representative of Khudainatov, Adam Ford, emailed a statement Wednesday saying the planned sale is improper, and will expose any buyer to “years of costly, uncertain litigation.” Minimum bids start at about $11.6 million. Ford said Khudainatov would go after any proceeds.
States make a deal with Trump on triggers blamed in mass shootings
Fifteen states have agreed to withdraw their bid for a preliminary injunction that would have barred the Trump administration from allowing the sale of forced-reset triggers that make semiautomatic rifles fire more rapidly. In turn, the Trump administration has agreed not to return any of these devices that have been seized to their owners, and to prohibit the sale of redistributed FRTs into those states.
The suit filed in June argued that returning the triggers would violate federal law, pose a threat to residents and law enforcement and worsen gun violence.
The states include Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, along with the District of Columbia. Their attorneys general are all Democrats, though the office in Hawaii is technically nonpartisan.
The Biden administration had argued that these triggers turn AR-15-style rifles into illegal machine guns under federal law.
Democratic lawmakers say they were denied entry to Brooklyn detention facility
Several Democratic lawmakers say they were barred from entering a federal prison facility where roughly 100 migrants are being detained.
New York Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez and Dan Goldman say they were briefly barricaded on the property after trying to make an unannounced visit to a building of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where migrants are being held under an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was the latest confrontation in a legal battle with the Trump administration. The Democratic members have a right to conduct oversight of ICE centers, but the Department of Homeland Security insisted on advanced notice.
Gov. JB Pritzker cites Voting Rights Act in opposing Texas redistricting
“Sixty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, expanding the fundamental right to participate in our elections to millions of Black and brown citizens,” the Illinois Democrat’s statement says.
“In doing so, he answered a call that has reverberated across generations, from our country’s original sin to the Selma to Montgomery marches – every citizen, no matter their race or zip code, deserves an equal voice in our democracy,” Pritzker said. That creed is in grave danger today, he said.
“On Donald Trump’s orders, MAGA Republicans are attempting to rig Congressional maps and silence the voices of Black and Latino communities and all Texans who seek to hold Trump’s political party accountable,” he said. “This is not just about Texas; this is about America.”
Texas lawmakers ring ‘alarm bell’ to save representative government
“What is happening in Texas isn’t just a state injustice, it’s a national alarm bell,” Texas state Sen. Carol Alvarado said at the Democrats’ rally in Boston.
“Our state’s leadership is trying to redraw congressional lines in the middle of a decade, with no new census, no new data, and no legitimate reason except to serve one man’s political ambitions,” Alvarado said. “This is not a one-off, it’s a blueprint ... If we do not stop it now, they will copy and paste it across the country.”
“Fifty-eight percent of Missourians voted for Trump, but they want to send an 87% representation to Congress,” Missouri State Rep. Ashley Aune said. “We won’t stand for it.”
Citing Paul Revere, lawmakers gather in Boston to support Texas Democrats
They came from around the country to stand with Texas Democrats outside the Massachusetts Statehouse on Wednesday, and support their efforts to thwart a congressional map that Trump wanted so that Republicans could take five more seats in Congress.
Speakers compared themselves to colonists who dumped tea into Boston Harbor to defy British rule in 1773, and cited Revere’s warning that British soldiers were coming.
“Rig-districting is coming,” Texas State Sen. Royce West said as supporters cheered, holding signs reading “Texas is first. Your state is next.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning another immigrant detention center, in north Florida
The Florida Republican’s administration has already awarded at least one contract for what’s labeled in state records as the “North Detention Facility.” That’s in addition to the “Alligator Alcatraz” site in the Everglades, which involves more than $245 million in state contracts.
The second detention center would be built at Camp Blanding, a Florida National Guard training center near Jacksonville.
DeSantis said last month that Florida is “ready, willing and able” to expand its detention capacity once deportations accelerate.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which also built the Everglades site, has awarded a $39,000 contract for a portable emergency response weather station and two lightning sirens, to provide “real-time weather monitoring and safety alerting for staff” at the “North Detention Facility,” according to state records.
Trump says Witkoff made ‘great progress’ with Putin
The president said in a post on Truth that Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Putin in which “great progress was made.”
Trump said he updated America’s allies in Europe about the meeting. They will work toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “in the days and weeks to come,” he said.
Trump briefed on shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has been briefed on the shooting at Fort Stewart.
“The White House is monitoring the situation,” Leavitt said in a post on X.
Five soldiers were shot at the Army base on Wednesday before a shooter was arrested.
The shooting in the area of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team prompted a lockdown, but authorities said there’s no longer any threat to the community.
Sanctions still expected against Russia despite Witkoff meeting with Putin
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting on Wednesday in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin went well and the Russians want to continue speaking with the United States as Trump seeks to broker an end to the fighting in Ukraine, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
But despite the meeting, the official said the U.S. is still expected to impose secondary sanctions against Russia on Friday, after a 10-day deadline imposed by Trump expires. The White House has not yet released details about the sanctions.
— Michelle Price
Gandhi accuses Trump of ‘economic blackmail’
Rahul Gandhi, a key opposition leader from India’s Congress Party said Trump’s threatened 50% cumulative import tariff on Indian goods is an “economic blackmail” and an attempt to bully New Delhi into an unfair trade deal.
In a social media post, Gandhi urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to refrain from overriding the interests of the Indian people.
India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the U.S. and its allies on Moscow even as India’s leaders have maintained that they want peace. Trump’s moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in Trump’s order.
Now teenagers can be ICE agents
The Department of Homeland Security says it’s removing age limits for new ICE recruits as it expands hiring with a massive infusion of cash from Congress.
Currently applicants must be at least 21 and no older than 37 or 40, depending on the position in the agency responsible for finding, arresting and detaining people who aren’t American citizens and don’t have legal permission to remain in the country.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox & Friends that applicants as young as 18 could be “trained and ready.”
The agency is offering an eye-catching bonus of up to $50,000 for new recruits as well as student loan forgiveness and abundant overtime.
▶ Read more about DHS efforts to recruit more ICE agents
