The Latest: European leaders to speak with Trump ahead of Friday summit with Putin
By The Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Berlin Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and virtual meetings with other European and U.S. leaders ahead of the Friday summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European and Ukrainian leaders want to be heard before Trump sees Putin in Alaska, where they’ve been left out. Zelenskyy is due to meet with the Europeans first and then have a call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour later. Leaders of the “coalition of the willing” — the nations that would help police any future peace agreement — will take place last.
Here’s the latest:
BLS emails show calls for integrity after Trump fired commissioner
Internal Bureau of Labor Statistics emails obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act after Trump fired Commissioner Erika McEntarfer suggest an agency with little of the corrupting partisanship Trump had claimed when he called the report “phony” and “rigged.”
After the commissioner’s firing, BLS employees talked about the importance of accurate numbers and professional integrity in producing data foundational for measuring the economy and holding elected officials accountable.
“Our data moves markets because it is some of the most timely and accurate information on economic conditions that businesses and policymakers have,” McEntarfer wrote to the staff. “BLS data impacts the decisions of the Fed, the President, Congress, and millions of businesses and households. The work of this agency is vital to the US economy.”
▶ Read more on how BLS staff reacted to Trump’s firing of the director
Zelenskyy and other European leaders to speak with Trump ahead of his Friday summit with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday arrived in Berlin for talks with the German chancellor and virtual meetings with President Trump and other European leaders ahead of Friday’s planned summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has convened the virtual meetings in an attempt to make sure European and Ukraine’s leaders are heard ahead of the summit in Alaska, where Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy and the Europeans have been sidelined from that summit. German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said the intention of Wednesday’s meetings was to “make clear the position of the Europeans.”
▶ Read more about Russia’s war in Ukraine
Protests being organized for Trump-Putin summit
The group Stand Up Alaska is organizing rallies on Thursday and Friday in the state, where sentiment toward Russia has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostock a letter expressing concern.
Dimitry Shein, who ran unsuccessfully for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House in 2018, fled from the Soviet Union to Anchorage with his mother in the early 1990s. He expressed dismay that Trump has grown increasingly authoritarian. Russia and the U.S. “are just starting to look more and more alike,” he said.
▶ Read more about Alaska’s history with Russia
Trump’s evolving rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin
Candidate Trump repeatedly said he could end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” But since President Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics among Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The summit between Trump and Putin set for Friday in Alaska could now be a pivotal moment in the 3 1/2-year-old war.
“At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said Monday.
▶ Read more about what Trump has said about Zelenskyy and Putin.
National Guard awaits assignments in DC
The troops reported for duty on Tuesday, ramping up after the White House ordered federal forces to take over the city’s police department and reduce crime in what the president called — without substantiation — a lawless city.
The law lets Trump control the police department for a month. How aggressive the federal presence will be remains unclear.
An Army spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely describe ongoing operations said Tuesday that, so far, what troops have been told “clearly and distinctly” is that they will be in a support role to law enforcement. What form that support will take remains to be determined.
The Army spokesperson also said that since mobilizing up to 800 National Guard troops could take until week’s end, their assignments may not be known until week.
White House orders review of Smithsonian exhibits
Ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, the White House is seeking to ensure that the content in the nation’s preeminent museums aligns with Trump’s interpretation of American history.
The examination will look at all public-facing content, such as social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.”
US national debt reaches record $37 trillion
The national debt eclipsed this new milestone years sooner than pre-pandemic projections.
The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections predicted the U.S. reaching the milestone after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the U.S. economy and the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to stabilize the national economy.
Trump visiting Kennedy Center for the announcement of this year’s honorees
And according to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump might make an announcement of his own, too.
The center said in a statement that “our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur” and credited Trump’s advocacy. Trump complained during a March visit that the building is in a state of “tremendous disrepair.”
