Trump:

It was a Great Honor meeting Cristiano Ronaldo, A BIG STAR.

My son Barron is such a great fan, and now, so am I!

BIG: Trump plans to speak directly with Venezuela’s Maduro despite labeling him a terrorist.

The move suggests U.S. missile strikes aren’t imminent, even as Operation Southern Spear continues destroying alleged drug-running boats.

Source: Axios

No date is set, but officials say the Trump–Maduro call is now “in the planning stages.”

Source: Axios

A B-52 bomber with two F/A-18 escorts is flying along the Venezuelan coast.

NEW: The Trump administration plans to reinterview refugees who were admitted under President Biden, re-examining roughly 235,000 cases.

Source: CNN

The Trump administration is trying to stop Elon Musk from being forced to testify in a lawsuit claiming he illegally pushed to dismantle USAID while serving as a senior White House adviser.

Source: Bloomberg

Rep. María Salazar on Venezuela:

We're about to go in.

We need to go in.

Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day.

U.S. officials believe one major reason Maduro won’t step down is "fear that his Cuban intelligence handlers could execute him" if he tries to leave power.

Source: Axios

Nigeria: WFP warned that rising militant violence and instability in the north have driven hunger to record highs, with up to 35 million people at risk in 2026 due to funding gaps.

Sudan: UAE-backed RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said they accept all actors in the political process “except the Islamic Movement.”

Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight.

Trump signed an executive order launching the “Genesis Mission,” a major federal AI initiative described as as urgent and ambitious as the Manhattan Project.

The plan mobilizes federal computing power and vast government datasets to build advanced AI models for scientific research, national security, energy, and manufacturing.

Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan (Khost, Kunar, Paktika), killing at least 10 people, according to the Taliban.

NEW: India and France will jointly manufacture the HAMMER air-to-ground precision weapon in India through a new Bharat Electronics–Safran partnership.

Survivors: "UAE Support Powered RSF Brutality in Darfur"

New testimony details how UAE-backed RSF fighters executed unarmed men and committed widespread sexual violence during the capture of El Fasher.

READ MORE

Mozambique: At least six suspected militants were killed and several others wounded in clashes with security forces in Muidumbe, Cabo Delgado.

Macron:

No one can say on behalf of the Ukrainians what territorial concessions they are prepared to make.

Macron:

Russia carries out cyber and informational attacks every day, including in France.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met Russian officials in Abu Dhabi as the Trump administration pushes a contested peace plan for the Ukraine war.

Source: Reuters

NEW: Macron explained that once a peace agreement is signed—not during the war—there would be “reassurance forces” deployed away from the front lines, in places like Kyiv or Odesa.

These would include British, French, and Turkish soldiers, whose role would be to train Ukrainian forces and help provide security, similar to how NATO countries already support states on the Alliance’s eastern flank.

He emphasized that this would be done through an intergovernmental coalition, not NATO, with around twenty countries prepared to contribute on land, at sea, or in the air.

Kremlin:

When the time comes, Russia will take a substantive look at the U.S. plan for a Ukrainian settlement.