U.S. official to Axios:

We told them it is this or nothing, and they said, "Ok, then nothing."

We want to reach a real deal quickly or people will look at other options.

A federal judge sentenced Ryan Routh to life in prison for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign.

Prosecutors said Routh spent months planning the attack and was stopped only when a Secret Service agent intervened before he could fire his rifle at Trump’s Florida golf club.

Rep. Maxine Waters: Can you shut up?

Secretary Bessent: Can you maintain some level of dignity?

The Washington Post cut roughly one in three employees Wednesday, delivering a major blow to its newsroom as owner Jeff Bezos pushes to make the paper profitable.

The layoffs heavily affected Metro, Sports, Books, and international coverage.

Executive editor Matt Murray said the cuts will refocus the paper on politics, national affairs, investigations, and major cultural and tech trends.

NEW: Türkiye and Egypt signed a Military Framework Agreement today.

At the last minute, Iran canceled the planned unveiling of its “missile city.”
The ceremonial broadcast was called off by higher authorities, citing security concerns.
It was due to air tonight.

NEW: Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany now moved to round-the-clock operations amid increased deployments to the Middle East.

Trump plans to install a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds.

Trump says Columbus is a hero and wants to restore his legacy.

Source: WaPo

BREAKING: Trump says Iran’s Khamenei "should be worried."

Q: Should the Supreme Leader in Iran be worried right now?

Trump: He should be very worried.

Source: NBC News

Trump on Iran:

Here’s the deal: if they try again, and I let them know that if they do, we’re going to send them right back and do the job again.

They tried to go back to the site. They couldn’t even get near it. There was total obliteration.

They were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country.

We found out about it. I said, “If you do that, we’re going to do very bad things to you.”

Trump on Iran protests:

We’ve had their back, and that country is a mess right now because of us.

Turkish President Erdogan gifted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with Türkiye's domestic electric vehicle Togg.

READ MORE

BREAKING:

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi:

Nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held in Muscat on about 10 am Friday.

I'm grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements.

Zelensky:

In Ukraine, the number of soldiers killed—career soldiers or mobilized—is 55,000, and many are considered missing.

READ MORE

Journalist: This war, Volodymyr Zelensky, are you afraid of losing it?

Zelensky: Of course, losing this war means losing the independence of our country.

If we lose our independence and become part of Russia, it would be an absolutely monstrous loss.

I am sure that it won’t happen.

READ MORE

Zelensky:

Russia wants us to leave all of the Donbas because since they started this war, they haven’t won any victories.

They don’t count the people who die; we are obliged to do so.

To conquer the east of Ukraine, it would cost them 800,000 more corpses.

It would take them at least two years; they won’t last that long.

READ MORE

Zelensky:

Putin is currently only afraid of Trump. That’s a fact.

If President Trump knows that Putin is afraid of him, then he doesn’t have to accept all the conditions set by the Russian president.

It’s Putin who is afraid of Trump, not the other way around. And thank God.

President Trump knows he has leverage through the economy, through sanctions, through weapons.

Journalist: Does that mean he is not at all afraid of the Europeans?

Zelensky: Yes, he is not afraid of Europeans. They are our partners; they have helped us enormously. But Putin is not afraid of them, unfortunately.

READ MORE

Zelensky:

If Ukraine does not stop Putin, he will invade Europe.

I don’t want to scare anyone, but the range of their missiles is unlimited; they will strike everywhere.

READ MORE

Journalist: To get here, we passed several barriers and checkpoints. They took our phones; we were searched. Every day, do you fear for your life?

Zelensky: Russia has already tried to eliminate me several times.

I don’t feel the same fear as at the beginning of the war; I’ve gotten used to it. It’s part of my life.

READ MORE

French President Macron’s top diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, held talks with Russian officials in Moscow on Tuesday.

The discussions focused mainly on Ukraine and were described as technical-level contacts coordinated with Ukraine and key European allies.

Bonne reportedly met Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Source: Reuters