TV News LIES

Donald Trump kept up the pressure on Ukraine to move ahead with a peace deal as signals emerged that the Kremlin would be willing to accept a temporary truce under certain conditions. As the American president pursues an agreement to end the war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor three years ago, he's reversed years of US support for Kyiv, instead courting Moscow.

"We're doing very well with Russia," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. "I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine."

Trump's advisers are already sketching out how they might ease the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war, including a cap imposed on prices for its oil sales, according to people familiar with the discussions.

More...

The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.

Why it matters: The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997.

Behind the scenes: The meetings between Boehler and Hamas officials took place in Doha in recent weeks.

• While the Trump administration consulted with Israel about the possibility of engaging with Hamas, Israel learned about aspects of the talks through other channels, one source said.
• The sources spoke with Axios on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the sensitive meetings.

Zoom in: The talks have focused in part on the release of U.S. hostages, which is within Boehler's remit as hostage envoy.

• But they have also included discussions of a broader deal to release all remaining hostages and reach a long-term truce, the sources say. No deal has yet been reached.
• White House envoy Steve Witkoff also planned to travel to Doha this week to meet the prime minister of Qatar about the ceasefire negotiations but canceled the trip on Tuesday night after he saw there was no progress from Hamas' side, a U.S. official said.

Turkey, with the second largest army in NATO after the United States, could contribute to a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Wednesday.

-The U.S. State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Palestinian Hamas militants, Axios reported on Thursday, citing senior State Department officials.

Fox News separately reported the State Department revoked the visa of a student who allegedly participated in what the department termed as "Hamas-supporting disruptions." The revocation marked the first such action, according to the report.

The State Department was working with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, according to Axios.

The State Department did not comment directly on the reports but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the United States "has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists." He added that "violators of U.S. law - including international students - face visa denial or revocation, and deportation."

More...

Two days after putting 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, President Trump said on Thursday that he will largely lift them — the latest twist in his on-again, off-again approach to an issue that has sent markets into a tailspin.

Trump started to tap the brakes on the tariffs on Wednesday, after talking to the Big Three U.S. automakers. And then after a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday, he said on social media that he would give a break to all Mexican goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

A few hours later, he signed executive orders that included relief for Canadian goods covered by the USMCA.

Trump told reporters the shift had nothing to do with recent market downturns, which he downplayed as "a little short term interruption," blaming foreign countries and "globalist companies" for "ripping off" the United States.

More...

Arab nations, led by Egypt, that have strongly rejected President Trump's proposal for the U.S. to "take over" the Gaza Strip and displace its more than 2 million Palestinian residents so the enclave can be turned into a luxury real estate development have offered an alternative plan. Leaders from the 22-nation Arab League attended a summit in Cairo Tuesday and unanimously adopted the Egyptian proposal, which does not foresee any of Gaza's residents being forced to leave during reconstruction.

The Trump administration, along with its close allies in Israel, quickly rejected the plan, with the White House reiterating the president's contention that the destruction wrought on Gaza during Israel's 15-month war with Hamas has made the enclave uninhabitable.