US condemns ‘dangerous’ maneuvers by Chinese navy in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The United States condemned the “dangerous” maneuvers of a Chinese navy helicopter that endangered the safety of a Philippine government aircraft patrolling a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, its ambassador to Manila said on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson also called on China “to refrain from coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.”

The Philippines said late on Tuesday it was “deeply disturbed” by the Chinese navy’s “unprofessional and reckless” flight actions and that it will make a diplomatic protest.

Manila’s coast guard said the Chinese navy helicopter performed dangerous flight maneuvers when it flew close to a government aircraft conducting surveillance over the Scarborough Shoal, endangering the lives of its pilots and passengers.

China disputed the Philippines’ account, saying on Tuesday its aircraft “illegally intruded” into China’s airspace and accused its Southeast Asian neighbor of “spreading false narratives.”

Named after a British ship that was grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, the Scarborough Shoal is one of the most contested maritime features in the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila have clashed repeatedly.

“The Philippines has undeniable sovereignty and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc,” its maritime council said in a statement, using Manila’s name for the shoal.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, putting it at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s expansive claims but Beijing does not recognize the decision.

Senate advances nomination of Trump FBI pick Kash Patel

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to be the director of the FBI, putting a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and a critic of the bureau on track to run the most prominent U.S. law enforcement agency.

The Senate voted 48-45 along party lines on a procedural measure setting the stage for a final confirmation vote on one of Trump’s most controversial nominees later this week.

Patel, a former intelligence and Defense Department official in Trump’s first term, has called for a radical reshaping of the FBI, pledging to expand its role on illegal immigration and violent crime, core Trump priorities.

Patel has been among the most vocal critics of FBI investigations into Trump on issues ranging from Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida club and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Democrats have called Patel unfit to lead the FBI, pointing to his embrace of false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and FBI agents fomenting the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. But Patel has attracted broad support from Republicans, who have touted him as a reformer.

A Senate panel voted 12-10 along party lines last week to send his nomination to the full Senate.

66 measles cases reported in US states of Texas, New Mexico

Measles is making a comeback in the United States. 

Fifty-eight cases of the highly contagious disease were reported Tuesday by health officials in rural West Texas, while eight cases were confirmed in neighboring eastern New Mexico.  

Texas officials say the outbreak there, the largest in almost 30 years, is mainly confined to Gaines County, with 45 infections, but four other counties account for an additional 13 cases.   

The Texas measles cases, according to health officials, have occurred mainly among a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community. 

Authorities say at least three of the New Mexico cases are in counties that border Texas’ Gaines County. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 14 measles cases across the country.  

Mayo Clinic describes measles as “a childhood infection caused by a virus. Once quite common, measles can now almost always be prevented with a vaccine … measles spreads easily and can be serious, and even fatal, for small children.” 

Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for two hours. As many as nine out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.  

However, in recent years, the necessity and safety of the vaccinations designed to prevent the disease have come under question, with some parents citing a now-discredited study that linked the measles vaccine to autism.  

Another unfortunate development in the fight against measles happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when many children missed their vaccinations. Los Angeles Cedars Sinai said in a statement in February 2024 that 61 million fewer doses of the measles vaccine were distributed nationwide from 2020 to 2022.  

Before the MMR vaccination, which addresses not only measles, but also mumps and rubella, was introduced in the U.S. in 1963, there were 3 million to 4 million measles cases every year.   

Now there are usually fewer than 200 cases per year, but pockets of measles persist in areas that still resist the vaccinations. The shots are first given to toddlers between 12 and 15 months and then again at 4 to 6 years of age.   

Saudi prince proving crucial to Trump efforts to end Ukraine, Gaza wars

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. and Russian officials wrapped up their meetings Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a pathway to end the war in Ukraine, days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to convene a summit with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss an Arab response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to take over Gaza.

The two separate talks reflect the growing role of the prince in Trump’s efforts to fulfill his campaign promise to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

On Tuesday, Trump again declared he would swiftly end fighting.

“I have the power to end this war,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s concern that Kyiv was excluded from the Riyadh meeting.

“Well, you’ve been there for three years, you should have ended it,” he said of Zelenskyy in response to a reporter’s question. “I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land.”

Trump did not clarify which part of land would remain Ukrainian. Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and now controls parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, and fighting has been ongoing at the borders of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The Saudi talks signaled a major détente between Washington and Moscow and an abrupt end of U.S. policy under former President Joe Biden to isolate Russia and support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

Instead, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dangled the prospects of “the incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians” on trade and other global issues when the war ends.

Arab response to Gaza plan

Later this week, Prince Mohammed will bring together leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE to discuss an Arab response to Trump’s vow to take over Gaza and create a “Riviera in the Middle East” by expelling Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.

Trump’s plan has angered regional leaders, who are now scrambling to come up with a counteroffer that they will discuss in Riyadh ahead of a broader Arab League gathering in Cairo next week.

One of the Arab proposals being discussed is an Egyptian-led plan that involves forming a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without Hamas and raising up to $20 billion from Arab and Gulf states over three years for reconstruction.

As Saudi Arabia makes a play for the diplomatic mainstage, Prince Mohammed is motivated to be proactive rather than reactive, to counsel pragmatism rather than rigidity, said Laura Blumenfeld, a senior fellow and Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

Blumenfeld told VOA that the prince could pair his approach with a language that Trump likes to speak: investments.

On Wednesday, global financiers and tech executives will gather in Miami, Florida, in a conference hosted by the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a nonprofit arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund led by the prince. Trump is scheduled to deliver an address at the event.

“Trump is a peacemaker in a hurry, with his eye on the Nobel Prize. [The prince] is a dealmaker in a hurry, with his eye on the Saudi Vision 2030 economic diversification plan,” Blumenfeld added. “The two men are a match made in transactional heaven.”

Prince Mohammed the power broker

With his efforts focused on Ukraine and Gaza, the 39-year-old de facto leader of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a power broker that Trump leans on for his foreign policy goals.

Prince Mohammed has done this in part by leveraging close ties during Trump’s first term, maintaining business ties while Trump was out of office, and further expanding the relationship since the president’s inauguration last month.

Saudi Arabia was Trump’s first foreign trip in 2017, where he signed several deals, including a $110 billion arms deal, which could expand up to $350 billion over 10 years.

Trump spoke openly about the transactional nature of the visit, telling reporters days after his second inauguration in January that the reason he chose Riyadh for that first visit was because “they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products.”

Trump suggested on the day of his last inauguration that he would again make Saudi Arabia his first destination in return for Saudi funds, and days later, the prince told him during a phone call that he planned to invest $600 billion or more in the U.S. over the next four years.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia invested $2 billion with a firm that belonged to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former aide. The Trump Organization has also expanded its real estate presence in the region, announcing it had leased its brand to two real estate projects in Riyadh in December after launching the Trump Tower project in Jeddah.

As Prince Mohammed cultivated his political and business ties with Trump, he maintained a relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Biden’s effort to isolate the Russian leader following his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“The crown prince has been making the argument for the last five years that it’s in America’s interest that Saudi Arabia maintains very good ties with Russia and China,” said Ali Shihabi, author and commentator on the politics and economics of Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia was insisting on maintaining a multipolar policy while maintaining very strong ties with the United States,” he told VOA.

The prince is poised to host a summit between the two leaders that Trump said he agreed to during his call with Putin last week. The summit, Shihabi said, would be an example of how the prince’s gambit has paid off.

“I don’t think there are any leaders in the world that have the relationship that the crown prince has with both Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump,” he said.

There is also a practical reason. The kingdom is not a signatory of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023.

Rubio snubs South Africa’s G20 meeting amid diplomatic tensions

Johannesburg  — South Africa will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 group of major economies later this week, but the chief diplomat for the world’s largest economy, the U.S., is skipping it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X earlier this month that he would not attend the meeting, taking place Thursday and Friday in Johannesburg, because he objected to the meeting’s agenda, which he described as anti-American.

He said South Africa was “using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.”

DEI is short for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and in President Donald Trump’s first week in the White House, he signed an executive order to end DEI policies and hiring practices in the federal workforce.

“I think the whole topic of the G20 gathering is one that I don’t think we should be focused on, talking about global inclusion, equity, and these sorts of things,” Rubio later told the press.

He continued by saying the forum should be focused on issues “like terrorism and energy security and the real threats to the national security of multiple countries.”

The G20 is a group of the world’s 19 major individual economies as well as the EU and African Union. This year marks the first time an African country is in the rotating presidency position of the G20.

While Rubio will not attend, the South African government has confirmed the U.S. will still have a presence at the meeting, likely at a lower level.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation responded to Rubio in a statement saying: “Our G20 Presidency, is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring an equal global system for all.”

Ronald Lamola, minister of international relations and cooperation, told local TV that the meeting’s agenda had been adopted by all members of the G20 and carries on the themes from previous summits, such as the one in Brazil last year.

Deteriorating relations

Even before the announcement that Rubio would not be taking part in the foreign ministers’ meeting, there had been a swift deterioration in U.S.-South Africa relations under the new administration in Washington.

President Trump accused South Africa’s government of engaging in land grabs and mistreating white minority Afrikaners. He cut U.S. financial assistance to the country.

While the South African government did pass a controversial land reform law earlier this year, no land has been seized. The white minority is still one of the country’s most privileged communities and owns the majority of private farmland.

Response from other G20 members

Several other nations were quick to affirm their attendance at the meeting after Rubio said he will not attend.

Those included EU members Germany, Italy and France, whose ambassadors to South Africa posted a joint video on X saying they were “united in diversity” and shared the South African government’s democratic values.

Russia also confirmed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend.

“The priorities stated by the South African presidency are designed to encourage economic growth, reduce inequality and imbalances, and ensure equitable access to financing for countries in the Global South.,” said Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

China likewise confirmed its commitment to the meeting, with ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng meeting foreign minister Lamola just after Rubio’s announcement and posting on X: “I also expressed China’s readiness to support South Africa’s G20 Presidency.”

Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, said in a press briefing,

“China stands ready to work with all parties to make this meeting a productive one, and send a strong message of supporting multilateralism, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly responding to global challenges,” he said.

Analysts weigh in

Political analysts said Rubio’s absence could provide space for countries hostile to the U.S. to advance their agendas.

“Will we see the increase of countries like Russia and China pushing their lines, their issues, their perspectives in the absence of the US? That’s entirely possible,” Steven Gruzd, from the South African Institute of International Affairs, told VOA.

Brooks Spector, a retired U.S. diplomat, said Rubio’s boycott of the meeting was “a serious misstep.”

“You get to make your points at a meeting, boycotting it simply means your voice is not heard,” he said. “Calling the meeting “anti-American” is a misunderstanding of the nature of bilateral, international and multi-lateral discussions.”

However, he said he expected Trump would likely still attend the major G20 summit in South Africa in November. In December, the U.S. will take on the presidency of the G20.

More than 170 migrants now detained at Guantanamo Bay

WASHINGTON — The United States has more than doubled the number of detainees — both those deemed to be a “high threat” as well as others slated for deportation — at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

As of Tuesday, there were more than 120 of what the administration calls “criminal aliens” under guard at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, according to a U.S. defense official.  

Approximately 50 other individuals are also being held at the base’s migrant facility, which was being readied to hold nonviolent individuals.  

Separately, a second U.S. defense official told VOA that as of Monday, the U.S. military had sent a total of 13 flights of undocumented migrants to Guantanamo aboard a mix of C-17 and C-130 military cargo jets. 

So far, none of the detainees brought to the facilities at Guantanamo Bay have been deported to other countries. 

Both officials spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss details of the military’s deportation operation. 

VOA has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which is spearheading the U.S. deportation efforts, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, about the growing number of detainees. 

Last Thursday, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, told lawmakers there were about 68 detainees at the base’s prison facility. 

Admiral Alvin Holsey also told lawmakers that the base’s migrant facility had the capacity to hold about 2,500 nonviolent detainees. Efforts are underway to allow it house as many as 30,000 nonviolent migrants slated for deportation.  

Holsey said that it was too soon to determine how much it will cost to house the growing number of individuals.  

“We’re working with DHS to understand the flow of migrants,” he said during Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We’re not going to go to 30,000 unless we know that migrant flow will come. So, we’re waiting at this point.”    

Details about the growing population of detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba come just a day after the Department of Homeland Security unveiled what it described as a multimillion-dollar ad campaign warning migrants not to enter the U.S. illegally. 

“If you are considering entering America illegally, don’t even think about it,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a video targeting an international audience. 

“If you come to our country and you break our laws, we will hunt you down,” she said. “Criminals are not welcome in the United States.” 

Noem, who visited the prison facility last Friday and oversaw the transfer of a third flight of detainees to the detention center, has repeatedly described the men as “murderers and vicious gang members” from Venezuela and as “the worst of the worst.”   

In one social media post, Noem said that at least one of the migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay had confessed to murder, while others were wanted for attempted murder, assault, weapons trafficking and impersonation. 

One official, speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deportation efforts, said that all of the individuals held at Guantanamo Bay have been issued final deportation orders. But DHS has not yet provided charging documents or other details regarding the crimes the detainees are accused of committing.   

Last Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, along with several immigration rights groups, filed a lawsuit against DHS, alleging the detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility have been improperly denied access to lawyers.  

DHS has dismissed the lawsuit’s allegations.  

“There is a system for phone utilization to reach lawyers,” said a senior Homeland Security official in a written statement shared with VOA.  

“If the AMERICAN Civil Liberties Union cares more about highly dangerous criminal aliens including murderers & vicious gang members than they do about American citizens — they should change their name,” the official added, responding to the lawsuit only on the condition of anonymity. 

Leonard Peltier leaves prison after Biden commuted sentence in killing of FBI agents

SUMTERVILLE, FLORIDA — Native American activist Leonard Peltier was released from a Florida prison on Tuesday, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.  

For nearly half a century, Peltier’s imprisonment has symbolized systemic injustice for Native Americans across the country who believe in his innocence. The decision to release the 80-year-old to home confinement was celebrated by supporters.  

“He represents every person who’s been roughed up by a cop, profiled, had their children harassed at school,” said Nick Estes, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who advocated for Peltier’s release.  

But the move just before Biden left office also prompted criticism from those who say Peltier is guilty, including former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who called him “a remorseless killer” in a private letter to Biden obtained by The Associated Press. 

 “Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law,” Wray wrote.  

The commutation was not a pardon for crimes committed, something Peltier’s advocates have hoped for since he has always maintained his innocence.  

Peltier left the prison Tuesday morning in an SUV, according to a prison official. He didn’t stop to speak with reporters or his supporters outside the gates. One of his attorneys, Jenipher Jones, said Peltier was looking forward to going home.  

“We’re so excited for this moment,” Jones said. “He is in good spirits. He has the soul of a warrior.”  

After being released from USP Coleman, a high-security prison, Peltier planned to return to North Dakota, where he is expected to celebrate with friends and family on Wednesday. 

 Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence Jan. 20, noting he had spent most of his life in prison and was now in poor health.  

“We never thought he would get out,” Ray St. Clair, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, said shortly before Peltier’s release. “It shows you should never give up hope. We can take this repairing the damage that was done. This is a start.” 

Peltier, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, was active in the American Indian Movement, which beginning in the 1960s fought for Native American treaty rights and tribal self-determination.  

The group grabbed headlines in 1969 when activists occupied the former prison island of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay, and again in 1972, when they presented presidential candidates with a list of demands including the restoration of tribal land.  

After they were ignored, they seized the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. From then on, the group was subject to FBI surveillance and harassment under a covert program that sought to disrupt activism and was exposed in 1975.  

Peltier’s conviction stemmed from a confrontation that year on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in which FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were killed.  

According to the FBI, the agents were there to serve arrest warrants for robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors maintained at trial that Peltier shot both agents in the head at point-blank range.  

Peltier acknowledged being present and firing a gun at a distance, but he said he fired in self-defense. A woman who claimed to have seen Peltier shoot the agents later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences. Two other movement members, co-defendants Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. Peltier was denied parole as recently as July and was not eligible to be considered for it again until 2026.  

“Leonard Peltier’s release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age,” Paul O’Brien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement before Peltier’s release. “While we welcome his release from prison, he should not be restricted to home confinement.”  

Prominent Native American groups like the National Congress of the American Indian have called for Peltier’s release for decades, and Amnesty International considered him a political prisoner.  

Prominent supporters over the years included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford, and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne.  

Generations of Indigenous activists and leaders lobbied multiple presidents to pardon Peltier. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to hold the secretary’s position, praised Biden’s decision. “I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family,” she said Jan. 20 in a post on X. “I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country.”  

As a young child, Peltier was taken from his family and sent to a boarding school. Thousands of Indigenous children over decades faced the same fate, and were in many cases subjected to systemic physical, psychological and sexual abuse.  

“He hasn’t really had a home since he was taken away to boarding school,” said Nick Tilsen, who has been advocating for Peltier’s release since he was a teen and is CEO of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group based in South Dakota. “So he is excited to be at home and paint and have grandkids running around.” 

Rubio: US looks for ‘fair, sustainable’ end to Russian war on Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States is working toward a “fair” and “sustainable” solution to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine, but that both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions to achieve peace.

Rubio offered his assessment after he and other key U.S. officials met for several hours in Saudi Arabia with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his aides in a first effort toward ending the war and improving the contentious Washington-Moscow relationship.

“The goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved,” Rubio told reporters, although no Ukrainian or European officials were at the table for the talks.

Rubio said he was “convinced” that Moscow was willing to engage in a “serious process” to end the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion of its neighbor three years ago next week.

Tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, along with Ukrainian civilians, have been killed in the fighting, Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.

The U.S. and Russia agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. Bruce characterized the meeting as “an important step forward” toward peace.

Rubio said Ukraine and European nations would have to be involved in talks on ending the war. He said that if the war is halted, the U.S. would have “extraordinary opportunities … to partner” with Russia on trade and other global issues.

“The key to unlock that is the end to this conflict,” he said.

National security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff joined Rubio for the talks.

Waltz told reporters that negotiations to end the fighting will focus on territory and security guarantees for both Ukraine and Russia.  

“This needs to be a permanent end to the war and not a temporary end, as we’ve seen in the past,” Waltz said.

Russia now controls about a fifth of Ukraine’s internationally recognized 2014 territory. Moscow controls the Crimean Peninsula that it unilaterally annexed in 2014, along with a large portion of eastern Ukraine pro-Russian separatists captured in subsequent fighting and lands the Russian military have taken over since the 2022 invasion.

As the invasion started, Moscow hoped for a quick takeover of all of Ukraine. But with stiff Ukrainian resistance, the war instead evolved into a grinding ground conflict and daily aerial bombardments by each side.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long demanded that his country’s 2014 boundaries be restored, but U.S. officials have said that is unrealistic, as was Kyiv’s long-sought goal of joining NATO, the West’s main military alliance, as part of a negotiated peace settlement.

Zelenskyy has said it will not agree to a U.S.-Russian dictated settlement of the war.

He postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia that had been scheduled for this week, citing the fact that officials from his country were not invited to Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia talks. The Ukrainian leader suggested that he wanted to avoid his visit being linked to the talks and rescheduled the trip for March 10.

Zelenskyy is due to host the U.S. envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, for talks on Wednesday.

Bruce said the Rubio-Lavrov talks, the first extensive discussions between the two countries in more than three years, also laid the groundwork for more talks aside from the negotiations to end the war.

She said the two sides would “establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions.”  

Bruce said the U.S. and Russia would “lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities” once the war is ended.  

The U.S.-Russia engagement sparked concern among European leaders who in recent days have highlighted the need for Ukraine to be involved in discussions about its future, and for European nations to play a role in what they also see as a key development for their own security.  

French President Emmanuel Macron convened a group of European leaders for a Monday session in Paris, where they discussed boosting defense spending and potential security guarantees for Ukraine.  

There was division on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a potential end to the war, with governments such as Britain and Sweden expressing openness to the idea while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that discussion was premature.  

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  

Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information: AP sources

Washington — The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official’s departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Acting Commissioner Michelle King’s departure from the agency over the weekend — after more than 30 years of service — was initiated after King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information, the people said Monday.

The White House has replaced her as acting commissioner with Leland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, the people said.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields released a statement Monday night saying: “President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner.”

Fields added, “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.”

King’s exit from the administration is one of several departures of high-ranking officials concerned about DOGE staffers’ potential unlawful access to private taxpayer information.

DOGE has accessed Treasury payment systems and is attempting to access Internal Revenue Service databases.

Since Republican President Donald Trump has retaken the White House, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk has rapidly burrowed deep into federal agencies while avoiding public scrutiny of his work through the DOGE group.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, said of DOGE’s efforts that “there is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is. And my understanding is that it has already occurred.”

“The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive,” she said. “SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Security’s means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.”

“If there is an evil intent to punish perceived enemies, someone could erase your earnings record, making it impossible to collect the Social Security and Medicare benefits you have earned.”

The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.

US, Russian officials meet to discuss Ukraine war, bilateral relations

Top U.S. and Russian diplomats began meetings Tuesday in Saudi Arabia about relations between their countries and a potential end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Both sides have tempered expectations, describing the talks as an initial step that could lay the framework for direct talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the U.S. delegation, which also includes national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Wikoff.

Russia’s side includes Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ukrainian leaders said they were not invited to participate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to host U.S. envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg for talks on Wednesday.

The U.S.-Russia engagement sparked concern among European leaders who in recent days have highlighted the need for Ukraine to be involved in discussions about its own future, and for European nations to play a role in what they also see as a key development in their own security.

French President Emmanuel Macron convened a group of European leaders for a Monday session in Paris where they discussed boosting defense spending and potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

There was division on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a potential end to the war, with governments such as Britain and Sweden expressing openness to the idea while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that discussion was premature.

“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” Macron said on X.

The French leader said he had spoken with Trump and Zelenskyy after the Paris talks, and that it is important for Europeans, Americans and Ukrainians to work together.

Zelenskyy expressed a need for “robust and reliable” security guarantees, saying that otherwise Russia will just start another war with Ukraine or other nations in Europe.

Russian drone attack hits central Ukraine apartment building

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dolynska, officials said Tuesday, injuring at least three people.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region where the attack took place, said on Telegram that authorities evacuated dozens of people from the building and that those injured included a mother and two children.

The attack was part of a widespread Russian aerial assault overnight, which the Ukrainian military said included 176 drones.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 103 of the drones, with intercepts taking place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said Tuesday.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that debris from a destroyed drone damaged four houses in his region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed five Ukrainian drones, including four over the Voronezh region and one over Belgorod.

Both regions are located along the Russia-Ukraine border and are frequent targets of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters

Four top New York City officials resign as turmoil ripples over mayor’s corruption case

NEW YORK — Four top deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams are resigning in the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end a corruption case against Adams and ensure his cooperation in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — a bargain that has raised questions about the mayor’s political independence and ability to lead the city.

In a statement Monday, Adams confirmed the departures of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker.

“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future,” said Adams, who faces several challengers in June’s Democratic primary. “But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the latest Democrat to call on the mayor to resign, saying that with the deputy mayor resignations it’s clear he “has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government and New Yorkers.”

Speaker Adams is not related to the mayor.

Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom told agency heads and staff in a memo that they were exiting because of “the extraordinary events of the last few weeks.”

They did not give a date for their departures, but Adams said they and Parker will remain “for the time being to ensure a seamless transition.”

Adams has faced increasing scrutiny since the Justice Department’s second-in-command ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week to drop the mayor’s corruption case. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote that the case had “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime.”

That directive touched off firestorms within the Justice Department and New York political circles, with seven federal prosecutors quitting in protest — including the interim U.S. attorney for Manhattan — and fellow Democrats calling on Adams to resign.

On Friday, after a week of recriminations and resignations, Bove and a pair of Justice Department officials from Washington stepped in and filed paperwork asking Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho to dismiss the case. Ho has yet to take action on the request.

Adams, a former police captain, pleaded not guilty last September to charges that he accepted more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from foreign nationals looking to buy his influence while he was Brooklyn borough president campaigning to be mayor.

The Justice Department said in its filing Friday that it was seeking to dismiss Adams’ charges with the option of refiling them later, which critics see as a carrot to ensure his compliance on the Republican president’s objectives. In his memo ordering prosecutors to ditch the case, Bove said the new, permanent U.S. attorney would review the matter after the November election.

“It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the mayor hostage,” Reverend Al Sharpton, an Adams ally, said Tuesday. “I have supported the mayor, but he has been put in an unfair position — even for him — of essentially political blackmail.”

Political leaders, including Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nydia Velázquez, and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado have called on Adams to step down. But Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has said she’s taking a more deliberative approach.

“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now,” she told MSNBC on Thursday. “I’ve got to do it smart, what’s right, and I’m consulting with other leaders in government right now.”

The drama over Adams’ legal case played out as the mayor met with Trump’s border czar in New York on Thursday and announced increased cooperation on the Trump administration’s efforts to remove immigrants, including reestablishing an office for immigration authorities at the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

In their memo to staff announcing their exits, Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom wrote, “Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles.”

Costa Rica will receive deported migrants from US

San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rica announced Monday it would receive migrants from other countries who were deported by the United States, following in the footsteps of Panama and Guatemala.

“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president’s office said in a statement, adding that “these are people originating from … Central Asia and India.”

Costa Rica is the third country in Central America to collaborate on repatriating deported migrants from the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office in Washington on Jan. 20. 

The first set of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight, according to the statement, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama. 

The statement specified that “the process will be completely financed” by the U.S. government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration. 

Panama and Guatemala had previously agreed to a similar arrangement when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited on a recent tour of Latin America. 

Panama received its first repatriation flight with 119 migrants aboard last week, originating from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to Panamanian officials. None have arrived yet in Guatemala.

Latin America is the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Many had made dangerous journeys, braving treacherous terrain, wild animals and criminal gangs for a chance at a better life.

Trump, however, took a hard line against undocumented migrants during last year’s U.S. election campaign, describing some as “monsters” and “animals.”

On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.

 

Oklahoma state school board wants to register students’ immigration status

Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Oklahoma are looking at a plan to start collecting information on the immigration status of students and parents in public schools. It’s a proposed rule that some local school officials are already saying they will refuse to enforce. Scott Stearns narrates this story from Daria Vershylenko in Oklahoma.

Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash

Washington — The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Probationary workers were targeted in late night emails Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement.

The affected workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told the Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement Monday it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”

Other FAA employees who were fired were working on an urgent and classified early warning radar system the Air Force had announced in 2023 for Hawaii to detect incoming cruise missiles, through a program that was in part funded by the Department of Defense. It’s one of several programs that the FAA’s National Defense Program manages that involve radars providing longer-range detection around the country’s borders.

Due to the nature of their work, staff in that office typically provide an extensive knowledge transfer before retiring to make sure no institutional knowledge is lost, said Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, one of the employees in that branch who was terminated.

The Hawaii radar and the FAA National Defense Program office working on it “is about protecting national security,” Spitzer-Stadtlander said. “I don’t think they even knew what NDP does, they just thought, ‘oh no big deal, he just works for the FAA.’”

Spero said messages began arriving after 7 p.m. on Friday and continued late into the night. More might be notified over the long weekend or barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, he said.

The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.

In the Jan. 29 fatal crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet, which is still under investigation, one controller was handing both commercial airline and helicopter traffic at the busy airport.

Just days before the collision, President Donald Trump had already fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The committee is charged with examining safety issues at airlines and airports.

Spitzer-Stadtlander said he was supposed to be exempted from the probationary firings because the FAA office he worked in focused on national security threats such as attacks on the national airspace by drones.

The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firings were first reported by CNN.

American arrested in Moscow on drug smuggling charges freed

Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official. 

The move appears to be an effort to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 

Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. According to media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. 

Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that Byers was released to the embassy late Sunday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expects “to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, “so certain events can be viewed in this context.” 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Byers’ fiancee was also released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges. 

Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most recent one included Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced. 

Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia. 

The release of Fogel and Byers come as tensions between Russia and the U.S. appear to ease. 

President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.