Trump wants a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting and Hurricane Erin threatens North Carolina: Morning Rundown

NBC News

7 hours ago

Trump meets with Ukraine's Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House. Hurricane Erin forecast to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to East Coast. And promising medication for children with an ultra-rare and often fatal disease faces a major FDA setback.
Here's what to know today.
Trump wants a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin
President Donald Trump said he plans to set up a direct meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, followed by a trilateral meeting in which he would take part, the latest move in his rapid-fire effort to broker a peace deal in a war that has raged for more than three years.
After meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders yesterday at the White House, Trump detailed his push for further talks in a post on Truth Social. He said he called Putin to discuss arrangements for a meeting.
The meeting with Zelenskyy came three days after Trump traveled to Alaska to meet with Putin. And notably, yesterday's affair was a stark contrast to Zelenskyy's last visit to the Oval Office in February. Then, Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, Trump said Ukraine was 'in big trouble' and the meeting was ultimately cut short.
This time, Zelesnkyy ditched his traditional wartime garb for a dark, formal suit. He and Trump discussed whether they can resolve sticking points centered on Ukraine's future security and the status of the territory the Russian military has seized. Zelenskyy said that the meeting went well.
Then the pair met with European leaders — including French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — who would play an important part in any peace deal and who are hoping to prevent further Russian attacks.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News' 'Meet the Press' moderator Kristen Welker, Macron said he was skeptical that Putin is ready to resolve the conflict and insisted the U.S. should apply pressure on Russia to find a resolution and perhaps introduce more sanctions. See the interview here.
Trump also suggested the U.S. may play a part in a peace deal. When asked whether he would deploy American troops to Ukraine, he did not dismiss the idea. Trump said before last week's summit with Putin that he wanted a ceasefire but has since shifted his aim toward a full-fledged peace agreement.
Trump aims to end mail-in voting
President Donald Trump declared yesterday that he will 'lead a movement' to end mail-in balloting in elections, bringing one of his past fixations back to the spotlight. The issue was seemingly stoked last week when he met in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump also brought up the issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting yesterday.
But changing the laws governing federal elections through an executive order isn't that simple. The Constitution grants the ultimate authority to state legislatures to determine how elections operate, though Congress and the president could pass laws overriding them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would make such an effort 'dead on arrival.
Beyond the legal challenges, many Republicans say Trump is fishing in a politically toxic pond that is better left alone. Read the full story here.
More politics news:
A two-week standoff in Texas over a redistricting fight has ended with Democratic lawmakers returning to the state and the state House reconvening. Those with arrest warrants against them would be allowed to leave the chamber only under certain circumstances, though one Democrat plans to remain locked inside the chamber until tomorrow.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has tried to appeal to a working-class base with a mix of economic populism and social conservatism, but in the past few months, his mission has come into conflict with members of his party.
Hurricane Erin poses flood risk to North Carolina
Hurricane Erin, deemed 'unusually large' by the National Hurricane Center, could bring life-threatening surf and rip currents across the East Coast this week, after the storm passes by the Bahamas and then turns north, forecasters warned.
Wind speeds weakened to a Category 3 last night, though the hurricane center warned the storm could strengthen again by midweek. While Erin will remain off coast, officials in North Carolina said the storm could create coastal flooding that could make some roads impassable for days. Storm surge and tropical storm watches have been issued for a large section of the state's coast, and a mandatory evacuation order was issued. Track Erin's forecasted path here.
Last weekend, Erin exploded from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm in a little over 24 hours. That jaw-dropping 'rapid intensification' ranked it among the fastest storms in history to grow at this level, and researchers are taking note.
Read All About It
A California woman known as the 'Ketamine Queen' faces up to 65 years in prison after she agreed to plead guilty in connection with actor Matthew Perry's fatal overdose.
The arrests of delivery drivers in Washington, D.C., by federal immigration agents has had a chilling effect across the city.
'Lafufus,' the knockoff versions of the popular Labubu plush toys, pose a serious choking hazard that could kill young children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned.
Yosemite National Park fired a ranger for hanging a transgender pride flag on the iconic El Capitan rock formation.
The Dallas Cowboys haven't won big in 30 years, but the team has continued to garner fans' attention and money like no other. Here's why.
Staff Pick: Time is running out for kids with a rare disease
The family of Gilbert Dryden said an experimental drug called elamipretide is keeping the seven-month old — who has a rare condition called Barth Syndrome — alive and functioning relatively well. But his mother, Madison, estimates his supply of the medication will run out at the end of October. Small studies have suggested that elamipretide is safe and effective in treating the illness.
However, a process to bring the drug to the market, which has already spanned more than a decade, has hit several roadblocks and pulled the rug out from under the Drydens and many other families, who rely on elamipretide and are now unsure of what comes next. Correspondent Sam Brock and health reporter Erika Edwards explain how changes in FDA leadership during the Trump administration have added new hurdles to an already complicated approval process. — Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor
From horror flicks to environmental documentaries, young filmmakers in Salt Lake City, Utah, are writing, producing and directing the work they want to see in the world, often at no cost. That's thanks to the nonprofit media arts center Spy Hop, which since 1999 has offered a year-round curriculum for young people to explore storytelling through film, music and digital media.
'Having free programming really allows young people that find this space to go, 'Oh, my God, I didn't realize anything like this existed, and this is my place, and this is where I'm going to stay for as long as I possibly can,'' program coordinator Adam Sherlock said.
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