We need to bring Ukraine-Russia war to a 'durable end,' Ex-NATO supreme allied commander says
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Iowa US Senate candidate ends bid to run against Republican incumbent Joni Ernst
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Democratic state lawmaker bowed out of the 2026 U.S. Senate primary race on Monday and endorsed a fellow legislator as the 'best hope' to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who has yet to formally announce her bid for a third term. Rep. J.D. Scholten said in a statement he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Democratic Rep. Josh Turek, who launched his campaign last week. Both represent districts in counties that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in 2024. Turek joined a crowded primary field that includes state Sen. Zach Wahls, who on Monday announced the endorsement of a northeast Iowa iron workers union; Nathan Sage, a former chamber of commerce president; and Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris. Eyes remain on Ernst as Republicans encountered early headaches in some of the 2026 races that will be pivotal to maintaining the party's Senate majority, including a contentious GOP primary in Texas and a surprise retirement announcement by two-term Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. After flipping pork chops last week at the Iowa State Fair, Ernst told reporters that she'd make an announcement on her own 2026 intentions in the next several weeks, adding, 'I've got a lot more work to do.' In a reelection bid, Ernst would face GOP primary challengers who include former state Sen. Jim Carlin and Navy veteran Joshua Smith. Of her Democratic competitors, Ernst said 'good for them.' 'When we see those Democrats getting in, what they're trying to do is get their name out there, but they cannot deny the fabulous agenda that President Trump has," Ernst said. 'Glad they're engaging but, you know what, they're not going to stand a chance.' Ernst announced a campaign manager in June, an October date for her annual fundraiser and has raised just shy of $1.8 million in the first half of the year. A former Army National Guard member and a retired lieutenant colonel, she was first elected to an open Senate seat in 2014. She served for several years in the No. 3 spot in the Senate GOP leadership and was considered a vice presidential contender for Trump's first White House run. She's since faced some backlash from Trump supporters, including earlier this year after signaling a hesitance to support Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Democrats meanwhile are capitalizing on a retort Ernst made about Medicaid cuts at a town hall in May. As Ernst explained that the legislation protects Medicaid for those who need it most, someone in the crowd yelled that people will die without coverage. Ernst responded: 'People are not ... well, we all are going to die.'
Yahoo
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Well-mannered White House welcome for Ukraine leaves many questions
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump gathered European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a hastily arranged White House meeting on Monday to discuss a path to ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Here are takeaways from the talks: WARM TONE, LITTLE SUBSTANCE Seven European leaders, the Ukrainian president, their motorcades, dozens of Trump administration staff and more than 100 journalists swarmed the White House campus on Monday in anticipation of the unusual meeting. Would Trump and Zelenskiy agree on a path to peace? Or would their latest Oval Office session devolve into a bitter squabble as in February? Neither scenario occurred. Zelenskiy, chided for his appearance and manner in February, adjusted both. Wearing more formal clothing and repeatedly expressing his gratitude to Trump, he was greeted by a far more complimentary U.S. president than in the past. But, despite Trump's vow to assist in Ukraine's security after a hypothetical peace deal, there was no immediate sign that any party had substantially changed position on land swaps, security guarantees or sanctions. Instead, Trump ended with promises to host a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to address the many remaining issues. HEAPING PRAISE "Have you said 'thank you' once?" U.S. Vice President JD Vance asked Zelenskiy in February, accusing him of failing to show sufficient gratitude for U.S. support. On Monday, Zelenskiy made sure that was not an issue. His opening remarks in the Oval Office included eight thank-yous, mostly for Trump. "Thank you so much, Mr. President ... thank you for your attention. Thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you," Zelenskiy said. He included the U.S. first lady, who sent a letter to Putin about abducted children in Ukraine. "Using this opportunity, my thanks to your wife," the Ukrainian president said. "And thanks to all our partners and that you supported this format. And after our meeting, we're going to have leaders who are around us, the UK and France, Germany... all partners around Ukraine supporting us. Thanks (to) them. Thank you very much for your invitation." Unlike in February, Vance this time sat largely silent. COMBAT FORMAL The stakes of the meeting could not have been higher. But one of the most-asked questions among diplomats in D.C. could not have been more frivolous: Would the Ukrainian president wear a suit? The answer: kind of. Zelenskiy showed up to the White House in what one European diplomat described as "almost a suit." His black jacket had tiny lapels and jetted chest pockets. He did not wear a tie. His attire, which split the difference between the battlefield and the boardroom, could be described as combat formal. Those sartorial details matter when it comes to dealing with the U.S. president, who was upset that Zelenskiy did not wear a suit for their February meeting. Zelenskiy passed the fashion test this time, however. When one journalist in the Oval Office said Zelenskiy looked "fabulous," Trump chimed in to agree. "I said the same thing," Trump told reporters. DIVIDE OVER CEASEFIRE The assembled European leaders, Zelenskiy included, were careful to paper over policy disagreements with Trump, keeping their comments vague and showering the U.S. president with compliments. But one point of disagreement did bubble to the surface. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the assembled leaders and media that he wanted to see Putin agree to a ceasefire. Trump had long pushed for a ceasefire in Ukraine. But he largely jettisoned that goal after meeting with Putin last week in Alaska, a shift that was widely seen as a diplomatic defeat for Ukraine. The U.S. president now says he is fine trying to move directly to a peace deal. "To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire," Merz said. "I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire, so let's work on that." Trump pushed back, arguing he has solved many conflicts without first reaching a ceasefire. WHOSE BOOTS ON THE GROUND? One of the great mysteries that hung over the summit was what support the U.S. would give to secure any Russia-Ukraine deal long term. Trump hasn't offered U.S. troops' "boots on the ground" to guarantee Ukraine's security from Russia, reflecting American reticence to commit to military entanglements or a head-to-head confrontation with a nuclear power. Instead, he has offered weapons sales and promised that Americans will do business in Ukraine, assurances that Ukrainians see as far less than a security guarantee. Europeans are preparing for a peacekeeping mission backed by their forces. Yet, asked explicitly whether U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine could include U.S. troops in the country, Trump did not rule it out. Instead, he teased an announcement as soon as Monday on the topic. "We'll let you know that, maybe, later today," Trump said. He said Europe was the "first line of defense" but that "we'll be involved." WHAT'S NEXT Trump said he would call Putin and set up a trilateral meeting with Ukraine at a time and place to be determined. Despite some private misgivings, the assembled leaders agreed that such a meeting was a logical next step. Still, the path forward is more complex than Trump and his allies are letting on. For one, Russia has delayed and obstructed high-level meetings with Ukraine in the past, and it was not immediately clear that Putin would actually sit down with Zelenskiy, who he frequently describes as an illegitimate leader. Additionally, it is unclear how much a principal-level meeting would actually advance the cause of peace. The gulf between the Russian and Ukrainian positions is vast. The Kremlin said on Monday the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is a non-starter, a stance that would be hard for Ukraine to swallow. Russia is also calling for Ukraine to fork over significant chunks of territory that Kyiv controls, another proposal that Ukraine's leaders are not entertaining.
USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
Chris Pratt talks hanging out with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 'I love him'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a fan in Chris Pratt. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star, 46, spoke with Bill Maher on the "Club Random" podcast about his relationship with the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. "I've spent a number of occasions hanging with him, just in a strictly family dinner kind of vibe, and I really got along with him well," Pratt said during the episode released on Aug. 18. "I think he's great. I think he's funny. I like him. I love him." Pratt's wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, is a member of the Kennedy family. She is the granddaughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a philanthropist and sibling of Robert F. Kennedy. Pratt also told Maher that politics is a "nasty business," and he has seen "how the person you are can be such a contrast to the person that people are being told that you are." Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcome their first son together Kennedy, who endorsed Trump's 2024 election bid after dropping his own campaign for president as an independent, has been criticized for his history of promoting false or misleading claims about vaccines. "When you jump on the bandwagon with the most divisive president ever, it makes sense that you're going to be made to look terrible," Pratt said. "So I don't know what to believe. It's not like I sit with Bobby and go, 'So hey, let's talk about this.' We're just playing cards or playing Mafia or having fun or having dinner. I'm not going to pick his brain to find out exactly which of those things are true. I just kind of assume that none of them are, and for the most part, I wish him well." Pratt argued that even critics of the Trump administration should be able to root for its success in some instances. "I'd hate to be so mired in hatred for the president that any success from his administration is something I'd have an allergic reaction to," he said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declares 'loyalty' to Trump, rules out a 2028 presidential bid The "Terminal List" actor did not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, even as several of his Marvel costars rallied around former Vice President Kamala Harris. In an essay for his mother-in-law Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper before the election, Pratt wrote that he was "trying to make sense of the election through the eyes of Americans on both sides." "I've been thinking a lot about where we'll be as a nation on November 6th, how we can attempt to move forward after so much division, and how some of the lessons that sports teach us may be just what all of us need as we chart a course forward," he wrote. Pratt went on to add that after the election, Americans should exercise their "civic duty" to "accept the results and focus instead on showing up for each other." Contributing: Hannah Hudnall and Erin Jensen, USA TODAY
