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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy prepares for fresh White House visit - as Putin issues first comments after summit
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is preparing for his meeting with Donald Trump - as Vladimir Putin issued his first comments following the US-Russia talks on the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president will fly to Washington DC for the next stage of talks on Monday, which could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside the Russian leader, Mr Trump has said. It comes following a high-profile summit between the US president and Mr Putin, held in Alaska on Friday. US-Russia talks on Ukraine - latest updates The US president had heavily previewed the talks, threatening sanctions for Russia should there be no agreement on a ceasefire. But a short news briefing following the summit ended with no mention of a ceasefire, no agreement on how to end the war, and little clarity about the next steps. On Saturday, Mr Trump appeared to change his stance on what he hopes to achieve from the talks, indicating he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire, and announced the follow-up meeting with Mr Zelenskyy. In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said he was grateful for the invitation and added: "It is important that everyone agrees there needs to be a conversation at the level of leaders to clarify all the details and determine which steps are necessary and will work." However, he said Russia had rebuffed "numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing", which "complicates the situation". Mr Zelenskyy continued: "If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater - peaceful coexistence with its neighbours for decades. "But together we are working for peace and security. Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war." The Ukrainian president's last visit to the White House earlier this year descended into a fiery spat with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance that saw him leave early. Mr Putin issued his first statement on Saturday afternoon following the Friday's summit, describing the talks as "timely and quite useful" - but said the "removal" of what he calls the "root causes" of the crisis "must underlie the settlement". He continued: "We definitely respect the US administration's position which wants the hostilities to stop as soon as possible. So do we, and we would like to move forward with settling all issues by peaceful means. "The conversation was very frank and substantive, which, in my view, moves us closer towards making necessary decisions." Read more: In calls on Saturday, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy that the Russian leader had offered to freeze frontlines elsewhere if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a person familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency. US envoy Steve Witkoff told Ukraine's leader that Mr Putin had said there could be no ceasefire without this, and that the Russian president could pledge not to launch any new aggression against Ukraine as part of an arrangement. Meanwhile, European leaders who make up the "coalition of the willing" are set to hold a conference call tomorrow ahead of the crunch talks between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy. In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the US leader's efforts had "brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine" and that his leadership "in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended". He said he supported the next phase of talks, but added: "In the meantime, until (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions."
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Prop B discussion hints at renewal question
Joplin council members and city officials are beginning talks on whether to try to renew the Proposition B sales tax because the police and fire pension fund it was put in place to address may close out several years earlier than expected. The half-cent tax approved by voters in 2019 addressed a low funding ratio in the Police and Firemen's Pension Fund. It is commonly called the pension tax. It was intended to bring the pension fund up to a funding level of 120% of benefits owed. It was projected that could take up to 12 years. But the pension plan's actuary recently projected that the plan could be fully funded, or reach the agreed upon 120% level of benefits owed, in early 2027. That would be five years earlier than the 12-year sunset given to fully fund pension obligations when the tax was proposed to voters. The actuarial report states that the plan's funded ratio as of Oct. 31, 2024, was at 90.1%. That percentage could fluctuate with market conditions, the city's contribution rate and other factors. Proposition B last year provided more than $8.6 million that was paid into the fund, which exceeded the actuarial recommended contributions for the year by more than $5.5 million, according to the actuary report. LAGERS In order to provide better retirement benefits at a lower cost to police officers and firefighters in the future, part of the Proposition B plan was to transition those employees and retirees who wished to move their coverage to the Missouri LAGERS pension plan and get them out of the city plan. LAGERS is the largest pension plan in the state for government employees. The city's finance director, Leslie Haase, said the final members of the pension plan are finishing up transitioning to LAGERS unless they opt to stay in the local pension fund. She intends to have a report on that status in September, she said. Council members discussed the handling of past sales tax campaigns for police and fire expenses at a work session Monday. Council member Ryan Jackson said of a Proposition B renewal, 'I think it's a great idea to keep that funding mechanism in place,' though he expressed concerns about going too far with campaign statements, such as those who said of Prop B that 'This is what is going to take care of these departments forever.' But the campaign gave voters a clear, strong message, he added. 'What I think gave that the resounding success is that it wasn't the mayor and city staff handing the rest of us, 'Here is the plan.' They said, 'We're here to give you some information. You guys figure it out.'' 'It kind of came down to three options. We did some public information gathering, working with the unions and department heads, and that's how we ended up with the public safety sales tax proposition and the council got the Chamber of Commerce to back it. I think it really made a difference and I want to make sure when we do this that we do it right and do everything we can.' The measure was promoted by the chamber with the slogan that it was 'A Better Plan for Joplin.' Mayor Keenan Cortez talked about the successful passage of the first half-cent public safety sales tax in 2004. It has funded the construction of new fire stations, the Public Safety Training Center, and the addition of needed firefighters and police officers to the city departments. 'I will also add that during that time in 2004 when we were working on that ... the city had come up with what was a pretty good plan and it looked it was going to be a long-term plan or solution to a problem that the city had for a while. And then 20 years happened. And there was a global pandemic, a recession in 2008, and a lot of things took place. ... I remember what we were paying police officers then, and it's almost double now. The costs of goods and services has almost gone through the roof' since that tax was approved. The mayor said he agrees that residents need to be involved in the process, 'but I caution to call it the solution, or the fix-all, or greatest next thing, because who knows what we're going to have 20 years from now. So, we can make the best plans we can right now, and I think Prop B renewal is one of the best plans we can do going forward, but I just caution that it is going to be end-all, fix-all' for public safety pay. Councilman Josh Bard said he agreed with the idea of getting a group of people to represent the proposal. Details on what the city would use a renewed Proposition B tax to fund were not discussed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
13 minutes ago
- Fox News
Extra: Why FOX News' Chad Pergram Is Always On 'Hight Alert' In August
It's August. Which is supposed to be a slow month as Congress is on recess and most Americans are enjoying these last few weeks of summer. But like in some years past, this August has already been full of some historic headlines. That is why FOX News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram has always warned journalists to be on 'high alert' during August because big stories tend to surface. FOX News Rundown: From Washington, host Ryan Schmelz recently spoke with Chad about this and some of the major events that have taken place in the so-called dog days of summer. It was a fascinating conversation, and we thought you'd like to hear it. In a Fox News Rundown Extra exclusive, you will hear our entire conversation with FOX News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
