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President’s comments follow Chinese government’s denial of ‘baseless’ claim that Washington was close to dealThe US and China held talks on Thursday to help resolve the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump said.“We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” the US president told reporters at the White House. Continue reading...

CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir scoffed Thursday at the White House assertion that President Donald Trump 'follows science.' This week the Trump administration put out a statement, titled, "On Earth Day, We Finally Have a President Who Follows Science." CNN's Dana Bash read part of the statement, saying the Trump administration was "leveraging environmental policies rooted in reality to promote economic growth while maintaining the standards that have afforded Americans the cleanest air and water in the world for generations." The words were eyebrow-raising for Weir. Bash continued, "So, the president, his first 100 days, he has reversed a lot of what the federal government has been trying to do across parties, across presidents, to slow the fight against the climate crisis." ALSO READ: Violent J6er who broke into Capitol announces run for Congress in East Texas "And it's not just climate crisis work...it is air pollution, it is every kind of environmental protection is under the the DOGE chainsaw these days," Weir said. "And that headline about 'finally, a president that follows the science' is just cruel irony to the hundreds, thousands of scientists across different agencies that are being purged right now, from NOAA to NASA to even the department of education." Weir listed off how the Trump administration has been "trying to attack any sort of environmental regulations," including firing 280 EPA staffers on Earth Day and cancelling green energy grants.. "What we're seeing is just ideological purging that really doesn't make any sense," Weir continued. "It's incoherent for the science. For example, he put out an executive order to prop up coal mining. Well, the only reason the country is not mining more coal is it would be more expensive. You would lose millions of dollars opening a new coal-fired power plant. Texas is the greenest state in the country when it comes to wind and solar and storage, not because they're woke. It's because the economics now, those are the cheapest forms of energy these days." Weir was astounded that Trump also wanted to end "the forced use of paper straws because, according to a new report, paper straws contain dangerous PFAS chemicals that are bad for human health." "Well, how about going after the PFAS chemicals or the microplastic pollution that is such a scourge globally?" Weir exclaimed. "None of that. So, it's cherry-picked to favor certain industries." Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.

Haaretz report comes as supreme court gives Israeli PM more time to respond to affidavit from fired Shin Bet chief New developments have come to light in the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last month, with evidence reportedly contradicting the Israel Defense Forces’ claim that soldiers did not fire indiscriminately at the medical workers.The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that its analysis of the IDF’s own materials collected as part of an internal investigation into the incident contradicted the army’s claim that soldiers did not shoot indiscriminately at Palestinian ambulances and a fire engine in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...

Self-described "pronatalist" mom Simone Collins had some challenges discussing her desire to help the Trump administration promote a new baby boom as she juggled her squirming daughter live on CNN Thursday. "By the way, Indy's joining us, your child, we should note," said anchor Pamela Brown after asking Simone to explain the movement she and husband Malcolm have embraced. As Simone started to answer, the baby let out a squeal. "Oh, my goodness!" Simone exclaimed while shifting the baby. Simone went on to say that the movement hopes to lift "a lot of regulatory bloat" that makes parents' lives "more difficult, and supporting a culture in which families are accepted." The Collins's say they've drafted "executive orders" for President Trump to sign regarding pronatalist issues that don't include provisions for things like more medical benefits or parental leave. ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat' "We haven't seen much evidence that, for example, changing parental leave or providing more medical benefits has an effect ultimately on birth rates," Simone said, as Brown asked if she thought there should be more parental leave. "I don't, actually, because it has a lot of adverse effects that are not accounted for," Simone said. "It could even cause organizations to discriminate against hiring women because they know that they have to pay for generous parental leave, and they may be more subconsciously likely to promote and select men or women who don't plan on having any kids at all, which would ultimately put parents at more of a disadvantage." Simone claimed that the answer for working parents who want to have more kids "is allowing for more generous work-from-home policies, which really allow families to both have kids and work really easily without having to choose one path." Simone said she and Malcolm hope to have as many kids as possible while she can. "We put our money where our mouth is," Simone said. "I have about a kid a year our. We have four kids — fifth is on the way, and our fifth is five years old. So we want to have as many kids as we can. And because I have to have C-sections, that basically means, until I lose my uterus in a surgery, I'm going to keep having kids." Watch the clip below via CNN or click here.

Chadema spokesperson says party’s vice-chair John Heche and secretary general John Mnyika held on way to protest over treason chargesTanzania’s main opposition party said on Thursday at least two of its officials had been arrested on their way to a rally to support the leading government opponent Tundu Lissu, who refused to appear at a virtual court hearing to face a charge of treason.Authorities in the east African country have increasingly cracked down on the opposition Chadema party ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls in October. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump's Thursday morning social media post accusing Vladimir Putin of "very bad timing" with the devastating Russian strikes on Kyiv is being slammed as "laughable" by political analysts. Trump posted on Truth Social, "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!" The U.S. has been trying to broker a peace deal between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but talks have stalled in recent days over the issue of Russian controlling Crimea on the Black Sea. "How threatened to you think Vladimir Putin is by those words?" asked CNN's John Berman. ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailed "By 'Vladimir, stop'? I don't think he's threatened at all," said senior political commentator Ana Navarro. She continued, "I feel like that's going to be some sort of meme or or T-shirt slogan. As mild as it is, it's the first public rebuke — I guess it's foreign policy by tweet from Trump — and it's the first time that we've seen him do something like this with Vladimir Putin." "Yeah, but what he doesn't say...is that it's wrong of you to be attacking Ukraine at all; he says it's bad timing!" Berman said, quizzically. "Russia could end this conflict immediately — they are the ones who invaded a sovereign nation. So, the fact that the president is now all of a sudden tweeting something out that says, 'Vladimir, stop,' or, you know, 'this is bad timing' is laughable," said democratic strategist Meghan Hays. "This is not the way you do foreign policy." Hays added, "And let's not forget that Ukraine, here, is the one who's being attacked, and they are the ones who are trying to defend themselves, and America should be defending Ukraine and its other allies of the coalition that was built to support Ukraine against Russia. So, this whole thing is just laughable on the president's part." Watch the clip below via CNN or click here.

Comments made by Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday about negotiations to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine earned him a tongue-lashing on MSNBC early Thursday morning.With Donald Trump's administration flailing in its attempts to end the war Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been hinting the U.S. may walk away from the bargaining table unless Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees to a White House proposal that experts say heavily favors Russia.Speaking in Agra, India Wednesday, Vance doubled down and came to Putin's defense which led to vehement push back from "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Jonathan Lemire.ALSO READ: 'We know where this leads': How Trump’s crackdown puts Jewish people in perilTowards the end of his remarks, Vance stated, "I'm going to echo something Secretary Rubio said, which is: look, we've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process."He then added, "We've really tried to understand things from the perspective of both the Ukrainians and the Russians. What do Ukrainians care the most about? What do the Russians care the most about? And I think that we've put together a very fair proposal."That earned him a "What?" from Brzezinski who quickly turned to her co-host and stated, "Yeah. Tell me what you're thinking right now.""I mean, right now, I mean even as the vice president said there, he said, 'We're trying to understand each side's perspective.' Trying to understand Russian's perspective?" the obviously incensed Lemire asked. "We know what their perspective is: they invaded a sovereign nation," he exclaimed as Brzezinski chimed in with, "They want to seize territory and Trump wants to give it to them!""That's the bottom line," she added to which Lemire added, "Doesn't seem much open for interpretation."You can watch below or at the link here. - YouTube youtu.be

International aid workers fear for Palestinians who have fled their homes in search of safetyIsrael has quietly stopped designating areas of Gaza as humanitarian zones since it resumed strikes on the Palestinian territory last month.The move has heightened fears among aid workers for the safety of civilians sheltering in places previously deemed protected. Continue reading...