President Trump sent a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet with senior Russian officials today and discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine. After four hours of negotiations — the most extensive in years between the two powers — participants in the meeting suggested that the U.S. and Russia would begin to work more closely together.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described a three-step plan that both countries had agreed to. First, they would discuss ways to ease embassy restrictions. They would also work on a peace settlement for Ukraine. Finally, Rubio said, the U.S. and Russia would explore new partnerships, both in geopolitics and business.
The plans reflected a significant shift in U.S. strategy. For years, Joe Biden and other Western leaders focused on punishing Russia for starting Europe’s most destructive war in generations. Today’s striking display of bonhomie showed that Trump was eager to work with Russia to end the war — an approach that would most likely fulfill many of the demands of its president, Vladimir Putin.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine reacted angrily to the U.S.-Russia meeting. He insisted that it was important that any peace negotiations did not happen “behind the backs of the key subjects.” Any decisions, he added, “cannot be imposed” on Ukraine.
A judge declined to limit Elon Musk’s authority
A federal judge in Washington ruled against 14 Democratic-led states who had sought to bar Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing data and ordering personnel changes at several federal agencies. The judge, Tanya Chutkan, said that the states had failed to prove that Musk’s actions could cause them imminent or irreparable harm.
In related news, a White House official said Musk is not the head of DOGE.
In other politics news:
New York’s governor is weighing whether to remove Adams
Gov. Kathy Hochul held meetings today with elected officials and community leaders in New York City to discuss Mayor Eric Adams’s future. Under the state’s Constitution, Hochul has the power to remove Adams, a fellow Democrat. Last night, she said that such a move “should not be taken lightly.”
Hamas said it would return the remains of Israeli hostages
Hamas officials said today that they intended to hand the remains of four hostages over to Israel on Thursday in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. According to Hamas, the remains will include the bodies of three of the most well-known hostages: Shiri Bibas and her young children.
For many Israelis, their kidnapping epitomized the cruelty of the Hamas-led attack that prompted the 15-month war in Gaza. Today’s report of the deaths of Bibas and her children, which Israel has not confirmed, left many in the country distraught.
In related news, Israeli forces retained control over strategic border points in southern Lebanon as a deadline passed for Israel and Hezbollah to leave the region.
More top news
The forgotten writers who influenced Jane Austen
As a rare-book collector, Rebecca Romney knows much more about literary history than the average person. And she had come to believe that Jane Austen was far superior to other female writers of her time.
Then, Romney read Frances Burney and realized that she had underestimated an entire generation of women who had influenced Austen and been great in their own right. So she used her skills to find the writers and learn how they had fallen out of the canon. Romney’s book documenting her search, “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf,” was published today.
The director New York has been waiting for
When “The Threepenny Opera” returns to New York this spring, it will be the first real opportunity for New York audiences to see the work of the director Barrie Kosky. That’s a shock, our classical music critic Joshua Barone said, because Kosky is one of the busiest and most brilliant directors working in Europe today.
Joshua explained what stands out about Kosky.
Is ‘Paddington 2’ the perfect movie?
Six decades after a charming, duffle-coated bear named Paddington was first brought to life in a British children’s series, “Paddington 2” was released in 2018 to modest box-office success. Eventually, however, rave reviews and word-of-mouth praise helped turn the film into a pandemic streaming hit — and an online sensation.
In less than a week, the marmalade-loving bear’s third feature-length movie, “Paddington in Peru,” has amassed $100 million in theaters. But many fans still believe that the second installment — which for a while was the best reviewed film ever on Rotten Tomatoes — was the real prize. They told us why.
Have an adoring evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today.
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