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Two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.Noem confirmed the incident in a post on X, noting that the shooting occurred just steps from the FBI’s Washington field office.  EU to lift Syria sanctions, keep measures on former Assad regime U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated she was present at the scene along with former judge Jeanine Pirro, who currently serves as the U.S. attorney in the capital.Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned the attack, describing it as a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”  Germany's economy will stagnate this year as tariffs cast a shadow: advisers As of late Wednesday, police had not disclosed any details about the motive. Authorities were expected to hold a press briefing later that night.“We are confident that U.S. authorities will take decisive action against those behind this criminal act,” Danon wrote on X. “Israel will continue to take firm steps to protect its citizens and representatives worldwide.”

The person killed in a shooting at a Las Vegas fitness center last week was a longtime employee who had no known connection to the shooter, police said Monday. Edgar Quinonez, 31, of Las Vegas, was shot and killed Friday at the Las Vegas Athletic Club, police said. Arriving officers fired at the suspected shooter, 34-year-old Daniel Ortega, as he exited the gym after firing 24 rounds, police said. Ortega, a gym member, died of gunshot wounds, according to police. Three other people were injured at the gym on the city’s west side as gunfire erupted. They were transported to local hospitals, with one in critical condition. Their conditions weren't released on Monday. Officials are still investigating a motive, saying they have found no connection between the two men.  Residents dig out from tornado damage after storms kill 28 in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia Jamie Prosser, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department assistant sheriff, said at a media briefing on Monday that Ortega entered the gym with a rifle on Friday afternoon. She said he approached an employee at the front desk and paced around before briefly exchanging words with another employee. Then he lifted the rifle and shot the employee as he fled into the gym, she said. Ortega followed and continued firing, Prosser said, and at some point Ortega returned to the lobby and fired until the weapon malfunctioned. An arriving officer fired at Ortega when he opened the entrance door and he was shot by officers as he left the building with the rifle. He died at a nearby hospital, police said.  Severe weather leaves at least 27 dead, including 18 in Kentucky She said Ortega worked out at the gym but at this time there was no known connection to the victim.

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a statement from his office on Sunday. The diagnosis followed his report of urinary symptoms, which prompted doctors to examine him further and identify a nodule on his prostate. On Friday, it was confirmed that he has prostate cancer, with the disease having metastasized to the bone. “Although this is a more aggressive type of cancer, it appears to be hormone-sensitive, which means it can be effectively managed,” the statement noted. “The President and his family are currently discussing treatment options with his medical team.” Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive. When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease. However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones. Joe Biden signs with talent agency to shape post-presidency career Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center. “It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.” Many political leaders sent Biden their wishes for his recovery. The health of Biden was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus. But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president. In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion. In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015. His father, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.”    

Residents in Kentucky and Missouri were sorting through the wreckage left behind in neighborhoods devastated by tornadoes, remaining anxious on Sunday as more severe weather was expected. The storms, which swept across parts of the Midwest and South, claimed the lives of over two dozen people. Kentucky bore the brunt of the destruction, with a powerful tornado tearing through the state, damaging hundreds of homes, overturning vehicles, and leaving many residents without shelter. At least 19 fatalities were reported, the majority occurring in southeastern Laurel County. The National Weather Service warned of another “multi-day” stretch of hazardous weather across the central U.S., including heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and the risk of additional tornadoes. Gaza death toll hits 140 as Israel launches major ground offensive The weather service confirmed a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado Sunday afternoon near Mingus, Texas, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Fort Worth. Significant damage but no immediate casualties were reported in Palo Pinto County, which includes Mingus, a sheriff’s office dispatcher said. Forecasters warned of hail the size of tennis balls in that area, and damaging hail elsewhere in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.   ‘It happened so fast’ Jeff Wyatt’s home of 17 years was destroyed along with much of his neighborhood in London, Kentucky. Wyatt, his wife and two of their children scarcely made it to safety in a hallway while the roof and family room were ripped away. On Sunday, the family returned to the wrecked home to collect photos, baby blankets and other keepsakes. “It happened so fast,” said Wyatt, 54. “If we would have been there 10 seconds longer, we would have been gone with the family room.” Survivors and their supporters picked through the debris in London on Sunday, wary about new forecasts. Severe storms were possible for Kentucky on Monday and even more so on Tuesday, the weather service said. Zach Wilson, whose parents’ home was destroyed, said he was “terrified” another storm would ruin the remaining salvageable items scattered across their property — or even worse, destroy another community. “If I had to tell anybody it would be to listen to every word that the National Weather Service kicks out and take every warning seriously,” Wilson said. The Kentucky storms emerged from a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought punishing heat to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois — including Chicago — in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day. MISSOURI and KANSAS could see more storms The weather service said parts of Missouri and Kansas could see severe thunderstorms, golf ball-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph) into Monday. In London, Kentucky, Ryan VanNorstran huddled with his brother’s large dogs in a first-floor closet as the storm hit his brother’s home Friday in a neighborhood along Keavy Road where much of the destruction in the community of nearly 8,000 people was centered. VanNorstran was house-sitting. He said he felt the house shake as he got into a closet. Then, a door from another house crashed through a window. All the windows blew out of the house and his car was destroyed. Chunks of wood had punched through several parts of the roof but the house avoided catastrophic damage. When he stepped outside, he heard screaming. “I guess in the moment, I kind of realized there was nothing I could do. I’d never really felt that kind of power from just nature,” he said.   DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS UNDERWAY Damage assessments were underway Sunday as the state readied its request for federal disaster assistance, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.    

U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. “Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,” Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth Social. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Monday’s call. Trump's remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire. Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations — although not at the presidential level — as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S. Also on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. During a visit to Rome, Rubio suggested that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. In Ukraine, a northeastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul, after agreeing to what would be the biggest prisoner swap to date between the warring parties. Zelenskyy faces a gamble as talks stall A Russian drone strike in northeastern Ukraine kills 9 people, officials say The talks in Istanbul on Friday broke up after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchange could happen as early as next week. But the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement, and the parties remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. Since U.S.-brokered talks began in March, Ukraine’s strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Putin is unreliable, and that Kyiv is serious about peace. Trump has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to abandon his efforts if results aren’t achieved. He has also said that no peace would be reached until he held a face to face meeting with Putin. On Friday, Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi that he may call Putin soon. “He and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it, or maybe not,” Trump said. “At least we’ll know." The political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground in Ukraine. In a war of attrition against Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on, unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U.S. continues arms deliveries. Zelenskyy said that he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland. In an X post from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, Zelenskyy urged “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.” Peskov on Saturday held open the possibility of Putin holding talks with Zelenskyy, providing the agreed prisoner swap goes ahead, and if the Russian and Ukrainian delegations reached unspecified further “agreements.” Peskov also told reporters that Moscow will present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire, but gave no timeframe, or say what needed to happen before Zelenskyy and Putin can meet. A town in mourning In Ukraine, nine civilians were killed and seven others were wounded when a Russian drone struck a bus evacuating people from Bilopillia, a town around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Russia's border, according to local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraine’s national police. The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Ukraine-Russia political theatrics underscore stark realities on the ground as war grinds on Zelenskyy described the attack as “deliberate killing of civilians,” adding in a post on the Telegram messaging app that "Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.” The local media outlet Suspilne said that the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them older women. Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day “Black Saturday,” and mourning was declared in the town through Monday. Zelenskyy lamented the missed opportunity from Friday's peace talks, saying that “Ukraine has long proposed this — a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.” Ukraine's European allies strongly condemned the attack. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that he was “appalled” by it. “If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done,” he wrote on X. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, condemned Russia for "continuing their attacks today with undiminished ferocity.” He vowed to continue to increase the pressure on Moscow with added sanctions.

At least 27 people have been killed by storms systems that swept across part of the U.S. Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition. A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state's southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather. Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said the death toll could still rise. “We need the whole world right now to be really good neighbors to this region,” the governor said. State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged, Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in a tub in their basement in London, the county seat, as the tornado raged around them. “You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train," she recalled Saturday. “It was terrible.” The family eventually emerged to the sounds of sirens and panicked neighbors. While the family's own home was spared, others right behind it were demolished, Patterson said as the sound of power tools buzzed in the background. The neighborhood was dotted with piles of lumber, metal sheeting, insulation and stray belongings — a suitcase, a sofa, some six-packs of paper towels. Rescuers were searching for survivors all night and into the morning, the sheriff's office said. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving. The National Weather Service hadn't yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. It ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight. Resident Chris Cromer said he got the first of two tornado alerts on his phone around 11:30 p.m. or so, about a half-hour before the tornado struck. He and his wife grabbed their dog, jumped in their car and scrambled to the crawlspace at a relative’s nearby home because the couple’s own crawlspace is small. “We could hear and feel the vibration of the tornado coming through,” said Cromer, 46. A piece of his roof was ripped off, and windows were broken, but homes around his were destroyed. “It’s one of those things that you see on the news in other areas, and you feel bad for people — then, when it happens, it’s just surreal,” he said. “It makes you be thankful to be alive, really.” The storm was the latest severe weather to cause deaths and widespread damage in Kentucky. Two months ago, at least 24 people died in a round of storms that swelled creeks and submerged roads. Hundreds of people were rescued, and most of the deaths were caused by vehicles getting stuck in high water. A storm in late 2021 spawned tornadoes that killed 81 people and leveled portions of towns in western Kentucky. The following summer, historic floodwaters inundated parts of eastern Kentucky, leaving dozens more dead. Missouri pounded by storms, with deaths confirmed in St. Louis About 1,200 tornadoes strike the U.S. annually, and they have been reported in all 50 states over the years. Researchers found in 2018 that deadly tornadoes were happening less frequently in the traditional “Tornado Alley” of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and more frequently in parts of the more densely populated and tree-filled mid-South area. At least 16 dead in flooding and tornadoes as storms slash from Texas to Ohio The latest Kentucky storms were part of a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought a punishing heat wave to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois — including Chicago — in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day. “Well that was.....something,” the weather service's Chicago office wrote on X after issuing its first-ever dust storm warning for the city. Thunderstorms in central Illinois had pushed strong winds over dry, dusty farmland and northward into the Chicago area, the weather agency said. In Missouri, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured and more than 5,000 homes were affected in her city. “The devastation is truly heartbreaking," she said at a news conference Saturday. An overnight curfew was to continue in the most damaged neighborhoods. Weather service radar indicated a likely tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year. Three people needed aid after part of the Centennial Christian Church crumbled, St. Louis Fire Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press. Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law, Patricia Penelton, died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir. John Randle said he and his girlfriend were at the St. Louis Art Museum during the storm and were hustled into the basement with about 150 other people. "You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running,” said Randle, 19. At the Saint Louis Zoo, falling trees severely damaged the roof of a butterfly facility. Staffers quickly corralled most of the butterflies, the zoo said on social media, and a conservatory in suburban Chesterfield is caring for the displaced creatures. A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media. Forecasters say severe weather could batter parts of the Plains The weather service said that supercells are likely to develop across parts of Texas and Oklahoma Saturday afternoon before becoming a line of storms in southwest Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas on Saturday night. The biggest risks include large to very large hail that could be up to 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) in size, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes. These conditions were expected to continue on Sunday across parts of the central and southern Plains as well as parts of the central High Plains. 39 dead as tornadoes, wildfires, dust storms devastate US “Be prepared to take action if watches and warnings are issued for your area,” the weather service said. National Weather Service offices lost staff The storms hit after the Trump administration massively cut staffing of National Weather Service offices, with outside experts worrying about how it would affect warnings in disasters such as tornadoes. The Jackson, Kentucky, weather office, which was responsible for the area around London, Kentucky, had a March 2025 vacancy rate of 25%, the Louisville, Kentucky, weather service staff was down 29%, and the St. Louis office was down 16%, according to calculations by weather service employees obtained by The Associated Press. The Louisville office was also without a permanent boss, the meteorologist in charge, as of March, according to the staffing data. Experts said any vacancy rate above 20% is a critical problem.

A shooting at a Las Vegas gym on Friday afternoon left two people dead — one of them the suspected gunman — and injured at least three others, according to police. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Andrew Walsh reported that the incident began when shots were fired inside the Las Vegas Athletic Club on the city’s west side, killing one person. Police stated that officers shot the suspect, who was armed, as he attempted to flee the building. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to a social media update from the department. Three other individuals were wounded in the incident and taken to local hospitals, with one reported to be in critical condition. Ukraine-Russia political theatrics underscore stark realities on the ground as war grinds on Walsh said there was no longer a threat to the public. Officials said they were still investigating a motive. “They said ‘Get out, get out, get out,’” Claudio Vigani, a witness who was at the gym when the shooting began, told KLAS-TV. “Then I saw the dead guy next to the machine.” Gary Steward, who was headed to the gym with another person, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a stop at a nutrition store saved their lives. He said if they hadn’t stopped, they would have been at the front desk where the shooter entered. They saw glass breaking as they walked up to the gym and ran back to the parking lot. “It’s just a weird feeling right now,” Steward said. “It’s strange. Who shoots up a gym?” Calls to the athletic club and its corporate office went unanswered.      

Authorities in Slovenia have launched an investigation after a bronze statue of former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was stolen from near her hometown, Sevnica. The life-size statue, installed in 2020 during Donald Trump’s presidency, was placed near the central Slovenian town where Melania, born Melanija Knavs in 1970, grew up. It had replaced a previous wooden version that was destroyed in an arson attack earlier the same year. Police spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus confirmed on Friday that officials were alerted to the statue’s disappearance on Tuesday and are actively working to identify the culprits. Local media reported that the bronze sculpture was sawed off at the ankles and removed from the site. Franja Kranjc, an employee at a local bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes named after Melania Trump, said the statue was not widely admired. “I don’t think anyone was really proud of it — not even the first lady herself. So maybe it’s just as well that it’s gone,” he commented. The original wooden version, carved from a linden tree, depicted Melania in a light blue dress similar to the one she wore during the 2017 presidential inauguration. The bronze replacement, however, bore little resemblance to her.

New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to seek other means to reach their destinations or consider staying home. Groups of picketers gathered in front of transit headquarters in Newark and at the Hoboken Terminal, carrying signs that said “Locomotive Engineers on Strike” and “NJ Transit: Millions for Penthouse Views Nothing for Train Crews.” Passing drivers honked their horns. The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn’t produce an agreement. It is the state’s first transit strike in more than 40 years and comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management. Fire at a former UK military base kills 2 firefighters and a civilian “We presented them the last proposal; they rejected it and walked away with two hours left on the clock," said Tom Haas, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri described the situation as a “pause in the conversations.” “I certainly expect to pick back up these conversations as soon as possible,” he said late Thursday during a joint news conference with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “If they’re willing to meet tonight, I’ll meet them again tonight. If they want to meet tomorrow morning, I’ll do it again. Because I think this is an imminently workable problem. The question is, do they have the willingness to come to a solution.” NJ governor says deal needs to be fair to employees and affordable Murphy said it was important to “reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and at the same time affordable to New Jersey’s commuters and taxpayers.” "Again, we cannot ignore the agency’s fiscal realities,” Murphy said. The announcement came after 15 hours of nonstop contract talks, according to the union. NJ Transit — the nation’s third-largest transit system — operates buses and rail in the state, providing nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. The walkout halts all NJ Transit commuter trains, which provide heavily used public transit routes between New York City’s Penn Station on one side of the Hudson River and communities in northern New Jersey on the other, as well as the Newark airport, which has grappled with unrelated delays of its own recently. The agency had announced contingency plans in recent days, saying it planned to increase bus service, but warned riders that the buses would only add “very limited” capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and would not start running until Monday. The agency also will contract with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional park-and-ride locations during weekday peak periods. Commuters are urged to work from home, if possible, during strike However, the agency noted that the buses would not be able to handle close to the same number of passengers — only about 20% of current rail customers — so it urged people who could work from home to do so. Opulence, business deals and a $400M plane from Qatar: Takeaways from Trump’s Mideast tour Even the threat of it had already caused travel disruptions. Amid the uncertainty, the transit agency canceled train and bus service for Shakira concerts Thursday and Friday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The parties met Monday with a federal mediation board in Washington to discuss the matter, and a mediator was present during Thursday’s talks. Kolluri said Thursday night that the mediation boardhas suggested a Sunday morning meeting to resume talks. Wages are the key sticking point of negotiations Wages have been the main sticking point of the negotiations between the agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen that wants to see its members earn wages comparable to other passenger railroads in the area. The union says its members earn an average salary of $113,000 a year and says an agreement could be reached if agency CEO Kris Kolluri agrees to an average yearly salary of $170,000. NJ Transit leadership, though, disputes the union’s data, saying the engineers have average total earnings of $135,000 annually, with the highest earners exceeding $200,000. Kolluri and Murphy said Thursday night that the problem isn’t so much whether both sides can agree to a wage increase, but whether they can do so under terms that wouldn’t then trigger other unions to demand similar increases and create a financially unfeasible situation for NJ Transit. Congress has the power to intervene and block the strike and force the union to accept a deal, but lawmakers have not shown a willingness to do that this time like they did in 2022 to prevent a national freight railroad strike. The union has seen steady attrition in its ranks at NJ Transit as more of its members leave to take better-paying jobs at other railroads. The number of NJ Transit engineers has shrunk from 500 several months ago to about 450 today.

President Donald Trump used the first major foreign trip of his second term to outline a vision for restoring global stability that is grounded in pragmatism and self-interest rather than values, holding out U.S. ties to wealthy Gulf countries as a model for America’s longtime foes. His four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which ends Friday, put a spotlight on Trump’s transactional approach to foreign affairs as he was feted by autocratic rulers with a trio of lavish state visits where there was heavy emphasis on economic and security partnerships. His trip played out against the backdrop of stubborn global conflicts, including Gaza and Ukraine, that showed the limits of his influence. But Trump insisted he was turning the page on American “interventionalism” in the region as he moved to recognize the new government in Syria for the first time and prodded Iran to engage on nuclear talks before it’s too late. Some takeaways from Trump’s travels: Trump marveled at Gulf state opulence but held his tongue on human rights Presidential trips to the Middle East usually feature at least some public calls for authoritarian governments to improve their human rights efforts. Not this one, as Trump celebrated his business deals with Gulf royals and admired their wealth. Trump toured the marble and gilded palaces of Gulf rulers and deemed them “perfecto” and “very hard to buy.” He praised the “gleaming marvels” of the skyline in Saudi Arabia. And he groused about the “much less impressive” Air Force One. In Trump’s remarks at a VIP business conference in Riyadh, he went out of his way to distance himself from the actions of past administrations, the days when he said American officials would fly in “in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.” Rights advocates took that as a pledge of nonintervention, swearing off some of the pressure past U.S. presidents have brought to bear on partners to varying degrees to ease up on detentions, suppression of critics and other issues. Israeli strikes kill at least 64 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit “It’s absolute support for absolute monarchy,” said Saudi exile Abdullah Alaoudh. His father, a Saudi cleric with a wide following there, is imprisoned in the kingdom. Some rights advocates said Trump officials gave them private assurances the administration was working on behalf of detained Americans and rights advocates. Tommy Pigott, a deputy spokesman at the State Department, declined to say whether Trump raised those or other rights issues in discussions with Gulf royals. Thwarted by Putin While Trump was in the Mideast, Vladimir Putin opted to skip direct peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the U.S. president’s strong calls for them to meet face to face. Trump has been pushing Putin and Zelenskyy to move with greater haste to end Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine. But after it became clear Putin wouldn’t be attending talks in Turkey this week and would instead be sending underlings to Istanbul, an annoyed Trump insisted he knew all along that it was highly likely Putin would be a no-show. “I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.” As he wrapped up his visit on Friday, Trump said the face-to-face would happen “as soon as we can set it up.” Trump was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Friday, but tried to keep people guessing until the end. He teased late Thursday that he would be heading to a “destination unknown” — “probably” Washington, he added. His opaque language stoked speculation that he might make a drop-by to Turkey. But on Friday morning, he told reporters he needed to get back to Washington. His daughter Tiffany had her first child while the president has been away. “I would actually leave here and go,” Trump said. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”   On Syria sanctions, Trump takes a leap of faith Just two months ago, the Trump administration wasn’t sold on Syria’s interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime al-Qaida-affiliated insurgent. They worried the Syrian president didn’t have the legitimacy to govern the country’s ethnically diverse population. Clashes broke out in early March, killing hundreds and targeting many more members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs. The moment gave the Trump White House pause about easing sanctions on Syria. But Trump signaled Monday that he was having a change of heart and was moving toward lifting the Syria sanctions. A day later, he announced the move during an address to Gulf leaders. Trump then took it another step by agreeing to meet al-Sharaa. Trump said he was impressed with al-Sharaa, who not that long ago had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The president called him a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.” Trump said it was recommendations from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that nudged him to take a chance on al-Sharra. “President Erdogan called me and said: ‘Is there any way you could do that? Because if you don’t do that, they don’t have a chance,’” Trump said. “So, I did it.”