Donald Trump posted a fresh ultimatum to Hamas, telling the group to “release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you”.
“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye,” he wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, in an apparent reference to the beginning of direct talks with the group.
The post came just hours after the White House confirmed that the US had entered direct negotiations with Hamas, potentially to bypass Israel in securing the release of the remaining US hostages.
Trump tells Hamas 'release all of the hostages now'
Trump posted a fresh ultimatum to Hamas and reinforced his support for Israel on Truth Social on Wednesday. He also referred to a recent decision to provide billions more in support for Israeli arms sales.
“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Trump wrote.
“This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance,” he wrote. “Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
US stops sharing intelligence on Russia with Ukraine
The US has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine after Donald Trump’s suspension of military aid on Monday, in another serious blow to Kyiv in the war with Russia. White House officials indicated that both bans could be lifted if progress is made on peace talks.
Ukrainian officials suggested the US would no longer provide information about targets inside Russia, hindering Ukraine’s ability to carry out effective long-range drone strikes.
Trump exempts carmakers from Canada-Mexico tariffs
Donald Trump has temporarily spared carmakers from sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked warnings of widespread price increases and disruption. The decision came after companies appealed to the White House.
A separate call between Trump and Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, did not lead to any larger breakthrough, however. The tariffs were predicted to raise US prices almost immediately, raising questions about Trump’s promises to “make America affordable again”.
Agriculture workers to get jobs back
The US Department of Agriculture has been ordered to temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 employees who were fired as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce. The probationary employees are to be reinstated for a period of 45 days while a federal board continues to investigate the firings.
White House rejig of Biden internet plan may benefit Musk
The Trump administration is preparing to overhaul a $42.5bn Biden-era program designed to connect tens of millions of rural Americans to reliable and affordable high-speed internet, in a move that is expected to benefit billionaire Elon Musk.
Immigration hearing backfires on Republicans
A congressional hearing designed to criticise sanctuary city policies unexpectedly shifted on Wednesday, as a planned attack by Republican lawmakers instead dissolved into a platform that amplified Democratic mayors’ arguments about immigration and urban safety.
The House oversight committee sought to portray sanctuary cities – which protect undocumented migrants – as havens for criminal activity and foreign gangs. But instead of cornering the mayors, Republican lawmakers seemed to inadvertently provide them with a national megaphone to sell their approaches to immigration.
Greenland hits back at Trump takeover comments
Donald Trump’s claim in his address to Congress that the US will acquire Greenland “one way or the other” was widely condemned in Nuuk as “disrespectful” and was said to present an “unacceptable view of humanity”.
Pentagon official condemned over tweet about historical lynching of Jewish man
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has condemned a past social media post by Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson that disputed the innocence of Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman whom most historians agree was wrongfully convicted of killing a 13-year-old factory worker and lynched in 1915 during a wave of antisemitism in the US.
Hundreds of US diplomats decry dismantling of USAid in letter to Rubio
Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development (USAid) have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.
Canada goose fights off bald eagle in rare, symbolism-laden battle on ice
For the second time in weeks, a Canadian icon has emerged as the unlikely victor in an existential battle on the ice.
What else happened today:
Senate Democrats introduced resolutions condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and daring Republicans to object. A statement from the office of Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said: “The senators’ resolutions are statements of fact and principle, backed by evidence and long-standing American foreign policy.”
Trump’s veterans affairs chief has defended ‘extraordinarily difficult’ plans to cut 80,000 staff. Doug Collins said the cuts were necessary to make the agency more efficient – though they are likely to affect healthcare for veterans – as the largest federal employee union denounced the plan in a stinging rebuke.
The administration is dropping an emergency abortion case in Idaho in one of the administration’s first moves on the issue. The justice department filed a motion to dismiss the Biden administration lawsuit in a reversal that could have national implications for urgent care. The lawsuit had argued that emergency-room doctors treating pregnant women had to provide terminations if needed to save their lives or to avoid serious health consequences in Idaho, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans.
The US court of appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the administration on Wednesday, in a ruling that allows the immediate removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel to proceed while the court battle continues. Dellinger is likely to appeal to the US supreme court.
“I want to believe that the United States will stand by us. But we have to be ready if that is not the case,” French president Emmanuel Macron said in a TV address on the eve of an EU defence summit in Brussels. In a sign of the gravity of the moment, Macron said France was open to discussing extending the protection offered by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners and said European forces could be deployed after a peace deal was agreed.
