𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Mexico for its efforts to boost border security and fight drug trafficking in a meeting with high-level Mexican officials on Thursday, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

“Secretary Rubio expressed appreciation for Mexico’s actions to secure our common border, including deploying 10,000 National Guard troops, as well as major seizures of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, and the expulsion of 29 major cartel figures to stand trial for their crimes, making both our nations safer,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

President Donald Trump greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrived at the White House, joking to the press: “He’s all dressed up today.”

Zelensky, always dressed in combat clothing, is dressed in a black sweater.

French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged on Friday that he has “very little hope” of changing President Donald Trump’s mind about implementing a wholesale tariff of 25% on all EU products, following his trip to Washington earlier this week.

“I believe there are misunderstandings” and “misconceptions in the trade approach” of the Trump administration,” Macron said during a news conference while visiting Portugal. He added that labeling the value-added tax, which is applied to all local and foreign goods and services in France, as a tariff is “factually false.”

Macron argued tariffs are “bad for everyone” because they lead to price increases. “The United States has nothing to gain from them,” he stated.

He warned that if the U.S. decision is confirmed, Europeans would respond with “reciprocal tariffs.”

With reporting from the Associated Press

A Conservative MP in Canada and a former ambassador are among those to criticise the UK prime minister for failing to stand up for their country.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tweeted from his personal account to confirm CBS News’s report that President Donald Trump has rolled back constraints on American commanders’ authorization of airstrikes and special operation raids outside conventional battlefields, broadening the range of people who can be targeted.

The network cited U.S. officials with knowledge of the policy shift in its reporting.

CBS notes that “the quiet but seismic recalibration dismantles Biden-era mandates and signals a return to more aggressive counterterrorism policies Trump first instituted in his first term.”

During his first overseas trip earlier this month, the defense secretary met with senior U.S. military leaders from U.S. Africa Command in Germany and signed a directive easing policy constraints and executive oversight on airstrikes and the deployment of American commandos.

In response to the news item on X, Hegseth tweeted: “Correct.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the White House on four previous occasions, including once before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

• September 1, 2021
• December 21, 2022
• September 22, 2023
• December 11-12, 2023

Zelensky’s previous direct engagements with President Donald Trump are also notable:

• September 25, 2019: Zelenskyy met Trump at the UN General Assembly in New York, following the controversial “do us a favor” call that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
• September 27, 2024: The two met amid tensions over Ukraine’s defense and the U.S. election. Trump told Fox News that they both wanted a “fair deal” to end the conflict.
• December 7, 2024: In Paris, Zelenskyy, Trump, and President Macron discussed peace, security guarantees for Ukraine, and preventing future aggression.
• February 12, 2025: Trump and Zelenskyy spoke by phone about ending Russian aggression, following Trump’s call with President Putin.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released the following statement on the extradition of Mexican cartel members to the U.S.:

“Last night, 29 Mexican Cartel Members were extradited to the United States. President Trump directed the Department of Justice and the Department of State to make this happen, and Attorney General Bondi and Secretary of State Rubio did a tremendous job in getting this done. The group of cartel members, who will soon arrive on American soil, includes one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world, Rafael Caro Quintero, who tortured and murdered DEA Agent Kiki Camerena in 1985. The previous Administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people.”