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US Delegation Aims for Black Sea Ceasefire in Ukraine, Russia Talks

 

A U.S. delegation will seek progress toward a Black Sea ceasefire and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine when it meets for talks with Russian officials on Monday, after discussions with diplomats from Ukraine on Sunday.

The so-called technical talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive for a halt to Russia's three-year-old assault against Ukraine. Last week, he spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the U.S. side was being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.

They met the Ukrainians on Sunday night and plan to sit down with the Russians on Monday.

The White House says the aim of the talks is to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.

Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, he said, the teams will discuss "the line of control" between the two countries, which he described as "verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are." He said "confidence-building measures" are being discussed, including the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.

Russia will be represented by Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now chair of the Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.

Ukraine's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, said on Facebook that the U.S.-Ukraine talks included proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.

After Russian forces made gains in 2024, Trump reversed U.S. policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Putin in Moscow in early March, played down concerns among Washington's NATO allies that Moscow could be emboldened by a deal and invade other neighbors.

"I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two, Witkoff told Fox News.

"I feel that he wants peace," Witkoff said of Putin.

SOMEWHAT UNDER CONTROL

Trump has long promised to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. But his outreach to Putin has unnerved European allies, who fear it heralds a fundamental shift after 80 years in which defending Europe from Russian expansionism was the core mission of U.S. foreign policy.

The war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.

Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, said earlier this month he supported in principle Washington's proposal for a truce but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out.

Heorhii Tykhyi, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Friday the Ukrainian and American sides were due "to clarify the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope."

Last Tuesday, Putin agreed to Trump's proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days and ordered the Russian military to cease them.

The agreement fell short, however, of a wider agreement that the U.S. had sought, and which Kyiv backed, for a blanket 30-day truce in the war.

Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were "somewhat under control."

The U.S. hopes to reach a broad ceasefire within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.

Despite all the diplomatic activity, Russia and Ukraine have both reported continued strikes, while Russian forces have also continued to advance slowly in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.

 

'All Hands on Deck': FBI Flagship Field Office Reportedly Focused on Epstein Files Over Everything Else

As promised by Donald Trump, the JFK assassination files were finally released on March 18. So far, no truly bombshell news has come out of them, but seeing as there were more than 80,000 pages, there are still journalists and interested parties combing through the document drop.

The president also vowed to release the files of the notorious almost-billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his Riker’s Island jail cell in 2019 in what authorities controversially deemed a suicide. According to a report by Vanity Fair and a Sunday morning talk show appearance by Attorney General Pam Bondi, attorneys are working overtime in the New York office to prepare for the release of the files:

It’s the FBI’s flagship field office, with more than a thousand agents and another thousand or so civilian employees. And right now, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter say that one priority at the bureau’s New York field office is taking precedence over all others: the review and redaction of sensitive information in the Jeffrey Epstein case files, to prepare for possible publication.

“It’s literally all hands on deck,” one source familiar with the matter tells me, adding that dozens and dozens of agents are working around the clock on the case, instead of on their regular duties. “I even saw an agent walking in with a pillow,” the source added.

Naturally, the leftist Vanity Fair implied that there was some sort of sinister effort to redact as much pertinent information as possible, but AG Bondi told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo that they were actually working to protect innocent victims:

[There are] tens of thousands of pages of documents and hundreds and hundreds of victims of Jeffrey Epstein. So the FBI, they have been working round the clock at my directive, at [FBI Director] Kash Patel's directive, now [Deputy Director] Dan Bongino's there—who is a great asset for all of us at the FBI—as well. But yeah, we have to protect their identity, their personal information to make sure they're safe.

But other than that, we are we are releasing all of these documents as soon as we can get them redacted to protect the victims of him, of all of these horrific crimes.

---

Of course, the progressive media has their knickers in a twist once again, with Vanity Fair and others like CNN and ABC whining that agents are being pulled away from other important matters to help in the effort. One can only wonder, do they mean chasing after parents who show up at school boards or Catholics who don’t believe in abortion?

Perhaps there will be bombshell revelations released, perhaps there will not—the point is that our government has gotten far too squirrely and secretive, and Americans have lost almost all trust that they’re telling us the truth. Donald Trump promised more transparency, and so far, he’s been delivering on that vow. 

There is no valid reason to keep whatever they know about Jeffrey Epstein under lock and key, and it’s time for the truth.

 

Canada Seeing ‘Tsunami’ of Illegals Fleeing US Due to Trump’s Policies, Drug Cartel Smuggler Confirms

A former officer in the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) says the number of illegal aliens fleeing the United States over the northern border into Canada has surged due to President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement policies.

And an actual Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel smuggler confirmed business is booming in the opposite direction as illegals, through his assistance, are self-deporting to the Great White North.

The news comes from a "60 Minutes Overtime" segment airing Sunday night.

Kelly Sundberg, who spent 15 years with the CBSA and now researches border security as a professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, spoke to the CBS show. He fretted that Trump's policies have already increased the number of illegals flowing into Canada, and he expects a coming "tsunami."

"Canada can expect a tsunami of illegal immigrants fleeing American authorities and coming into our country," said Sundberg. "The numbers already are going up."

"I hope I'm wrong, but it would appear that we're going to be overwhelmed by the illegal immigrants fleeing American authorities coming into our country," he added. "And they very well might be bringing guns and drugs with them."

He immediately warned about the potential for this to happen in the days following Trump's election victory.

WATCH: Former CBSA officer Kelly Sundberg says the Trudeau Liberals have been misleading Canadians on the border for the last DECADE, adding:

“We’re about to experience a tsunami - a tsunami - of people who are living illegally in the U.S. seeking asylum in Canada.” pic.twitter.com/eofdUTYEBL

— Rachel Parker (@Emmanuel_Rach) November 14, 2024

---

READ MORE: With a Porous Canadian-US Border, Human Traffickers Advertise Their Services on TikTok

‘An Everyday Thing’: Eerie Trail Cam Footage Catches Illegals Invading Family Farm on Northern Border

---

Not content with Sundberg's assessment, "60 Minutes Overtime" spoke to a drug and human smuggler working for the Sinaloa drug cartel who confirmed he's seeing a significant increase in requests to cross the northern border from the US into Canada.

"Most of them are Venezuelans," he told CBS. "Those people are afraid of being deported to their countries. Normally before, we didn't see that much, maybe out of every 30 people we crossed, three or four would come up."

"Now, maybe out of every 10 we cross, five go up [to Canada]."

Based on that obviously rough estimation, the smuggler's personal numbers have jumped from about 10 percent to 50 percent of those looking to leave America.

Considering the smuggler admits that he not only moves people - including babies - across the northern border, but also significant quantities of fentanyl and weapons, it's good that his business is moving in the other direction.

He adds that the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful and dangerous drug trafficking organizations in the world, would not stop operating at the northern border due to its porousness.

"Canada's border is much larger than Mexico's," he said. "There are more entry points through Canada than through Mexico, a lot more entry points. So that won't stop us."

It's a good reminder that both borders need improved security post-Biden administration. The smuggler "60 Minutes Overtime" developed a relationship with and spoke to was operating in the Swanton Sector, an area running from New Hampshire to upstate New York.

RedState covered activity in that sector in October, as trail cam footage showed illegals crossing the northern border into the United States.

Imagine this: you live in rural Vermont near the Canadian border. You check your game cameras on your farm to see what the deer are doing before hunting season. You see this.

That’s exactly what happened to Justin LeBranch.

Source: VTDigger by way of the Newport Dispatch. pic.twitter.com/JMTwBMHRhQ

— Old Hollow Tree (@OldHollowTree) October 26, 2024

VTDigger published an extensive report in August indicating border patrol agents had been surging to the location as they battle "record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the Canadian border into Vermont and neighboring states."

A border patrol official overseeing operations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, told the outlet at the time his agency has "seen a number of apprehensions that we’ve never seen in our recorded history in this area.”

Now, thanks to the Trump administration's enforcing immigration laws and conducting one of the most significant mass deportation efforts in American history, the flow is heading in the other direction.

Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.

Help us continue to report the truth about the president's border policies and mass deportations. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.

 

Donald Trump Noticed Something Odd Inside Colorado's Capitol Building

President Donald Trump took to social media to put Colorado on blast. I can understand why the president is upset: his portrait in the state capitol building’s President's Gallery isn’t to his liking. Trump blamed Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for this alleged oversight:

Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before. The artist

Sarah Boardman

also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older. In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain. In fact, they are actually angry about it! I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on Crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don’t worry, we saved it!), to take it down. Jared should be ashamed of himself! 

lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/bERxn6kh8b

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 24, 2025

The reactions have been hilarious. It’s not entirely a surprise. After the 2016 election, it was rather noticeable that AP’s photo library of the president seemed to have the worst pictures of him.

President Trump is complaining about his “purposefully distorted” portrait in the Colorado State Capitol. In 2018, to embarrass Republicans who hadn’t been able to raise money for the portrait’s commission, Democrats put up a portrait of Vladimir Putin in its place. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/XFcdmEH1nM

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) March 24, 2025

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

Wait, The Bidens Want to Return to Politics?

I’m not sure Jill Biden gets it, and this is a political initiative by Mrs. Biden because the Democrats are done with this man. The elderly crust of the Democratic Party has yet to figure out that the base wants to turn the page on the Clintons and the Bidens—which have become two loser organizations. Hillary Clinton couldn’t do it, and Joe Biden is half brain-dead. Lady MacBeth wants back in on public life, and the family is reportedly offering services to rebuild the party. It’s not been well-received (via NBC News):

Former President Joe Biden has told some Democratic leaders he’ll raise funds, campaign and do anything else necessary for Democrats to recover lost ground as the Trump administration rolls back programs the party helped design, according to people close to him. 

Biden privately met last month with the new Democratic National Committee chairman, Ken Martin, and offered to help as the party struggles to regain its viability amid polling that shows its popularity has been sinking, the people said.

So far, Biden's overture seems to have fallen flat. Democrats find themselves adrift, casting about for a compelling messenger. 

Whoever that is, it's not Biden, many party activists and donors contend. He's tethered to the 2024 defeat and, at 82, is a symbol more of the party's past than its future, they argue. 

“Who’s going to want Joe Biden back in the game?” said a major Biden supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about him. 

This move would be like a sports franchise rehiring the general manager who helped wreck it. No one wants this man around, who’s seen as contributing to the chaos that engulfed the party during the 2024 election. Biden couldn’t or wouldn’t comprehend that he was unpopular, his presidency was a failure, and he was never going to beat Trump. He refused to believe the polls, which all had him losing. Fun fact: Not a single survey, even from liberals, had him ever lead Donald J. Trump. And this man, who’s not just brain dead but also politically blind, is going to be part of its supposed resurrection with voters. 

Now, that’s some good comedy. The Democrats are rudderless, divided, and leaderless. The positions that form the core of their agenda are beyond unpopular. All they have is theater, and it’s veering into acts of domestic terrorism.

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

U.S. Defense Leaders Lay Out ‘Manhattan Project-Scale’ Vision For Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ Project

US soldiers work on a Patriot missile system at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep

U.S. defense leaders have begun conceptualizing plans to develop a “Golden Dome” defense system capable of protecting the country from long-range missile strikes.

President Donald Trump ordered the Defense Department to begin drawing up plans in January, taking inspiration from Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

President Trump’s Golden Dome would need to be much more complex and than Israel’s Iron Dome due to the U.S.’s much larger land mass, making the project exponentially larger in scale.

“Golden Dome for America is a revolutionary concept to further the goals of peace through strength and President Trump’s vision for deterring adversaries from attacks on the homeland. This next generation defense shield will identify incoming projectiles, calculate trajectory and deploy interceptor missiles to destroy them mid-flight, safeguarding the homeland and projecting American Strength,” Lockheed Martin, a top American defense and aerospace manufacturer, wrote.

“This is a Manhattan Project-scale mission, one that is both urgent and crucial to America’s security.”

Imagine a defense system that shields America from aerial threats, hypersonic missiles and drone swarms with unmatched speed and accuracy. Thanks to President @realDonaldTrump's vision, Golden Dome will make this a reality, securing our future. pic.twitter.com/vyXHzpbTw2

— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) March 19, 2025

The potential budget for the project is unclear as plans are still currently being drawn up, although the grand project is likely to cost billions to construct and maintain.

“This is going to be layers of architecture working together at all group level elevations… to protect the United States … so we’re going to need all the services and agencies that do this kind of work to step up,” stated Steven Morani, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment.

The project was previously requested by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s, although the technology required wasn’t available at the time.

Meanwhile, retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery told CNN that he believes the defense system is at least 7-10 years out, and will have severe limitations, possibly only able to defend critical federal buildings and major cities.

Montgomery stated the project will likely include a system of satellites to communicate and sense incoming missiles.

“You’ve gotta be responsible here,” he continued. “You’re not going to be able to defend everything with these ground-based missiles. They defend a circle around them, but it’s not large.”

Despite skepticism, Raytheon CEO Phil Jasper stated that he believes some of the defensive measures could be installed as soon as 2026.

“In our view, it has to kind of be a layered system. Because, you know, shooting a UAV, for example, is very different than shooting a hypersonic vehicle or hypersonic weapon,” Jasper stated. “What the administration has laid out is that building block approach that you can start to protect certain areas, at times, certain regions, and build that out as you continue to produce these systems. And they can continue to come off of production lines.”

Furthermore, Edward Zoiss, president of space and airborne systems at L3Harris Technologies, notes that new intercontinental ballistic missiles pose an additional challenge, as their unpredictable flight paths make them harder to intercept.

“If you go back to your high school physics class, if you understand the angle and trajectory of a bullet, you understand exactly where it’s going to land because it follows a parabola,” Zoiss stated.

“ICBMs followed parabola trajectories for decades. But a new class of highly maneuverable cruise weapons and hypersonic weapons now don’t,” he continued. “Their endpoint is uncertain. And our defensive systems in the U.S. now have to change to be more robust in order to track that weapon throughout its entire trajectory.”

“Our challenge is really long-range weapons. You know, it’s weapons progressing large distances that are maneuvering around our current land-based and sea-based radar systems. So, if the weapons maneuver around those systems, that means our current architecture can’t provide fire control ordnance. And, therefore, it has to be moved to space,” Zoiss added.

The funding for the project is expected to be presented to Congress in President Trump’s 2026 fiscal year budget request, which is currently being ironed out.

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Schumer Defies Calls To Step Down As Minority Leader While Protestors Gather Outside His Brooklyn Home

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) waits top speak during a news conference following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on October 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Roughly 100 protestors gathered outside of Senator Chuck Schumer’s home on Sunday

 to voice their opposition to Schumer’s leadership after he voted in favor of a GOP-backed spending bill.

The protestors held up signs outside of Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) home according to the New York Post, with one sign reading “Lost spine, if found please return to Chuck.”

Indivisible Brooklyn, the liberal group that organized the protest, stated that Schumer’s vote to confirm the recent GOP spending bill showcased a “devastating lack of leadership as he capitulated to Trump, Musk and the GOP during negotiations over government funding.”

“Since then, Senator Schumer has been pleading his case on multiple platforms, but New Yorkers aren’t buying it,” the group continued. “Schumer is not meeting the dire moment: It’s time for new leadership in the Senate that will fight fascism tooth and nail.”

Schumer has repeatedly explained that he voted in favor of the spending bill to avoid “the horror of a [government] shutdown.”

House Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have begun to question Schumer’s leadership in what they feel is a critical moment to fight back against the Trump administration.

Pelosi recently took a shot at Schumer, stating last Tuesday: “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing… I think that’s what happened the other day.”

“We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten [Republicans] to agree to a third way,” she continued, explaining a potential 30 day placeholder bill to extend current government spending could have been requested while negotiating a longer-term resolution.

“They may not have agreed to it, but at least the public would have seen them not agreeing to it — then [Republicans] would have been shutting the government down,” she added.

Schumer has received so much backlash he had to postpone a tour he previously scheduled for his newly released book “Antisemitism in America: A Warning” due to “security reasons.”

Additionally, Schumer also recently came out and stated that he will not be stepping down as Senate minority leader, doubling down on his decision to vote in favor of the spending bill.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer began during a Sunday segment on NBC’s Meet the Press with host Kristen Welker. “I knew when I cast my vote against the government shutdown that it would be – that there would be a lot of controversy. And there was.”

“Under a shutdown, the Executive Branch has sole power to determine what is ‘essential.’ And they can determine without any court supervision,” he continued. “The courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down. With Musk, and DOGE, and Trump, and this guy [Russell] Vought… as the head OMB (U.S. Office of Management and Budget), they would eviscerate the federal government.”

“It would [be] devastating,” Schumer pleaded. “There’s no off-ramp. Who determines how long the shutdown would last? Only those evil people at the top of the Executive Branch in the Trump administration.”

Welker asked Schumer if he believed that he is “making the same mistake that President Biden did” in failing to swiftly drop out after losing confidence within the party.

“No, absolutely not. I did this out of conviction,” he responded. “It was a vote of principle, you know?”

“Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” Schumer added. “I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree.”

JUST IN: Chuck Schumer rejects calls to step down as Senate Democratic leader

Schumer also rejected comparisons to then-President Joe Biden’s refusal to step down as the 2024 nominee, in response to a question about whether he’s making the same mistake. pic.twitter.com/92NJ3LeM5Y

— Steve Gruber (@stevegrubershow) March 23, 2025

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Trump Demands 'Full-Throated Apology' From Maine Governor

The State of Maine must have some real classy smart voters because this is who they voted in as their governor. 😂

President Donald Trump Saturday demanded a "full-throated apology" from Maine Gov. Janet Mills

 over her stance on transgender athletes and insisted that she must promise not to make another "unlawful challenge" to the government. 

"While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases," Trump said on Truth Social.

"Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled. I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily," he added.

Trump's comment comes after the University of Maine said Friday that it now complies with NCAA rules and federal and state laws that were changed when Trump issued an executive order prohibiting transgender women and girls in female sports.

The Trump administration said that an investigation determined the university was in violation of Title IX rules banning sex-based discrimination in programs receiving federal funding, reports NBC News.

The Department of Agriculture had threatened to suspend federal funding to the university. 

“We are relieved to put the Department’s Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds to strengthen and grow our natural resource economy and dependent rural communities through world-class education, research, and extension,” the Dannel Malloy, the system’s chancellor, said in a statement to NBC News.

UMS got almost $30 million in USDA funding during the 2024 fiscal year. 

Last month, Trump and Mills sparred during the Governor's Conference over Maine and its state colleges and universities over the issue of barring transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. 

When he told Mills her state's schools and universities had to comply or risk losing federal funding, she told him "We'll see you in court."

He told her the case "should be a real easy one" and to "enjoy your life after governor because I don't think you'll be in elected politics."

Mills, a Democrat, has not responded to Trump's latest salvo. However, she said, after an investigation was started into the state for allowing transgender athletes to participate, she said "This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation."

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it determined that Maine's educational authorities violated federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by allowing a transgender athlete to be included in women's sports.

The agency's Office for Civil Rights sent warning letters to the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association, and Greely High School, stating that the case could be referred to the Department of Justice if the issue is not resolved by next week.

  Sandy Fitzgerald ✉

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

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