
Trump ‘disappointed but not done' with Putin
The US president expressed his dismay that despite appearing close to a resolution on multiple occasions, Russian strikes on Ukraine continued.
'I thought we had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see he just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv,' Mr Trump told the BBC.
'I'm not done with him, but I'm disappointed in him.'
The US president was pressed on whether he trusts the Russian leader, and replied: 'I trust almost no-one.'
The president was speaking after threatening Russia's main trading partners with 100 per cent tariffs if Vladimir Putin does not sign a peace deal to end the war in 50 days.
Mr Trump also promised to send billions of dollars of military equipment to Ukraine in a deal paid for by other Nato countries.
He did so yesterday alongside Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, which he said was no longer 'obsolete' because allies have committed to boost defence spending to five per cent of GDP.
'I think Nato is now becoming the opposite of [obsolete] because the alliance was 'paying their own bills'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nebraska sues neighboring Colorado over how much water it's drawing from the South Platte River
Nebraska is suing Colorado over the amount of water it draws from the South Platte River, the latest in a long history of water rights disputes between the states that have been left increasingly dry by climate change. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and state Attorney General Mike Hilgers held a news conference Wednesday to announce the lawsuit, which was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. 'It's crystal clear. Colorado has been holding water back from Nebraska for almost 100 years and getting more and more egregious every single day,' Pillen said, pointing to Colorado's rapidly expanding population over the past decade. 'So today it's really, really simple: We're here to put our gloves on," Pillen said. "We're going to fight like heck. We're going to get every drop of water.' Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the lawsuit 'unfortunate' in a written statement and said Nebraska officials failed 'to look for reasonable solutions.' The lawsuit accuses Colorado of depriving Nebraska of as much as 1.3 million acre-feet (about 160,350 hectare-meters) of water from the river over several years that Nebraska is entitled to under a 1923 compact between the states. The suit also accuses Colorado officials of blocking Nebraska's effort to construct a massive canal — often called the Perkins County Canal — and reservoir project that would see Nebraska seize land in Colorado to divert water into Nebraska, which is also allowed under the compact. Nebraska needs the water not only for agriculture production in its southwestern region — which climate experts predict will grow hotter and drier in the coming decades — but also to feed water supplies in the eastern part of the state, officials said. Nebraska's capital, Lincoln, is expected to get 12% of its water from the proposed canal, Pillen said. The compact entitles Nebraska to 120 cubic feet (3.4 cubic meters) per second from the river during the irrigation season between April 1 and Oct. 15 each year, and 500 cubic feet (about 14 cubic meters) per second during the non-irrigation fall and winter months. Hilgers said Colorado has been shortchanging Nebraska during the irrigation season, allowing only about 75 cubic feet (about 2 cubic meters) per second of water daily into Nebraska this summer. 'I think this may be the most consequential lawsuit that this office will be a part of in my generation,' Hilgers said. 'It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of the South Platte River to the future of the state of Nebraska.' The South Platte, which flows through northeastern Colorado into southwestern Nebraska, has been at the center of a tempest brewing between the two states going back to 2022, when Nebraska announced it would build the canal. Since then, officials from the two states have been haggling over how to carry out both the terms of the compact and land acquisition to build the canal. 'It became clear, despite the very professional and intentional scope of those negotiations, that we were at an impasse,' Hilgers said. Weiser countered that Nebraska officials should have remained at the negotiating table. 'Nebraska's actions will force Colorado water users to build additional new projects to lessen the impact of the proposed Perkins County Canal,' he said. 'When the dust finally settles, likely over a billion dollars will have been spent — tens of millions of that on litigation alone — and no one in Nebraska or Colorado will be better off.' Hilgers said the lawsuit was filed directly with the Supreme Court because it handles disputes between states. The process 'isn't fast,' Hilgers warned. 'We'll probably have a special master appointed within the next 12 months, and under normal litigation timelines, that's maybe 3 to 5 years before we get a result,' he said. That does not mean work on the canal will stop, he said, as he expects work on permitting and design of the canal to continue. Nebraska has been at the center of interstate water disputes for decades. In 2002, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas reached a settlement over Republican River water allocation after years of legal wrangling. But disputes continued, and new agreements were reached among the states again in 2014. Water disputes could become more common as climate change worsens shortages, said Dr. Carly Phillips, a research scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists — a nonprofit that advocates for climate change solutions. Warmer temperatures affect multiple parts of the hydrological cycle, Phillips said. It is decreasing the snowpack, which is the main way water is stored in the western U.S. Higher temperatures also mean the snow melts earlier each year, changing the availability of stream flow. And states like Nebraska might see increased irrigation demand when it's hotter. 'These patterns are all in the same direction across the board,' Phillips said. 'The trends are really consistent when it comes to snowpack, stream flow, evaporation and irrigation demand.' ____


The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters
Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit Wednesday against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, challenging the elimination of a long-running grant program that helps communities guard against damage from natural disasters. The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump 's administration acted illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. FEMA canceled some projects already in the works and refused to approve new ones despite funding from Congress. 'In the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other states, it's clear just how critical federal resources are in helping states prepare for and respond to natural disasters,' said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, where the federal lawsuit was filed. "By abruptly and unlawfully shutting down the BRIC program, this administration is abandoning states and local communities that rely on federal funding to protect their residents and, in the event of disaster, save lives.' FEMA did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. It said in April that the program was 'wasteful and ineffective' and 'more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.' The program, established by a 2000 law, provides grants for a variety of disaster mitigation efforts, including levees to protect against floods, safe rooms to provide shelter from tornadoes, vegetation management to reduce damage from fires and seismic retrofitting to fortify buildings for earthquakes. During his first term, Trump signed a law shoring up funding for disaster risk reduction efforts. The program then got a $1 billion boost from an infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden. That law requires FEMA to make available at least $200 million annually for disaster mitigation grants for the 2022-2026 fiscal years, the lawsuit says. The suit contends the Trump administration violated the constitutional separation of powers because Congress had not authorized the program's demise. It also alleges the program's termination was illegal because the decision was made while FEMA was under the leadership of an acting administrator who had not met the requirements to be in charge of the agency. The lawsuit says communities in every state have benefited from federal disaster mitigation grants, which saved lives and spared homes, businesses, hospitals and schools from costly damage. Some communities have already been affected by the decision to end the program. Hillsborough, North Carolina, had been awarded nearly $7 million to relocate a wastewater pumping station out of a flood plain and make other water and sewer system improvements. But that hadn't happened yet when the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal damaged the pumping station and forced it offline last week. In rural Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, town officials had hoped to use more than $4 million from the BRIC program to improve stormwater drainage and safeguard a vulnerable electric system, thus protecting investments in a historic theater and other businesses. While the community largely supports Trump, assistant town manager Erin Burris said people were blindsided by the lost funding they had spent years pursuing. 'I've had downtown property owners saying, 'What do we do?'' Burris said. 'I've got engineering plans ready to go and I don't have the money to do it.' ___ Associated Press reporters Jack Brook, Michael Casey and Gary D. Robertson contributed to this report. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.


NBC News
20 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump signs the HALT Fentanyl Act
President Trump held a signing ceremony at the White House for the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act which permanently classifies all fentanyl-related substances as schedule I controlled substance.