EU top diplomat says US should share ‘burden' of arming Ukraine
'If you promise to give the weapons but say that it's somebody else who is going to pay for it, it is not really given by you,' Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
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Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump says supporters questioning Jeffrey Epstein case are ‘weaklings'
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked fellow Republicans critical of his administration's handling of the case of dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On social media and in the Oval Office, Trump lashed out at allies he said were falling for a 'hoax' pushed by Democrats, who 'unlike Republicans ... stick together like glue.' Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death. Some of Trump's most loyal followers were enraged when the Trump administration last week reversed course on its pledge to release documents it had suggested contained major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele. 'It's all been a big hoax,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans, and foolish Republicans fall into the net and so they try and do the Democrats' work.' On Truth Social earlier in the day, Trump said of Republicans raising concerns about the case: 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' The backlash over the Epstein case has laid bare tensions inside Trump's coalition and is testing one of Trump's most enduring political strengths: his ability to command loyalty and control the narrative across the right. A former Trump adviser, Mike Flynn, on Wednesday said on X that the matter was not a hoax. 'With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this,' he said. The Justice Department last week concluded there was 'no incriminating client list' or any evidence that Epstein may have blackmailed prominent people. The review also confirmed prior findings by the FBI that Epstein killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial, and that his death was not the result of a criminal act such as murder. Some House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have continued to call for the Justice Department to release more Epstein documents. But Republicans have blocked efforts by Democratic lawmakers to push measures that would force the agency to make those documents public. Trump, who knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s, on Wednesday again defended Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the matter and said she could release any credible documents related to the case. 'Whatever's credible, she can release,' he told reporters. 'If a document's there that's credible, she can release. I think it's good.' But he was also eager to move past the issue. 'I'd rather talk about the success we have with the economy,' he said.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Pro-Palestinian demonstrator arrested at Tour de France
TOULOUSE: A protester wearing a t-shirt reading 'Israel out of the Tour' was arrested on Wednesday after running onto the final straight of the Tour de France 11th stage. The protester, who was also holding a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, got past security barriers and ran toward the finish line in Toulouse as Norway's Jonas Abrahamsen won a sprint finale. The man was intercepted by a race staff member and arrested, the local prefecture said. Several police officers have been assigned to protecting the Israel-Premier Tech team during the Tour. The team was set up by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, but there are no Israeli riders in this year's race. With the Gaza war causing international controversy, last year the team said it had asked its riders not to wear jerseys with any reference to Israel while out training as a precaution.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
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.''
