Russia Says Ukraine Peace Talks With U.S. Show Progress 
Syrian Government Consolidates Control as Kurdish Forces Withdraw from Key Regions 
Japan Government Bond Rout Deepens as Election Spending Fears Shake Markets 
Russian Drone and Missile Attack Disrupts Power and Water in Kyiv 
U.S. Plans NATO Staff Reductions, Raising Fresh Concerns Over Alliance Commitment 
Guatemala Declares State of Siege After Deadly Gang Violence and Prison Hostage Crisis 
Supreme Court Tests Federal Reserve Independence Amid Trump’s Bid to Fire Lisa Cook 
France Nears 2026 Budget Deal as Government Offers Concessions to Avoid No-Confidence Vote 
Trump Administration Appeals Judge’s Order Limiting ICE Tactics in Minneapolis 
Russian Air Attacks Plunge Kyiv Into Darkness, Raise Nuclear Safety Fears 
Trump’s Greenland Ambition Sparks NATO Tensions, Trade War Fears, and Global Market Turmoil 
JD Vance and Wife Usha Announce They Are Expecting Fourth Child in July 
Trump Signals Possible Harvard Deal Amid Ongoing Tensions 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Limit Wall Street Investment in Single-Family Homes 
Trump Criticizes NYSE Texas Expansion, Calls Dallas Exchange a Blow to New York 
Trump Says U.S. Will Soon Target Land Routes for Drug Trafficking 
Minnesota U.S. Citizen Detained by ICE in Armed Raid Sparks Outrage and Civil Rights Concerns 
Wildfires are a prevalent problem in the states on the west coast of the US. President Joe Biden will be heading to three west coast states in order to promote wildfire preparedness through a wartime provision.
Biden will be traveling to Idaho, Colorado, and California this week to take a look at the wildfire damage to promote the administration’s use of the Defense Production Act that was first invoked in August. The provision would increase supply chain issues for the supply of fire hoses for the US Forest Service. It would be the second time the provision was used after it was previously used to boost vaccine supplies, which was not announced by the Biden administration.
The invoking of the Defense Production Act helped an Oklahoma City nonprofit, NewView Oklahoma, to obtain the required supplies to produce and ship 415 miles’ worth of fire hoses. Biden plans to promote the provision as part of what his administration has done to address another wildfire season across the west coast.
Biden would be visiting the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, then he will travel to Sacramento, California to look at the damage caused by wildfires. Biden will be wrapping up his California visit by stopping by Long Beach to campaign for Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election. The US leader will stop by Colorado on Tuesday as he looks to link the wildfires to the broader issue of climate change and how it is affecting the country and the need to make investments in fighting the climate crisis.
In other news, Biden is inviting his counterparts in Australia, India, and Japan to the White House next week for a summit to discuss efforts in countering China’s increasing aggression in the region. This would be the first in-person meeting between Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also known as the Quad alliance.
“The Biden-Harris administration has made elevating the Quad a priority, as seen through the first-ever Quad leaders-level engagement in March which was virtual, and now this summit, which will be in-person,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Monday.
