Trump Threatens Iran With 'Major Military Punishment' as Red Sea Attacks Push Oil Above $100 
Trump Says No Decision on Major Iran Strikes as U.S.-Tehran Talks Intensify 
Russian Missile Strike on Kyiv Region Kills 10, Sparks Probe Into Defense Industry Event 
UN Rights Chief Volker Turk Faces Opposition Over Second Term Bid 
Canada Opens Gordie Howe Bridge Without U.S. Officials as Trump Tariff Tensions Persist 
Russian Bomb Strikes Hit Zaporizhzhia, Sloviansk, Injuring Dozens in Eastern Ukraine 
Iran Rejects U.S.-Backed Ceasefire as Trump Escalates Military Threats, Oil Tops $100 
Maduro U.S. Drug Trafficking Trial Set for June 2027 as Immunity Defense Looms 
Canada Vows Trade Fight as Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs 
US Military Completes 13th Straight Night of Iran Strikes as Trump Warns of Further Action 
UN Reappoints Volker Turk as Human Rights Chief Despite U.S., Russia, Israel Opposition 
Trump Praises Nigeria’s Tinubu, Signaling Stronger U.S.-Nigeria Security Ties 
Trump Administration Monitors OpenAI Incident as Lawmakers Push AI Kill Switch Bill 
ASEAN Forum Puts Middle East Conflict, South China Sea Tensions in Spotlight 
Russia Says It Hit Ukrainian Ports, Cargo Ships in Odesa and Chornomorsk 
Arizona Primaries Set High-Stakes Governor and House Battles Ahead of Midterm Elections 
Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Reinstate $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee 
Previously, first lady Melania Trump’s former friend and adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff revealed she had recorded conversations as their friendship went downhill and eventually fell out. Some of the conversations have now been made public over the recent days, one of which revealed the first lady’s rants about Christmas and the separation of children at the border.
In the recordings, Melania had expressed her disdain about the media’s criticism of her over her husband Donald Trump’s highly-controversial policy about separating children from their families at the border with Mexico. Wolkoff released the recordings to CNN last week, coinciding with the news of Melania testing positive for COVID-19. Melania also ranted about having to take care of the Christmas decorations at the White House at the time.
“They say I’m complicit, I’m the same like him. I support him. I don’t say enough. I don’t do enough where I am,” said the first lady in the recordings, about the child separation policy, which under the Trump administration, assumed “zero tolerance.”
Melania also cites an Obama-era policy of child separation in her rants. However, the Obama administration’s policy did separate children but was not a blanket policy, and separations ceased when a judge ruled against it.
“Ok, and then I do it and I say that I’m working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said ‘oh, what about the children that they were separated?’ Give me a f***ing break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that? I cannot go, I was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom. I didn’t have a chance -- needs to go through the process and through the law,” said the first lady.
Meanwhile, the first lady is currently coping with her COVID-19 diagnosis. Melania’s Chief of Staff Stephanie Grisham told Daily Mail that the first lady is supposedly doing very well despite experiencing mild symptoms of the disease. Melania is also keeping in touch with her husband as he is receiving treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed Medical Hospital. The rest of the First Family, especially her son Barron Trump, have tested negative for coronavirus.
