Some doubts and one big question have emerged in Donald Trump’s push for Ukraine peace talks. A heat wave is set to grip the Southwest, while the East Coast braces for potential effects from Hurricane Erin. And after the NBA got rid of microbets, will other pro sports do the same?
Here’s what to know today.
Trump’s plan for Ukraine peace talks faces a major challenge
A White House meeting this week between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders marked a rare display of trans-Atlantic unity and a chance for Trump to show his authority.
And now, Trump is pushing for another spectacle: a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Trump doubled down on the push yesterday, saying on Fox News that “Putin is going to be good” to set up a meeting with Zelenskyy. Finnish President Alexander Stubb — who bonded with Trump over a mutual love of golf and has emerged as a pivotal figure in efforts to end the war — said he hoped for something to happen “within the next two weeks.” But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was more cautious, warning that a summit would have to be “step by step, gradually” and go “through all the necessary steps.”
The White House is actively looking to secure a meeting location and date, a senior administration official told NBC News. Hungarian capital Budapest and Geneva in Switzerland have been among the sites discussed, the official said.
The site of the meeting is complicated as Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court that obligates the 125 countries that are party to the court to arrest the Russian leader and transfer him to The Hague for trial.United States and NATO military officials are set to meet to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump made clear Tuesday that this would not include U.S. “boots on the ground” but could see the U.S. provide air support as part of such an arrangement.
More politics news:
- The Justice Department is investigating whether Washington, D.C., police manipulated data to make crime rates appear lower, law enforcement officials said.
- Trump has ordered his attorneys to conduct a review of Smithsonian museums, accusing the institutions of focusing too much “on how bad slavery was.”
Extreme heat in the Southwest, and rip currents on the East Coast
An estimated 80 million people will be under extreme heat warnings and advisories across the Southwest as federal forecasters predict a swirling system of warm air will toast the region through the weekend. Warnings begin today in parts of Southern California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving more firefighting resources. Warnings will also be in effect in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and temperatures in the 90s are expected as far north as Seattle. Here’s what else to know about the heat wave.
Meanwhile on the East Coast, Hurricane Erin still packs a powerful punch even though it weakened to a Category 2 yesterday morning. Dangerous rip currents were already occurring on some East Coast beaches, with no-swimming advisories in effect along coastal towns in North Carolina, Delaware and New Jersey. Erin was forecast to pass near the Bahamas last night before moving north and northeast to the U.S. East Coast today and Thursday. Here’s what else to know about Hurricane Erin.
Israel approves plan for Gaza City takeover, call-up of reservists
Israel has approved a plan for the takeover of Gaza City that includes calling up 60,000 reservists for its expanded military operation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The U.S. ally appeared to be pushing ahead with a new phase of its war despite international opposition — and in the face of a renewed push for a ceasefire.
Defense Minister Israel Katz has authorized the plans for the major new operation, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday. It will also see an additional 20,000 reservists have their service extended, the Israeli military said.
Doctors say medical misinformation has gotten worse
A new survey of doctors shows medical falsehoods have grown not only online, but also within the medical exam rooms where doctors and patients interact. According to the survey of 1,002 physicians by the nonprofit research group Physicians Foundation:
→ 61% of doctors said they encountered patients influenced by misinformation or disinformation a moderate amount or a great deal of the time in the past year; and
→ 86% of physicians said the incidence of such falsehoods among patients has increased over the past five years, with 50% saying it has increased significantly
The results show the difficult position medical professionals are in, said Dr. Seema Yasmin, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University who was not involved in the study. But further research should look at how many physicians admit to having fallen for false information themselves, she said. Read the full story here.
Read All About It
- Being overweight or obese has been linked to a greater risk of developing breast cancer. New research suggests a reason.
- Raw frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart stores in 13 states may have been contaminated with radioactive material, the FDA warned.
- Arkansas officials’ report about a man known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” revealed how he planned his jail escape and evaded authorities for several days.
- A federal appeals court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit that comedians Eric André and Clayton English filed in 2022. The pair had alleged they were stopped for racially motivated searches at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
- Astronomers have discovered a moon orbiting Uranus that’s so small a person could walk it in two hours.
Staff Pick: Could the NBA influence other sports to get rid of microbets?
These days, it’s not unusual to see a headline about a professional athlete ensnared in an investigation into sports gambling. What these stories often have in common is a certain type of bet, called a “prop bet” or “microbet,” that pro sports leagues suggest are easily manipulated by individual players. After one gambling scandal left a player permanently banned from the NBA, the league restricted how many prop bets are offered.
I wanted to find out how the league persuaded its gambling partners to take down such bets and see whether it could be a precedent followed by other leagues, such as Major League Baseball, as it deals with its own sports-betting investigation. At stake is a delicate balance and potentially billions of dollars. — Andrew Greif, sports reporter
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