ACTUAL NEWS: Wednesday, April 23rd 2025 Daily Briefing
- Olga Nesterova
- 6 minutes ago
- 9 min read
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The day started with The Telegraph revealing the “7 Step Peace Plan” that the US has presented to the Coalition of the Willing and Ukraine:
Crimea is Russian
End hostilities at front line
US lifts all sanctions against Russia
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be transferred to US. US begins energy cooperation with Russia
No security guarantees from US
Ukraine will not join NATO
Minerals deal to be signed
Then, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in a radio interview, stated that the meeting did not happen as the “sides could not agree on a solution.”
In other words — Europe and Ukraine did not capitulate by accepting these bogus “criteria” for an illusionary “peace”... the way the United States, apparently, did.
Later, the Ukrainian side shared photos of their meeting with the Coalition of the Willing in London.
The US seemingly did not attend the meeting, even though the latest reports from last night indicated that Witkoff was, in fact, expected to be there.
In the afternoon, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued the following statement:
"This is a terrible war, and it needs to end because it has no military solution. There is no military solution to this war. We have to be frank. You know Russia is not just gonna roll over Ukraine and take the whole country, and Ukraine's not gonna push them all the way back to where they were before 2014. So, what I would say we're involved in is understanding what is the Russian position - we have a better understanding of that now because we've actually spoken to them after three years of not speaking to them - what is the Ukrainian position, and figure out are these guys even in the same neighborhood. Because if they're in completely different zip codes, then we may have to conclude that they're so far apart that peace isn't possible at this time. We've done our best. We've put a lot of time and energy at the highest levels of our government. We'll continue to be willing to do so as long as there's a realistic path forward. If, at some point, we determine that we're just too far apart and not enough movement is happening, we may need to move on to other priorities because there are a lot of important things happening in the world. This is not our war. We didn't start this war. We're trying to help everybody end it."
President Trump posted the following message on Truth Social, blackmailing Ukraine and President Zelenskyy:
Ukraine remains committed to working with the United States to end Russia's three-year war, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after talks on Wednesday with European and U.S. representatives in London.
"Ukraine wants the war to end more than anyone else in the world. We are committed to working together to achieve this goal," Sybiha said on X, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump again lambasted Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth:
"The time of the United States being the sole guarantor of European security has passed. It's long overdue. Europe has to step up and lead NATO. America first doesn't mean America alone. It means we expect our allies to step up, to be true force multipliers for freedom. This approach ensures we achieve peace through strength."
Sad, and quite embarrassing for this to come from the strongest democracy, truly.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, during an annual address to the lower house of the Polish parliament, stated:
"The times have changed. I have a message for Mr. [Alexander] Dugin's patrons: you will never rule here again. Neither in Kyiv, nor in Vilnius, nor in Riga, nor in Tallinn, nor in Chișinău. Don't you have enough land? 11 time zones and still not enough for you? You should rather focus on better governance of what is within your borders as recognized by international law. Instead of fantasizing about conquering Warsaw again, worry about whether you can hold Haishenwei [the Chinese name for Vladivostok]."
TODAY IN HISTORY
1016: Upon the death of King Ethelred II of England, his son Edmund II—later known as Edmund Ironside—claimed the throne.
1635: The Boston Grammar School (later renamed the Boston Latin School) was established as the first public school in what would become the United States; it welcomed boys of all social classes and laid the foundation for publicly funded education in America.
1791: James Buchanan, who would become the 15th president of the United States, was born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
1906: Russian Tsar Nicholas II issued the Fundamental Laws, which formally limited his autocratic powers—but fell short of the sweeping reforms promised in the October Manifesto.
1914: Weeghman Park—later renamed Wrigley Field—hosted its first Major League Baseball game; the stadium would become one of the most iconic homes in the sport as the home of the Chicago Cubs.
1984: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler announced that scientists had identified what was believed to be the virus responsible for AIDS; the virus was later officially named HIV.
1985: The Coca-Cola Company introduced "New Coke," a reformulated version of its flagship soft drink. The move was met with overwhelming backlash, prompting the company to reintroduce the original formula just months later as "Coca-Cola Classic."
1993: Eritrea began a three-day referendum vote to formalize its independence from Ethiopia after a long history of occupation and conflict.
2005: The first video was uploaded to YouTube—a short clip of cofounder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo; within a year, the platform hosted around 100 million videos and revolutionized online video sharing.
Five years ago today: Trump told Americans to inject bleach on national television.
QUICK ACTUAL NEWS
NATIONAL
Americans elected President Donald Trump with hopes that he would tackle inflation and strengthen the U.S. economy. However, as he approaches his 100th day in office, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that the public is giving the Republican poor marks for his handling of both issues.
On Wednesday, Wall Street's main indexes rallied to one-week highs amid hopes for a de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war, alongside President Trump scaling back his threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Democratic lawmakers pressed the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to explain its decision to send armed agents to deliver a letter warning a fired employee about her planned testimony before Congress.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to
refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, criticizing their diversion into vanity projects like climate change, which he argued have diminished their effectiveness.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced he was suing the Perkins Coie law firm for “egregious and unlawful acts,” citing the conduct of an unidentified member of the firm.
Law firms Perkins Coie and WilmerHale will ask federal judges in Washington, D.C., to permanently bar President Trump's executive orders against them, calling the measures retaliatory and a violation of U.S. constitutional protections.
The Department of Education will resume collections on defaulted student loans on May 5, ending a five-year pause.
In remarks from the Oval Office, Trump stated that "undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to trials and that his administration should be able to deport them without going to court." This is against the law.
A judge accused the government of “willful and bad faith” in its refusal to answer questions about Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador.
Congressional Democrats visited two graduate students, including Mahmoud Khalil, who have been detained by federal immigration authorities in Louisiana.
A judge blocked Trump’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America and two other government-funded outlets.
Elon Musk announced he would spend less time in Washington after Tesla reported a 71 percent drop in profit during the first three months of the year.
Polls indicate that while Americans largely support the idea of DOGE, they are not fond of Musk’s involvement.
Voting is underway on launching Starbase, a new Texas town where Musk hopes to house SpaceX and its employees.
Women in Army combat roles will now be required to pass the same “sex-neutral” physical standards as men.
Three federal prosecutors who worked on the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams resigned after being asked to admit wrongdoing in refusing to abandon the case.
Ransomware emerged as the most pervasive cyber threat to critical infrastructure in 2024, with complaints about such attacks rising 9% over 2023, the FBI reported. Ransomware accounted for nearly half of all ransomware complaints received by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2024.
Cybercrime globally cost victims more than $16 billion last year, according to a report from the FBI. This represents a one-third increase over 2023, driven largely by low-tech scams, such as fraudulent investment schemes and deceptive emails tricking company employees into wiring large sums to criminals. Tech support and romance scams also caused hundreds of millions in losses.
A White House official said on Tuesday that there are no immediate plans to strip tax-exempt status from climate-focused non-profits, as those groups prepare for a series of executive orders.
The U.S. Justice Department is reassigning about a dozen senior career attorneys from its civil rights unit, shifting the division away from its historic priorities, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Justice Department has canceled hundreds of ongoing grants, which funded services for mental health care for police officers and support programs for victims of crime and sexual assault, according to internal records and sources familiar with the matter.
Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election next year, setting the stage for a competitive intra-party contest to fill his seat in Illinois.
U.S. Department of Justice officials are investigating Disney's deal to take a controlling stake in streaming company FuboTV, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
GLOBAL
U.S. Vice President JD Vance downplayed political differences between the Trump administration and the late Pope Francis, saying he felt fortunate to have held one of the pontiff’s final meetings before his death.
European stocks rebounded on Wednesday after President Donald Trump signaled no plans to fire the Federal Reserve Chair and hinted at potential tariff reductions for China, easing investor concerns.
The Indian government has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country within 24 hours.
In Australia, opposition leader Peter Dutton—currently trailing in polls ahead of the May 3 election—has pledged to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP within a decade, aligning with U.S. calls for allies to contribute more to global security.
New U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector reflect a “lack of goodwill and seriousness” from Washington ahead of this weekend’s U.S.-Iran nuclear dialogue, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Despite ongoing trade tensions, U.S. and Chinese officials are continuing talks to address the fentanyl crisis, though U.S. negotiators claim that China has not been engaging in good faith, four sources told Reuters.
A source familiar with White House discussions said the administration is considering reducing tariffs on Chinese imports, but any move would be tied to negotiations rather than taken unilaterally.
The European Union fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of dollars each for violations under its new digital competition law.
A scheduled meeting in London between the heads of foreign ministries regarding Ukraine did not take place due to unresolved differences. Nevertheless, Russia confirmed it continues to maintain communication with the United States.
Militants shot and killed at least 24 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to local media reports.
The IMF has appointed its first head of mission to Syria in 14 years, interim Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said. The appointment marks the beginning of official re-engagement following the country’s civil war. Bernieh and Syria’s central bank chief are currently in Washington for the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings—the first official visit by Syrian interim authorities to the U.S. since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
In Damascus, The New York Times reporter Christina Goldbaum interviewed Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, who urged the U.S. to lift sanctions and hinted at a growing alliance with Russia, despite Western concerns over his jihadist past.
Following the death of Pope Francis, China expressed willingness to continue efforts to improve ties with the Vatican. The two severed formal diplomatic relations in 1951, though Pope Francis had pushed for rapprochement, including a 2018 bishop appointment agreement that was never made public. Under Xi Jinping, China has imposed strict limitations on Christian worship.
Today, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors convened in Washington, D.C.
Tomorrow, South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Also tomorrow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold talks in South Africa with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
POSTS OF THE DAY
CANADIAN ELECTION TRACKER
NEWS CLIPS - NO COMMENTARY
Leavitt delivers a confusing message on tariffs against China
“We will fight if we must fight. Our doors are open if the U.S. wants to talk. If a negotiated solution is truly what the U.S. wants, it should stop threatening and blackmailing China.” - CCP Spokesman
Then, Secretary of the Treasury Bessent said he believes that excessively high tariffs between the U.S. and China will have to come down before trade negotiations can proceed.
Hegseth: No more woke "bullsh*t"
Bessent: I wish to be clear: America first does not mean America alone
Larry David: Trump is killing 250 years of US democracy
That's all from me for now. Thank you for reading.
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