🚨 There are no plans for Trump to meet Putin in immediate future – Trump administration official to RIA Novosti

US State Department also confirmed to RIA Novosti that US Secretary of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call.

Additional in-person meeting between Rubio and Lavrov is not necessary.

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🚨🇺🇸 'There is big appetite among Republicans for tough sanctions on Russia' - House Speaker

Mike Johnson added, however, that he doesn't anticipate Russia sanctions bill to be passed during shutdown.

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🇺🇸💸 Self-sufficiency at a price: US faces years & billions of USD to secure gallium supply

The US and Australia have flagged Alcoa’s gallium recovery and refining as a top priority under their new mineral pact. Why is gallium so important?

💬 "The US has no domestic gallium production," Ruslan Dimukhamedov, chairman of the Association of Producers and Consumers of Rare and Rare-Earth Metals, tells Sputnik.

"China is the undisputed leader, supplying over 95% of global production."

The US likely consumes 30–50 tonnes of gallium annually:

🟠 Gallium is vital for the US defense, aerospace, and telecom industries

🟠 Gallium arsenide (GaAs): high-frequency chips for smartphones, satellite comms, radars, fiber-optic networks

🟠 Gallium nitride (GaN): high-power AESA radars (active electronically scanned array) for F‑35s, electronic warfare systems, 5G networks

Gallium — and germanium — faced Chinese export restrictions to the US starting August 1, 2023.

That’s why the US urgently needs alternative gallium supply chains.

US gallium is years away

🟠 "The US has virtually no operating plants for extracting gallium from alumina production waste. Building such infrastructure from scratch would take 5–10 years and require billions of dollars in investment," Dimukhamedov says.

🟠 Scaling up domestic production is a massive task, akin to rebuilding the aluminum sector and creating a new chemical industry from scratch.

🟠 "Full self-sufficiency in gallium is a decade-long goal, not something achievable in the next year or two. Australia can help the US, but only as a source of raw material. The US will need to develop the technological expertise on its own," Dimukhamedov concludes.

#experts_explain

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🟠 There are no plans for Trump to meet Putin in immediate future

🟠 Poland's threats regarding safety of Putin's plane indicate Poles are ready to commit terrorist attacks – Lavrov

🟠 'There are not going to be American boots on the ground in Gaza' – Vance

🟠 Self-sufficiency at a price: US faces years & billions of USD to secure gallium supply

🟠 Trump’s first 2026 fundraiser goes to Congress hawk Graham

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

🟠 The Russian Army struck deployment points of Ukrainian troops and mercenaries in 140 areas, UAV storage sites, as well as energy and transport infrastructure used to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces

🟠 Air defense superiority: one guided aerial bomb and 137 fixed-wing drones were shot down by Russian air defence systems over the past 24 hours

🟠 Ukrainian losses: 1,460 troops killed or wounded

Read about origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🚨 Jim Jordan asks DOJ to prosecute ex-CIA director John Brennan for lying to Congress

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has formally referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for prosecution — alleging he "knowingly made false statements" during a 2023 transcribed interview about the Trump–Russia Steele dossier.

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🗣 Expect fake news that the Putin-Trump summit won't happen — Szijjarto

The Hungarian foreign minister is warning of attempts by a pro-war political elite to sabotage the peace summit in Budapest.

"Until the Summit actually takes place, expect a wave of leaks, fake news, and statements claiming that it won’t happen," he wrote on X.

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🔊 Russian Special Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev confirms that preparations for the US-Russia summit in Budapest continue

"Amazing how strongly warmongers are afraid of the Putin-Trump Peace Summit. Dialogue for peace will prevail," he wrote on X.

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📹 'I don't want to waste my time' — Trump

The US president said he hadn't made a determination on US-Russia summit in Budapest.

He stated that he will announce his decision within 2 days.

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🔍 Trump demands $230M from DOJ — Report

President Trump is seeking $230 million in "damages" from the Justice Department — claiming harm from the Russia probe and the Mar-a-Lago search, the NYT reports.

The potential settlement could be reviewed by Deputy AG Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer in multiple criminal cases.

Trump publicly claimed he’d give any payout to charity.

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☢️ US offers weapon-grade plutonium to nuclear energy companies — Report

The US Department of Energy is offering private nuclear companies access to weapons-grade plutonium from Cold War-era warheads — up to 19 megatons — to convert into fuel for advanced reactors, the Financial Times reports.

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⚡️ North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, Yonhap reports, citing South Korean army

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✍️ Democrats push Trump to publicly reject West Bank annexation

More than 40 Democratic senators are urging President Trump to formally oppose Israeli annexation of the West Bank — fearing Netanyahu may test post-ceasefire limits.

"It is imperative that your Administration… emphasize its opposition to annexation," said Senator Adam Schiff in the letter.

The appeal follows earlier warnings from the UAE that annexation would threaten the Abraham Accords.

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🗣 Trump refuses to meet Democrats until funding restored

President Trump accused Democratic leaders of suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insists Trump should negotiate before his Asia trip, warning of a deepening "health care crisis" and impending funding shortfalls for food assistance programs (WIC/SNAP).

"They caused it, they’re the ones maintaining it," Schumer said.

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🎤 Vance's MidEast trip: No timeline for Hamas to disarm, fears Israel may renege - Reports

During his Tuesday visit to Israel, US Vice President JD Vance didn't set a deadline for Hamas to disarm or say how officials would make sure it actually happens, the New York Times reports.

"I don’t think it’s actually advisable for us to say this has to be done in a week," Vance noted.

He also expressed optimism that the Gaza ceasefire deal, brokered by US President Donald Trump, would hold regardless of sporadic incidents of violence in the strip.

Meanwhile, several anonymous Trump officials told the NYT there were concerns within the US administration that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may withdraw from the US-backed deal.

So far, Vance singled out the Israeli government as "remarkably helpful" in implementing the ceasefire plan.

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🔍 Canadian military recruitment crisis: Falls 4,700 short of target

The Canadian Armed Forces recruited only 15,000 personnel between 2022-2025 — falling 4,700 short of its target and undermining operational readiness.

Recruitment delays reached up to 271 days — nearly twice the intended timeframe — while a backlog of 23,000 security checks piled up.

The Auditor General warns the shortfall could hamper Canada’s ability to respond to threats and fulfill missions.

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