INTERNACIONAL
Zelenskyy agrees to Trump-Putin meeting without cease-fire, but will Kremlin dictator go along?
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I’m with President Trump: «There’s no deal until there’s a deal.»
And now that he has changed his stance and is openly siding with Vladimir Putin, despite vehement objections from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited the White House yesterday, a deal seems rather elusive.
Putin’s interest in peace is underscored by his continued bombardment of Ukraine, the country he illegally invaded, with the latest round killing 10 people. Which is to say the Kremlin dictator has no conceivable interest in peace, except on his maximalist terms.
Look, I’m rooting for Trump. If he can somehow square the circle of this brutal and bloody war, and bring things to an end, he will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. And Hillary said she’d nominate him.
HERE IS THE ‘BIGGEST DIFFERENCE’ BETWEEN ZELENSKYY’S TWO WHITE HOUSE VISITS
But the negative reviews of the Alaska sitdown has rankled Trump and prompted him to lash out at Fake News on Truth Social:
«If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!»
Okay, he doesn’t like the press. Except we now know, thanks to his in-flight comments to Fox’s Bret Baier, that he enjoys the sparring, likening it to a golf game. The reporters are all trying to get him to make a mistake. If he makes no breaking news, he wins. If he does say something that’s breaking news, he didn’t put the ball in the hole and they’ve got him.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier in a hospital in Kharkiv after visiting wounded soldiers and awarding them medals for their service. (Special Report with Bret Baier)
I watched Sunday morning as Zelenskyy and top European officials said only Russia can end the war and that Ukraine would not be surrendering the Donbas region, home to more than 200,000 people.
As Gen. Wesley Clark told me on «Media Buzz,» once you get past the Donbas region, it’s a «straight shot» to Kyiv, so the brave Ukrainians, who have held off the far bigger Russian war machine, would be defenseless.
It’s mildly encouraging that media reports say Putin has accepted the need for security forces to protect Ukraine, meaning the Europeans – and the U.S. – would send troops for a peacekeeping unit.
When special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in the room during the Putin session, was asked about Trump’s change of position, I thought he’d deny it, but he didn’t. That confirms the stories are true, and certainly complicates matters.
TRUMP SPARS WITH EUROPEAN LEADER DURING UKRAINE TALKS OVER KEY STEP TO PEACE
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said over the weekend that Trump «said himself that a ceasefire was his absolute most important and highest priority. So, it was a joint demand, which isn’t happening now. We would have indeed hoped for a cease-fire first. The Russian side was obviously unwilling to do that.»
So what exactly is Putin giving up? Nothing, as far as I can see. Every day without a cease-fire is another day that the indicted war criminal gets to cement his battlefield gains.
And, under these circumstances, Trump expects Ukraine’s president to join in a trilateral meeting with him and Putin?
Responding to Fox’s Peter Doocy, Trump said: «I think if everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.»
U.S. President Donald Trump meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Alexander Drago)
Zelenskyy, who repeatedly praised Trump–he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice after getting kicked out of the White House following his meltdown back in February–reminded reporters that «we live under, each day, attacks. You know, that today have been a lot of attacks and a lot of wounded people. And the child was dead, small one, one year and half.
«So we need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need to support American and European partners that will do our best, for this. So, and I think we show that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the united system of personnel, President Trump to stop this war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war. And we are ready for trilateral as presidents.»
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Now that stunned me. He’s willing to sit down with Putin and Trump after insisting on a cease-fire first – which was also the president’s position until he flipped and abandoned it after the sitdown with the indicted war criminal?
So what was the mood afterward?
«I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine,» Trump said. He added, «I have a feeling you and President Putin are going to work something out.»
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, Aug. 18, 2025. (Alexander Drago/Reuters)
Zelenskyy «praised the constructive specific meeting,» adding: «There is a lot of people in prison. So we need them back and guarantees which will work for the years. We spoke about it and I showed president a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map.»
But will Putin, who views Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader, attend?
All the chatter about the red carpet and other atmospherics is meaningless. Yes, Zelenskyy wore a suit, albeit a military-style one.
We should all be rooting for Trump. Even if he falls short, and the war drags on, it can only end with a negotiated settlement.
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At one point, Trump broke away from the session and called Putin, rather than waiting till afterwards.
Trump posted that this was «a very good early step,» and early may be the operative word. The war could certainly drag on. But it can’t end on the battlefield. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without Trump’s unique preference for leader-to-leader talks, even though he’s now openly siding with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes that produces results and sometimes it doesn’t, as with Kim Jong-un. But it’s given him – and us – a shot.
media buzz,white house,vladimir putin,europe,conflicts,defense,politics,fox news media,ukraine,volodymyr zelenskyy
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A bipartisan group of senators is resurfacing legislation to cap many American patients’ insulin costs at $35 a month — the INSULIN Act of 2026 — reviving a push that previously stalled.
The bill co-authored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and John Kennedy, R-La., would bar group and individual health plans from imposing deductibles on selected insulin products and could not charge more than $35 for a 30-day supply starting in plan year 2027.
Beginning in 2028, patients would pay the lesser of $35 or 25% of the negotiated net price.
Congress had already mandated a Medicare-only cap of $35 in 2022, and President Donald Trump’s long-running agenda to lower prescription medicine costs gives the effort some momentum before the 2026 midterms, where Collins’ seat could be targeted for a Democrat flip amid the very narrow Republican Senate majority (53-47).
SENATE QUIETLY WORKS ON BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE FIX AS HEALTHCARE CLIFF NEARS
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is helping to lead the effort to cap insulin costs on Americans at $35 per month. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«We are the long-time chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, and one of our top priorities is to make insulin more affordable,» Collins said in a Senate hearing last week.
«Our INSULIN Act would impose out-of-pocket limits for patients with commercial insurance, tackle commercial pharmacy benefit managers, and ensure that patients are the ones who are benefiting from the savings that they negotiate, and encourage biosimilar competition in order to lower list prices.»
The bill, first introduced in 2023, has been reworked at Kennedy and Warnock’s urging to include some work to provide capped insulin prices even for the uninsured.
«Our bill also includes provisions to help uninsured Americans access affordable insulin,» Collins continued. «Just this week, I met with a young woman who, a few years ago, ended up in the hospital because she was stretching out her insulin, not taking as much as she was prescribed, because she simply couldn’t afford the cost.»
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP TARGETS AFFORDABILITY WITH RECONCILIATION 2.0 PLAN AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
The issue aligns with a 2024 Trump presidential campaign vow. Trump has already announced other initiatives to lower prescription drug prices, including an executive order last May on his «Most Favored Nation» (MNF) policy to take action on Big Pharma companies that are not offering the world’s lowest price on drugs to Americans.
«Americans should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries, and face overcharges for the same products in the United States,» Trump’s policy ordered. «Americans must therefore have access to the most-favored-nation price for these products.»
«My Administration will take immediate steps to end global freeloading and, should drug manufacturers fail to offer American consumers the most-favored-nation’s lowest price, my Administration will take additional aggressive action.»
Then, this December, Trump announced agreements with nine Big Pharma companies to lower prices on Americans under the MFN policy, including offering direct to the consumer lowest pricing on TrumpRx, the president’s new prescription drug portal.
GOP MUST RACE FOR NEW ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ TO SLASH COSTS BEFORE MIDTERMS, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS WARN
TrumpRX lists Insulin Lispro from Eli Lilly for $25.
Sen. Janine Shaheen, D-N.H., announced last March that she would not be running for reelection. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Collin and Shaheen’s legislation would also offer a limited cap on insulin for the uninsured — an issue reportedly driven by Warnock and Kennedy in the bipartisan group — creating a five-year pilot in 10 states to help uninsured patients get insulin for no more than $35 a month.
«We have already capped insulin for Medicare enrollees at $35 a month — this new INSULIN Act, which we plan to introduce next [this] week, will address insulin affordability for children, adults and those who are uninsured,» Shaheen said in a statement.
«It will do, as the Medicare provision does, cap the cost of employer and private insurance coverage of insulin at $35 a month, create a pilot program to provide $35 a month insulin for uninsured diabetes patients, and it is a direct way to help American families facing economic pressures, and will make people healthier in the long run.»
TRUMP’S RX PLAN PROMISES SAVINGS, BUT ECONOMISTS SEE A HIDDEN TRADE-OFF
While Collins might need the bill for her 2026 midterm election hopes. Shaheen is serving out her final year in the Senate.
«I would really like to be able to leave the Senate thinking that we had helped to address insulin costs for a lot of Americans: This is the most expensive chronic disease,» Shaheen told Semafor, noting Trump’s agenda for capping prices.
«This is something that he should support, because it is affordability.»
Affordability has been the Democrats’ buzzword for the midterms, but Republicans and Trump have argued it has only been an issue Democrats have made after years of inflation under former President Joe Biden.
TRUMP ENDS BIDEN’S DRUG PRICE NIGHTMARE — AMERICANS GET REAL RELIEF WITH TRUMPRX
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was a part of the bipartisan Senate group pushing the INSULIN Act of 2026 to include provisions to lower insulin costs for the uninsured, too. (Anna Moneymaker / POOL / AFP)
The bill authorizes $100 million for fiscal 2027 for cost-cutting and defines «affordable» insulin as out-of-pocket costs of no more than $35 for a one-month supply.
Collins framed the measure as a response to patients rationing medicine they need to survive.
«I have heard far too many stories from people in Maine and across the country who have been forced to ration their insulin because of the cost, and that is simply unacceptable,» she told Semafor.
Beyond the consumer cap, the bill also tries to lower underlying costs by targeting pharmacy benefit manager practices and encouraging more competition from biosimilars and generics. It orders a federal study on delays in bringing insulin products to market and barriers to biosimilar uptake.
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The proposal now faces the harder political test: winning buy-in from Senate leadership and finding a path to must-pass legislation later this year. But after years of failed starts, backers say they finally have a bipartisan framework that could move.
senate, health care healthy living, health care, health care senate, midterm elections
INTERNACIONAL
El gobierno de Chile le retiró el apoyo a Bachelet para la ONU: por qué beneficia al argentino Rafael Grossi
En la frenética carrera para acceder al máximo cargo de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), el diplomático argentino Rafael Grossi parece haber recibido una buena noticia para sus pretensiones con la decisión de Chile de retirar el apoyo a la expresidenta trasandina Michelle Bachelet.
“Hemos llegado a la convicción que el contexto de esta elección, la dispersión de candidaturas de países de América Latina y las diferencias con algunos de los actores relevantes que definen este proceso, hacen inviable esta candidatura y el eventual éxito de esta postulación”, esgrimió en un escueto comunicado el actual gobierno de José Antonio Kast.
La candidatura de Bachelet seguirá adelante porque al momento de su lanzamiento contaba también con el apoyo de Brasil y México. Fue una astuta jugada del por entonces presidente Gabriel Boric a sabiendas de que existía la posibilidad de que el nuevo mandatario Kast hiciera lo que terminó haciendo: retirarle el apoyo.
Pese a las reiteradas críticas de Javier Milei al sistema multilateral en general y a la ONU en particular, el gobierno argentino se comprometió en apoyar y trabajar para impulsar la candidatura de Grossi, renombrado diplomático que en la actualidad encabeza el trascendental Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OEIA). La Cancillería argentina designó a un equipo especial para acompañar la candidatura de Rafael Grossi. (Foto: REUTERS/Tomas Cuesta)
Durante el lanzamiento formal de su candidatura en la Argentina en diciembre del año pasado, TN pudo confirmar que la Cancillería a cargo de Pablo Quirno designó a un grupo de diplomáticos que desde Buenos Aires monitorearía el proceso junto con la representación permanente de nuestro país en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York.
La retirada del apoyo por parte de Chile podría leerse como un contundente mensaje de que Bachelet no puede lograr un consenso interno ni siquiera en esta importante postulación, lo que podría debilitar su carrera. De todos modos, Brasil es un país de peso que busca tener una banca en una hipotética –y compleja- reforma del Consejo de Seguridad.
Leé también: Rafael Grossi busca convertirse en el primer argentino en liderar la ONU: lanza su candidatura en Buenos Aires
Además de Grossi y Bachelet, los otros candidatos que están en carrera para convertirse en secretario general de la ONU son: la argentina Virginia Gamba, impulsada por Maldivas; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, apoyada por su país Costa Rica; y el senegalés Macky Sall, que cuenta con el respaldo de Burundi.
Existe una regla no escrita que el próximo secretario general debe ser latinoamericano. Sólo hubo uno en la historia. El peruano Javier Pérez de Cuéllar ocupó ese cargo durante dos períodos entre 1982 y 1991.
La costarricense Grynspan Mayufis es una de las que, a priori, podría competir cabeza a cabeza con Grossi si la candidatura de Bachelet termina perdiendo peso.
La costarricense Rebeca Grynspan es otra de las favoritas para el máximo cargo de la ONU. (Foto: REUTERS/Mayela Lopez)
La clave está en la decisión de los cinco miembros permanentes del Consejo de Seguridad (Estados Unidos, Rusia, China, Francia y el Reino Unido), quienes tienen que seleccionar a uno de los candidatos para postularlo frente a la Asamblea General. Será una única opción la que salga desde el máximo órgano de la ONU.
Por ello, es necesario esquivar un veto de estos países. Con que uno sólo decida vetar un nombre, esa persona no podrá continuar en carrera. El perfil dialoguista pero firme de Grossi gusta en el ámbito de la diplomacia internacional. A lo largo de los últimos años pudo demostrar su capacidad de negociar con Putin en el Kremlin, con Zelenski en Kiev o con representantes iraníes el desarrollo de su programa nuclear.
Con las audiencias y exposiciones públicas que los candidatos tendrán en los próximos meses se empezará a dilucidar con mayor claridad las posibilidades reales de cada uno. Puertas adentro de la Casa Rosada, la quita del apoyo de Kast a Bachelet fue leída como una buena noticia para Grossi.
naciones unidas, ONU, Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet
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