🗞️Trump meets with Zelenskyy, European leaders

...also MSNBC's rebrand and Newsmax to pay $67 million to settle lawsuit

August 18th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

  • Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and other European leaders met with President Trump at the White House in a the meeting focused on Ukraine’s security needs and the war with Russia following Trump’s meeting with Putin this past Friday…following the meeting Trump called Putin and began arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy…for more and live updates click the article above

  • Pennsylvania Treasurer, Stacy Garrity, has announced she is running for governor as a Republican to challenge Democratic incumbent Josh Shapiro

  • The Justice Department will begin handing over documents related to its Jeffrey Epstein investigation to Congress this week…this development follows a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee demanding all records related to the case, including communications and files on Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and associated investigations

  • Texas House Democrats have returned to the state Capitol after a two-week quorum-breaking walkout trying to block Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts…read more here 

  • MSNBC, the cable network owned by NBCUniversal, is officially rebranding as MS NOW, which stands for "My Source for News, Opinion and the World"…this change is part of a broader corporate transition as NBCUniversal spins off many of its cable networks, including MSNBC, into a new entity called Versant

  • Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over claims the network aired about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential election

  • Novo Nordisk has announced it is cutting the price of its diabetes drug Ozempic in half for U.S. cash-paying patients, offering it at $499 per month through its NovoCare pharmacy and partnerships with providers like GoodRx

  • Starbucks has announced they will give a 2% salary increase this year for all salaried employees in North America, including corporate staff, manufacturing and distribution workers, and retail leadership such as store managers

  • The U.S. birth rate has reached an all-time low in 2024, with the total fertility rate dropping to 1.6 children per woman according to the CDC

  • DOW down .08% / S&P down .01%

  • Hamas has agreed to a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza put forward by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, which includes a 60-day truce, the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian detainees, and promises for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza

Plus: A look at where America’s kids live

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Quote of the day: "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples." — Mother Teresa

Have a great night!

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