European leaders spent the weekend urging Zelensky to win back Trump’s support. Zelensky has said Trump is looking to do a deal that would threaten Ukraine’s existence, though, and on Sunday said a peace deal is “far away”

On Monday, Trump called that “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy…this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing”

Hours later, the White House announced that it would pause all military aid

Zelensky's full statement on Sunday was: “An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet. The peace that we foresee in the future must be just, honest, and most importantly, sustainable”

Trump quoted that and wrote, “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”

Hours later, the White House put out this statement: “The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution”

It’s unclear how Ukraine’s effort will continue in the absence of American aid

After a meeting of European leaders in London, the UK’s prime minister said the UK, France, and Ukraine will work together on a peace deal to be presented to the US in hopes that greater European action could induce US support

France proposed a partial one-month truce for attacks on “air, sea, and energy” critical infrastructure, though not halting ground fighting. The UK denied that it had backed that proposal, but both it and France have committed to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine after an initial ceasefire

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was less supportive of the peacekeeping plan, expressing reluctance to deploy Italian troops and warning that it risked being a “highly complex and less effective” operation

The prime minister of Poland, which has one of Europe’s largest militaries, also ruled out sending peacekeepers, saying, “We will... give logistical and political support to the countries that will possibly want to provide such guarantees” but “we do not plan to send Polish soldiers to the territory of Ukraine”

On Sunday, the European Commission president said, "We urgently have to rearm Europe…We have to have a surge in defense,” prompting leaders to promise defense spending increases

In response, share prices of UK and European defence companies soared as governments look to ramp up military spending amid uncertainty over the US’ support to Ukraine and NATO

Shares of French defense company Thales rose 16%, British arms manufacturer BAE and Germany’s Rheinmettal both rose 14%, and Italy’s Leonardo rose 16%

The stock market rally was driven by the expectation that European defense contractors would receive an influx of spending from governments

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged last week to increase defense spending to 2.5% of the GDP by 2027; Germany’s new leader said that his government will pour hundreds of billions into defense; and French President Macron called for France to spend 3 to 3.5% of GDP on defense in the coming years

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In January, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but later delayed them for one month after the countries agreed to bolster border security and combat fentanyl trafficking

While those countries did take steps to do so, Trump said the moves were insufficient and he imposed 25% on nearly all goods from Mexico and Canada. Both countries said they would retaliate with tariffs on American goods

Trump also imposed a further 10% tariff on Chinese goods, doubling a 10% tariff he imposed last month. China immediately responded by announcing tariffs American agricultural products

The tariffs sent American stocks tumbling, wiping out their post-election gains. Some traders are less pessimistic, though, betting that these tariffs, like the prior threats, are a negotiating tactic that won’t last

Historically, first ladies have pursued a humanitarian or social welfare “cause” while in office. Melania Trump’s first-term initiative focused primarily on combating online bullying

The First Lady debuted this initiative by hosting a discussion on the “Take It Down Act,” which aims to penalize the non-consensual distribution of sexual images and videos

Melania stated in her announcement that the “threat of privacy breaches is alarmingly high” for children and that children must be safeguarded “from mean spirited and hurtful online behavior”

Revenge porn describes the dissemination of sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet, typically by a former partner

Similarly, deepfake porn uses AI to generate explicit videos or images by editing a person’s face into sexual content without their consent

Deepfakes exist in a legal gray area, with some states enacting laws penalizing their creation and distribution but no national legislation criminalizing them. Revenge porn is illegal in 49 states, though no federal laws currently exist to combat it