
Biden takes the lead role he's always craved in his high-stakes first trip abroad as president
CNN
When President Joe Biden told officials this spring that he wanted to meet soon with his Russian counterpart for a summit, his team quickly set out to make it happen -- even if some wondered what he really hoped to achieve.
The last two administrations -- including the one Biden served as vice president -- had tried and failed to develop better ties with Moscow. Experienced foreign policy advisers had watched as Russian President Vladimir Putin hijacked meetings before with outlandish whataboutism. They wondered what Biden could possibly gain from meeting him now, less than six months into his term.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.











