📌 Zelenskyy Meets Trump, Air Traffic, More

Ukraine’s leader will meet with President Donald Trump in Washington today at a pivotal moment for his country.

During his trip to Washington, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s delegation is expected to sign a landmark economic agreement with the US aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.

Though the deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine’s security, it leaves that to a separate agreement to be discussed between the two leaders.

Leaders in Kyiv have pushed to ensure a potential US-brokered peace plan would include guarantees for the country’s security. Ukrainians fear a hastily negotiated peace — especially one that makes too many concessions — would allow Moscow to rearm and consolidate its forces for a future invasion.

A preliminary economic agreement will establish a co-owned, jointly managed investment fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues from natural resources, including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials, reports say.

Zelenskyy said he hopes to discuss whether the US plans to halt its military aid to Ukraine and, if so, whether Kyiv can purchase weapons directly from the US. He also wants to know whether Ukraine can use frozen Russian assets to buy weapons and whether Washington plans to lift sanctions on Moscow.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (pictured) said the Trump administration will take steps to boost air traffic controller hiring.

The Federal Aviation Administration will open its hiring window to become an air traffic controller through March 17, will increase starting salaries by 30% for candidates who go to the FAA training academy and will speed the time-to-hire by cutting more than four months off the old process.

Duffy said he was reconsidering rules that had allowed air traffic control supervisors to reduce staffing at Washington’s Reagan National Airport before a fatal Army helicopter-plane collision that killed 67 people in January.

The FAA is about 3,500 fully certified air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and has about 10% fewer controllers than it did in 2012. The FAA fired 350 probationary workers this month, including some with safety-related positions. Duffy insisted that the agency eliminated no jobs critical for safety.

Last week, the US aviation sector called for “robust emergency funding” from Congress for air traffic control technology and staffing after a series of crashes. Airline representative Airlines for America praised Duffy’s action to address the longstanding shortage of air traffic controllers.

A striking number of Americans are considering a future outside the US.

A survey by Talker Research reveals that 17% of American adults want to move internationally within the next five years, with 5% planning to take steps in the next few years and 2% already having started the process of moving to another country.

Almost 7 in 10 respondents (69%) worried about the direction the US is heading, while a majority (65%) described US society as having become “toxic.” Over half (54%) said living in the US is no longer affordable. Work-life balance was another concern, with 57% of respondents calling America’s approach inadequate.

Millennials emerged as the group most eager to move internationally, with a quarter (25%) wanting to relocate abroad – higher than any other generation surveyed. Midwesterners (18%) showed slightly more interest in moving abroad than Americans in the Southwest, West, Southeast, and Northeast (all at 16%).

When asked about preferred destinations, Canada was the clear frontrunner (19%), with respondents citing high-quality healthcare (41%), its diverse landscape for exploration and recreation (28%), and its practical approach to work-life balance (21%) as primary attractions.

Italy came second (11%) for its renowned cuisine (68%), rich culture and warm people (66%), and scenery and varied terrain (40%). England was third (10%), with potential American expatriates drawn to its culture and way of life (66%), historical heritage (49%), diverse landscapes (25%), and healthcare (21%).

Google co-founder Sergey Brin urged for a return to the office to boost the company's position in artificial general intelligence.

Brin recommended employees should be in the office every weekday, suggesting that a 60-hour work week is the optimal balance for productivity. His comments were directed at those working on Gemini, Google’s suite of artificial intelligence models and applications.

The push for an office return contrasts with Google’s official return-to-office policy. The company requires employees to work from the office at least three days a week. It remains to be seen whether Brin’s memo will lead to a change in this policy.

If there is a policy change, Google will join several other major tech companies that have brought employees back to offices on the weekdays, including Amazon, whose policy change was announced in September 2024 and was put into effect in January.

Scientists and environmental advocates denounced federal job eliminations affecting weather forecasts and emergency alerts.

Hundreds of scientists and experts had been notified of terminated employment across the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.

NOAA — which includes the National Hurricane Center and the Tsunami Warning Center — is the latest in a string of federal agencies targeted for cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), House Natural Resources Committee, said: “People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information. Purging … scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives.”

“The fact of the matter is that the private sector, as it presently exists, simply cannot quickly spin up to fill any void left by substantial dismantling of NOAA and/or the NWS,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, said in a statement on social media.

It’s unclear the exact nature of the NOAA firings, but they are likely to be subject to a legal review. A federal judge just on Thursday blocked several mass firings of probationary employees at federal agencies because they were probably carried out illegally.

Mexico has extradited 29 high-level organised crime operatives to the US to show it is tackling fentanyl trafficking.

Among the prisoners sent to the US was Rafael Caro Quintero, the drug lord who was convicted of the murder of an undercover US Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1985.

The extraditions come as Mexico tries to persuade the US to postpone 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports. President Donald Trump has tied the tariffs to results on fentanyl trafficking and migration without setting any specific targets.

Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison for the torture and murder of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena before being released in 2013 when a court overturned his sentence. He returned to drug trafficking and was on the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives list until he was rearrested by Mexican security forces in 2022.

Other big names going to the US are two former leaders of the notoriously violent Zetas cartel, Omar and Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales. The extraditions come as Mexican delegations visit their counterparts in the US to negotiate another delay of Trump’s tariffs, the deadline for which is March 4.

Roughly 80% of Mexican exports go to the US, and experts say the tariffs could send the country into recession — though they would also hit the US economy and business interests, too.

Rescuers pulled together to save a horse that fell through the ice of an upstate New York pond.

Sly’s owner, Ali Ernst, said she noticed her three horses playing on the pond when she came home from work, which was not uncommon. But when she looked out again, the 22-year-old quarter horse had fallen through the ice.

Ernst made a series of calls for help as she ran to the hole in the ice, grabbed Sly’s halter to keep his head up and waited for help. “I was losing the battle to keep him above water alone,” she said

Officer Kyle Clinton arrived first and helped Ernst get Sly’s full head back up on the ice. They were soon joined by others, including two more officers, neighbors and family members. They were able to tie a rope to the halter around Sly’s head. Eventually, the group of about nine people had three ropes on Sly, Ernst said.

The team of Saratoga Springs police and neighbors grunting and straining pulled Sly, a 1,300-pound horse, from the icy hole. Once out of the water, Sly was able to get to his feet after several minutes.

Ernst said Sly was initially hypothermic, but had recovered enough Wednesday to go back home, where playing on the ice was no longer allowed. “There’s an electric fence up around the pond now,” she said.