Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA

While Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine on his first day as president, weeks have passed with no clear outcome in sight.

Five days before his 100th day in office, President Trump is frustrated his efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have so far fallen short, and has privately told advisers that mediating a deal has been more difficult than he anticipated, sources told CNN.

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-04-24T23:54:21.589Z

According to a CNN source, frustration is starting to set in for the president, who now privately admits that a peace deal in Ukraine has been more difficult than he anticipated.

In private discussions, Trump would express his frustration and acknowledge that he had underestimated the depth of animosity between Putin and Zelensky, which he believed would explain the slow pace of negotiations.

Trump would express surprise at Ukraine’s refusal to accept the peace plan proposed by his administration, a plan that includes no concessions from Russia, while demanding that Kyiv renounce the occupied territories and its plans to join NATO.

Meanwhile, Russian bombing continues, including a recent strike on Kyiv that prompted Trump to post on TruthSocial: « Very bad timing », before adding: « Vladimir, Stop! ».

Recently asked by a reporter about Putin’s concessions, suggesting that Trump’s plan favored Russia, Trump replied that Putin’s real concession was gonna be « stopping the war » and not to seize Ukraine in its entirety.

Let’s recall that since President Trump launched mediation efforts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been willing to consider a peace agreement, provided Ukraine’s sovereignty is respected.

However, Russia has responded evasively, rejecting several American proposals and continuing its attacks, notably on Kyiv, which is complicating negotiations.

Despite a rise of over 7% in worldwide sales of electric vehicles, Tesla recorded a 13% drop in its own sales compared with the same period last year, leading to a collapse in profits, down 71% in the first quarter of 2025.

Billionaire Elon Musk said he will step back from the U.S. DOGE Service next month and focus on Tesla, his reeling electric vehicle company, which on Tuesday reported a stunning 71 percent plunge in profits compared with the first quarter of 2024.

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) 2025-04-23T12:02:46.607Z

Most of the decline is attributed to the heated controversies surrounding Elon Musk, including his US political involvement alongside Trump with DOGE, his controversial comments and gestures, and his closeness to the far right.

This major setback prompted the CEO to announce to Tesla investors that he would be taking a step back from DOGE as early as next month, in order to refocus some of his attention on the electric vehicle company.

However, Elon Musk has said he has no intention of withdrawing from DOGE altogether, stating that he will remain heavily involved with the department under the Trump administration until the end of Donald Trump’s term.

Elon Musk’s erratic statements and behavior have clearly turned off some of Tesla’s customers, who were already weakened by the rise of competitors in the electric vehicle sector.

The company now has to contend with tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, further complicating its situation.

As well as trying to reassure investors of his renewed involvement in the company, Elon Musk also sought to appease them about his position on tariffs, saying he was in favor of a reduction.

However, he made it clear that, ultimately, decisions rest with the President.

The peace plan proposed by the Trump administration quickly collapsed, with Ukraine firmly rejecting it for its openly pro-Russian orientation, including endorsing Russian control over territories occupied for the past three years, recognizing the annexation of Crimea and banning any future Ukrainian membership of NATO.

LATEST: President Trump slams Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, claiming a peace deal was “very close” but placed blame on the Ukrainian president for potentially derailing negotiations.

— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) 2025-04-23T18:01:54Z

This initiative, presented by the United States, illustrates once again the problematic alignment of Trump’s foreign policy with the interests of the Kremlin, to the detriment of Ukraine.

Zelensky was also very clear about Ukraine’s position on its territorial integrity:

« Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea ».

Zelensky then added: « There’s nothing to talk about here ».

This statement visibly irritated Donald Trump, who quoted Zelensky in a post on Truth Social, accusing him of having « no cards to play » and claiming that Crimea « was lost years ago ».

The Trump administration, through Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has also threatened to withdraw from peace negotiations if Ukraine persists in rejecting his proposal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed that Ukraine would only enter into peace negotiations with Russia once a complete ceasefire had been established.

U.S. Health Secretary RFK Jr. has come under heavy criticism from people on the autism spectrum and many families, various advocates and specialized organizations after his recent statements on autism.

The National Institutes of Health is amassing private medical records from a number of federal and commercial databases to give to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new effort to study autism, the NIH's top official said Monday.

— CBS News (@cbsnews.com) 2025-04-23T01:00:01.059Z

Having recently promised to discover the cause of autism through extensive research by the fall, RFK Jr. plans to roll out a series of measures, including a very contested autism registry.

According to RFK Jr., this national autism registry would aim to collect private medical data from multiple sources, such as insurance records, pharmaceutical information, data from connected watches and genetic analyses of people with autism spectrum disorder.

RFK Jr. has entrusted oversight of the National Autism Registry to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, known for his controversial positions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bhattacharya is currently in discussions with several agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to collect sensitive personal data.

RFK Jr.’s registry has been widely criticized as intrusive and stigmatizing. Advocates and experts denounce the massive collection of private data without sufficient safeguards, fearing targeted surveillance of autistic people and political or ideological instrumentalization of this sensitive information.

At a recent press conference as U.S. Secretary of Health, RFK Jr. stirred up controversy by declaring that autism « destroys families » and calling it a « preventable disease ».

His comments were roundly criticized by advocacy groups and experts as stigmatizing and scientifically unfounded.

RFK Jr. went on to claim that autistic children, in his words: « will never pay taxes, will never write a poem, will never play baseball » and that « many of them will never go on a date ».

Comments that shocked many.