Preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Saturday, marking a clear departure from Western efforts to isolate Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

Speaking to Russian state media, Sergei Ryabkov said a possible Putin-Trump summit could involve broad talks on global issues, not just the war in Ukraine.

“The question is about starting to move toward normalizing relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” he said.

But he said efforts to organize such a meeting are at an early stage, and that making it happen will require “the most intensive preparatory work.”

Ryabkov added that U.S. and Russian envoys could meet within the next two weeks to pave the way for further talks among senior officials.

Russian and U.S. representatives meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under Trump. Senior U.S. officials have suggested Ukraine will have to give up its goals of joining NATO and retaining the 20% of its territory seized by Russia.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press

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A Jacksonville Democrat wants to bring Florida into a consortium of states seeking high-speed rail.

Sen. Tracie Davis’ SB 966 would let the Governor join “a rapid rail transit compact” known as the Southern Rail Commission with Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Florida is eligible to join because it borders Alabama.

Davis’ bill, the Senate version of Rep. Yvonne Hinson’s House measure, notes “North Florida has lacked passenger rail service since September 2005, when track damage from Hurricane Katrina led to the termination of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited route, which ran from New Orleans to Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Orlando.”

The SRC was successful when Joe Biden was President in getting $178 million to restore passenger rail service from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama; however, it’s not apparent that President Donald Trump prioritizes that kind of spending amid cuts across government.

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One of Donald Trump’s key political advisers is making it clear that the Republican Party will rise or fall based on how closely it aligns with its chief standard bearer and the “big change” he promised on the campaign trail.

Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair believes that “Trump voters can be converted into Republican voters,” if the GOP “gives the voters what they paid for with their vote.”

If that’s the case, “a long term political realignment” is possible, Blair said Friday at CPAC 2025.

“Trump gained more popular votes than any Republican ever has. It was the first popular vote win for a Republican president in 20 years and the first non-incumbent since 1988. The House Republicans won more popular votes than they ever have and he swept the Senate majority into office and really, President Trump performs above all other Republicans and that’s because a lot of these voters that are with him have not come over to the party.”

The goal is getting “these voters who only vote when Trump is on the ballot … who are with the Trump worldview” and “getting these voters (out) when Trump is not on the ballot,” Blair said.

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