Trump Finalizes Minerals Deal With Ukraine.

1 month ago 6

PULSE POINTS:

What Happened: President Donald J. Trump finalized a critical minerals and natural resources agreement with Ukraine on Wednesday. The eastern European nation’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was dispatched to Washington, D.C., to sign the deal with President Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

👥 Who’s Involved: President Donald J. Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

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📍 Where & When: The deal was finalized late Wednesday afternoon, and an official signing is expected later in the evening.

💬 Key Quote: “Thanks to [President Donald J. Trump]’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace, I am glad to announce the signing of today’s historic economic partnership agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, announcing the deal in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

⚠️ Impact: The agreement with Ukraine will, in part, reimburse American taxpayers for future military aid and provide the United States with access to the country’s natural resources, including critical metals like aluminum, as well as graphite and natural gas.

IN FULL:

President Donald J. Trump has reached an agreement with the government of Ukraine, creating an economic partnership that will see the eastern European nation share access to its mineral wealth in exchange for future military aid. Under the deal, the United States will have preferential access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, oil, and natural gas. Additionally, the partnership will see greater U.S. economic involvement in Ukraine, serving as a quasi-security guarantee for the country, which is currently at war with Russia.

“Thanks to [President Donald J. Trump]’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace, I am glad to announce the signing of today’s historic economic partnership agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, announcing the deal in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He continued: “Economic security is national security.”

The U.S Treasury Secretary added: “[The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation] will work closely with the Government of Ukraine to establish this fund, and we look forward to quickly operationalizing this historic economic partnership for both the Ukrainian and American people.”

As the deal appeared imminent, Ukraine dispatched Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to Washington, D.C. earlier on Wednesday to sign the agreement with Secretary Bessent. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka described the partnership as “a win-win,” noting, “It is written in friendly language. It is about investments, investments, and investments.”

The National Pulse reported on Tuesday that the minerals deal was close to finalization. Speaking with The Pulse, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Ukraine needs to sign it, they should sign it… It’s an economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine; that’s what the President envisions, and he wants Ukraine to sign that deal, and he’s confident that they will.”

PULSE POINTS:

What Happened: During an interview marking his 100th day in office, President Donald J. Trump expressed frustration and criticized ABC News anchor Terry Moran for his questions, particularly regarding an MS-13 tattoo on a deported illegal immigrant, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

👥 Who’s Involved: President Donald Trump and ABC News anchor Terry Moran were the primary figures in the interview.

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📍 Where & When: The interview took place in the Oval Office and was aired on April 29 as an hour-long special by ABC News under the title “President Trump: The First 100 Days: The Interview.”

💬 Key Quote: President Trump stated, “Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and, you know, go on to something else,” during the tattoo debate with Moran.

⚠️ Impact: This interview highlighted ongoing tensions between the media and the Trump administration, underscoring issues of media trust and factual disputes in political reporting.

IN FULL:

President Donald J. Trump slammed ABC News and its senior national correspondent, Terry Moran, arguing the corporate media network was spreading “fake news” regarding tattoos found on the hand of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant alleged to be a member of the violent MS-13 gang who was recently deported to his home country. In a tense exchange, Moran insisted that an image showing the tattoos in question had actually been photoshopped, and photographs of Abrego Garcia in El Salvador did not show “M-S-1-3” tattooed across his knuckles.

An image posted to social media by President Trump had the text added above existing tattoos on the El Salvadoran national’s knuckles to denote what the inked symbols stood for. Abrego Garcia has a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with “x” over the eyes, a cross, and a skull tattooed across his knuckles, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and law enforcement officials contend are code representing M-S-1-3, the gang’s name.

“That was Photoshop? Terry, you can’t do that—he had—hey, they’re giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview. I picked you because—frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s OK,” Trump said, responding to Moran’s assertion that the image of the tattoos had been doctored. The America First leader insisted, “He had MS-13 tattooed,” before Moran cut him off, asking that they move on to another subject.

“Terry. Do you want me to show the picture?” President Trump fired back, with Moran responding: “I saw the picture. We’ll—we’ll—we’ll agree to disagree.” After Trump continued to push back, the ABC News correspondent finally relented, conceding, “Fair enough, he did have tattoos that can be interpreted that way. I’m not an expert on them.”

Unsatisfied, President Trump continued to push Moran to acknowledge that the symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia’s hand stood for MS-13. “Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and, you know, go on to something else,” he told Moran, with the ABC News journalist responding: “It’s contested.”

As the interview progressed, Moran attempted to take several digs at the President, asking him: “I’m gonna ask—if I may, do you think the reputation of the United States has gone down under your presidency?” Exasperated, Trump replied: “I—no, I think it’s gone way up, and I think we’re a respected country again. We were laughed at all over the world. We had a president who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs, couldn’t walk down a flight of stairs, couldn’t walk across a stage without falling. We had a president that was grossly incompetent. You knew it, I knew it, and everybody knew it. But you guys didn’t want to write it because you’re fake news.”

“And, by the way, ABC is one of the worst. I have to be honest with you,” Trump said as the interview concluded.

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A biologically male swimmer identifying as female swept gold in five individual events at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships.

The details: Ana Caldas, who has also competed under the names Hannah and Hugo Caldas, competed in the 45–49 women’s division and won every event he entered.

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  • He won by margins as wide as four seconds—which is considered a blowout in elite short-distance swimming.

The rules: The U.S. Masters Swimming competition allows biological men to compete against women as long as they can show proof that they’ve received hormone therapy to reduce their testosterone levels.

Reality check: We know that there is no level of testosterone suppression that can undo the physical biological advantages that a man naturally has in sports — bone density, lung capacity, muscle fiber density, skeletal structure—especially for a man his age.

What Americans think: A poll from earlier this year found that 79 percent of Americans oppose letting biological men compete against women—including 67 percent of Democrats.

The last word goes to comedian Rob Schneider, who wrote on X: “Michael Jordan at 60 years old could suit up today and be the best ‘WOMAN’ in the [WNBA] and maybe THEN the stupid people in the U.S. Masters Swimming National Championship would SEE THEIR OWN INSANITY!”

🚨Breaking🚨

4/25 – A male athlete has taken 1st in the women’s 50 yard breast stroke at the U.S. Masters Spring National Championships.

Earlier today, Ana C. Caldas (formerly Hugo Caldas) took first in the 45-49 masters category of the women’s breast stroke at the U.S. Masters… pic.twitter.com/fO3YwwzUhB

— HeCheated.org (@hecheateddotorg) April 26, 2025

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Image by Oriel Frankie Ashcroft.

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A biologically male swimmer identifying as female swept gold in five individual events at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships. show more

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