Trump envoys meet Putin at Kremlin

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting follows two days of negotiations mediated by Washington between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The U.S. delegation aims to generate new momentum for peace efforts after the process stalled earlier this year.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, brokered the discussions in Abu Dhabi. These were the first direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in nine months. The negotiations concluded on Wednesday with an agreement on a large exchange of prisoners, though the exact number of detainees involved has yet to be finalized.

The diplomatic push comes as other major news items unfold across the United States and internationally. In Mississippi, Democratic nominee Scott Colom defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday. Colom’s victory makes him the state’s first Black U.S. senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction. The result adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of President Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states.

In Alaska, a judge ruled Wednesday that a request by Democratic Senator Mary Peltola’s campaign for a list of rejected absentee voters was not reasonable. The ruling comes as officials continue counting ballots in the state’s ranked-choice election. Peltola and two-term Republican Senator Dan Sullivan are the main contenders in the only Senate race still too early to call. Alaska accepts ballots from overseas voters for up to 15 days after the general election.

In New York City, the death toll from a three-story building collapse in Brooklyn rose to six. Firefighters removed the bodies of four more people early Thursday after the building fell at the edge of a construction site Wednesday afternoon. At least 17 people were hospitalized, including four in critical condition. Rescue workers used pickaxes and power saws to dig through the rubble overnight.

In the technology sector, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces uncertainty as his board reportedly met to discuss his future. The company Megaspeed pledged Thursday to cooperate with a U.S. investigation into potential national security risks. Megaspeed is at the center of a scandal involving an affair between Huang and a former executive suspected of being a Chinese government agent. Huang has admitted to the relationship, and the fallout is spreading across Washington.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing six people including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy. The Health Ministry stated the strike hit the surgical wing. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas commander, though that individual was not among the dead. In Peru, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima to begin a historic visit, with an estimated three million people lining the streets to welcome him.

In South Carolina, an 11-month-old boy was found alive after being buried in a dog crate for about 24 hours. His father has been charged with attempted murder. The boy, Koah Sharp, was discovered crying and covered in dirt in the woods on his grandfather’s neighbor’s property.