Blinken urges Russian foreign minister to accept proposal for swap of Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan
CBSN
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a "frank and direct conversation" about the "substantial proposal" that the U.S. has put forward in an attempt to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Blinken said Friday during a press conference.
This is the first time the U.S. and Russian counterparts have spoken since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Blinken said he pressed the Kremlin to accept the proposal. "I'm not going to characterize his response, and I can't give you an assessment of whether I think things are any more or less likely, but it was important that he heard directly from me on that."
A judge sharply questioned a lawyer for the federal government on Tuesday over the Pentagon's efforts to cut Anthropic out of its classified systems — the latest development in a dispute between the company and the Trump administration over AI guardrails. In:
Washington — The Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Trump on Iran as the U.S. and Tehran send conflicting messages about how the war might end.
FedEx said Tuesday that it will offer same-day delivery in partnership with logistics company OneRail, with the announcement following a recent move by Amazon to offer expedited deliveries across the U.S. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
OpenAI said Tuesday that it is discontinuing its Sora AI video app. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
The Pentagon is expected to send parts of the 82nd Airborne division to the Middle East as the Iran war extends into its fourth week, according to two sources. In:
Financial markets experts are raising concerns about possible insider trading after an unusual spike in oil futures trading only minutes before President Trump announced talks with Iran on Truth Social. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
NASA announced ambitious long-range plans Tuesday to spend $20 billion over the next seven years to build a moon base near the lunar south pole featuring habitats, pressurized rovers and nuclear power systems. The announcement came just over a week before the planned launch of NASA's Artemis II around-the-moon mission. In:
Minnesota state and county officials sued the federal government Tuesday, alleging they are being blocked from investigating the shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis by federal agents. In:
Washington — It's not a palace, but next month the White House is set to be overrun by royals. Gabrielle Ake contributed to this report.
Epic Games, the video game maker behind Fortnite, is laying off more than 1,000 workers amid "extreme" market conditions and a downturn in engagement with its most popular game, CEO Tim Sweeney said in a blog post Tuesday. Edited by Aimee Picchi In:
Security screening lines are so long at some U.S. airports that major airlines are letting passengers cancel or rebook their tickets free of charge during the ongoing partial federal government shutdown. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
Travelers at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport are standing for hours in security lines that may cause more risks for travelers — amid a DHS funding fight that's resulted in TSA staff shortages at major U.S. airports. Kaia Hubbard and Kathryn Krupnik contributed to this report. In:
Washington — President Trump, who calls voting by mail "cheating" and wants to restrict the method, voted by mail this month in Florida's special elections, public records show. In: