Month: March 2025

Following peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, officials for Ukraine and the United States have proposed a 30-day cease-fire and await a response from Russia. The agreement came after more than eight hours of negotiations between Ukrainian officials and a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in  Jeddah.

Representatives of the two nations said in a joint statement on Tuesday released by the State Department: “Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”

The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations said the interim, month-long cease-fire “can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and that the United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”  The two delegations “also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the above-mentioned ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.”

Rubio said: “Today, we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a cease-fire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that’s enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation. And hopefully we’ll take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope that they’ll say yes, that they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court. The president’s objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end, and I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate.”

Rubio led the U.S. delegation to Saudi Arabia, supported by Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Zelenskyy was visiting Saudi Arabia at the time of the talks, but did not participate. A senior Ukrainian official said ahead of the talks that Kyiv was ready to make a peace deal with Russia.  Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said his delegation’s central message was that “Ukrainians want peace,” and that Ukraine was “ready to go to work toward that goal  It is very important, because we want that never, this aggression, [is] never repeated in the future again. Of course, it’s very important. But now we think it’s necessary to discuss, [with] the most importance, how to start this process.”

Editorial credit: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com

President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs against Canada on Tuesday, saying he will double the tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum by an additional 25%, bringing the total duties to 50%.

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning: “Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on “Electricity” coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD .. This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th”

The President also called on Canada to drop tariffs on various U.S. dairy products, and said he will be declaring a “national emergency on electricity” in the areas affected by Canada’s electricity surcharge. New York, Minnesota and Michigan, which border Canada, were targeted by Ontario’s surcharge. Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned after Trump’s announcement that Canada would shut off its supply of electricity to the United States if the trade war continues to escalate.

According to CNBC, Canada is the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States. It exported 6.6 million net tons of steel and 3.5 million tons of aluminum to the United States in 2024. Brazil exported 4.5 million tons of steel to the United States.

Meanwhile,  newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump’s threats “an attack on Canadian workers, families, and businesses. My government will ensure our response has maximum impact in the U.S. and minimal impact here in Canada, while supporting the workers impacted.”  Carney said Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods would remain in place “until the Americans show us respect and make credible, reliable commitments to free and fair trade.”

Editorial credit: Andy.LIU / Shutterstock.com

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a legal challenge to a law in Colorado that bans “conversion therapy” aimed at LGBTQ+ minors. At least 23 states and the District of Columbia ban conversation therapy for minors.

Conversion therapy, as defined by the state, is an attempt to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

Colorado enacted the Minor Conversion Therapy Law in 2019 following what the state said was a growing mental health crisis among young people in the state and “mounting evidence” that conversion therapy is tied to increased depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. The law prohibits “any practice or treatment [upon minors] … that attempts or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

The high court agreed to hear the legal challenge brought by the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom in opposition to the state law. The Alliance Defending Freedom group is representing Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who has argued that Colorado’s law violates First Amendment rights by “censoring” client conversions.

Kristen Waggoner, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement: “The government has no business censoring private conversations between clients and counselors, nor should a counselor be used as a tool to impose the government’s biased views on her clients.” 

A federal judge and the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled in favor of the state. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, wrote in a statement:  “In Colorado, we are committed to protecting professional standards of care so that no one suffers unscientific and harmful so-called gay conversion therapy. States have long regulated medical practices to protect patients from harmful professional conduct. Colorado’s law protecting young people from unscientific and cruel gay conversion therapy practices is human, smart, and appropriate.”

The case will be heard in the Supreme Court’s next term, which begins in October, with a decision expected by the end of June 2026.

Editorial credit: Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday he’s asking the court to withdraw the previous district attorney’s motion for resentencing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, which aimed to reduce the prison terms of the Menendez brothers.  Erik and Lyle are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents in 1989.

Hochman said at a news conference Monday that “we are prepared to go forward” with the hearing regarding their resentencing case, adding: “however, we are asking the court to withdraw the previous district attorney’s motion for resentencing, because we believe there are legitimate reasons and the interests of justice justifies that withdrawal.”  The request to withdraw the resentencing motion is “based on the current state of the record and the Menendez brothers’ current and continual failure to show full insight and accept full responsibility for their murders. If they were to finally come forward and unequivocally and sincerely admit and completely accept responsibility for their lies of self-defense and the attempted suborning of perjury they engaged in, then the Court should weigh such new insight into the analysis of rehabilitation and resentencing — as will the People.” The resentencing hearing is set for March 20-21.

In October, former-LA County District Attorney George Gascón said he supported resentencing for the brothers and recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed. Gascón stated the brothers should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life; and because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The announcement comes weeks after Hochman said he opposed a separate effort from Erik and Lyle Menendez that sought to challenge their convictions with what their lawyers described as new evidence in the case.  Additionally, it comes just days after one of the brothers’ cousins, Tamara Goodell, slammed the DA in a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division, with accusations that Hochman was being “hostile, dismissive and patronizing” during two meetings in January with family members who want the brothers released. She said the “lack of compassion was palpable, and the family left feeling not only ignored but further intimidated and revictimized.” Goodell wants Hochman removed and the case turned over to the attorney general’s office.

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home back in 1989.  While the defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors alleged that the Menendez brothers killed their parents for money. Their first trial ended in a mistrial; however, the brothers were both convicted in 1996 after heir second trial, and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

The brothers have also sought their freedom through clemency, which has been submitted to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.. Last month, Newsom announced that he was ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released. Newson said at the time: “there’s no guarantee of outcome here, but this process simply provides more transparency … as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency.”

Editorial credit: Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com