Trump news today: Danish foreign minister hits back over U.S. rhetoric on Greenland after Vance visit – UK Times

An American citizen detained in Afghanistan last month by the Taliban has been released, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad announced on Saturday.

“American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home,” Khalilzad posted on X. There was no immediate comment or confirmation from the State Department. Khalilzad, also a former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, provided no further details. He shared a picture of Hall sitting between two men.

A source with knowledge of the release stated that Hall, who had been detained in Afghanistan since February, was freed on Thursday following a court order, with logistical support from Qatar, which serves as the United States’ protecting power in Afghanistan.

Hall was received at the Qatari embassy in Kabul and confirmed to be in good health after undergoing a series of medical checks, the source said, adding that arrangements were underway for her return to the U.S. Hall was arrested along with a British couple, Barbie and Peter Reynolds.

British media reported that the couple, in their seventies, had been running projects in Afghan schools for 18 years, choosing to stay even after the Taliban seized power.

Khalilzad’s post did not mention the couple, whose family has expressed concerns for their release amid worries over their health.

With reporting from Reuters

The Wall Street Journal reports that sensitive information was discussed in both meetings, one with U.K. officials and another with NATO defense ministers, according to multiple people who were either present or had knowledge of the discussions.

The White House Correspondents’ Association is reversing course and canceling its plans to have comedian Amber Ruffin headline this year’s annual fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C.

“The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Eugene Daniels, president of the association, writes in a memo to members.

Just yesterday, the Trump White House took aim at Ruffin and suggested journalists shouldn’t attend the dinner since she was slated to be the entertainer. This change was already in the works, however, Brian Stelter reports.

Crowds protesting billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump began amassing outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.

The protesters are trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he’s gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending. Most of Musk’s estimated $340 billion fortune consists of the stock he holds in the electric vehicle company that he continues to run while also working alongside Trump.

Earlier protests have been somewhat sporadic. Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised Saturday the friendship and trust that his country and Japan have developed while attending a memorial service on Iwo Jima to honor those who died in battle during World War II.

Japan is Hegseth’s second stop after the Philippines on his first Asia trip. His visit comes as Beijing has been showing increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea and following threats by President Donald Trump to impose trade tariffs on the East Asian country, a key U.S. ally.

The grant, contract and budget cuts in federal agencies, along with the crippling reductions of tens of thousands of government jobs, will “in all probability” end up increasing (by a lot), rather than decreasing the nation’s deficit, which has been the stated intent, notes a new report.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hatchet man Elon Musk initially boasted that he would carve $2 trillion out of government spending — even the Trump administration works to slash the nation’s income via tax cuts that will largely accrue to the wealthy by $4.5 trillion. (The Republicans are also planning to increase military spending by $150 billion over the next five years.)

Now Musk is claiming he may reach half of that goal — $1 trillion in cuts — by the end of the year.

Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, went on a “national security” visit to the autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, on Friday. The vice president’s boss, President Donald Trump, has said the US needs Greenland for international safety and security and has suggested his willingness to take it by any means necessary.

The Vice President has now fully embraced Trump’s point of view, despite conceding that he understands America’s apprehension over the pursuit of the land.

Michelle Del Rey reports.

President Trump pledged US support for Southeast Asia following a devastating earthquake, but his administration’s previous foreign aid cuts could hinder the response.

While offering assistance on Friday, the impact of reduced funding to USAID and the State Department remains a significant concern.