Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized Friday evening that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky owes President Donald Trump an apology for his behavior in the Oval Office earlier in the day. Rubio discussed the dramatic Zelensky meeting during a Friday evening interview on CNN, where he stressed that Trump is trying to bring an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia — and that Zelensky’s behavior signaled a lack of respect for the United States. Trump told Zelensky to leave the White House on Friday, a White House official shared with The Daily Wire, after a fiery end to an otherwise pleasant Oval Office meeting to finalize a mineral deal between the United States and Ukraine. Zelensky departed the White House without signing the deal and without attending a formal lunch that had been prepared for him — a lunch that was reportedly eaten by White House staff. “We’ve explained very clearly what our plan is here, which is we want to get the Russians to a negotiating table,” explained Rubio. “We want to explore whether peace is possible. They understand this. They also understand that this agreement that was supposed to be signed today was supposed to be an agreement that binds America economically to Ukraine, which, to me, as I’ve explained and I think the President alluded to today, is a security guarantee in its own way because we’re involved; it’s now us, it’s our interests.” “That was all explained,” he argued. “That was all understood. And nonetheless, for the last 10 days in every engagement we’ve had with the Ukrainians there’s been complications in getting that point across, including the public statements that President Zelenskyy has made.” And yet, Rubio said, the Ukrainians insisted on coming to Washington, D.C. He continued: “This agreement could have been signed five days ago, but they insisted on coming to Washington and there was a very — and should have been a very clear understanding: Don’t come here and create a scenario where you’re going to start lecturing us about how diplomacy isn’t going to work. President Zelenskyy took it in that direction and it ended in a predictable outcome as a result. It’s unfortunate.” “That wasn’t supposed to be this way,” the Secretary of State added, “but that’s the path he chose, and I think, frankly, sends his country backwards in regards to achieving peace, which is what President Trump wants at the end of the day — is for this war to end.” Rubio said that Zelensky should apologize for turning Friday’s meeting into “the fiasco for him that it became,” pointing to the moment that Zelensky asked Vance, “What kind of diplomacy are you talking about?” “There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic,” he said of Zelensky. “The way you bring it to an end is you get Russia to the table to talk, and he understands that. Attacking Putin, no matter how anyone may feel about him personally, forcing the President into a position where you’re trying to goad him into attacking Putin, calling him names, maximalist demands about Russia having to pay for the reconstruction — all the sorts of things that you talk about in a negotiation,” he continued. “Well, when you start talking about that aggressively — and the president’s a deal maker, he’s made deals his entire life — you’re not going to get people to the table. And so you start to perceive that maybe Zelenskyy doesn’t want a peace deal.  He says he does, but maybe he doesn’t.” Zelensky’s undermining of efforts to bring about peace is “deeply frustrating” for those involved in the communications that led up to Friday, Rubio said: “I think he should apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did.” During Friday’s meeting, Vance questioned Zelensky: “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” “Right now you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” argued Vance, adding “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.” “During war, everybody has problems, even you, but you have a nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future,” Zelensky responded. “You don’t know that,” Trump said, cutting in as Zelensky continued to try to interrupt. “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel…You’re in no position to dictate what we are going to feel. We are going to feel very good…You’re right now not in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position and [Vance] happens to be right about it.” “You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump added. “With us you start having cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country.” Vance then cut in, asking Zelensky if he had said “thank you” at all during the meeting. “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October,” Vance said. “Offer some words of appreciation to the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country.” Kassy Akiva contributed to this report.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano allegedly declined to prosecute a registered sex offender because the man’s transgender identity and a county policy shielded him from any wrongdoing. Richard Cox was arrested in December of 2024 in Arlington County after several parents claimed a man had exposed himself to young girls in the Arlington Aquatic Center women’s locker room, which shares facilities with Washington Liberty-High School. The man, who claims to be a transgender woman, was also allegedly caught exposing himself in several other locations throughout Arlington and Fairfax counties over the course of several months but was not charged by Descano due to the county’s policy allowing facility use based on gender identity, according to police records obtained by ABC  7 News. Due to this policy, Descano found no crime was committed by Cox, despite having allegedly exposed himself to several women and children, ABC 7 News reported. Descano also reportedly declined to prosecute Cox months earlier in June of 2024 after Cox exposed himself in the women’s locker room of a Fairfax County Planet Fitness, despite Descano knowing the man is a registered sex offender, according to the outlet. Fairfax County Chair Jeff McKay on Tuesday avoided a reporter’s questions on whether the county will change the policy that protected the offender. Cox is a tier three registered sex offender who was first charged with indecent liberties in Arlington in 1992, court records show. Arlington Public Schools in January doubled down on their policy allowing men into women’s bathrooms and locker rooms if they claim a transgender identity after Cox’s December arrest, instead affirming the district’s commitment to “inclusive” facilities. Several Virginia residents spoke out at an Arlington school board meeting in early February, asking the district to overlook the sex offender incident and maintain the policy that protected the sex offender. Arlington Public Schools told ABC 7 News they will now verify that visitors to their schools are not on the sex offender registry, and Cox is also no longer allowed in any Fairfax County recreation centers. Descano’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Left Wing DA Declined to Charge Sex Offender Who Exposed Himself to Children in Women’s Locker Room appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Most Important Thing That the Zelenskyy Meeting Showed to Me

If CNN’s Fareed Zakaria is the proverbial blind squirrel, then “terribly run” Democratic cities are his nut. On the Overtime segment of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Zakaria confronted former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attempt to dodge Maher’s question of why the current mayor has an approval rating of 6.6 percent. Maher simply wondered, “What's going on in Chicago?” Emanuel gave a long, rambling non-answer that first tried to say Chicago wasn’t alone, as if that made it better, “Look, I mean, this is, we were talking about this a little earlier. I mean, you have also, the mayor of New York not doing well, obviously other things also here in Los Angeles, not doing well, the mayor here. Look, and then you got mayors, like the mayor of San Francisco and other cities that are doing well.”   Bill Maher asks Rahm Emanuel why Chicago's mayor has such a low approval rating, and the panel agrees that Democrat policies have ruined large American cities: Bill Maher: "I read that the current mayor of Chicago has an approval rating of 6.6%. What's going on in Chicago?" Rahm… pic.twitter.com/Wn3rj5kQ9v — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) March 1, 2025   After conceding that having to lock everything at a Walgreens and CVS up was not a positive development, Emanuel tried to turn the tables and blame conservatives for having the wrong priorities: I don't wanna hear another word about the locker room. I don't wanna hear another word about the bathroom. You better start focusing on the classroom… We had the worst reading, we had the worst reading scores for 8th graders in 30 years, and nobody, not a governor, not a mayor, not a president, not a secretary of Education is talking about it. We're all wrapped up. Look, in 7th grade, if I had known that I could have said the word “they” and gotten in the girls' bathroom, I would have done it. Okay, this is, we, we literally are a superpower. We're facing off against China with 1.4 billion people, and two-thirds of our children can't read eighth grade level. So no more about the left. Zakaria tried to interject, “Wait a second.” Emanuel, however, kept going, “I'm not on a roll for a second. No more, I don’t want to hear another… But I don't wanna hear another word about the classroom. I don't wanna hear another word about the bathroom until you tell me what you're gonna do with the classroom. Enough.” Zakaria then replied, “But I think, I think. To be fair, Rahm. This is… a huge Democratic Party problem. If you look at Democratic cities, they are terribly run. They have incredibly high taxes. It is impossible to build, so the cost of housing, let me finish, let me finish. I gave you your chance. The cost of housing is crazy in places like New York and Chicago.” He further wondered what his taxes were getting him, “If you look at Democratic states, you know, look, you go to look at New York versus Florida. Okay, roughly the same population. The budget of New York State is twice that of Florida. What do they have? Streets paved with gold? I live in New York. I pay the highest taxes in New York. You get nothing for it, and I think that is the image people have of the Democratic Party. Lots of taxes, lots of regulation, but nothing gets done.” To add one thing to Zakaria’s answer, it is not only that everything costs too much; it is also Emanuel’s attempt to dismiss “the locker room.” If society can’t even agree on who belongs in which locker room, then how can it reasonably expect to educate the next generation? Here is a transcript for the February 28 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher Overtime 2/28/2025 2 minutes, 42 seconds BILL MAHER: What's going on in Chicago?  RAHM EMANUEL: Look, I mean, this is, we were talking about this a little  earlier.  I  mean, you have also, the mayor of New York not doing well, obviously other things also here in Los Angeles, not doing well, the mayor here. Look, and then you got mayors, like the mayor of San Francisco and other cities that are doing well.  So, I would say, look, there is a general rule. I had this when I was mayor: safe streets, strong  schools, stable  finances. Focus on those three things and your city's gonna be fine. We've gone through five years where people became way too permissive as a culture. They were all, which is why everything's locked up at Walgreens and CVS, and that is a disaster. And our school, and I'll say this about our schools. I don't wanna hear another word about the locker room. I don't wanna hear another word about the bathroom. You better start focusing on the classroom. I'm not, no, I'm-- MAHER: No, I agree. EMANUEL: We had the worst reading, we had the worst reading scores for 8th graders in 30 years, and nobody, not a governor, not a mayor, not a president, not a secretary of Education is talking about it. We're all wrapped up. Look, in 7th grade, if I had known that I could have said the word “they” and gotten in the girls' bathroom, I would have done it. Okay, this is, we, we literally are a superpower. We're facing off against China with 1.4 billion people, and two-thirds of our children can't read eighth grade level. So no more about the left. FAREED ZAKARIA: Wait a second. EMANUEL:  I'm not on a roll for a second. No more, I don’t want to hear another— MAHER: I gave him the light. EMANUEL: But I don't wanna hear another word about the classroom. I don't wanna hear another word about the bathroom until you tell me what you're gonna do with the classroom. Enough. MAHER: I couldn’t agree more. ZAKARIA: But I think, I think. To be fair, Rahm. This is-- EMANUEL: I was being fair. ZAKARIA: No, no, this is a huge Democratic Party problem. If you look at Democratic cities, they are terribly run. They have incredibly high taxes. It is impossible to build, so the cost of housing, let me finish, let me finish. I gave you your chance. The cost of housing is crazy in places like New York and Chicago. If you look at Democratic states, you know, look, you go to look at New York versus Florida, Okay, roughly the same population. The budget of New York State is twice that of Florida. What do they have? Streets paved with gold? I live in New York. I pay the highest taxes in New York. You get nothing for it, and I think that is the image people have of the Democratic Party. Lots of taxes, lots of regulation, but nothing gets done.

He Sleuthed It Out! Jonathan Chait Solves the Mystery Of Trump and Zelensky (You'll Never Guess)

A proposal referred to as the "DOGE dividend," which would redistribute 20% of government savings from cuts to taxpayers, could become law, the New York Post learned on Thursday.

David Johansen, the wiry, gravelly-voiced singer and last surviving member of the glam and protopunk band the New York Dolls who later performed as his campy, pompadoured alter ego, Buster Poindexter, has died.

Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking titanium-aluminum alloy that maintains superelasticity across an unprecedented temperature range, from -269°C to +127°C. This innovation could revolutionize industries such as space exploration, where extreme conditions are the norm, and medical technology, where flexibility is essential. Unlike existing shape-memory alloys, which function within narrow temperature windows, this new material remains [...]