BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is set to meet President Donald Trump this week on the heels of the U.S. leader announcing plans to sell NATO allies weaponry that they can then pass on to Ukraine.
Rutte will be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and plans to hold talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress.
“I’m gonna have a meeting with the secretary-general who’s coming in tomorrow," Trump told reporters as he arrived in Washington on Sunday night. “But we basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated (weapons) and they’re gonna pay us 100% for them.”
A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back Russia. It's a cause that Trump, who during his campaign made quickly ending the war a top priority, had previously dismissed as being a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.
“In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said on CBS' “Face the Nation." He added: ”One of the biggest miscalculations (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table."
The Rutte visit comes after Trump last week teased that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday and as Ukraine struggles to repel massive and complex air assaults launched by Russian forces. Trump on Sunday declined to offer further details on his coming announcement.
“We’re going to see what we will see tomorrow,” he said.
Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who also appeared on CBS, said there is also growing consensus on Capitol Hill and among European officials about tapping some of the $300 billion in Russian assets frozen by Group of Seven countries early in the war to help Ukraine.
“It's time to do it,” Blumenthal said.
Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be more quickly transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, in an interview published Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche, said European officials have been making the case to the Trump administration to bolster air defense capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a “capacity hole” and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia’s oil industry and hit Moscow with U.S. sanctions for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It would have an enormous impact on the economies of Brazil, China and India, which account for the vast majority of Russia’s energy trade.
“The big offender here is China, India and Brazil,” Graham said. “My goal is to end this war. And the only way you are going to end this war is to get people who prop up Putin — make them choose between the American economy and helping Putin.”
That revenue is critical in helping keep the Russian war machine humming as the U.S. and Europe have imposed significant import and export bans on a wide range of goods to and from Russia, affecting sectors like finance, energy, transport, technology and defense.
Trump for months had threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
But the Republican leader has become increasingly exasperated with Putin in recent days and has repeatedly laid into the Russian leader for prolonging the war.
“He talks so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night,” Trump said in his latest broadside against Putin. “We don't like that.”
Congress has been prepared to act on the legislation, sponsored by Graham and Blumenthal, for some time.
The bill has overwhelming support in the Senate, but Republican leadership has been waiting for Trump to give the green light before moving ahead with it.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation. Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties, without having to cede control to Congress.
Under the initial bill, the president “may terminate” the penalties under certain circumstances, but immediately reimpose them if the violations resume. Graham has said the president would be allowed to waive the sanctions, for 180 days, and could also renew a waiver.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the waivers. But Blumenthal downplayed the differences and said the legislation would give Trump a “sledgehammer” to utilize on Putin.
“The waiver language we will have in this bill is very much like the provisions have existed in past similar measures,” Blumenthal said. He added, “What I think is most important right now is our unity."
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.
The investigation, which both Walz and Frey said was a bullying tactic meant to threaten political opposition, focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.
CBS News first reported the investigation.
The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest recent immigration enforcement operation, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.
The operation has become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7, with agents pulling people from cars and homes and frequently being confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave. State and local officials have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful.
In response to reports of the investigation, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
U.S. senators Kelly, from Arizona, and Slotkin, from Michigan, are under investigation from the President Donald Trump administration after appearing with other Democratic lawmakers in a video urging members of the military to resist “illegal orders." The administration has also launched a criminal investigation of Powell, a first for a sitting federal reserve chair.
Walz’s office said it has not received any notice of an investigation.
Frey described the investigation as an attempt to intimidate him for “standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis did not immediately comment.
In a post on the social media platform X following reports of the investigation, Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.” She did not specifically mention the investigation.
State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration’s immigration sweep in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
His comments came after Trump backed off a bit from his threat a day earlier to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress demonstrations.
“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in the enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters, who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a U.S. judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez ruled in the case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists, which were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.
Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. But the ACLU has said government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
A Liberian man who has been shuttled in and out of custody since immigration agents broke down his door with a battering ram was released again Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.
The dramatic initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful Thursday and freed him, but Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.
A few hours later, Gibson was free again, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” Prokosch said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gibson, 37, who fled the civil war in his West African home country as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, Prokosch said, and complied with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
In his Thursday order, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked. Prokosch said he was told by ICE that they are “now going through their proper channels" to revoke the order.
Minneapolis authorities released police and fire dispatch logs and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to the fatal shooting of Good. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds in her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.
“They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door,” a caller said. “Point blank range in her car.”
Good, 37, was at the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking a street. Video showed an officer approached the SUV, demanded that she open the door and grabbed the handle.
Good began to pull forward and turned the vehicle's wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and fired at close range, jumping back as the SUV moved past him. DHS claims the agent shot Good in self-defense.
Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, attend a vigil honoring Renee Good on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn., outside the Minnesota State Capitol. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, right, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, second from left, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers prepare to enter a home to make an arrest after an officer used a battering ram to break down a door Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including one wearing a 'NOT ICE' face covering, walk near their vehicles, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
