Good morning.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told a senior Kremlin official last month that achieving peace in Ukraine would require Russia gaining control of Donetsk<\/a> and potentially a separate territorial exchange, according to a recording of their conversation.<\/p>\n In the 14 October phone call with Yuri Ushakov, the top foreign policy aide to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Witkoff said he believed the land concessions were necessary, all while advising Ushakov to congratulate Trump and frame discussions more optimistically.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Americans involved in the Ukrainian war effort have spoken out about being embarrassed and dismayed by Trump\u2019s continuing pressures on Kyiv<\/a> and think his administration\u2019s latest peace plan is tantamount to backstabbing and another catastrophic failure of US foreign policy.<\/p>\n What did Witkoff say? \u201cNow, me to you, I know what it\u2019s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere,\u201d Witkoff told Ushakov during the five-minute conversation, according to a transcript of the recording obtained by Bloomberg. \u201cBut I\u2019m saying instead of talking like that, let\u2019s talk more hopefully because I think we\u2019re going to get to a deal here.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a developing story. Follow the liveblog here<\/a>.<\/p>\n US justice department memo about boat strikes diverges from Trump narrativeA White House official said Trump had not been making a legal argument. Photograph: Kevin Mohatt\/Reuters<\/p>\n The Trump administration is framing its boat strikes against drug cartels in the Caribbean in part as a collective self-defense effort<\/a> on behalf of US allies in the region, according to three people directly familiar with the administration\u2019s internal legal argument.<\/p>\n The legal analysis rests on a premise, for which there is no immediate public evidence, that the cartels are waging armed violence against the security forces of allies such as Mexico, and that the violence is financed by cocaine shipments.<\/p>\n As a result, according to the legal analysis, the strikes are targeting the cocaine, and the deaths of anyone onboard should be treated as an enemy casualty or collateral damage if any civilians are killed, rather than murder.<\/p>\n What has changed? It marks a sharp departure from Donald Trump\u2019s narrative to the public every time he has discussed the 21 strikes that have killed more than 80 people, which he has portrayed as an effort to stop overdose deaths.<\/p>\n What have the White House said? A White House official responded that Trump had not been making a legal argument. Still, the president\u2019s remarks remain the only public reason for why the US is firing missiles \u2013 when the legal justification is in fact very different.<\/p>\n US triples national park fee for non-residents, amid \u2018new\u2019 fee for AmericansJoshua Tree national park. Photograph: Ruaridh Stewart\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n The interior department announced today new \u201cAmerica-first\u201d entrance fees for national parks<\/a>, commemorative annual passes featuring Donald Trump and \u201cresident-only patriotic fee-free days for 2026\u201d including Trump\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n Starting next year, entrance fees for international visitors will more than triple, to ensure \u201cthey contribute their fair share to help preserve and maintain these treasured places\u201d, said the interior secretary, Doug Burgum.<\/p>\n How much are the passes now? According to a department press release, non-residents can buy a $250 annual pass or pay $100 a person \u201cto enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee\u201d.<\/p>\n In other news \u2026Virginia Giuffre with a photo of herself as a teenager. There is a dispute over her estate after her death in April. Photograph: Emily Michot\/TNS\/Zuma Press Wire\/Rex\/ShutterstockStat of the day: Previously unknown Renoir painting sells for \u20ac1.8m at Paris auctionThe art consultant Pascal Perrin stands next to the painting by Renoir. Photograph: Yves Herman\/Reuters<\/p>\n A previously unknown work by the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir depicting his son Jean has sold for \u20ac1.8m ($2.08m)<\/a> at a Paris auction. The oil painting, named L\u2019enfant et ses jouets \u2013 Gabrielle et le fils de l\u2019artiste, Jean (The Child and His Toys \u2013 Gabrielle and the Artist\u2019s Son, Jean), had never before been exhibited or sold.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss this: \u2018Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day\u2019 \u2013 the female pilots on Ukraine\u2019s frontlineMembers of the female anti-drone mobile air defence unit \u2018Bucha Witches\u2019 take part in exercises in Kyiv region. Photograph: Gleb Garanich\/Reuters<\/p>\n Women have been involved in Ukraine\u2019s drone operations since the early months of the full-scale invasion, but as shortages in the military increase their presence has grown, particularly in FPV (first-person-view) attack units. Three women talk about why they signed up<\/a> for a brutal combat environment.<\/p>\n \u2026 or this: JD Vance might want to run in 2028 \u2013 but does he have a Palantir-shaped problem?JD Vance speaking at the Marine Ball at the Washington Hilton on 8 November. Photograph: Rod Lamkey\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThe VP wouldn\u2019t be where he is today without the patronage of the Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel,\u201d writes Arwa Mahdawi<\/a>. \u201cBut with voters becoming more and more concerned about the firm\u2019s surveillance tech, could that relationship affect his chances?\u201d<\/p>\n Climate crisis: US, Russia and Saudi Arabia create axis of obstruction as Cop30 sputters outOxfam activists protesting at Cop30 in Bel\u00e9m last week. Photograph: Adriano Machado\/Reuters<\/p>\n More than two decades ago, the US railed against the \u201caxis of evil\u201d. Now, after international climate talks spluttered to a meagre conclusion, the US finds itself grouped with unflattering company \u2013 an \u201caxis of obstruction\u201d that has stymied progress on the climate crisis, writes Oliver Milman<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last Thing: \u2018Queen of the Zoo\u2019 \u2013 Gramma, tortoise who lived through two world wars, dies aged 141Gramma at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego on 30 October 2024. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n After more than a century of munching on her favorite foods of romaine lettuce and cactus fruit, the beloved Gal\u00e1pagos tortoise Gramma, the oldest resident of the San Diego Zoo, has died<\/a>. As the world changed around her, she delighted visitors with her sweet, shy personality. She lived through two world wars and 20 US presidents.<\/p>\n Sign up<\/p>\n Sign up for the US morning briefing<\/p>\n First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you\u2019re not already signed up, subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n