Associated Press: “The new appointments can be viewed as consolation prizes for leaving a high-profile post in the Trump administration following rocky tenures. But they also reflect the degree to which Trump is trying to keep his loyalists close, even if their earlier placements in the administration were ill-fitting.”

“During his first White House tenure, Trump was new to politics, made many staffing picks based on others’ recommendations and saw heavy staff turnover. Trump has stocked his second administration with proven boosters, which has meant fewer high-profile departures.”

The Economist: “One potential area is a deeper normalization of diplomatic and business relations between America and Russia, including a lifting of sanctions. Mr Putin yearns for this kind of rehabilitation. Another is co-operation in the Arctic, for example over energy, resurrecting discussions that reportedly took place in February, with Russian officials keen to woo American business. What offers Russia might make for peace in Ukraine are less obvious.”

President Trump said that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop his war in Ukraine after their Friday summit in Alaska, though he did not say what those consequences might be, the AP reports.

“Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left in ruins by its 22-month offensive against Hamas,” the AP reports.

“The Trump administration can cut potentially billions of dollars in foreign assistance funds approved by Congress for this year, a US appeals court ruled,” Bloomberg reports.

“In a 2-1 decision on Wednesday, the appellate panel reversed a Washington federal judge who found that US officials were violating the Constitution’s separation of powers principles by failing to authorize the money to be paid in line with what the legislative branch directed.”