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FOREIGN RELATIONS SOCIAL MEDIA

U.S., Russia Federal agencies give Trump’s

set for first Truth Social the cold shoulder
direct talks Adoption also looks cloudy for liberal favorite Bluesky
in Riyadh BY STEPHEN DINAN governors or members of Congress. technology and communications staff-
That could start to change. ers looking to ingratiate themselves with
Ukraine, Europe
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Several agencies contacted by The Mr. Trump.
President Trump may own Truth Washington Times indicated that they “Why not be on Truth Social if you
stay on sidelines Social, but his federal agencies have been
reluctant to use the platform.
were investigating the president’s plat-
form and hoping to join it.
want to keep your job?” he said. “They’re
going through the federal bureaucracy
BY BEN WOLFGANG Four weeks after Inauguration Day, “We’re working to create a Truth with the broad sweep of ‘Let’s fire a lot
THE WASHINGTON TIMES no major federal department or agency Social account and anticipate doing so of people.’ If you want to keep your job,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
has opened a verified account on Truth soon,” a Labor Department official told it’s a smart play.”
High-level U.S. and Russian officials SCREEN TIME: President Trump Social. The Times. The only major Trump team players
are set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tues- communicates on Truth Social, but A few department and agency lead- Jeremy Mayer, a political scientist on Truth Social have been Homeland
day for the first direct talks to end the ethics watchdogs say his ownership ers have accounts, though they appear at George Mason University, said the
Russia-Ukraine war. could create legal complications. to be carried over from their stints as decision should be easy for agency » see SOCIAL | A5
President Trump’s fast-moving and
norm-shattering brand of diplomacy
has brought the two adversaries to-
gether with remarkable speed while Kyiv DIPLOMACY

In times of tense relations, U.S., Japan play ball

watches from the sidelines and European
allies struggle to find their footing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
White House National Security Adviser
Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve
Witkoff will lead the U.S. delegation.
They will meet with a Russian team led
Sport transcends
by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in
Riyadh. State-run media stressed that
differences, builds
the Russian delegation will have a direct
line to President Vladimir Putin during
strong bridges
the talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr
between cultures
Zelenskyy has rejected the idea of a BY ANdREw SALMON
ceasefire agreement negotiated without THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Kyiv at the table. Mr. Zelenskyy and
other European leaders seemed to op- TOKYO | Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
erate Monday on parallel but distinctly the de facto ruler of devastated Japan,
separate tracks. Mr. Zelenskyy embarked witnessed “the greatest act of diplomacy
on a foreign trip, while Prime Minister ever” in the wake of World War II.
Keir Starmer said he is prepared to send No diplomats were involved. That
British troops to Ukraine as part of an 1949 act involved the minor league San
international peacekeeping force. Francisco Seals’ 11-game baseball tour
European leaders held an “emergency of Japan.
meeting” in Paris, a clear if unspoken “Most Japanese were not happy hav-
acknowledgment that they risk being ing Americans running their country,”
reduced to bystanders as Mr. Trump, said Robert Whiting, a long-term Ameri-
can expatriate and expert on Japanese
» see UKRAINE | A4 baseball.
The Seals’ tour, which marked the
first time the two national flags flew
side by side since the war’s end, “turned
AVIATION Japanese people’s attitude in a more
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS
favorable way,” he said.

‘Sustainable’ CONTACT: Japanese shortstop Sosuke Genda was late with the tag, leaving U.S. player Mike Trout safe on second during the
first inning of a 2023 World Baseball Classic game in Miami. Still, the Japanese dominate in international competition.
Mr. Whiting, author of “The Chry-
santhemum and the Bat,” spoke at the

air traffic
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
in a feel-good event promoted by the U.S.
Embassy. Promoting good vibes might

towers clash
be a good idea, given current events and
historical anniversaries.
Last week, President Trump an-

with safety
nounced plans to impose tariffs on Japa-
nese exports, sparking fears across Japan
Inc. of a return to the bitter trade wars
of the 1980s and 1990s. This year also
Musk seeks digital, marks the 80th anniversary of the end
of World War II.
remote technology Japan hosts the largest contingent of
GIs stationed overseas, and Japan and
BY SUsAN FERRECHIO the U.S. are each other’s leading overseas
THE WASHINGTON TIMES investor. In terms of cultural linkages,
however, the longest and strongest of
Aviation experts anticipating Elon all may be baseball.
Musk’s plans to tackle the nation’s an-
tiquated air traffic control system are Culture wars, wars
scratching their heads over the Biden The sport “has been a bridge between
administration’s move to rebuild dozens FASCINATION: Voracious Japanese baseball fans leave the laid-back American A HIT: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ the U.S. and Japan, fostering connections
of aging regional airport towers with style in the dust. “They’ll watch it in snow and rain. It’s like a UCLA-Notre Dame Shohei Ohtani of Japan is one of Major
“green” replacements instead of cheaper game, every game,” said Warren Cromartie, a retired U.S. pro baseball player. League Baseball’s highest earners. » see BASEBALL | A5
and safer digital technology.
Remote towers, essentially cameras
on tall scaffolding, are used widely
throughout Europe. Infrared cameras ARTS
and other advanced equipment can
provide safer, less expensive air traffic
monitoring, particularly when visibility
is low in inclement weather.
Curtain falls on DEI in Trump’s Kennedy Center revamp
The Federal Aviation Administration
prohibits the use of remote towers.
BY SEAN SALAI
THE WASHINGTON TIMES Drag queens shown the door to sweep back burner.
“To be excellent, something needs to
Instead, the FAA is sticking with
manned airport towers. Under President Proponents of President Trump’s out politicization, bring in excellence be worth considering and engaging for
its own sake, not because it’s trying to
Biden, it allocated hundreds of millions shake-up at the Kennedy Center say the make a political point,” said Mr. Derde-
of dollars for a massive project to build venue’s track record of politicizing art race and sexuality dominant factors in talking points and asserted that a [diver- rian, who also serves as an arts com-
“greener” towers throughout the United goes beyond drag shows. artistic decisions teed up Mr. Trump’s sity, equity and inclusion] agenda would missioner for Costa Mesa, California.
States. In 2019, the nonprofit arts center decision this month to reconstitute its take center stage. That’s enough reason “It should be a good show that touches
In 2023, the FAA selected the Manhat- launched a social impact program to board with loyalists to his administration. for a change at the top.” on political themes, not a political show
tan firm Practice for Architecture and “advance justice and equity in all that “This isn’t about any one show, per Fisher Derderian, executive director that happens to be art.”
Urbanism to design up to 31 “sustainable” we do.” se,” said Gregory Angelo, president of of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation, Founded as a public-private part-
towers at municipal and smaller airports Cultural commentators interviewed the right-leaning New Tolerance Cam- a conservative arts advocacy group, said nership in 1958, the John F. Kennedy
by The Washington Times said the facil- paign. “The previous Kennedy Center the social impact program pushed “real
» see TOWERS | A4 ity’s subsequent insistence on making leadership spewed nothing but liberal questions of artistic excellence” to the » see KENNEDY | A4

POLITICS NATION WORLD REGION VOLUME 43, NUMBER 35

In post-storm Carolinas, Four deputies resign Mexico presses Google Jan. 6 defense lawyer
some embrace Trump from New York mayor’s over renaming of Gulf, tapped for District’s
push to end FEMA. A3 administration. A6 prepares lawsuit. A8 U.S. attorney post. A10 7 02803 87040 7

INDEX Commentary B1 | Comics B8 | Dear Abby A9 | Editorials B2 | Horoscope A9 | Letters B2 | Life A9 | Nation A6 | Politics A3 | Puzzles B8 | Region A10 | Sports B10 | World A8