By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press

European officials welcomed Monday what they said were steps in the right direction at talks in Geneva on U.S. peace proposals seen as heavily favoring Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, but they offered few details and warned the discussions still have a long way to go.

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“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland.

The talks went over a 28-point peace proposal presented last week by the United States that triggered alarm in Kyiv and European capitals by heavily favoring Moscow’s demands.

The plan pressed Ukraine to consent to handing over some of its territory to Moscow and slashing the size of its army, leaving it vulnerable. The proposal also sought Europe’s agreement that Ukraine will never be admitted into the NATO military alliance, though the alliance has previously said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to membership.

The surprise emergence of the peace plan coincided with a bleak period for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the war less than three months shy of its fourth anniversary.

It is under severe strain on the front line against Russia’s bigger army, it is short of money, and Zelenskyy is trying to defuse a major corruption scandal that has tainted his government.

Talks offer hope

The Geneva meeting offered some hope for Kyiv. “Diplomacy has been reinvigorated, and that’s good. Very good,” Zelenskyy said late Sunday.

It wasn’t clear whether the talks would continue on Monday.

Russian officials still haven’t seen the revised peace plan text since amendments were made over the weekend, a Kremlin spokesperson said Monday.

Dmitry Peskov added that there was currently no plan in place for U.S. and Russian delegations to meet this week, but that the Russian side remained “open for such contacts.”

German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who directed the talks in Switzerland, “made decisive positive contributions to ensuring that this plan can be accepted by both the European and Ukrainian sides.”

“I would like to say that all issues concerning Europe or NATO have been removed from this plan, which is a decisive success that we achieved yesterday,” he told public broadcaster Deutschlandradio.

Rubio said Sunday the talks were “very worthwhile” and constituted the most productive day in “a very long time.”

“I feel very optimistic that we can get something done,” Rubio said.

Turkey is also hoping to build bridges between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin was to speak by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.

Erdogan’s office said Sunday that the two leaders would discuss a deal from 2022, which allowed Ukraine to safely ship exports of grain via the Black Sea. Moscow refused to extend the deal a year later, saying agreements to ease Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn’t been honored.

Russian drones kill 4 in Ukraine

Meanwhile, the grim reality of war still cast a pall over Ukraine as Russian forces kept up their deadly and devastating strikes on civilian areas.

A man hugs his children as they react to the death of their mother killed by a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Russian drones hit residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city overnight, killing four people and wounding 13, including two children, authorities said.

Eight residential buildings, an educational facility and power lines were damaged in the attack, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office published photos showing homes on fire, rubble scattered across backyards and firefighters and war crimes prosecutors working on site.

Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 162 strike and decoy drones over the country overnight.

Russia also resumed its nighttime drone attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and port infrastructure close to Romania’s border, the NATO member’s defense ministry said Monday.

Romania scrambled two Eurofighter Typhoon jets and two F-16s in response to drones near its border, the ministry said.

Harriet Morris in Tallinn, Estonia; Gerald Imray in Johannesburg, South Africa; Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin; Sam McNeil in Brussels; and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed to this report.

By REGINA GARCIA CANO, Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is set to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday by designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. But the entity that the U.S. government alleges is led by Maduro is not a cartel per se.

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The designation is the latest measure in the Trump administration’s escalating campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. In previewing the step about a week ago, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, of being “responsible for terrorist violence” in the Western Hemisphere.

The move planned Monday comes as Trump evaluates whether to take military action against Venezuela, which Trump has not ruled out despite bringing up the possibility of talks with Maduro. Land strikes or other actions would be a major expansion of the monthslong operation that has included a massive military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and striking boats accused of trafficking drugs, killing more than 80 people.

Venezuelans began using the term Cartel de los Soles in the 1990s to refer to high-ranking military officers who had grown rich from drug-running. As corruption later expanded nationwide, first under the late President Hugo Chávez and then under Maduro, its use loosely expanded to police and government officials as well as activities like illegal mining and fuel trafficking. The “suns” in the name refer to the epaulettes affixed to the uniforms of high-ranking military officers.

The umbrella term was elevated to a Maduro-led drug-trafficking organization in 2020, when the U.S. Justice Department in Trump’s first term announced the indictment of Venezuela’s leader and his inner circle on narcoterrorism and other charges.

“It is not a group,” said Adam Isaacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America organization. “It’s not like a group that people would ever identify themselves as members. They don’t have regular meetings. They don’t have a hierarchy.”

Trump’s expansion of terror label to cartels

Up until this year, the label of foreign terrorist organization had been reserved for groups like the Islamic State or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends. The Trump administration applied it in February to eight Latin American criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and other activities.

The administration blames such designated groups for operating the boats it is striking but rarely identifies the organizations and has not provided any evidence. It says the attacks, which began off the coast of Venezuela and later expanded to the eastern Pacific Ocean, are meant to stop narcotics from flowing to American cities.

But many — including Maduro himself — see the military moves as an effort to end the ruling party’s 26-year hold on power.

Since the arrival of U.S. military vessels and troops to the Caribbean months ago, Venezuela’s U.S.-backed political opposition also has reignited its perennial promise of removing Maduro from office, fueling speculation over the purpose of what the Trump administration has called a counterdrug operation.

Trump, like his predecessor, does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s president.

Maduro is on his third term in office after ruling-party loyalists declared him the winner of last year’s presidential election despite credible evidence that the opposition’s candidate defeated him by a more than 2-to-1 margin. He and senior officials have been repeatedly accused of human rights violations of real and perceived government opponents, including in the aftermath of the July 2024 election.

Maduro’s government in a statement Monday categorically denied the existence of the cartel, describing the Trump administration’s accusation as a “ridiculous fabrication” meant to “justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela.”

Hegseth says designation offers ‘new options’

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that the upcoming designation of Cartel de los Soles will provide a “whole bunch of new options to the United States” for dealing with Maduro. But Hegseth, speaking in an interview with conservative news outlet OAN, did not provide details on what those options are and declined to say whether the U.S. military planned to strike land targets inside Venezuela.

“So nothing is off the table, but nothing’s automatically on the table,” he said.

Trump administration officials have signaled that they find it difficult to see a situation in which Maduro remaining in power could be an acceptable end game. But as Trump considers an array of military and non-military options, including covert action by the CIA, for next steps, there is strong belief inside the administration that Maduro’s rule “is not sustainable,” according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter.

The official added that Trump has been keenly listening to his intelligence team, which has reported to him that chatter picked up inside Venezuela indicates growing anxiety from Maduro and other high-level Venezuelan officials as the U.S. strikes continue. Trump, the official said, is “very content and satisfied” for the moment with the strikes’ impact.

All the while, pleas from Maduro and others close to the Venezuelan leader to speak directly to the administration, relayed through various intermediaries and channels, seem to be more frantic, the official said. But Trump has not sanctioned any intermediaries to speak to Maduro on behalf of the U.S. administration.

Indictment alleges conspiracy to ‘flood’ US with drugs

The 2020 indictment accused Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, among others, of conspiring with Colombian rebels and members of the Venezuelan military for several years “to flood the United States with cocaine” and use the drug trade as a “weapon against America.” Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer.

Before laying down weapons as part of a 2016 peace deal, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, regularly used the porous border region with Venezuela as a safe haven and hub for U.S.-bound cocaine shipments — often with the support or at least consent of Venezuelan security forces. Dissidents continued the work. Colombia’s National Liberation Army guerrilla is also involved in the illegal trade.

Maduro has denied the charges. The U.S. Justice Department this year doubled to $50 million the reward for information that leads to Maduro’s arrest.

Maduro has insisted that the U.S. is building a false drug-trafficking narrative to try to force him from office. He and other government officials have repeatedly cited a United Nations report that they say shows traffickers attempt to move only 5% of the cocaine produced in Colombia through Venezuela.

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Cartel de los Soles in July, saying Maduro and his top allies had bent the power of the Venezuelan government, military and intelligence services to assist the cartel in trafficking narcotics to the U.S.

U.S. authorities also alleged Maduro’s cartel gave material support to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel, both of which were among the organizations that the U.S. designated as foreign terror organizations in February.

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

GREEN BAY — It’s hard to effectively sum up how bad the Vikings were after halftime in the embarrassing 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. The ineptitude displayed might go down as the worst 30 minutes that will ever be put forth under head coach Kevin O’Connell.

It was a total system failure across the board for the Vikings after rookie returner Myles Price muffed a punt near his own goal line.

That opened the floodgates as quarterback J.J. McCarthy was forced to take on a heavier workload than he could bear. He looked completely overwhelmed for prolonged stretches while struggling to put together consecutive positive plays from scrimmage.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

The game looks too big for J.J. McCarthy right now

It’s a major problem that McCarthy seems to be regressing.

Though growing pains were to be expected for a young signal caller, there aren’t a lot of things to suggest he’s actually getting better. At least not at the moment. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions for the Vikings against the Packers. He also appeared to be visibly rattled down the stretch

There was clearly a concerted effort from O’Connell in the early stages to limit the amount of times McCarthy had to throw the ball. He relied on the running game more than usual as a way to control the pace of the game as best he could.

The game script eventually called on McCarthy to shoulder more of the load, however, and he proved time and time again that he wasn’t up for the challenge. Not only did he turn the ball over twice, his pocket presence disappeared while taking a handful of sacks.

Is it going to get better for McCarthy in the short term? It’s hard to see a pathway at this point.

The offensive line can’t stay healthy

The highly anticipated return of center Ryan Kelly meant the Vikings finally had their entire projected starting offensive line playing together for the first time. That positive development didn’t last very long as left tackle Christian Darrisaw and rookie left guard Donovan Jackson both left the game with injuries.

The loss of both players up front came with the Vikings already getting dominated by the Packers in the trenches.

The impact that star edge rusher Micah Parsons brings to the table was palpable as he lived in the backfield against a depleted offensive line across from him. He finished the game with a pair of sacks and also paved the way for a couple of sacks from defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.

The extent of the injures for Darrisaw and Jackson are still unclear. It would be a crushing blow if either player had to miss an extended period of time.

The defense needs to start forcing turnovers

It wouldn’t be fair to put too much blame on the defense when considering the way the Vikings managed to make life hard on the Packers in some respects.

It wasn’t an prolific outing for quarterback Jordan Love through the air he only completed 12 of 21 passes for 139 yards. It almost felt like the Vikings were content to let backup running back Emanuel Wilson beat them and he did to a degree by posting  28 carries for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The more glaring issue for the Vikings is the lack of turnovers being created by the defense. After finishing tied for the league lead in takeaways last season, they have yet to reach double digits this season. That’s simply not good enough from a unit that’s identity is predicated on takeaways.

The last time the Vikings forced a turnover in any capacity came a few weeks ago when linebacker Blake Cashman forced a fumble in the upset win over the Detroit Lions.

The mistakes for Myles Price are adding up

The game got turned upside down for the Vikings when Price lost a fumble on a punt return shortly after halftime. After deciding not to call a fair catch near his goal line, Price accidentally let the ball hit him. That resulted in a turnover and the Vikings never fully recovered against the Packers.

The blunder from Price wasn’t too far removed from a couple of weeks ago when he lost a fumble on a kickoff return in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. As much as the undrafted free agent has shown flashes of brilliance, he’s also had a number of costly errors to start his career. That trend can’t continue if Price wants to keep his spot on the roster.

The excellence of Will Reichard shouldn’t be overlooked

The lone bright spot from the game was the performance from kicker Will Reichard. He was the only reason the Vikings scored any points against the Packers.

After making fact a 52-yard field goal, Reichard followed it up by making a 59-yard field goal. He made both kicks look like chip shots despite the fact that he was kicking in a venue that isn’t exactly kind to kickers.

There’s no doubt the Vikings got it right by using a draft pick on Reichard once upon a time. He’s slowly but surely establishing himself among the best players at his position.

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Stephanie Beckman, Lisa Beane, Liz Kramer and Anne Rasmusson are the four candidates recommended for consideration to fill two upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

The vacancies will occur upon the retirement of Judges Louise Dovre Bjorkman and Randall J. Slieter. One vacancy is currently at large while the other seat is designated for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.

Earlier this year, a merit selection panel consisting of members of Walz’s administration and at-large members of the Commission on Judicial Selection took applications from candidates and recommended the four finalists. The panel announced its decision Thursday.

The news release provides the following biographical information about the four candidates:

Beckman is currently chief judge of Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Meeker County.

Beckman was previously the Meeker County Attorney and an assistant county attorney in Stearns County. During her time on the bench, Beckman helped start a district-wide treatment court, assisted with starting a child protection specialty court and a district-wide housing court. She serves as a board member on the Board on Judicial Standards and the Minnesota Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Beckman’s community involvement includes being a board member for the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program and the Meeker County Law Library.

Beane is a senior associate general counsel at the University of Minnesota’s Office of General Counsel. She was also previously an associate at the Minneapolis office of Jones Day and at Robbins Kaplan LLP. She was also a law clerk to Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright at the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Minnesota and at the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Beane serves as a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure and is also on the board of directors for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association.

Kramer currently serves as solicitor general for Minnesota, defending the constitutionality of state laws and representing Minnesota in state and federal appellate courts. Kramer was previously a partner at Stinson LLP, where she practiced complex commercial litigation. She was previously a law clerk to Judge Helen M. Meyer on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Kramer’s community involvement includes sitting on the boards of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society.

Rasmusson is assistant chief judge of Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Polk County.

During her time as judge she established and served on the White Earth/Mahomen DWI and Drug Courts and the DWI Courts for Polk, Red Lake, and Norman Counties. She was previously a partner at Rust, Stock and Rasmusson P.A.

Rasmusson is also chair of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice, chairs the Ninth Judicial District Case Flow Committee and is a member of the Children’s Justice Initiative Committee.

Rasmusson has also chaired the RiverView Healthcare Association Board of Directors and the Polk County Developmental Achievement Center.

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