By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met briefly Saturday before the funeral for Pope Francis as the American leader steps up the pressure to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy’s office had said teams were making arrangements for the leaders to talk again Saturday, but Trump went directly to the Rome airport after the funeral and boarded Air Force One for the 10-hour flight back to the United States, which seemed to rule out a second in-person conversation.

The White House said their discussion was “very productive” and that more details would be released later. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican just before they took their seats for the outdoor funeral service.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Zelenskyy said “good meeting” on social media after the funeral.

“We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” he wrote. “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you.”

The meeting took place hours after Trump said on social media, after he arrived in Italy late Friday, that Russia and Ukraine should meet for “very high level talks” on ending the three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion.

Trump has pressed both sides to agree to a ceasefire. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met earlier Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Putin did not attend Francis’ funeral. He faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which has accused him of war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in a statement Friday night, Zelenskyy said “very significant meetings may take place” in coming days, and that an unconditional ceasefire was needed.

“Real pressure on Russia is needed so that they accept either the American proposal to cease fire and move towards peace, or our proposal — whichever one can truly work and ensure a reliable, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and then — a dignified peace and security guarantees,” he said.

“Diplomacy must succeed. And we are doing everything to make diplomacy truly meaningful and finally effective.”

There was no immediate word on whether Trump and Zelenskyy spoke again after they paid their respects to the pope, who had repeatedly pressed for an end to the conflict.

The National Park Service is seeking applicants for a job that puts a new spin on the phrase “remote work.”

The agency is looking for people or groups interested in managing the 10-room Kettle Falls Hotel in northern Minnesota, a historic hotel along a wild stretch of the Canadian border, accessible only by boat or float plane.

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The Kettle Falls Hotel was built in 1910 to accommodate fishermen, lumberjacks and construction workers who built a nearby dam. It’s the only lodging facility located within Voyageurs National Park.

The historic site also includes camper cabins and villas, marinas, a portage between Rainy and Namakan lakes, and a restaurant and bar, locally famous for a dramatically tilted floor caused by the settling of the building’s foundation over the years.

The floor is “affectionately called the ‘Tiltin’ Hilton,’” said Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of Voyageurs Conservancy, the nonprofit that advocates and fundraises for the park. “They say, ‘When the floor is looking level, you know you’ve had enough to drink.’”

The Park Service bought the historic site in 1978, shortly after Voyageurs National Park was created.

The Vermilion River winds underneath the wing of Voyageurs National Park’s floatplane just outside the park, near Crane Lake. The National Park Service is seeking applicants for people or groups interested in managing the 10-room Kettle Falls Hotel, a historic hotel along a wild stretch of the Canadian border, accessible only by boat or float plane. Built in 1910 to accommodate fishermen, lumberjacks and construction workers as the built a nearby dam, it’s the only lodging facility located within Voyageurs National Park. (Evan Frost / MPR News)

It’s located on the roadless Kabetogama Peninsula, on the eastern tip where Rainy Lake and Namakan Lake meet. The closest boat launch is 14 miles away at the Ash River Visitor Center.

The site is a historic crossroads. Ojibwe people have fished the waters for centuries. They were followed by fur traders, commercial anglers, lumberjacks who ferried millions of board feet of timber over Kettle Falls between 1899 and 1929, even bootleggers who distilled liquor in the area during Prohibition.

Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Bob DeGross said the current concessionaire, Rick Oveson, has run the site for the past 23 years.

Oveson’s contract expired at the end of 2022. The Park Service put out a call for a new operator. But there weren’t any takers. So the agency extended the contract until the end of 2026.

“If we don’t get any interested business operators in the contract, that means that the building would be closed down,” said DeGross. “There’s nothing worse than having a historic structure not being used, because it deteriorates.”

It’s also the most popular visitor destination in the park. About three-quarters of all park visitors travel to the site, said DeGross. Boaters visit for a walleye sandwich and a beer, or to hike the trails.

The concessionaire also provides important spots for boaters to fuel up and portage boats between Rainy and Namakan lakes.

“It is an essential service that we definitely want to see continued into the future,” said DeGross.

The current concessionaire reported $875,000 in revenues in 2023 from lodging, bar and restaurant and other operations.

Annual park visitation has ranged between 199,000 and 263,000 over the past decade, although it dipped to a 10-year low in 2024.

A lone motorboat cruises through island channels in Voyageurs National Park. The National Park Service is seeking applicants for people or groups interested in managing the 10-room Kettle Falls Hotel, a historic hotel along a wild stretch of the Canadian border, accessible only by boat or float plane. Built in 1910 to accommodate fishermen, lumberjacks and construction workers as the built a nearby dam, it’s the only lodging facility located within Voyageurs National Park. (Evan Frost / MPR News)

But DeGross and others see untapped potential. The Park Service is currently completing four camper cabins to add options for overnight visitors.

“You’d have to be adventurous and creative, and it’s definitely remote,” said Hausman Rhode. “It’s not currently open in the winter. But there is a lot of opportunity there as well.”

The Park Service is asking for interested individuals, educational institutions, nonprofit groups, businesses and other entities to indicate their interest by April 30. A site visit is planned for May 21. Find more information at https://www.nps.gov/voya/getinvolved/dobusinesswithus.htm.

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“We really want to introduce operators to the potential of the service and get ideas from them on how they feel the service might be tweaked to make it more of an interesting business opportunity,” said DeGross.

Then there will be an official call for proposals from interested operators toward the end of the year. The Park Service is looking to sign a lease ranging from 10 to 60 years.

Tied in the final five minutes, Minnesota closed Game 3 on a 13-1 run to beat the Lakers 116-104 at Target Center on Friday to take a 2-1 series lead.

Here are five takeaways from the Timberwolves’ victory:

Ant shines late

Anthony Edwards played a large role in derailing Minnesota’s late-game offense in recent years with slow-moving isolation that usually resulted in a number of tough shots that didn’t fall.

That was not the player he was Friday. Edwards was decisive, often attacking the teeth of the Lakers’ defense. One attack resulted in a bucket at the rim. Another ended with a kickout to an open Naz Reid, who splashed a triple.

It was all good, and exactly what Minnesota needed on Friday, and hopes it will get more of as the 23-year-old’s career progresses.

Defense great, too

Not to be overlooked in Minnesota’s game-closing effort was its stellar defensive showing. The Lakers missed five straight shots after tying the game at 103-103 before Los Angeles coach J.J. Redick waved the white flag and removed the starters from the game in the final minute.

Minnesota didn’t allow Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves nor LeBron James to get an ounce of breathing room when the Lakers needed a bucket. As a result, the ball consistently wound up in the hands of Rui Hachimura. He failed to deliver, missing multiple triple tries and getting stuffed on a rim attack.

“Attention to detail, locking in on the gameplan and understanding who they have on the floor and what we want to do and what we want to take away and what they want to get to,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “There’s still stuff to clean up, but it’s always great to try to clean it up with a win.”

Luka’s illness

Lakers superstar Luka Doncic battled a stomach flu Friday, with Redick noting the wing was vomiting throughout the day. Doncic did ultimately give it a go. While he had a few nice moments for the Lakers, he was nowhere near his usual self.

Doncic tallied 17 points on 6 for 16 shooting to go with eight assists and seven rebounds in 40 minutes. Doncic looked like a shell of himself. He didn’t start the second half, only to emerge from the locker room and re-enter the contest a couple minutes later.

It’s a short turnaround from Friday’s late affair to Sunday’s Game 4 matinee. That always figured to be a challenge for the 40-year-old LeBron James. But Doncic’s stomach virus brings a new wrinkle into the fold. How much can he recoup before taking the floor in a game it feels as though the Lakers have to have?

McDaniels delivers again

Jaden McDaniels has dominated two games in this series, scoring 25 points in Game 1 before pouring in 30 points on Friday. He also had five rebounds and two steals in the win, while defending Doncic.

“Just a monster. I think it was a career high for him. It couldn’t come at a better time,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “(The production came) in the flow of everything, was super aggressive. We found him. I thought he and Julius (Randle) did an excellent job of just setting the tone today and just being aggressive, with a lot of force and then just battling in their matchup. Of course they had the two tough matchups out there, just fighting it, fighting it, fighting it.”

When McDaniels plays like that, the Wolves are tough to beat.

Relentless activity

Minnesota trailed by four at the break, but rallied in the third quarter thanks to a series of hustle plays that appeared in the forms of steals and offensive rebounds. Minnesota had three offensive rebounds in the frame to go with four steals.

All of them felt like massive momentum shifters that helped position the Wolves to win the game late.

“That’s what wins games,” DiVincenzo said, “and that’s what won it for us tonight.”

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Today is Saturday, April 26, the 116th day of 2025. There are 249 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 26, 1986, in the worst nuclear disaster in history, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.

Also on this date:

In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry, Virginia, on an expedition to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere.

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In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded by federal troops near Port Royal, Virginia, and killed.

In 1913, Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old worker at a Georgia pencil factory, was strangled; Leo Frank, the factory superintendent, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to death. (Frank’s death sentence was commuted, but he was lynched by an antisemitic mob in 1915.)

In 1964, the African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form what is now known as Tanzania.

In 1977, the legendary nightclub Studio 54 had its opening night in New York.

In 1994, voting began in South Africa’s first all-race elections, which resulted in victory for the African National Congress and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president.

In 2000, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the nation’s first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.

In 2012, former Liberian President Charles Taylor became the first head of state since World War II to be convicted by an international war crimes court as he was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and the use of child soldiers. (Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

In 2018, comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at Cosby’s suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. (Cosby was later sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out the conviction and released him from prison in June 2021, ruling that the prosecutor in the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 92.
Composer-producer Giorgio Moroder is 85.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Donna de Varona is 78.
Actor Giancarlo Esposito is 67.
Actor Joan Chen is 64.
Actor Jet Li is 62.
Actor-comedian Kevin James is 60.
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey is 59.
Actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste is 58.
First lady Melania Trump is 55.
Singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (TLC) is 55.
Country musician Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts) is 54.
Actor Tom Welling is 48.
Actor Pablo Schreiber is 47.
Actor Jordana Brewster is 45.
Actor Channing Tatum is 45.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is 33.