By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday, a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new investment into the United States.

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But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises — and searching for glimmers of hope in the deep well of global turmoil — that are casting greater import on the first extended overseas trip of his second term.

“This world is a lot safer today than it was a week ago,” Trump crowed to reporters as he sized up the foreign policy challenges he’s facing as he heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. “And a lot safer than it was six months ago.”

The president was brimming with an overabundance of confidence about some of the world’s most intractable problems, from tensions in South Asia to the future of sanctions in Syria to the war in Ukraine.

But behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed will be looking to get a bead on how Trump intends to push ahead on resolving the war in Gaza, dealing with Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program and addressing India-Pakistan tensions.

And after weeks of threats and cajoling, it remains to be seen if Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will listen to Trump, who is demanding they meet in Istanbul this week to discuss ending Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, projected confidence that the meeting will happen and even seemed somewhat optimistic that the end to the conflict is near. He floated the idea of making a detour from his itinerary to visit Turkey if he thinks his presence would be constructive.

“I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I am going be on Thursday,” Trump said. “I’ve got so many meetings. … There’s a possibility there, I guess, if I think things can happen.”

But Ukraine’s allies remained deeply skeptical Monday about prospects for talks and whether Putin was serious about peace.

“If there is no ceasefire there cannot be talks under fire,” European Union commission vice president Kaja Kallas told reporters at a meeting on Ukraine in London. “We want to see that Russia also wants peace. It takes two to want peace, it takes only one to want war, and we see that Russia clearly wants war.”

Trump sees opening in Gaza

Just as Trump was preparing to depart Washington for the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, was released.

Trump and administration officials framed the moment — a goodwill gesture toward Trump by Hamas — as a chance to get foundering peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas back on track.

“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved one,” Trump posted on social media after Hamas extended the offer Sunday. “Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”

While Trump pumped up Alexander’s release as a potential turning point, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was far more subdued. Israel, notably, has not stepped back from plans to expand its war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office, in a statement Monday, underscored it had “not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists” in exchange for Alexander.

“The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting,” the prime minister’s office statement said.

Trump takes a different tone on Syria

As he prepared to leaved Washington, Trump also said he’s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian government. It’s an issue that’s top of mind for the three Gulf leaders, who have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow through.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.

The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December.

The Trump administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.

Cajoling India and Pakistan with trade

Trump also took credit for his administration keeping India and Pakistan from returning to a state of all-out war amid the deadliest fighting in six years between the nuclear armed neighbors.

The president said he and aides were ultimately able to talk sense to India and Pakistan’s leadership and guide them away from further escalation by dangling carrots, while also threatening both nations with sticks.

“I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys,’” Trump said. “’If you stop it, we’ll do trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.’ People never use trade the way I used it.”

The situation remains tenuous. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that his country has only “paused” its military action and will “retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future terror attack on the country.

Big differences remain in Iran nuclear talks

The president will arrive in the region after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held the fourth round of nuclear talks Sunday in Oman with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

As the talks continue, the Trump administration has sent mixed messages about what nuclear work Iran would be allowed to do under a potential deal.

Senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have said that Tehran would be required to import enriched material to run nuclear reactors for civilian purposes. Trump, however, said this past week that his administration hasn’t made a decision on the issue.

It’s also unclear if Trump will insist that Tehran give up support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen as part of any nuclear deal.

Whatever his negotiating frame may be, Trump seemed confident that Iran is engaging rationally, and that he will cement a deal soon.

“You can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said of his demand for Iran. “But I think that they are talking intelligently.”

However, the two sides still appear a long way from any deal, even as time passes on a two-month deadline imposed by Trump.

Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP writer Jill Lawless contributed from London.

Tim Connelly made a major splash on July 1, 2022, when he traded a number of draft assets along with a rolodex of role players to acquire Rudy Gobert in a trade with Utah.

It was an all-in type of move, which was a curious decision given that … the Timberwolves didn’t appear to be in an all-in position. Not back then, anyway.

Anthony Edwards was 20 years old at the time. Jaden McDaniels was 21. They’d just experienced their first playoff series when Connelly walked in the door and immediately pulled such a large trigger.

The stated logic at the time was that Gobert would help raise Minnesota’s floor to the point where the likes of Edwards and McDaniels would make playoff runs every single year. Experience is the most valuable teacher. And that has largely come to fruition.

But there was another benefit for Minnesota in stacking its roster at the time it did: It’s better to surround your star player(s) with an elite supporting cast too early rather than too late.

Because time does come for all, as Minnesota has witnessed firsthand over the past two postseasons.

Kevin Durant clearly didn’t have the same athletic pop, and was a bit of a glorified jumps-hooter, in last year’s first-round series. The same was true to a degree with LeBron James in Minnesota’s first-round series last month against the Lakers.

The decline is understandable for both. James is 40 years old, Durant 36. Steph Curry was still playing at a superstar level for Golden State at age 37, but he may miss the remainder of these Western Conference semifinals with a hamstring injury.

Curry said it’s the first hamstring injury of his career. He’s perhaps the best-conditioned athlete in basketball, but he was also taxed to the max down the stretch run of the season during which the Warriors attempted to win every game to dodge the play-in tournament, ended up in it anyway, then advanced to a grueling first-round matchup with Houston that went seven games.

It hardly feels like a coincidence that two days after playing 46 minutes in a Game 7, Curry suffered a soft-tissue injury at Target Center. The body can only endure so much as it ages, even as athletes attempt to push the bounds of logic.

Jimmy Butler built up a reputation of “Playoff Jimmy” for his spectacular postseason performances, carrying the Heat deep into the playoffs on multiple occasions. He tried to put on the cape again for Golden State in Game 4 on Saturday — delivering a dominant first three quarters to put the Warriors in a position to win even without Curry — but it was quite apparent the 35-year-old wing wore down by game’s end.

He went just 1 for 7 in the final frame. Draymond Green is 35, as well.

Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards played all 24 minutes in the second half on Saturday and appeared to only get stronger as the game wore on. The same was true in Game 4 against the Lakers.

Edwards is young and spry, as are most of his teammates. Outside of 37-year-old guard Mike Conley — who, likely not-so-coincidentally, got hurt in last year’s playoffs — Rudy Gobert is the oldest member of Minnesota’s rotation at just 32.

The Wolves are built to endure the duration of the marathon that is the NBA Playoffs. They aren’t affected by the every-other-day nature of these series. While youth may work against Minnesota in some of these matchups, so many other key factors are in its favor. The Timberwolves and Oklahoma City are the two clear favorites to advance to this year’s West Finals, and they’re both flush with young talent.

And by opening Edwards’ championship window so early in the guard’s career, the Timberwolves are giving their best player as many bites at the apple as physically possible.

That matters, because as the last two playoffs have shown, windows of championship contention end for teams and stars alike. You can’t kick seasons away while planning for “the future,” because you never know when injury or age will derail your best-laid plans.

Better to try to win now, versus assuming you’ll do so later.

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In his first-ever interview, Gus Walz explained his instantly viral moment at the Democratic National Convention in August when his father, Gov. Tim Walz, accepted the nomination for vice president. Gus pointed at his father, stood up and, with tears in his eyes, said, “That’s my dad!”

“I was just being emotional,” Gus, 18, said in a “CBS Mornings” interview that aired Monday. “There’s nothing wrong with showing emotions.”

During the interview, Gwen Walz explained that Gus was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder in the sixth grade.

The experience brought the pair closer than ever and Gus said his mom is his best friend.

“Routine really helps me, you know. Consistency. So I think my mom and me were, like, ‘All right, let’s go in. Let’s go try and figure some stuff out.’ And that’s really kind of what started us getting super, super close,” Gus said. “Whatever I need, my mom’s there. She’s the most important person in my life.”

Here’s what else Gus had to say during the interview:

On what he remembers about the DNC:

“It was crazy. And I’m looking at my mom and I’m like, you know, that’s my dad. He’s right there. He’s right in front of America. All these people chanting our last name, it was super overwhelming. Because to me, he’s just regular old dad, you know, just normal dad. Golfs with me, makes food, cleans the cars, everything like that. And in that moment it was something bigger. It was just surreal.”

On his reaction to those who criticized his viral moment:

“I just kind of ignored it, I guess, was the only way to put it. I just continued to do what I do. I just blocked it out because I was just being emotional. Like, there’s nothing wrong with showing emotions and if people are going to say there’s something wrong with that, then those are not the people that I want to be associated with. So, I kind of just blocked that out.”

What he wants people to know about him:

“I think some people think I’m a little slow and, like, I’m not like a normal kid. And I think that I’m one of the most normal people that you could find … I am a normal kid who likes to play volleyball, loves his family, loves his friends and likes to help people out.”

On how his disorders help him in his life:

“There’s definitely some big strengths … I’m really good at making relationships with people. One of the things I’m not as good at is picking up on non-verbal cues like when somebody, you know, says they’re done or they’re ready to be done. Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re being serious or not.

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“Like a volleyball ref. Sometimes I’ll do something wrong and they’ll go up and they’ll be like, ‘All right, you’ve got to knock that off.’ But I’m like, oh they’re just messing. And then I’ll go back and I’ll do it again and get in a little bit more trouble. So what I’ve learned is a strength for me is to make that relationship before the game. So I’ll go up and greet the ref before the game and be like hey this is me.”

On his plans for later that night, after his volleyball game:

“There’s a promposal going on after. I’ve been talking to this girl. Her name’s Eleanor. Really nice girl. And I’m going to ask her to prom.” (She said yes.)

Fellow judges have elected Judge Christopher Jon Lehmann to serve as chief judge of Minnesota’s First Judicial District for a two-year term, the Minnesota Judicial Branch announced on Monday.

Lehmann, who currently is assistant chief judge of the district, will begin serving as chief judge on July 1. Judge Charles Webber was elected to serve as assistant chief judge, also beginning July 1.

Judges Christopher Jon Lehmann, left, and Charles Webber (Courtesy of the Minnesota Judicial Branch)

Minnesota’s First Judicial District consists of Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott and Sibley counties.

Lehmann joined the bench in October 2014 and is chambered in Dakota County. Before he became a judge, he was a  partner and associate at Grannis & Lehmann P.A. in South St. Paul, an assistant public defender in the First Judicial District, an assistant city attorney for the city of St. Paul, and an associate at Grannis & Grannis P.A. He received his J.D., cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law, and a B.A. in Business Administration and Political Science, magna cum laude, from Concordia College.

“I’m honored to be elected Chief Judge of the First District, and I want to thank my colleagues for their trust and support,” he said in the press release. “The First District has a strong tradition of thoughtful, steady leadership, and I’m committed to carrying that forward.”

Webber, who was appointed to the district as a judge in May 2021, is chambered in the Scott County Justice Center in Shakopee.

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