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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday is set to meet with President Donald Trump for the first time since he re-entered the White House to sign what could be a key minerals deal to help end Russia’s war. 

Though some details of the agreement have emerged since the meeting was announced this week, the exact terms remain unclear, and European leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are waiting to see what could come out of this agreement, particularly when it comes to security demands.

Trump on Wednesday told reporters that Zelenskyy could ‘forget about’ any ambitions to join NATO, but the Ukrainian president also said that day that he needs security guarantees, otherwise ‘we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.’

‘I want to find a NATO path or something similar,’ Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian leadership has long sought NATO membership, and in 2008 at the Bucharest Summit the alliance agreed Ukraine would eventually become a member of NATO, a defense partnership Zelenskyy has since argued is the best defense against a future Russian invasion.

Trump told reporters that by entering into a minerals deal with Washington, Kyiv will be granted ‘automatic security’ guarantees by the mere presence of American extractors on Ukrainian soil.

‘Nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll be there in that way.’

But it remains unclear if this ‘guarantee’ will be enough to comfort Zelenskyy, and according to former CIA Moscow Station Chief Dan Hoffman, there are too many outstanding factors to determine whether Putin would be deterred, including Kyiv’s rearmament capabilities and whether NATO nations would agree to send in troops to Ukraine. 

‘As far as deterring Putin from attacking again [and] as far as Ukraine’s relationship with the United States, especially with this administration, you want the U.S. to have economic skin in the game,’ Hoffman said. ‘That’s how you walk down that path of closer bilateral relationship, and one where it’s certainly in our interest … for [Ukraine] to be an independent, sovereign nation.’

Trump said on Wednesday that European allies, including the U.K. and France, will be watching U.S. negotiations with Ukraine and Russia ‘very closely.’

‘They volunteered to put so-called peacekeepers on the site. And I think that’s a good thing,’ he added.

In response to questions by Fox News Digital over the European Union’s position on a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, top diplomat for the EU, Kaja Kallas, said the agreement could prove positive for Kyiv so long as it puts Ukraine in a position of strength when it comes to countering Russia at the negotiating table.

‘[The] U.S. also has a very clear self-interest in play, and that hopefully makes U.S. support Ukraine more, because economic ties are making this stronger,’ she said. ‘And then it all works.’

‘Right now, it is a very important message that we send that we are behind Ukraine, to make them strong enough to be able to say no to a bad deal,’ she added. 

But it’s not just European allies watching the dealings unfold; Putin is also keeping a close eye on a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal.

Putin’s representatives reportedly proposed a similar deal to the Trump administration while meeting in Saudi Arabia last week, and they said a deal could be brokered to give the U.S. access to minerals in Ukrainian regions now occupied by invading Russian forces, including Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.

The Trump administration has reportedly not ruled out an economic deal with Moscow. 

Hoffman said it is in Zelenskyy’s strategic interest to make a deal with Trump, as it would hamper Putin’s strategic goals. 

‘[Putin] doesn’t want Ukraine to have commercial relationships with Europe and the United States,’ he said. ‘That was part of why he wanted to topple the central government in Kyiv and then install a puppet regime that was beholden to Russia.

‘The more links Ukraine has to the West … commercial links, diplomatic and strategic military links … it’s not good for Putin,’ Hoffman added.

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European leaders are weary of President Donald Trump’s push to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, with the European Union’s top diplomat saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘doesn’t really want peace.’

Trump on Thursday said his administration had been in ‘very good talks with Russia,’ though he did not expand on whether any tangible progress in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine had begun.

Some NATO allies, as well as the U.S.’s decades-old partners, are increasingly frustrated with President Trump’s controversial comments about Ukraine in what has been perceived as a cost of Washington bettering ties with Moscow.

‘[The] U.S. is talking to Russia, and you have to establish contacts,’ EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview. ‘But right now, Russia doesn’t really want peace. 

‘[Russia] … wants us to think that they can wait us out and that time is on their side, but it’s not really so,’ she continued. ‘If we increase the pressure, economic pressure on them, but also political pressure, if we support Ukraine so that they would be stronger on the battlefield, then they would also be stronger behind the negotiation table.’

The warning comes as Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to secure a minerals deal on Friday in what some hope could eventually help ceasefire discussions.

Trump has championed his ability to re-enter talks with Russia and his successful demands that NATO nations share more of the economic burden in securing Ukraine. 

NATO allies did drastically ramp up their defense spending after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the stark reversal of U.S. policy in Ukraine between the Trump and Biden administrations has sent some European nations reeling.

While some allies, like the U.K., are looking to prove to Trump that Washington and London have more shared values than not, other leaders, like the incoming chancellor of Germany, are looking to distance themselves from the U.S., a position Berlin has not taken since the fall of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.

Kallas, in speaking with Fox News Digital, also looked to remind the Trump administration of the important value of the NATO alliance and emphasized the only time Article 5 has been called in the 76 years since the alliance was formed was after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.

‘In terms of … international security, we need to work together with the Americans, who have been our allies for a very, very long time,’ she said. ‘And we have been there for America.’

Kallas, who served as the first female prime minister of Estonia, pointed to the sacrifices that NATO troops made in aiding the U.S. fight in the War on Terror.

‘We, as Estonia, lost as many soldiers per capita as the United States,’ she said. ‘We were there for you when you asked for help. 

‘That’s why it’s painful to hear messages that, you know, we don’t care about our European allies. It should work both ways,’ Kallas added. 

The EU chief diplomat has repeatedly urged the U.S. and European nations not to let Putin succeed in dividing the West over Ukraine. 

Ultimately, she argued that the U.S. needs to remain a steadfast partner with Europe in deterring Russian aggression because it is not only Putin that poses an active threat to the collective alliance.

Kallas visited Washington this week to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and lawmakers about vital issues that affect the EU-U.S. security partnership, though her meeting with Rubio was canceled.

The State Department did not confirm why the meeting was canceled without being rescheduled during her stay in Washington, though Kallas said that after positive discussions with Rubio at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, she if confident communication will remain ongoing.

‘There’s a lot to discuss, from Ukraine to the Middle East, also what is happening in Africa, Iran – where we have definitely mutual interest to cooperate – and not to mention China as well,’ Kallas said.  ‘There are a lot of topics that we can do [work] together with our transatlantic partners.’

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Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers were back in action Thursday night against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dončić was coming off a triple-double performance against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. He had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in 35 minutes of play in that contest.

The Lakers won again Thursday, 111-102, and are now 8-2 overall since Dončić was traded to Los Angeles (4-2 when he’s actually been in the lineup).

Luka Doncic stats vs. Timberwolves

Points: 21
FG: 6-for-20
3PT: 1-for-9
FT: 8-for-12
Rebounds: 13
Assists: 5
Steals: 0
Blocks: 0
Turnovers: 3
Fouls: 2
Minutes played: 36

All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Anthony Edwards ejected

Lakers vs. Timberwolves highlights

Lakers’ next game

The Lakers will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday in the second game of a back-to-back. The game is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET (ESPN).

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The one-loss Bruins are the overall No. 1 seed in the projection released by the NCAA on Thursday night, just as they were when the first women’s college basketball seedings were released Feb. 16. Texas, USC and Notre Dame are the other No. 1 seeds.

In the leadup to Selection Sunday on March 16, the NCAA releases projections of who would be the top 16 seeds if the season ended that day. It does not, of course, with the UCLA-USC rematch on Saturday night and conference tournaments still to be played.

Still, the projections give an idea of how the bracket will shape up.

South Carolina, UConn, LSU and N.C. State are all projected to be No. 2 seeds. TCU, North Carolina, Duke and Tennessee are the No. 3 seeds, and Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas State and Ohio State are the No. 4 seeds.

UCLA spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll before suffering its only loss of the season, to crosstown rival USC, on Feb. 13. The Bruins are currently No. 2 in the poll, one spot behind Texas. But it’s hard to argue with the Bruins as the overall No. 1 seed for the tournament given the other top schools all have two or more losses.

The committee also projected regional assignments. UCLA and USC were sent to the Spokane regional while Texas and Notre Dame were assigned to Birmingham.

NCAA Tournament selection committee rankings

Here’s a full look at the top 16 teams and the regions in which they find themselves from Thursday’s NCAA tournament selection committee ranking unveiling:

Overall seed in parentheses

Spokane 1

UCLA (1)
LSU (7)
North Carolina (10)
Kansas State (15)

Birmingham 2

Texas (2)
NC State (8)
TCU (9)
Ohio State (16)

Spokane 3

Southern California (3)
UConn (6)
Duke (11)
Kentucky (14)

Birmingham 4

Notre Dame (4)
South Carolina (5)
Tennessee (12)
Oklahoma (13)

Unfamiliar territory

If the projected seedings hold – and there’s still a lot of basketball to be played – this would be the first time since 2019 that neither UConn nor South Carolina is a No. 1 seed. UConn was a No. 2 seed that year, and South Carolina a No. 4 seed.

The No. 1 seeds that year? Baylor, Mississippi State, Notre Dame and Louisville.

The selection committee got it half right that year, with Baylor beating Notre Dame for the title. The other two teams in the Final Four, however, were UConn and Oregon.

Potential stumbling blocks

We can’t stress enough that these are projected seeds, and the top 16 in the final bracket could look a lot different. For instance, UCLA hosts USC on Saturday night in a rematch of the Bruins’ only loss of the season. There’s a good chance the crosstown rivals could meet for a third time in the Big Ten tournament title game, too.

Elsewhere, the conference tournaments could upend things. The SEC alone has five teams in Thursday’s projected top 16 seeds while the ACC has four teams and the Big 12 three.

Tobacco Road

North Carolina is used to being the epicenter of men’s basketball. If the final bracket winds up like Thursday’s projection, it will be for women’s hoops, too.

N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke would all host first- and second-round games. It would be the first time since 1998 that all three schools were seeded high enough to host early-round action.

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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Cali., is demanding that Elon Musk and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell stop sending mass emails to staffers. 

In an open letter published Thursday, Padilla said several legislative branch offices and agencies have received mass emails from hr@opm.gov despite not being subject to personnel actions by the executive branch. 

‘Neither the White House nor [the Department of Government Efficiency] nor OPM have any authority or legitimate purpose to mass email legislative branch offices and agencies demanding information from employees or to threaten adverse personnel actions,’ Padilla said. 

Over the weekend, the OPM sent out mass emails to federal government workers, asking them to summarize what they did over the prior week using five bullet points. They had until 11:59 p.m. on Monday to provide their responses to the inquiry. 

Padilla said these emails, received by legislative staffers, wasted ‘time and resources and potentially [mislead] employees into responding and sharing legislative branch information in an unauthorized manner.’ 

Padilla added that the emails were ‘especially concerning’ since several executive branch agencies have ‘even warned their own employees not to respond to these messages because doing so would risk sensitive information falling into the hands of malign foreign actors.’ 

‘The fact that these mass emails are also going beyond the scope of the executive branch is yet another sign of how DOGE is operating in an uninformed, poorly executed, and chaotic manner,’ Padilla said.

The Democratic lawmaker ended his letter requesting that DOGE and OPM confirm they have taken steps ‘to ensure that they will cease directly any further mass email communications at legislative branch offices and agencies and their employees.’ 

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced Thursday that former coach Jon Gruden has been reinstated to the team’s Ring of Honor.

‘Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise. Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor,’ the team wrote.

Gruden had been removed from the Buccaneers Ring of Honor in 2021, after the emergence of emails of his that contained homophobic, misogynistic and racist language. The scandal led to his resignation as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Explaining his removal from the Ring of Honor at the time, the Buccaneers said they ‘have advocated for purposeful change in the areas of race relations, gender equality, diversity and inclusion for many years. While we acknowledge Jon Gruden’s contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization. Therefore, he will no longer continue to be a member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.” 

Gruden, Tampa Bay’s head coach from 2002-08, was first inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor in 2017. He has the most wins in team history (57) and was at the helm when the Bucs won their first championship by defeating the Raiders in Super Bowl 37.

All things Buccaneers: Latest Tampa Bay Buccaneers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Olympic icon Peggy Fleming was visiting a friend in California on the morning of Jan. 30 when her husband Greg Jenkins called from their home in Colorado to tell her about a plane crash in Washington, D.C., involving members of the U.S. figure skating community, young skaters and their parents and coaches. 

As she watched the news on television, her mind raced to another place, another time, another tragedy. 

“What a flashback it was,” she said in a phone interview earlier this week. “It was like it was happening all over again.”

On Feb. 15, 1961, Fleming was a promising 12-year-old skater in Southern California when she awoke to the news that her coach, William Kipp, and the entire U.S. figure skating delegation  — 18 skaters and 16 officials, coaches, judges and family members — had been killed in a plane crash near Brussels on the way to the world championships in Prague.

‘I heard it right before I went to school that day,” Fleming said. “My mom had seen it on television. And I just couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal. So I did go to school — you just don’t know the impact at that age — and I think of what a disaster that really was, and all those talented skaters, their lives just cut short, and all the top coaches in the U.S. were gone.”

This month, as Fleming began to process the horror of the mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport that killed 11 skaters, four coaches and 13 family members, a friend told her about a memorial skating show, Legacy on Ice, that was being planned at Capital One Arena in Washington. 

Fleming contacted U.S. Figure Skating and offered to be a part of the show. “It’s all so tragic,” she said. “We want the families to know we care.”

So this weekend, 76-year-old Peggy Fleming is coming to Washington to participate in the Sunday afternoon show that will honor the 67 victims of the air disaster, including the young skaters and members of the skating community who were killed on their way home from a national development camp after the U.S. championships in Wichita. 

In this way, she is serving as a bridge between her sport’s two unspeakable tragedies, 64 years apart. “It just brings back so many memories,” she said. “I feel so bad for all these families. It’s heartbreaking.”

Fleming said she will not be skating Sunday but rather serving as a presenter offering an introduction during a segment of the show. 

“Are you kidding?” she said with a laugh. “I’m not even bringing my skates. I’m just there to support.”

Her presence at the show is especially meaningful, said 1988 Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano, who is co-hosting the show with 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. 

“She saved figure skating,” Boitano said Thursday in a phone interview. “Out of the ashes comes the phoenix. She was the phoenix.”

Spurred on by two coaches who came to the United States to find work after the crash — first England’s John Nicks for a year, then Italy’s Carlo Fassi for the length of her competitive career — Fleming won five national titles from 1964-68 and the gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Her victory launched figure skating into the television age, so it was fitting that she went on to commentate on the sport with the late Dick Button for 28 years on ABC and ESPN. 

“She had everything come together to make a champion,” Nicks, now 95, said over the phone Thursday. “Her physique, the self confidence to perform under pressure, being such a likeable person — many, many things went into being Peggy Fleming.”  

“The ultimate icon of the sport,” Boitano said. “When you think of figure skating, you think of Peggy Fleming.”

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is on pace to pass Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goal record before season’s end.

Ovechkin, 39, entered this season needing 42 goals to break Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals, which has stood since 1999. The Washington captain has 30 goals this season and needs 12 more with 23 games left to become the NHL’s all-time leader.

Ovechkin scored 15 times in his first 18 games before suffering a fractured left fibula during a Nov. 18 game against the Utah Hockey Club. He has scored 15 times since he returned on Dec. 28.

This season, he moved into second place with 20 consecutive 20-goal seasons and set a record for number of goalies scored against in his career. He tied records for game-winning goals and most franchises against which he has a hat trick. And he became the first player to score 200 goals in three different decades.

If he doesn’t reach Gretzky’s goal record this season, he has one more season left on his contract.

Here’s where Ovechkin stands in his chase of Gretzky’s goal record:

How many career goals does Alex Ovechkin have?

Ovechkin has 883 career goals.

How many goals does Alex Ovechkin need to pass Wayne Gretzky?

Ovechkin needs 12 goals to break Gretzky’s record.

How many goals does Alex Ovechkin have this season?

Ovechkin has 30 goals and 17 assists in 43 games. Factoring in the 16 games he missed, that is a 46-goal pace, giving him a chance to break the record this season.

What did Alex Ovechkin do in his last game?

Ovechkin had no points on four shots in a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

When is Alex Ovechkin’s next game?

The Capitals play Saturday, March 1, at home against Tampa Bay. He has 50 goals in 82 career games vs. the Lightning.

Alex Ovechkin goals in 2024-25

Oct. 19: 1 vs. New Jersey
Oct. 23: 1 vs. Philadelphia
Oct. 29: 2 vs. N.Y. Rangers
Oct. 31: 1 vs. Montreal
Nov. 2: 1 vs. Columbus
Nov. 3: 1 vs. Carolina
Nov. 6: 1 vs. Nashville
Nov. 9: 2 vs. St. Louis
Nov. 17: 3 vs. Vegas
Nov. 18: 2 vs. Utah
Dec. 28: 1 vs. Toronto
Dec. 29: 1 vs. Detroit
Jan. 2: 1 vs. Minnesota
Jan. 4: 1 vs. N.Y. Rangers
Jan. 11: 1 vs. Nashville
Jan. 16: 1 vs. Ottawa
Jan. 23: 1 vs. Seattle
Jan. 30: 1 vs. Ottawa
Feb 1: 1 vs. Winnipeg
Feb. 4: 1 vs. Florida
Feb. 6: 1 vs. Philadelphia
Feb. 23: 3 vs. Edmonton
Feb. 25: 1 vs. Calgary

Alex Ovechkin career goals breakdown

Even strength: 558, third overall

Power play: 320, a record

Short-handed: 5

Empty net: 64, a record

Game winners: 135, tied for first with Jaromir Jagr

Overtime goals: 27, a record

Multi-goal games: 178, second overall

Goalies scored against: 181, a record

Hat tricks: 32, tied for fifth overall. Ovechkin has hat tricks against 20 franchises, tying Brett Hull’s record.

20-goal seasons: 20, tied for second

30-goal seasons: 19, a record

40-goal seasons: 13, a record

Alex Ovechkin empty-net goals

Ovechkin has a record 64 empty-net goals, but Gretzky is up there, too, with 56. Ovechkin passed Gretzky in that category last season.

Alex Ovechkin goals per season

Season: Goals, career total

2005-06: 52, 52
2006-07: 46, 98
2007-08: 65*, 163
2008-09: 56*, 219
2009-10: 50, 269
2010-11: 32, 301
2011-12: 38, 339
2012-13: 32*, 371
2013-14: 51*, 422
2014-15: 53*, 475
2015-16: 50*, 525
2016-17: 33, 558
2017-18: 49*, 607
2018-19: 51*, 658
2019-20: 48*, 706
2020-21: 24, 730
2021-22: 50, 780
2022-23: 42, 822
2023-24: 31, 853
2024-25: 30, 883

*-led league in goals that season

NHL all time goal leaders

The top 21 NHL all-time goal scorers all have 600 or more goals. All of the players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, except Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Jagr, who are still playing.

1. Wayne Gretzky, 894 goals in 1,487 games

2. Alex Ovechkin, 883 goals in 1,469 games

3. Gordie Howe, 801 goals in 1,767 games

4. Jaromir Jagr, 766 goals in 1,733 games

5. Brett Hull, 741 goals in 1,269 games

6. Marcel Dionne, 731 in 1,348 games

7. Phil Esposito, 717 goals in 1,282 games

8. Mike Gartner, 708 goals in 1,432 games

9. Mark Messier, 694 goals in 1,756 games

10. Steve Yzerman, 692 goals in 1,514 games

11. Mario Lemieux, 690 goals in 915 games

12. Teemu Selanne, 684 goals in 1,451 games

13. Luc Robitaille, 668 goals in 1,431 games

14. Brendan Shanahan, 656 goals in 1,524 games

15. Dave Andreychuk, 640 goals in 1,639 games

16. Jarome Iginla, 625 goals in 1,554 games

17. Joe Sakic, 625 goals in 1,378 games

18. Bobby Hull, 610 goals in 1,063 games

19. Sidney Crosby, 610 goals in 1,331 games

20. Dino Ciccarelli, 608 goals in 1,232 games

21. Jari Kurri, 601 goals in 1,251 games

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Wayne Gretzky, the Canadian hockey legend known around the world as ‘The Great One,’ is suddenly in a big pickle in his home country because of his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Gretzky, 64, served as the honorary captain for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game in Boston on Feb. 20, and his presence created more fuel for a brewing controversy north of the border. The greatest hockey player of all-time has faced criticism in his homeland over his association with Trump in light of the president’s political threats related to tariffs and comments about Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States.

The negative rhetoric led Trump, fellow Canadian hockey legend Bobby Orr and Gretzky’s wife to defend his national pride in recent days. Orr wrote an op-ed for the Toronto Sun last Saturday to express his disappointment at the treatment Gretzky received for his appearance on behalf of Canada’s hockey team last week, while Trump posted on his social media website, Truth Social, in an apparent effort to help Gretzky.

Janet Jones Gretzky, who attended Trump’s presidential inauguration in Washington last month with her husband, then posted a thank you to Orr on her Instagram account Thursday. The caption offered a glimpse into the toll this controversy is taking on Wayne Gretzky.

‘I have never met anyone who is more Proud to be a Canadian and it has broken his heart to read and see the mean comments,’ Janet Jones Gretzky wrote. ‘He would do anything to make Canadians Proud, with his Love for Hockey and his Country.’

The rising political tension between the United States and Canada since Trump returned to the White House in January coincided with the NHL’s first 4 Nations Cup this year, and it helped create a level of interest in the tournament that caught even the most staunch hockey supporters by surprise.

Trump called the American team to wish them luck ahead of the game and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needled Trump on social media after Canada’s 3-2 overtime win. Trump, in reference to Canada joining the United States as the 51st state, declared Gretzky a ‘free agent’ on social media Wednesday in an effort to demonstrate Gretzky supports an independent Canada.

‘Wayne is my friend, and he wants to make me happy, and is therefore somewhat ‘low key’ about Canada remaining a separate Country,’ Trump wrote, in part. ‘… He’s the Greatest Canadian of them all, and I am therefore making him a ‘free agent,’ because I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him. He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!’

Orr was the first notable hockey figure to publicly back Gretzky as more Canadians turned against one of its country’s sports heroes and called for him to speak out against Trump’s recent comments regarding Canada. Some fans in Edmonton even started an online petition for a freeway named after Gretzky to be changed. It had more than 10,000 signatures as of Thursday.

‘How fickle can people be, when someone who has given so much time and effort to Canadian hockey is treated in such a way,’ Orr wrote in the op-ed. ‘Listen, we all have our personal beliefs as they pertain to things such as religion and politics. Wayne respects your right to such beliefs – why can’t you respect his?’

Known as ‘The Great One’ during a 20-year career with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, Gretzky is the league’s all-time leader in points, goals and assists. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is currently on the verge of passing his goals record.

Gretzky represented Canada in international competition throughout his career, including the 1998 Nagano Olympics when NHL players were allowed to participate for the first time. He was executive director of the 2002 Olympic team that won gold in Salt Lake City and ended Canada’s 50-year championship drought.

Gretzky retired from playing professional hockey in 1999 and later became part-owner and coach of the Arizona Coyotes. He’s currently a studio analyst for TNT.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

President Donald Trump was asked several times on Thursday about comments he made last week, when he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ‘dictator,’ though he oftentimes either ignored the question or could not remember making the statement.

Trump met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Thursday, when the two leaders addressed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The president told reporters he has had back-to-back ‘very successful’ calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as with Zelenskyy, with hopes of bringing the war between Ukraine and Russia to an end.

‘I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly,’ Trump said. ‘[Friday], the progress toward peace will continue when President Zelenskyy visits the White House. He’ll be here tomorrow in the early part of the day, and we’ll be signing a historic agreement that will make the United States a major partner in developing Ukraine’s minerals and rare earths, oils and gases.’

The president and Zelenskyy will meet at the White House around 11 a.m. Friday, and Trump said the rare earth minerals agreement will provide the basis for a sustainable future between the two countries.

With Zelenskyy’s visit quickly approaching, reporters asked Trump on Thursday if he had plans to apologize to the Ukrainian president for calling him a dictator.

Earlier this month, Trump blasted Zelenskyy as a ‘dictator without elections’ after the U.S. left Ukraine out of its initial peace talks with Russia.

‘A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. ‘In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going.’

When Trump greeted Starmer at the White House on Thursday, one reporter asked the two leaders about having common ground, with Trump describing Zelenskyy as a dictator and Starmer describing Putin as a dictator.

After dodging the question, another reporter asked Trump if he still believed Zelenskyy was a dictator.

‘Did I say that?’ Trump asked. ‘I can’t believe I said that. Next question.’

After the two leaders met in the Oval Office, they faced reporters once again, and a reporter asked Trump if he would take the opportunity to apologize to Zelenskyy for calling him a dictator while praising Putin, who is a dictator.

Rather than address calling Zelenskyy a dictator, Trump spoke about the upcoming meeting with the Ukrainian president, saying, ‘I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow. … We’re going to get along really well.’

While Ukraine and Russia were a big topic during Trump and Starmer’s meeting, so were tariffs. One reporter asked Trump if Starmer had persuaded him not to impose tariffs on the U.K.

Trump said Starmer tried hard to convince him not to impose the tariffs.

‘I think there’s a very good chance that, in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll see.’

While the U.S. and U.K. started with a rocky relationship in colonial days, it has flourished into one that both leaders agree is special and will remain strong.

In fact, Trump was handed a letter from King Charles through Starmer, inviting the president and first lady for a state visit.

‘It was my privilege and honor to bring a letter with me today from His Majesty the King, not only sending his best wishes but also inviting the president and the first lady to make a state visit to the United Kingdom, an unprecedented second state visit,’ Starmer said, noting this has never happened before. ‘It’s so incredible. It will be historic, and I’m delighted that I can go back to His Majesty the King and tell him that President Trump has accepted the invitation.’

Immediately following Starmer’s announcement, Trump thanked the prime minister and offered a compliment.

‘What a beautiful accent,’ the president said. ‘I would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.’

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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