Trump says Ukraine peace is closer. And, how funding cuts affect anti-poverty groups

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President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say they are closer to achieving peace in Ukraine. The two met yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. Meanwhile, Russia's attacks on Ukraine continued over the weekend, and key issues remain unresolved.

Trump is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today in Florida to focus on some of the items left to complete on the president's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. The two leaders could also discuss non-Gaza topics, such as Iran and its proxies.

This has been a challenging year for groups that help those in poverty. Many have had to scale back amid federal cuts and funding chaos. To better understand the impact the Trump administration's policies have had on these organizations, NPR's Jennifer Ludden visited a group called HAPCAP in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, where Executive Director Kelly Hatas explained what has been happening since January.

Photography is a significant part of Goats and Soda's coverage of the joys and strife of daily life. Photos hold a special power in the team's work. From a polar bear in a Chinese zoo to a teen in Zambia facing an uncertain future, check out Goats and Soda's top photo-driven stories of 2025.

This essay was written by East Asia-based correspondent Anthony Kuhn and climate solutions correspondent Julia Simon.

As East Asia-based correspondent and Climate Solutions correspondent, we had the opportunity to collaborate this year in a way that journalists at few other media organizations can do.

We reported from different sides of the world on a major trend with huge repercussions for the global economy and the planet: how the U.S. and China are diverging in their energy policies. China is dominating the global renewables sector, and the U.S. is doubling down on fossil fuels.

Anthony set off for the edge of the North China Plain, where gargantuan wind turbine blades on trucks took what felt like an eternity to pass on the roads. He spoke to engineers who use smart grids, batteries and transmission lines to turn the turbines' power into a reliable supply of energy to Chinese households.

Meanwhile — more than 5,000 miles away — Julia went to far northern California, where a planned offshore wind project on Humboldt Bay has hit new roadblocks with the Trump administration. The marine terminal that will assemble the turbines was supposed to be shovel-ready as soon as 2026. But staff told Julia that's no longer realistic, in part because the Trump administration recently canceled more than $426 million in federal grants for the port.

Since the radio and digital versions of our story came out in recent weeks, the Trump administration has continued to stand in the way of the U.S. renewable energy industry. Just this week the Trump administration paused five offshore wind projects along the East Coast, calling them a national security risk. These projects had already approved federal leases, and they were already under construction.

This divergence in energy policy has huge implications for the Chinese and the U.S. economies, and for the two powers' rivalry and competition through energy tech exports.

As for the climate? Johns Hopkins University China expert Jeremy Wallace told us, "China's efforts are the main story for fighting climate change."

You can find out more in our NPR story — all without a paywall — here.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.