While she’s taken a notably low profile since her husband returned to the White House, Donald Trump recently revealed that she has been playing an important behind-the-scenes role Especially when it comes to shaping his perception of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s sudden shifts on NATO and Ukraine demonstrate how flattery can drastically alter the course of U.S. policy.

Welcome back to another edition of My Take 5, your weekly round-up of top international news. This week we are covering Trump’s possible U-turn on Putin, Estonia and the Baltics get ready with HIMARS,

President Donald Trump seems to have learned the lesson painfully gleaned by all his 21st-century predecessors: You can’t reset US relations with Vladimir Putin.

Is Melania Trump the reason behind Donald Trump’s sudden change of tone on Vladimir Putin? In a dramatic shift, Trump—long seen as soft on Russia—has publicly expressed disappointment with Putin’s actions in Ukraine,

OH AND WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING … Former White House tech guy Elon Musk released the new version of his AI chatbot, Grok4, which he says is so smart it will likely “discover new technology” and perhaps “new physics” in the next year or so. Its views on the Third Reich are not yet known … but I dare say we’ll find out soon enough.

In today’s edition … Campaigns in 2025 will offer insights into the politics of Trump’s spending bill ... The Trump family is now FIFA’s landlord ... We ask you for advice on local news.