Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration feels “optimistic” they will ultimately be able to successfully negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened even in the past 24 hours,” Vance said in Rome at a bilateral meeting with Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private, some negotiations. I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close.”

This comes just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the Trump administration may “move on” from trying to end the conflict if their efforts prove futile over the next few days.

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Rome on Friday and was welcomed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he and President Donald Trump met with just a day prior at the White House.

“I’ve been missing you,” Meloni said with a laugh.

“Hello, it’s been a long time,” Vance said, warmly greeting Meloni.

During Trump’s meeting with Meloni at the White House yesterday, he expressed confidence that the US would reach a trade deal with the EU before the end of his 90-day pause on tariffs.

More on VP’s visit: Vance will participate in bilateral meetings with Meloni and Italian officials at the Palazzo Chigi in the afternoon.

Vance will also meet privately with US embassy staff and their families, along with US Marines who are stationed nearby.

Later, Vance will attend Good Friday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Second Lady Usha Vance and their children are also on the trip.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that if it is not possible to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US needs to abandon its efforts.

“If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” he told reporters. “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable.”

Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff met with European and Ukrainian officials in Paris yesterday as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes for an end to the war.

A US-authored outline of a peace plan had received an “encouraging reception” at the talks, according to the State Department. Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and conveyed the same outline, the department said.

Rubio said he and Witkoff had come to Paris to “begin to talk about more specific outlines of what it might take to end the war” and whether or not the war could be ended.

“It’s not our war. We didn’t start it. The United States has been helping Ukraine for the past three years and we want it to end, but it’s not our war.”

Trump said Thursday the US would hear from Russia this week about the US proposal for a ceasefire.

Also on Thursday, Ukraine signed a memo with the US as a step toward a minerals deal. It is unclear whether it includes one of Ukraine’s priorities: security guarantees in the face of Russia’s war. Trump said the US and Ukraine could sign the deal next week.

The new US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, placed a note from President Donald Trump in the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday morning in what he called his “first act” in his new role.

The former governor of Arkansas, who was confirmed in the post last week, showed the small note to the media and the crowd gathered for the visit. Written on a tiny piece of paper, the note said, “For peace in Israel – DT.”

Huckabee said Trump gave him the note to place in the wall last Thursday.

Some background: Jewish worshippers and other visitors often place prayers and notes on tiny slips of paper in the cracks of the wall, the holiest site at which Jews can pray.

Huckabee was wearing a Jewish prayer yarmulke on his head and a yellow ribbon pin, which shows support for the hostages still held in Gaza.

A staunch supporter of Israel who has previously said there’s “no such thing as a Palestinian,” Huckabee said Trump was “praying for the peace of Jerusalem.” He made no mention of Gaza or the Palestinians.

“I cannot think of a better time to come and to bring this message of goodwill,” Huckabee said in remarks after he said a short prayer of his own at the wall. “And I also come with a prayer that all of the hostages will come home now and that we will bring them home and that is the prayer of the president as well.”

US airstrikes on an oil port in western Yemen have killed at least 58 people, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported Friday, in one of the deadliest days since the United States escalated its aerial military campaign against the Iranian-backed group in recent weeks.

US Central Command said Thursday the strikes on Ras Isa fuel port in Hodeidah province were aimed at cutting off revenue to the Houthis, adding the port has been used as a source of illicit profits to the group.

“The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen,” the US Central Command said. “This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”

Al-Masirah reported that all those killed were workers at the port and that the strikes also injured 126 people, citing the Houthi-run health ministry’s regional office.

Since mid-March, US airstrikes have pounded Houthi targets in Yemen, hitting oil refineries, airports and missile sites, with President Donald Trump vowing to use “overwhelming force” until the US achieves its goal of stopping the Houthis from targeting shipping in the Red Sea.

Houthis have launched numerous missiles against Israel and disrupted shipping in the Red Sea in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s war in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongfully deported to El Salvador, and said he would provide a full update on his visit upon his return to the US today.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Abrego Garcia is back in custody after the meeting.

Van Hollen said he was previously denied entry to El Salvador’s mega-prison when he tried to check on Abrego Garcia’s well-being.

Here’s the latest on Trump’s immigration crackdown:

• Ruling in Abrego Garcia case: A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request that it halt the next steps Judge Paula Xinis is seeking to take in the case concerning Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, with a strident warning about the rule of law and the possibility the dispute presented an “incipient crisis.”
• Border czar says 2019 ruling is “meaningless”: Tom Homan argued that the court order prohibiting Abrego Garcia’s deportation to his home country of El Salvador is “meaningless” because the Trump administration has designated the MS-13 gang as a terrorist organization. Xinis has argued that the administration has not proven that, writing in a recent filing: “No evidence before the Court connects Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any other criminal organization.”
• Ending birthright citizenship case: Trump said he was “so happy” that the Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments over his request to enforce a plan to end birthright citizenship against all but a handful of individuals. The high court will hear arguments in the case on May 15.
• Student visas revoked: More than 1,000 international students and recent graduates at more than 130 schools in the US have had their visas or statuses revoked in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System this year, according to university statements and spokespeople. Attorneys for more than 100 foreign students whose international visas have been revoked argued in federal court yesterday to stop the process. The judge did not rule on the request, but did indicate she plans to grant some form of temporary relief.