March 4th News Round-up

Zelenskyy and Trump’s fight in the Oval Office, Ontario’s landslide provincial election, the Oscars, Gene Hackman’s suspicious death, the Epstein files’ weird release, the Measles outbreak in Texas, and what Trump did this week — Last Week’s News Roundup

Written by Max Balzer, 03/04/2025

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who just marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of his country, visited the United States last week, and his visit ended with a fiery meeting in the Oval Office with President Trump.

When Zelenskyy arrived to the White House, President Trump immediately commented on his outfit, saying that he was ‘all dressed up,’ referencing his black henley long-sleeve with an embroidered Ukrainian crest. Zelenskyy has been known for his military-style dress since the war started, opting for sweatshirts, quarter-zips, and

t-shirts instead of the regular Western diplomatic dress, like a suit and tie. Zelenskyy’s country is at war, and generally, his outfit is not one of the main topics of conversation, but it immediately set the meeting off to a bad start once he rolled up to the West Wing.

Zelenskyy was in the United States to sign a deal which would have the U.S. continue to fund Ukraine’s protection in exchange for rare minerals from Ukraine. This breaks from precedent, which had Ukraine receiving aid from countries around the world pro bono, without an exchange like the deal included. However, Zelenskyy left Washington D.C. without even signing the deal, because a few minutes into the meeting, it went downhill.

The meeting broke when Vice President J.D. Vance — who would not normally speak in bilateral meetings — began discussing the option of ‘diplomacy’ to end the war in Ukraine. He criticized the Biden administration’s strategy, of “thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions,” and Zelenskyy promptly dismissed the idea of resorting just to diplomacy, referencing the 2019 Minsk agreements which Putin rendered irrelevant when he invaded in 2022.

Vance proceeded to tell Zelenskyy he believes it is “disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” and they began arguing over the ‘problems’ Vance stated Ukraine has, which they’re reluctant to send funding to the country in light of. Trump entered the conversation after Zelenskyy stated that Americans will soon feel the effects of Russia’s aggression, even if they aren’t now. Trump replied to that with, “You don’t know that. You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.” 

Trump further berated Zelenskyy, saying, “You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” “You’re not winning this,” and “You’re gambling with World War III.” The meeting descended further into chaos when Vance criticized Zelenskyy for not being thankful enough for the support of the United States, saying, “Have you said thank you once?” White House staff informed the Ukrainians it was time to go, the meeting ended, they left without signing the deal, having lunch, or answering questions in the planned press conference, and US-Ukraine relations shattered.

Where the two countries go from here is unclear, especially in light of the immense importance of U.S. aid to Ukraine’s defense. Zelenskyy travelled to the United Kingdom after leaving D.C., where he was met with a hug from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and an assurance of support and love for Ukraine from the people of the UK — a sentiment echoed by world leaders from Canada to Poland after his explosive White House meeting.

This week, Ontario held elections in every provincial riding, and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Doug Ford was reelected to a third term in a sweeping landslide victory of legislature seats. Ford’s reelection was predicted by the polls, which had him well ahead of the New Democratic Party’s Marit Styles, but the sheer scale of his victory is what was most impressive. Ford’s PC Party won 80 out of the 124 seats in Ontario’s Legislative Assembly, with the second place NDP far behind with just 27 seats.

Ford is popular in Ontario, though his Progressive Conservative party won only 45% of the vote — meaning more voters opted for another candidate. 47% of Ontarians believe the Ford government has done a good job and deserves reelection, according to Ipsos, with just 43% voting for Ford.

Ford has been standing up to President Trump’s tariff and statehood threats in recent weeks, and is likely seen as a more stomachable conservative in light of Trump’s chaos.

Entertainment industry stars descended upon the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday for the 97th annual Academy Awards. Anora, a film about the encounter between a sex worker and a Russian oligarch’s son, had a good night having won the Oscars for Best Editing, Original Screenplay, Director, Actress and the biggest award of the night, Best Picture.

Wicked, a Blockbuster which might not ordinarily win Academy Awards, won two — for best Costume Design and Best Production Design. Conclave, a film nominated for numerous awards including Best Picture, only won Best Adapted Screenplay. Emilia Perez, the controversial musical film about a drug cartel kingpin who seeks to covertly undergo a sex change operation, won Best Song (somehow), and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña’s performance.

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe, N.M. home late Wednesday night. Their bodies were discovered during a wellness check after a maintenance worker raised concerns after knocking on their door and calling them with no response. Their bodies were discovered in different rooms in the house, both in a state of decomposition, and Hackman’s pacemaker indicated he had been deceased for nine days before he was found. Arakawa was found in a bathroom with prescription medications and a space heater nearby.

There were no signs of foul play or trauma to their bodies, however the police ruled their deaths as possibly suspicious. Along with their bodies, their German Shepherd was found dead in the bathroom closet close to Arakawa. The investigation is ongoing and tributes have poured from the entertainment industry to the former ‘tough guy’ actor who was 95 when he died.

The U.S. Department of Justice was slated to release files related to deceased financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein this past week, but the release didn’t go entirely to plan. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced their release Thursday, just to have a PDF full of redactions and strikingly little new information released to the American public.

In the wake of the disappointing release of the Epstein files, Bondi kicked off infighting within the Trump administration when she wrote a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, who reports to her, criticizing him for ‘withholding’ information from the public. Patel, who has been FBI Director for not two weeks, has taken the blame for the lacking information, as part of an administration which has strived to provide ‘transparency,’ in releasing files related to Epstein, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., former President John F. Kennedy, and former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Sr.

The Measles outbreak in Texas

Measles has been making a resurgence in the southwest U.S. since the start of this year, with over 150 confirmed cases across Texas and New Mexico. The outbreak is one of the first of this scale since the introduction of the measles vaccine eliminated the disease in the United States. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s controversial Secretary of Health and Human Services, dismissed concern around the outbreak, saying an outbreak like this is ‘not unusual.’ He has since reversed course and called this ‘serious,’ and stated that “The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.”

Aside from irreparably damaging U.S.-Ukraine relations, President Trump had a busy week. His mission to slash the federal workforce continues, with a hiring freeze at the Department of Defense and buyouts at the Department of Education, along with blowback from the dismantling of USAID. The agency’s acting administration for global health at the US Agency for International Development was put on leave after releasing a memo dragging Trump appointees for limiting the government’s ability to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid.

Elon Musk, President Trump’s right-hand man and leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, sent another email out this week to all federal employees ordering them to summarize five accomplishments from the past week. The email, like the email which was released the week prior and I summarized in my last News Roundup, stated that no response will be seen as resignation.

This email was new, however, because it asked the employees to begin summarizing their accomplishments on a weekly basis — by Monday at 11:59pm. This comes as Musk and Trump pick through the government, firing employees they see as nonessential and dissecting federal spending that they view as ‘waste, fraud, and abuse.’

Trump, after the explosive meeting with President Zelenskyy, halted all aid to Ukraine Monday night, calling it a ‘pause’ until the Ukrainians are ready for peace. This comes after an emergency summit over the weekend in London, called by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with European leaders and Canada’s Justin Trudeau collecting in Central London’s Lancaster House to discuss military aid to Ukraine and increasing military spending on European defense. Trump also put into effect Tuesday the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico that he promised during his campaign and at the start of his term, further cutting ties with two important trade allies. 

Trump’s actions this week have cut ties with European and North American partners, further pulling apart the United States’ globalist policies and centering his focus exclusively on the United States — no matter the consequences.