President Donald Trump continues to take sweeping executive actions in his second term, including an order this week targeting a senior official from his first administration who became one of his critics.
Focus continues on the legal battle regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was living in Maryland when he was wrongfully deported by the administration.
Trump says he has an 'obligation to protect' Second Amendment when asked about FSU shooting
Asked if there were any changes to gun legislation he would want following a mass shooting at Florida State University on Thursday that has left at least two people dead and five others injured, President Donald Trump said that though the shooting is "terrible," he's a "big advocate of the Second Amendment."
President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, April 17, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
"These things are terrible, but the gun doesn't do the shooting. The people do," he said. "I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment."
The president added that he had just heard about the shooting and will have more to say later.
Apr 17, 2025, 4:15 PM EDT
State Department touts 'encouraging reception' of US peace plan for war in Ukraine
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a call on Thursday that the United States has "presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace" for Ukraine and Russia.
According to a readout issued by the State Department, Rubio told Lavrov "the encouraging reception in Paris to the U.S. framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement."
Rubio and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, traveled to Paris on Wednesday for talks with their European counterparts on how to end the three-year war between Ukraine and Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at the Quai d'Orsay, France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart in Paris, April 17, 2025.
Julien De Rosa/via Reuters
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston
Apr 17, 2025, 3:46 PM EDT
Trump says US-Ukraine mineral deal could be signed as soon as next week
President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Ukraine will sign the long-awaited rare-earth minerals deal between the two countries. The announcement comes two months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House with plans to sign the agreement, but that plan was derailed by a disastrous Oval Office meeting.
Trump told reporters that the deal could be signed as soon as next Thursday, but when pressed by ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott for specifics, the details quickly became murky.
"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday, next Thursday. So yes. And I assume they're going to live up to the deals. So we'll see if we have a deal on that," Trump said.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office at the White House, April 17, 2025 in Washington.
Chris Kleponis/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Trump turned to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to say more about the plan. Bessent said details are still being worked out and offered a different day that the deal might be signed.
"It's substantially what we agreed on previously with -- the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal. And the I think it's an 80-page agreement, and that's what will be signed,” Bessent said. "We're still working on the details. We're shooting for around April 26."
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart, Hannah Demissie and Kelsey Walsh
Apr 17, 2025, 2:22 PM EDT
Trump claims he's 'not involved' in US negotiations regarding Abrego Garcia
Asked whether he will take steps to return a migrant living in Maryland who was wrongfully deported to a prison in El Salvador, President Donald Trump said, "Well, I'm not involved in it. You'll have to speak to the lawyers."
A federal judge ordered the government to take all available steps to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a notice that it’s appealing that order.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025.
Abrego Garcia Family via Reuters
"I don't see how judges can take that authority away from a president," he said.