Trump did not provide any timing on when Alexander is expected to be released.
The White House said on Sunday that it reached a trade deal with China as the two countries negotiated for a second day in Switzerland. China has yet to comment on Sunday's talks.
"We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Geneva. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "substantial progress" had been made but stopped short of touting a full deal.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom -- the first in what the White House said it hopes will be a flurry of agreements while the reciprocal tariff pause is in effect. With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speaker phone in the Oval Office, the leaders conceded that they are still working out the details of the agreement.
Following indirect and direct conversations between the U.S. and Iran on Sunday, both countries reached an agreement to move forward with talks and continue working through technical elements, a senior Trump administration official said.
“We are encouraged by today's outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Both the Kremlin and the Turkish president's office report that Presidents Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone about Putin's offer to begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15.
The Kremlin readout says that Erdogan fully supports the proposal and is ready to provide a platform for talks.
The Turkish statement says that Erdogan is ready to host negotiations but added that he emphasized that a cease-fire "would create the necessary environment for peace talks."
The Russian statement makes no reference to a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his call for Russia to accept a 30-day cease-fire starting Monday after Putin avoided addressing that proposal and instead suggested talks in Turkey starting May 15.
Zelenskyy said, "We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire -- full, lasting, and reliable -- starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet."
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Natalia Popova
Newly appointed acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson told employees during his first all-hands meeting not to get in his way when he is trying to achieve the president's objectives.
“Don’t get in my way if you’re those 20% of the people,” he told employees on Friday. “I know all the tricks.”
“Obfuscation. Delay. Undermining. If you’re one of those 20% of the people and you think those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will not because I will run right over you,” he said, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting. “I will achieve the president’s intent. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq.”
Richardson was appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the Department fired the prior acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, according to sources familiar with the decision. Hamilton was fired after he told Congress that he didn't support dismantling the agency.
Richardson was the assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction prior to being appointed acting FEMA administrator. Sources have described Richardson as having an insular leadership culture.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
As conversations between the United States and China will resume on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, Trump reacted to the initial discussions, saying, "GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"
In a new social media post, the president calls the meeting a "total reset" between the two countries without providing further details.
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
