Monday morning news: March 31, 2025

Israel-Hamas negotiations » In the Middle East Hamas is reportedly agreeing to a new Gaza ceasefire proposed by Egypt and Qatar.

It's similar to a plan presented by the U.S. several weeks ago. It would include the release of five Israeli hostages.

NETANYAHU: [SPEAKING HEBREW]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Cabinet meeting on Sunday … said military pressure is working.

In a new ceasefire Hamas is said to be seeking a return to the conditions of phase one, which expired a month ago along with an agreement to negotiate a second phase. Israel has responded with a counter offer.

Trump unhappy with Russia » Meantime, negotiations toward a ceasefire in Ukraine have not progressed as President Trump had hoped. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin told NBC’s Meet the Press:

MULLIN:  What has happened here is that Putin, he doesn't feel is negotiating on actual terms. He keeps delaying. And what President Trump has said right now is if he continues to play games, he's gonna get tough on Russia.

Mullin says Trump did the right thing by starting with a cooperative tone with Russia to get Vladimir Putin to the table.

But Democratic Sen. Michael Bennett says the Kremlin is:

BENNETT: … doing exactly what everyone on planet Earth would've expecting d Putin to do, which has not come to an agreement unless he's forced into an agreement.

He charges that Trump has eased the pressure on Moscow, thereby undermining the bargaining power of Ukraine and its allies.

President Trump is threatening the Kremlin with tariffs and secondary tariffs that would apply to any country that does business with Russia.

Signal chat aftermath » White House officials remain in the hot seat after messages from a discussion among top defense officials were accidentally leaked.

Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner calls it “very concerning. He told ABC's This Week:

TURNER:  I do think though that that both the Armed Services Committee Intelligence committees are taking up this issue, and I think that there will be a review going forward as to whether or not signal should be used and whether not these types of conversations should occur.

Signal is the encrypted app on which that defense discussion took place.

Turner said he has not lost confidence in Trump administration defense officials.

But the top Democrat on the Senate Intel Committee, Sen. Mark Warner, says he does not share Turner’s confidence. And he adds that this incident:

WARNER:  Was the first time, I think, um, since the second Trump inaugural where the Democrats were on offense because of the repeated, sloppy, careless approach to classified information.

The editor in chief of The Atlantic later published details about a recent U.S. strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Greenland » The Danish foreign Minister is criticizing the Trump administration's tone following Vice President JD Vance's visit to Greenland.

During a visit to a U.S. military base in Greenland on Friday, the vice president said:

VANCE:  We respect the self-determination of the people of Greenland, but my argument again to them is I think that you'd be a lot better having coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmark security umbrella.

President Trump is pushing for control of Greenland. He says it’s critical for U.S. national security to counter the growing military presence of China in the Arctic Circle.

Vice President Vance Friday accused Denmark of under-investing in the territory and said the U.S. could make it much more secure.

Denmark's foreign minister calls the rhetoric inappropriate, saying the country is already investing more in Arctic security and is open to U.S. collaboration.

Earthquakes » A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit near Tonga early this morning local time. There were no initial reports of injuries.

Jessica Turner with the US Geological Survey:

TURNER: With any large shallow earthquake, we do expect aftershocks to continue. Uh, one thing we do need to be aware of with a large magnitude earthquake that can cause aftershocks is those aftershocks can be larger themselves and cause more damage.

Meanwhile, in Myanmar, the death toll from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake there on Friday is now well over 1,600.

And that figure will likely continue to grow. At least 17 people were also killed in Thailand.

I'm Kent Covington.

A battle at the Supreme Court over radioactive waste. That’s ahead on Legal Docket. Plus the Monday Moneybeat.

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