Good evening. I'm Omna Nawaz.

And I'm Jeff Bennett on the news hour tonight. In his first meeting with European allies,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegset charts major American policy shifts on Ukraine.

The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome

of a negotiated settlement.

Lawmakers spotlight the so-called war on waste as Elon Musk's influence in the White

House grows.

And the Trump administration guts key research efforts within the Education Department, an agency the president has pledged to eliminate altogether.

Welcome to the News Hour.

In a major shift of U.S. foreign policy, President Trump announced today that he and Russian

President Vladimir Putin have agreed to immediately start talks to end the war in Ukraine.

The president also said he believed the two leaders would meet soon.

Earlier in the day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined further policy changes,

saying Keeves should not expect to recapture all territory occupied by Russia

and that its bid for NATO membership is unrealistic at this time.

Nick Schifrin begins our coverage.

At the headquarters of what U.S. officials consider the world's most important alliance,

today Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth put the alliance on notice.

We're also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities

prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused

on the security of Europe. For decades, the U.S. has deployed tens of thousands of troops to Europe

to help guarantee decades-old U.S. policy that Europe be integrated, free, and secure.

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