Premiers at the White House, Russia and the U.S. talk Ukraine, auto theft down, and more

The premiers visited the White House as part of their push to defend Canada’s interests in Washington. Until this afternoon, their audience has mostly been made up of Canadians. But they got a chance to bring their message directly to the president’s senior advisors. It’s still not clear they’re getting any traction.

And: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Brussels, talking to European leaders about the challenge of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. They are all trying to find ways to cooperate more closely, and potentially deepen trade relationships. Defense Minister Bill Blair was there too, and said Trump’s demand that NATO countries spend 5% of GDP on defense isn’t realistic; he says even the U.S. doesn’t do that.

At that same NATO meeting, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says Ukraine can’t expect a return to its pre-2014 borders, or NATO membership any time soon. In Washington, Trump said he spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin today and then Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy about negotiations to end the war.

Also: A new report suggests auto theft is down across the country. The report says a lot of the decline is because of enhanced law enforcement strategies that are part of a federal action plan.

Plus: Aluminum tariffs could hit micro breweries hard, flag sales are on the rise, and more.