Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States and China have agreed to lower tariffs on goods traded between the two countries for 90 days while negotiations on a long-term deal continue, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced today. According to Chinese and U.S. officials, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would be reduced from 145% to 30% and Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods would be reduced from 125% to 10%. The move follows two rounds of U.S.-China talks over the weekend. Lily Kuo reports for the Washington Post.
Global markets have welcomed the announcement of the temporary lowering of U.S. and Chinese tariffs, with Asia-Pacific markets rallying and U.S. stock futures jumping early today. Yun Li and Fred Imbert report for CNBC.
The Trump administration plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation from the Qatari royal family, with a view of upgrading the plane to serve as Air Force One and donating it to President Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, U.S. officials say. In a social media post, Trump suggested that Democrats are “losers” for questioning the ethics of the move, which would amount to one of the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S. government. Qatar yesterday said that the “possible transfer” of the plane “remains under review,” and no final decision has been made. Jonathan Karl and Katherine Faulders report for ABC News; Gregory Svirnovskiy, Dasha Burns, and Nahal Toosi report for POLITICO.
Iran and the United States have agreed to further negotiations following the latest round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran described as “difficult but useful.” A Trump administration official described the talks as “encouraging.” No date has yet been agreed for the next round, Iran’s foreign ministry said. Leila Gharagozlou, Rosa Rahimi, and Betsy Klein report for CNN.
The Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are “not genuine” from the U.S. side and were likely designed as a “trap to draw the situation towards tension,” an Iranian official has told CNN before the conclusion of the latest round of talks. A U.S. official said that Trump is “completely sincere” in his desire to reach a deal. Frederik Pleitgen reports.
Trump administration officials are considering shifting responsibility for U.S. security interests in Greenland to the U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the United States’ homeland defense, sources say. Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand report for CNN.
INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICT
The truce between India and Pakistan appeared to be largely holding yesterday on the first full day of the ceasefire after some initial skirmishing. Trump announced that the two sides had agreed to a “full and immediate” U.S.-mediated ceasefire on Saturday, with both India and Pakistan claiming victory in the four-day conflict. Anupreeta Das, Salman Masood, and Hari Kumar report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
India’s strikes on Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants, including prominent leaders, the head of India’s military operations claimed yesterday. Munir Ahmed, Aijaz Hussain, and Sheikh Saaliq report for AP News.
The United States’ involvement in mediating an India-Pakistan ceasefire was motivated by evidence that the Pakistani and Indian Air Forces had begun to engage in serious dogfights and strikes a short distance from the headquarters of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees and protects the country’s nuclear arsenal, sources say. David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes, and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) today announced it would lay down its arms and disband, after waging a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state for four decades that claimed more than 40,000 lives. In its statement, the group echoed the sentiment expressed by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in February, stating that the “Kurdish issue” can now be “solved by democratic politics.” Erika Solomon and Ben Hubbard report for the New York Times.
In his first Sunday blessing, Pope Leo XIV yesterday called for “authentic, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine as well as a ceasefire, release of hostages, and provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza. He also “welcomed with satisfaction” the announcement of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Lauren Kent reports for CNN.
The International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has been accused of discouraging a woman from reporting his alleged sexual assault by telling her to “think about the Palestinian arrest warrants,” sources say. Israel is expected to try to overturn the arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by referring to allegations that Khan announced his intention to apply for the warrants three weeks after he heard of the allegations of “coerced sexual intercourse,” sources say. Peter Stubley and Gabrielle Weiniger report for the Times.
A suspected Rapid Support Forces paramilitary-controlled drone killed at least 20 inmates and injured 50 others in a strike on a prison in Sudan’s region of Kordofan on Saturday, the country’s information minister said. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
The Colombian government on Saturday announced it had granted asylum to Ricardo Martinelli, a former president of Panama who had been sheltering for more than a year in the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama City after a Panama court convicted him of money laundering in 2023. Martinelli describes the conviction as “politically motivated.” Mike Ives reports for the New York Times.
The massive May 2024 fire at a shopping centre in Warsaw was “the result of arson ordered by Russian [secret] services,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said yesterday, adding that “some of the perpetrators are already in custody.” Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said he will be “personally” waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday for direct talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. Western leaders involved in the “coalition of the willing” on Saturday urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and told Trump that Ukraine is ready to start direct talks with Moscow if a ceasefire is agreed. Putin rejected the ceasefire proposal, but said he is ready to begin direct talks. Trump then called on Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms for direct talks without a ceasefire, which Zelenskyy seemingly acceded to by stating he would meet Putin in Istanbul. Henri Astier reports for BBC News; James Marson and Jane Lytvynenko report for the Wall Street Journal; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Russia launched more than 100 drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks after Putin rejected the proposal of an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine’s air force said today. Illia Novikov reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Hamas yesterday said it would release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, believed to be the last living captive holding U.S. citizenship, in a move intended as a goodwill gesture ahead of Trump’s arrival in the Middle East. Hamas is also in direct talks with U.S. officials on a ceasefire and entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a senior Palestinian official said. Rushdi Abualouf and Hugo Bachega report for BBC News; Reuters reports.
The U.S.-Israeli plan to funnel humanitarian aid into parts of Gaza will initially only feed about 60% of the enclave’s population, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Friday. Huckabee also underlined the role of the United States in the plan, stating that the proposal is Trump’s “initiative.” Jeremy Diamond, Alex Marquardt, and Oren Liebermann report for CNN; Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.
Recent disagreements on Gaza and Iran strategies are straining the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu, according to U.S. and Middle Eastern officials, with Israel “worried” by the U.S. refusal to support military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and attempts to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran. Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube, Andrea Mitchell, and Dan De Luce report for NBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hospital patients in Gaza are surviving on a meal a day, with the poor nutrition and medicine shortages slowing down the recovery of those burned or injured in the strikes, according to Palestinian medics and the medical coordinator for Gaza and the occupied West Bank with Doctors Without Borders. Mohammed Jahjouh and Sam Mednick report for AP News; Mohammed Jahjouh reports for AP News.
Israeli strikes overnight into Saturday killed at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Wafaa Shurafa reports for AP News.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing on Friday after he tried to visit an immigration detention centre that federal authorities recently opened in his city. He has since been released from detention. Prior to the arrest, federal agents blocked Baraka and three Democratic members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr., and LaMonica McIver, from inspecting the facility. María Luisa Paúl, Anumita Kaur, and Brianna Tucker report for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration has moved dozens of detained Venezuelans to a detention centre in the Northern District of Texas, a court district where a judge last month refused to halt removals under the Alien Enemies Act, according to the Washington Post’s review of court records. Jeremy Roebuck and Marianne LeVine report.
Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk on Saturday arrived in her home state of Massachusetts after a judge ordered her immediate release from federal detention a day earlier. Öztürk said she will continue to pursue her case in court and continue her research work. Gloria Pazmino, Rebekah Riess, and Dalia Faheid report for CNN.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump plans to drop his nomination for Jonathan McKernan to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Treasury Department said on Friday. McKernan will serve as an Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance instead, the department added, with CFPB led by an interim director. Stacy Cowley reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration has fired Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, the office said in a statement yesterday. Perlmutter’s firing followed shortly after Trump fired Perlmutter’s supervisor and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first Black person to hold the post. Matt O’Brien reports for AP News.
Trump on Thursday fired Richard Trumka Jr., Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Mary Boyle, the three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the commissioners said in statements. Trumka said that he intends to challenge his termination in court and that he was not informed why he was fired. Shania Shelton and Michael Williams report for CNN.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday directed the U.S. military academies and other DOD academic institutions to end consideration of race, gender, and ethnicity in their admissions processes, and begin a purge of educational materials focused on those concepts, as well as evaluate students for acceptance based “exclusively on merit.” Andrew deGrandpre reports for the Washington Post.
Trump has sat for just 12 President’s Daily Brief presentations from intelligence officials since being sworn into office, a significant drop compared to his first term in office, according to POLITICO’s analysis of his public schedule. Amy MacKinnon reports.
Trump has been personally involved in discussions about potentially suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court, sources say. Trump’s aide Stephen Miller, on Friday, confirmed the administration is “actively looking at” suspending the procedure. Kaitlan Collins, Samantha Waldenberg, and Tierney Sneed report for CNN.
The Trump administration’s refusals to approve key funds are incapacitating the functioning of many agencies’ divisions, with the unofficial holds stalling government operations that remain technically intact, according to federal employees across eight agencies. Hannah Natanson and Maxine Joselow report for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The families of 18 Venezuelan nationals deported by the United States to a notorious Salvadoran prison filed a lawsuit before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Friday, accusing El Salvador of unlawfully keeping the men imprisoned. Emiliano Rodríguez Mega reports for the New York Times.
Mexico has sued Google over the company’s decision to label the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday. Mexico wants Google to abide by the U.S. government’s order, which Mexico argues only removed the U.S.-controlled maritime waters and not the whole Gulf, Scheinbaum said. She did not specify where the lawsuit had been filed. Emiliano Rodríguez Mega reports for the New York Times; Danai Nesta Kupemba reports for BBC News.
A federal judge on Friday issued an order temporarily restraining the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs of federal workers for at least two weeks in response to a lawsuit challenging Trump’s reductions in workforce executive order. Frances Vinall reports for the Washington Post.
A federal judge on Friday declined a request for an order that would temporarily restrain the CIA from dismissing Dr. Terry Adirim from her post as Director of the CIA’s Center for Global Health Services. Adirim had argued that her termination is a result of attacks by prominent pro-Trump activists online. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
A coalition of 15 states on Friday sued the Trump administration over its declaration of an “energy emergency.” The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s executive order instructs regulators to illegally bypass reviews of fossil fuel projects, arguing that there is no energy emergency. Karen Zraick reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
