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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S.-CHINA SUMMIT
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have concluded the first round of talks of their two-day summit in Beijing today. In the meeting, Xi told Trump that Taiwan is the most important issue between Beijing and Washington, warning him that “if handled poorly, the two countries will come into confrontation or even conflict, pushing the overall China-U.S. relationship into a very dangerous situation,” according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. Aside from Taiwan, Xi and Trump discussed trade, the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula, Xinhua reported. The White House said Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open to support the free flow of energy, with both leaders agreeing that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Taiwan was not mentioned in the White House readout. Michael Birnbaum, Isaac Arnsdorft, and Rebbeca Tan report for the Washington Post; Lily Kuo and David E. Sanger report for the New York Times; Trevor Hunnicutt reports for Reuters.
Beijing today granted permission for hundreds of U.S. slaughterhouses to resume beef shipments to China. The approval came before the start of Trump’s talks with Xi. Keith Bradsher reports for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS
Israeli airstrikes yesterday struck seven vehicles in Lebanon, killing 12 people, the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon, hours after telling residents of six southern villages to evacuate. UNIFIL said that a presumed Hezbollah drone detonated inside its headquarters in the coastal town of Naqoura on Tuesday, following earlier presumed Hezbollah drone detonations on Monday and Tuesday. Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of direct talks in Washington today. Bassem Mroue reports for AP News.
IRAN WAR – U.S. DEVELOPMENTS
The Senate yesterday voted 50-49 not to advance the latest Democratic-led effort to end the war in Iran until it is authorized by Congress, but the measure edged closer to passage as three Republicans, Rand Paul (KY), Susan Collins (ME), and Lisa Murkowski (AK), voted to advance the bill. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democrat to vote against advancing the measure. Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill.
A confidential U.S. intelligence analysis details how China is exploiting the war in Iran to maximize its advantage over the United States across military, economic, diplomatic, and other fields, two U.S. officials said. When asked about the report, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said, “Assertions claiming the global balance of power have shifted towards any nation other than the United States of America are fundamentally false.” John Hudson reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. intelligence has also found that Chinese companies and Iranian officials have discussed arms transfers, plotting to send the weapons through other countries to mask the origins of the military aid, U.S. officials said. It is not clear how many, if any, arms have been shipped or to what degree Chinese officials have approved the sales. Julian E. Barnes, Mark Mazzetti, and Dustin Holz report for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “paid a secret visit” to the United Arab Emirates this spring to meet its leader, according to a statement released yesterday by Netanyahu’s office. The statement said the visit “brought a historic breakthrough in relations” between the U.A.E. and Israel. Hours later, the UAE denied that the visit had taken place, adding that the UAE conducts its relations with Israel publicly. Pranav Baskar and Johnatan Reiss report for the New York Times.
Saudi fighter jets bombed targets linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq, while retaliatory strikes were also launched from Kuwait into Iraq, multiple sources said. A Western official said some strikes took place around the time of the April 7 U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Reuters could not determine whether the rockets from Kuwait were fired by the Kuwaiti armed forces or the U.S. military. Timour Azhari, Ahmed Rasheed, and Humeyra Pamuk report.
At a two-day BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting that began today in Delhi, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged member nations to condemn the United States and Israel over what he called their “unlawful aggression” against Tehran. He called on the BRICS members and other countries to “take practical steps to stop warmongering” and end what he described as impunity for violations of the U.N. Charter. Sheikh Saaliq reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, were killed in Gaza since the Iran war was paused on April 8 – 20% more than in the five weeks prior, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Conflict monitor ACLED, which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said in a monthly report for April that Israel had carried out 35% more attacks last month than in March. Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Maayan Lubell, and Dawoud Abu Alkas report for Reuters.
The High Representative for Gaza on Trump’s “Board of Peace,” Nickolay Mladenov, yesterday urged Hamas to focus less on consolidating its grip on Gaza, and more on embracing the international plan to rebuild it. Though he offered a harsh critique of Hamas, Mladenov imposed no deadline to embrace the Board of Peace’s plan for Gaza and made no threat of consequence if Hamas failed to do so. On Israel, Mladenov acknowledged that its ongoing deadly airstrikes in Gaza are violations of the ceasefire. David M. Halbfinger, Adam Rasgon, and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times.
The Board of Peace wants to start implementing its governance and reconstruction plan in the parts of Gaza that are not under Hamas control, according to a Board of Peace official and two other sources. The decision to move to “plan B” in Gaza took place after efforts to convince Hamas to give up its weapons reached a deadlock. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that Russia had launched more than 1,560 drones since the start of Wednesday, the largest aerial attack since the war began. “These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end,” Zelenskyy said. Olena Harmash and Yurii Kovalenko report for Reuters.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption court today ordered the arrest of Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff. Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk report for Reuters.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
Two weeks of fighting in South Kordofan, Sudan, between forces linked to the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North and the Otoro tribe killed at least 61 people, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. Rebel leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, who commands the SPLM-N, has aligned his fighters with the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary. Fatma Khaled reports for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Philippine Senate was locked down yesterday after military personnel were seen entering the building and gunshots were fired while Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, sought refuge inside the building. The Philippine government has denied trying to arrest Dela Rosa, and says it is still investigating who opened fire. Joel Guinto, Virma Simonette Rivera, and Jonathan Head report for BBC News.
M23 rebels and the Rwandan army carried out killings, rapes, and abductions during a months-long occupation of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 2025 and early 2026, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Reuters reports.
French authorities are investigating whether an Israeli-linked firm called BlackCore orchestrated a disinformation campaign targeting candidates from the hard-left party in France during municipal elections earlier this spring, using fake websites, social media accounts, and misleading ads, three sources told Reuters. Gabriel Stargardter and Raphael Satter report.
The World Food Programme said yesterday that it has halved emergency food assistance in Syria due to funding shortages. Reuters reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Department of Homeland Security and Canada plan to test autonomous drones and ground vehicles along the US-Canada border later this year, focusing on using commercial 5G networks to stream surveillance and “battlefield intelligence” data during simulated national emergency scenarios. Wired reports.
The Pentagon yesterday canceled the deployment of an armored brigade, consisting of more than 4,000 troops, to Poland, according to a Defense Department official. The official added that the decision was relayed during a meeting between U.S. European Command and the staff of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. Patricia Kime reports for the Army Times; Michael R. Gordon and Lara Seligman report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
U.S. military and intelligence agencies have increased surveillance flights around and near Cuba in recent weeks, several U.S. officials said. Two officials said the reconnaissance flights are part of what is expected to be a larger overall military buildup in the Caribbean in the coming weeks. Frances Robles, Eric Schmitt, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Trump administration had likely violated the law by deporting a Colombian woman to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April despite the DRC’s refusal to take her because it could not provide adequate medical care. The judge ordered the administration to return the woman. Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Times.
A POLITICO analysis found that judges have ruled against the Trump administration’s aggressive ICE detention policies in roughly 90% of more than 11,000 cases since last July, often concluding that detainees were denied due process or unlawfully detained without bond hearings. The administration has lost nearly 10,400 of the cases that have been decided, and prevailed in about 1,200. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A man accused of running a secret Chinese spy outpost from New York City was convicted yesterday of acting as an illegal foreign agent. Lu Jianwang, 64, was also convicted of obstructing justice by deleting text messages that U.S. prosecutors said included orders from Beijing to silence, harass, and intimidate pro-democracy dissidents. Michael R. Sisak reports for POLITICO.
The FBI tried to interview Milwaukee County Elections Director Michelle Hawley by visiting her home, according to the county clerk’s office. “It is unfortunate that the FBI chose to visit [her] private residence,” County Clerk George Christenson said yesterday. “No dedicated public servant should be subjected to that type of intrusion.” Shaquille Brewster and Kyla Guilfoil report for NBC News.
The Senate yesterday confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve by a 54-45 vote. Victoria Guida reports for POLITICO.
A bipartisan group of 32 lawmakers yesterday wrote to National Cyber Security Director Sean Cairncross, urging immediate action on AI-driven cybersecurity risks. The lawmakers warned that advanced models like Anthropic’s Mythos can uncover thousands of serious software vulnerabilities faster than governments and companies can patch them. The lawmakers called for expanded defensive access to frontier AI cyber tools. Ashley Gold reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California for failing to combat fraud, Vice President JD Vance said yesterday. Robert King reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s sanctions against U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese. “Albanese has done nothing more than speak!” the judge wrote. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
The Justice Department yesterday filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia Bar over its effort to discipline Trump administration lawyers. The lawsuit defends Jeffrey Clark, a government lawyer in the first Trump administration who sought to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, and Ed Martin, a current senior Justice Department official. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the D.C. Bar of acting as a “blatantly partisan arm of leftist causes.” Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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