U.S. President arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for his highly anticipated summit with Chinese leader at a restless moment for a world worried about war, trade and artificial intelligence.
The visit occurs , as has been weighed down by the U.S. and Israel鈥檚 war with Iran and rising inflation as a consequence of that conflict. The president is seeking a win by signing deals with China to buy more American food and aircraft, saying he鈥檒l be talking with Xi about trade 鈥渕ore than anything else.鈥�
Here’s the latest:
Vance says US has made headway in Iran talks
Vice President JD Vance says he thinks the U.S. is making progress in its talks with Iran over the war, but that it鈥檚 too soon to tell if it鈥檚 enough to ensure that Iran will never be able to have a nuclear weapon.
Vance was asked about the status of negotiations while taking reporters鈥� questions at a press conference Wednesday for his anti-fraud task force.
He said he spent 鈥渁 good amount of time鈥� on the phone with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on Wednesday morning, as well as 鈥渁 number of our friends in the Arab world.鈥�
鈥淚 think that we are making progress,鈥� Vance said. 鈥淭he fundamental question is, do we make enough progress that we satisfy the president鈥檚 red line?鈥�
Vance brushes off 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 2028 successor comments as president joking around
The vice president says it鈥檚 鈥渘atural鈥� for Trump to 鈥渏oke around with us a little bit鈥� over who should be his Republican successor in the 2028 election.
During a press conference for his anti-fraud task force on Wednesday, JD Vance was asked about 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 comments at a Monday night Rose Garden dinner where the president polled the crowd about his possible successor. Trump asked them whether Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio should be at the top of the GOP ticket.
The VP joked that it didn鈥檛 sound like Trump wanted 鈥渢o have a televised competition for who would succeed him as his apprentice,鈥� a nod to the president鈥檚 reality TV background.
He says Trump has long been fascinated by politics and it鈥檚 typical for him to 鈥減lay around with the idea.鈥�
Vance pushes back on question about 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 comment playing down economy as a factor in Iran negotiations
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at an event on healthcare fraud, the vice president was asked whether he agrees with 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 comments from a day earlier that said Americans鈥� financial situations are not a factor in negotiations with Iran.
鈥淲ell, I don鈥檛 think the president said that,鈥� Vance told a reporter who paraphrased 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 remark. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a misrepresentation of what the president said. But look, I agree with the president that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Trump commented on Tuesday as he departed the White House for a summit in Beijing. He said economic issues were not a factor in negotiations, 鈥渘ot even a little bit.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about Americans鈥� financial situation,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Senate confirms Trump pick Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve, following Powell
The Senate has confirmed as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The vote to confirm Warsh on Wednesday brings new leadership to the world鈥檚 most powerful central bank at a .
Warsh鈥檚 nomination faced uncertainty after Republican of North Carolina threatened to block it while the Justice Department investigated Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The was dropped in April, allowing the Warsh confirmation to move forward.
Warsh, 56, a former top Fed official, will become chair at an unusually difficult time for the independent agency. The Fed confronts stubborn inflation, deep divisions over interest rates and renewed scrutiny from Trump over its independence.
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Louisiana advances plan to eliminate majority-Black US House district after court ruling
Republican senators in Louisiana have advanced a plan to eliminate one of two majority-Black, Democratic-held congressional seats. The Senate committee vote early Wednesday follows a that struck down the state鈥檚 House map as an illegal racial gerrymander.
Committee members heard hours of testimony from Black residents and Democrats opposed to the move. Republicans chose not to target both Democratic seats.
The Supreme Court鈥檚 recent ruling weakening Voting Rights Act protections has prompted similar redistricting efforts in Southern states like and . Those efforts are part of a broader national redistricting battle that has involved about one-third of the states. A similar attempt fizzled Tuesday in the Senate.
Efforts to undo minority districts mark the latest phase in a 10-month national redistricting battle. It grew after Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to win more seats in the midterm elections.
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US and China seek to repair damage from tariff war that sent trade into a freefall
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 trade war with Beijing has sent U.S.-China trade into a freefall and forced companies on both sides of the Pacific to regroup. U.S. firms are looking for suppliers outside of China. And Chinese firms have pursued business in Europe and Southeast Asia.
The sparring goes beyond tariffs.
China has cut off purchases of U.S. soybeans and deprived U.S. manufacturers of crucial minerals and metals. The U.S. has blocked China from getting advanced computer chips.
The world鈥檚 two biggest economies have shown they can hurt each other. Now, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are trying to stabilize the relationship during their .
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Republican resistance to Iran war is growing
Senate Republicans succeeded again in blocking Democratic legislation that would halt war with Iran, but the number of GOP senators voting against the war grew.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the war for the first time since it began at the end of February. Two other Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, also voted against the war, as they had done previously.
The war powers legislation ultimately failed to advance 49-50, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to oppose it, yet the close tally reflected growing unease with 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 war.
Memphis residents claim harassment, arrest and abuse by Trump-ordered Memphis Safe Task Force
Four Memphis residents say they have been harassed, arrested and physically mistreated for engaging in First Amendment protected activities by observing and recording the actions of law enforcement in their city.
A lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Tennessee targets the . The task force comprises agents from 13 federal agencies that President Donald Trump ordered to the city to fight crime alongside Tennessee State Troopers and the .
The suit asks the court to declare retaliation against the plaintiffs for observing and recording law enforcement activity unconstitutional and prohibit agents from further retaliation.
Since late September, hundreds of law enforcement personnel tied to the task force have made traffic stops, served warrants and searched for fugitives in the majority Black city of about 610,000 people. The lawsuit says the task force has conducted over 120,000 traffic stops.
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Foreigners with World Cup tickets won鈥檛 have to pay bonds to enter US, Trump administration tells AP
The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries pay as much as $15,000 in bonds if they are confirmed World Cup ticket holders, the State Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The department for countries that it said had and other security issues as part of the administration鈥檚 broader crackdown on immigration.
The bond move is a rare easing of immigration requirements under the administration.
World Cup team players, coaches and some staff were already exempt from the bond requirement. But that didn鈥檛 apply to ordinary fans until Wednesday.
鈥淲e are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets鈥� and opted in to the that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said.
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A former private prison executive will become ICE鈥檚 acting leader
David Venturella will serve as the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Trump administration says, after the agency鈥檚 current leader steps down at the end of the month.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said late Tuesday that Venturella would succeed , who led the agency through much of the administration鈥檚 tumultuous crackdown on immigration. ICE did not immediately respond to an email seeking additional information Wednesday.
Venturella left the Geo Group in early 2023 and has been working at ICE leading the division that oversees detention contracts, members of Congress wrote in a public letter earlier this year.
At the Geo Group, Venturella served in a number of posts, including executive vice president overseeing corporate development, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It said he also has worked for federal contractors, including one that specializes in security clearances and background checks.
Geo has benefited from 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 mass deportation push, to open shuttered facilities.
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US House Speaker Mike Johnson says his prayers are with Trump on China visit
鈥淭he president has laid down a marker that was overdue and very important: The American people are not going to be taken advantage of any more by adversaries or allies,鈥� Johnson, a Republican, said at a news conference in Washington.
The House speaker said his prayers are with Trump that he has a 鈥済ood visit鈥� with Xi. He said he hoped 鈥渢hey come forward with some favorable policies, things that will help us out, and I believe he will.鈥�
House Democrats ask Trump to proceed with arms sales to Taiwan
Ranking members of four House committees urged President Trump in a letter Wednesday morning to proceed with the $14 billion arms sales to Taiwan and resist any effort by Beijing to 鈥渄ictate鈥� the U.S. policy toward the self-governed island.
The letter, signed by the top Democrats on House committees on foreign affairs, armed services, intelligence and the Chinese Communist Party, was released as Trump arrived in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Beijing strongly opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, which it sees as part of Chinese territory, while the U.S. is obliged by a domestic law to supply the island with sufficient hardware for self defense.
On Monday, Trump said he and Xi would discuss Taiwan in Beijing, raising worries that any slip by the U.S. president could undermine the U.S. commitment to the island.
Trump administration freezes new Medicare enrollments for hospice and home health agencies
The Trump administration said Wednesday it鈥檚 expanding its in federal health programs with a nationwide six-month freeze on any new Medicare enrollments by hospice and home health agencies.
The moratorium will temporarily stop all new providers in these categories from signing up for reimbursement from Medicare, the for older adults across the country, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a news release.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen systemic and deeply troubling fraud in the hospice and home health space, with bad actors exploiting some of our most vulnerable Medicare patients and stealing money from the American taxpayer,鈥� CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement. 鈥淭oday we鈥檙e shutting the door on fraud-preventing new bad actors from entering Medicare while we aggressively identify, investigate, and remove those already exploiting them.鈥�
The move is related to efforts by Vice President JD Vance鈥檚 , set up by Republican President Donald Trump to crack down on potential misuse of public funds.
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Residents in Beijing held up their phones to wait for 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 motorcade
As President 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 motorcade moved toward the Four Seasons Hotel, located near the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, residents held up their smartphones trying to capture his arrival. Security was heightened around the hotel.
On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, some users posted about his arrival. A video post by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showing Trump walking out of the plane had more than 66,600 likes and nearly 4,000 comments in less than two hours. Under the post, a comment that read 鈥淐hina and the U.S. join hands to advance together and create a bright future!鈥� drew more than 2,300 likes.
Wall Street is mixed following another discouraging inflation report and a recovery for tech stocks
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading, still near its set at the start of the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 235 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
Gains for tech stocks helped support the market, like Micron Technology鈥檚 4.3%. They had stumbled the day before after for stocks riding excitement around technology.
Nvidia, the chip company that became one of the first faces of the AI boom, rose 2.4% and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500. Its CEO, to join President Trump on his trip to China, where they could discuss allowing shipments of Nvidia AI chips to the world鈥檚 second-largest economy.
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Trump had personally invited Nvidia鈥檚 Huang on the China trip
A surprise appearance on the Anchorage tarmac as Air Force One refueled en route to Beijing was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who wasn鈥檛 initially included on the manifest of corporate executives accompanying Trump to China.
The president had realized through news reports that Huang, with whom he is close, wasn鈥檛 on the trip. So he personally called the CEO on Tuesday and invited him to join, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. The person was granted anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
鈥淐NBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World鈥檚 Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China,鈥� Trump said on social media as the presidential plane traveled from Anchorage to Beijing. 鈥淚n actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC鈥檚 reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!鈥�
鈥� Seung Min Kim
Trump is also expected to visit the Temple of Heaven on Thursday
That鈥檚 where Chinese emperors once prayed for bumper crops.
And Trump will take part in a formal banquet Thursday.
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 arrival is trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo
A video posted by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showing Trump stepping out of the plane and walking down the stairs had more than 18,000 likes in less than 30 minutes.
More than 1,300 comments were made in response to the post. Some welcomed Trump to China and others wrote: 鈥減eaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation.鈥�
The status of Taiwan will be a major topic
China is displeased with U.S. plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island the Chinese government claims as part of its own territory.
Trump told reporters Monday he鈥檇 be discussing with Xi an for Taiwan the U.S. administration authorized in December but hasn鈥檛 yet begun fulfilling. The arms package is the largest ever approved for Taiwan.
But the U.S. leader has , an approach that鈥檚 raising questions about whether Trump could be open to dialing back support for .
At the same time, Taiwan 鈥� as the world鈥檚 leading chipmaker 鈥� has become essential for the development of AI, with the U.S. importing more goods so far this year from Taiwan than China. Trump has sought to use Biden-era programs and his own deals to bring more chipmaking to America.
Trump pauses to take in the elaborate welcome scene in Beijing
Three hundred youngsters waved miniature American and Chinese flags in front of themselves and then over their head in unison.
鈥淲elcome, welcome! Warm welcome!鈥� the children chanted in Chinese.
Trump greeted dignitaries after deplaning, then stopped and grinned, taking in the scene.
He didn鈥檛 answer questions, instead climbing in a limo on the way to his hotel.
The president has nothing more on his public schedule until Thursday.
Following him off the plane were 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 son, Eric, and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, as well as assorted travelers, including SpaceX chief Elon Musk.
The Chinese offered Trump a pomp-filled welcome
A red carpet was rolled out for him after Air Force One landed.
The president was to be greeted by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng; Xie Feng, China鈥檚 ambassador to Washington; Ma Zhaoxu, executive vice minister of foreign affairs; as well as the U.S. envoy to Beijing, David Perdue, according to the White House.
The welcoming ceremony includes some 300 Chinese youths, a military honor guard and a military band.
The meat of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 summit in China won鈥檛 happen until Thursday
That鈥檚 when the leaders will hold bilateral talks and a formal banquet.
The Trump administration hopes to begin the process of establishing a Board of Trade with China to address differences between the countries. The board could help prevent ignited last year after 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 tariff hikes, an action China countered through its control of rare earth minerals. That led to a one-year truce last October.
Trump arrives in Beijing ahead of meetings with Xi
Trump has touched down in Beijing for his summit with Xi Jinping.
Trump has no public events beyond his arrival on Wednesday鈥檚 schedule, but is set to meet with Xi a series of times on Thursday and Friday.
U.S. and China have 鈥渃andid鈥� exchanges in South Korea鈥檚 trade talks, CCTV says
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent engaged in 鈥渃andid, in-depth and constructive鈥� exchanges on resolving economic and trade issues of mutual concern and further expanding practical cooperation, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday.
The officials led the trade talks between the world鈥檚 two biggest economies in South Korea, hours before 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 arrival in Beijing.
CCTV said they were guided by the important consensus reached by the heads of state of both countries, and upheld the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.
Nvidia CEO is late-announced addition to 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 trip
The White House said Huang鈥檚 schedule hadn鈥檛 permitted his coming, but then changed, clearing the way for him to make the trip.
The last-minute addition inspired online commentary and memes on the Chinese internet.
Those including on Xiaohongshu and Weibo, where people shared manipulated images of Huang clinging to Air Force One with his bare hands.
Musk, Cook and other prominent US executives invited to join Trump on trip to China
These prominent U.S. executives from Big Tech to agriculture have been invited to join Trump on his trip to China, according to a White House official:
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Soaring inflation and plummeting economy test Iran鈥檚 ability to withstand war and US blockade
Iran鈥檚 grip on the Strait of Hormuz is throttling and inflicting , but the struggles of the Islamic Republic鈥檚 own economy are testing its ability to withstand and .
Iranians have been hit by spiraling prices for food, medicine and other goods. At the same time, the country has seen mass job losses and business closures caused by and the government鈥檚 monthslong .
The economic cost of the 鈥渉as been very substantial and unprecedented for Iran,鈥� said Hadi Kahalzadeh, an Iranian economist and research fellow at Brandeis University.
But Iran has withstood and sanctions and its capacity to adapt has not been dismantled, Kahalzadeh said.
The International Monetary Fund has predicted the Iranian economy will shrink by about 6 percentage points in the next year.
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