Sep 25, 2026
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan on Thursday toured one of the largest Asian art museums in the United States, celebrating cultural ties between the U.S. and China during a high-profile diplomatic visit to Washington. Leaving their husbands behind at the White House, the first ladies visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in a display of soft power that united two figures known for fusing style and diplomacy. It was the first public meeting in nearly a decade between the spouses, one a former fashion model and the other a famed soprano. Crowds had gathered on the sidewalk across from the museum, many waving Chinese and American flags. The groups also held long banners with Chinese text. Inside the museum, the first ladies visited the Peacock Room, a gilded green, blue and gold dining room that was once housed in a London mansion before opening to the public in Washington in 1923. The room was created by American artist James McNeill Whistler. They also saw the “Princess from the Land of Porcelain,” an oil painting by Whistler hanging in the room and featur
NEW YORK — Reporters from three news outlets banned from White House by President Donald Trump were back on the grounds Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access. CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists were allowed back in the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. It comes during a heavy news cycle with Chinese leader Xi Jinping visiting with Trump and world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly. Also Thursday, the news outlets had asked in a court filing for an immediate hearing to address their inability to access the White House grounds earlier in the day. The filing said a Secret Service agent had confiscated the journalists' credentials. Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news,” and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security. The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out fo
WASHINGTON — U.S. mortgage rates have exceeded 7.0 percent, data showed Thursday, reaching their highest level since Donald Trump returned to the presidency as voters grapple with high costs of living ahead of midterm elections. The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.03 percent as of Thursday, a stark uptick from 6.30 percent the same period a year ago. This is the highest average level since January 16 last year, just days before Trump returned to the White House, according to data from mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac. Affordability is a major concern for U.S. voters just weeks before key midterm elections in November. War in the Middle East, which unfolded after U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran in late February, has caused fuel prices to surge as Tehran retaliated by blocking a vital waterway for energy transit. The cost of regular gasoline, which U.S. households rely on, and diesel needed by farmers and truckers have both rocketed — putting pressure on consumers and businesses alike. Higher diesel costs in turn threaten to filter through the world's biggest economy more br
U.S. and Iran discuss phased deal to reopen Hormuz and end U.S. blockade, U.S. and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said. The strait has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the nearly seven-month U.S.-Iran conflict, with Iran seeking relief from the U.S. blockade that is choking its economy and Washington seeking free passage for ships on the global oil supply route now blocked by Tehran. The talks face a big obstacle as neither side wants to be the first to surrender its leverage, according to comments to Reuters by two Iranian sources, two regional officials and two Western diplomatic sources, but behind Iran's stance is a recognition of the economic cost of prolonged confrontation. A senior Iranian official said the most plausible way to end the impasse would be a phased arrangement, with Iran allowing navigation through Hormuz in return for the U.S. lifting its economic blockade and Tehran pot
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused President Donald Trump Thursday of being in thrall to authoritarian leaders — pointing to his red-carpet welcome for China's Xi Jinping. "If you're a foreign authoritarian, Trump won't just invite you to visit America, he'll greet you plane-side," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "That's what Trump did, sort of as a supplicant, for Xi yesterday. That's what Trump did for Putin in Alaska last year. This man has an atavistic attraction to dictators, to bad people."
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish state summit expected to be heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with both leaders keen to showcase stable ties despite a host of thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran. The subject of Taiwan, perhaps the most difficult, came up during a bilateral meeting in which Xi urged the U.S. to oppose "Taiwan independence," according to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua shortly after it concluded. The White House did not immediately provide its own readout of the discussion. Xi had been expected to press Trump this week to halt arms sales to Taiwan. Following his visit to China in May, Trump said he was holding in abeyance an arms package to Taiwan worth some $14 billion and called it a "very good negotiating chip." The move left some U.S. allies in Asia and even some of Trump's fellow Republicans concerned that he may be tempted to soften Washington's support for Taipei in exchange for economic wins with China. China has lo
Computer science student Jack Zemke was getting nowhere despite sending out hundreds of job applications that mostly disappeared into the void — ignored. With his graduation from Tulane University just days away, he was considering moving back in with his parents when he got a break thanks to a group project he had worked on involving an AI-powered search tool. As he touted it at an engineering conference, an employee at a civil engineering firm approached. "We’re not like the most on top of trends, but we know that AI is becoming a big thing," he recalled the man saying. "We need somebody to be essentially an evangelist.” Zemke responded: “I’m your man.” It has been a difficult job market for new graduates, especially in fields like software development where artificial intelligence is shouldering more of the work. While college students majoring in computer science during the recent coding boom were getting job offers without even applying, graduates today in philosophy, art history and ethnic studies majors all have higher employment rates. But as the job market evolves wit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed the “truly great friendship” he has forged with Xi Jinping as the Chinese leader began his highly anticipated state visit. While Trump has many thorny issues to discuss with the president of America’s biggest economic rival, he focused on his long relationship with Xi as the two gathered with aides for opening remarks before formal talks. “From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said. Trump and Xi have no shortage of difficult issues to cover when they sit down for the private discussions. Xi speaks of a ‘healthy’ competition and says Chinese pandas are coming to Atlanta China has resisted the Trump administration's urgings — and economic threats — to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the nearly seven-month war. Xi wants to see Trump permanently halt arms sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on cutting-edge advance
Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week. It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol , who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe. In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren't delivering acceptable financial results or can't provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees. The company didn't say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many are located in the U.S. Starbucks Workers United, which represents workers at the 700 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores that have voted to unionize , said 20 unionized stores are among the 250 that are closing, or 8% of the total. Starbucks stores have been voting to unionize since late 2021, but the union and the company have yet to reach a labor agreement. Grams said Starbucks is continuing to retrofit its North American coffeehouses to make them cozier and more inviting. The company expects 1,500 stores will be
WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday the United States and China reached a new trade arrangement, according to a report, as he and U.S. President Donald Trump held a summit in Washington to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), trade, security and other key issues. Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi made the remarks during the White House summit, calling the arrangement "good news for industries and people of both countries, as well as the global economy," while noting that a stable economic relationship requires "expanding the list of cooperation and shortening the list of problems." It did not elaborate on the arrangement, but U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told Fox News that Washington and Beijing agreed to extend their trade truce by two months until Jan. 10. During the summit, Trump and Xi also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula, the situation in the Middle East, and the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the news outlet. Ahead of the summit, Trump and Xi were expected to touch on North Korea-related issues, as Trump hopes to have a me
RIYADH/CAIRO — Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, while Tehran sought to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies. The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world's largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters. Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port. Saudi Arabia's top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, a statement posted on the Saud
UNITED NATIONS — The catastrophic Nepal flooding last month was "not just a local tragedy, it was a warning to the world," the country's Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations on Thursday. Shah said a warming climate was "destabilizing the fragile Himalayan ecology," melting permafrost and glaciers and accelerating hazards. He urged the international community to help bear the cost of adapting to climate change, because "Nepal cannot build resilience alone against a crisis made worse by the failure of global governance."
