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China may be warming to the possibility of holding talks with the U.S. on tariffs, following a statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry on Friday.“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the ministry statement translated by Reuters said, adding that Beijing was “evaluating this.”What observers are calling a “shift in tone” may present an off ramp for the world’s two largest economies to avoid an ongoing trade war that has impacted markets worldwide.However, the ministry also warned that “attempting to use talks...

Chinese officials have long used their willingness to cooperate to stem the flow of fentanyl to the United States as leverage in talks over broader disputes.When Donald J. Trump was first in the White House trying to strike a trade deal with China, Beijing tried to curry favor with the American president by banning all variants of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. Now, as China and the United States are deadlocked in a bitter trade war that has roiled the world, offering to do more to further stem the flow of fentanyl and the chemicals used to make it could...

This week, President Donald J. Trump celebrated his 100th day in office — and set the course for the next 100 days of growth, prosperity, and success for the American people.Here is a non-comprehensive list of wins in week 15:The economy added 177,000 new jobs in April, according to the latest jobs report — smashing expectations for another month as the workforce grows and businesses onshore jobs.President Donald J. Trump’s relentless pursuit of manufacturing dominance spurred onshoring and additional U.S. investment. Mercedes-Benz announced it will move production of another vehicle to its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, manufacturing facility.AstraZeneca announced it will shift...

Today, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced the second installment of critical mineral production projects to be featured as FAST-41 transparency projects. This second batch of projects is part of an ongoing series of critical projects receiving the transparency of the Federal Permitting Dashboard in response to President Trump’s Executive Order, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.“The Permitting Council is excited to grow our portfolio of critical mineral production projects with this latest tranche,” says Manisha Patel, Permitting Council Acting Executive Director. “The transparency that these projects will receive as a result of being featured on...

Today, Mercedes-Benz announced it will move production of another vehicle to the U.S. — the latest result of President Donald J. Trump’s relentless pursuit of American manufacturing dominance.The automaker will produce the vehicle at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant following signals earlier this year that the company will make additional investment in its U.S.-based operations.Mercedes isn’t the only automaker onshoring production as President Trump incentivizes making things in America again:BMW is considering adding shifts to boost production at its South Carolina plant.Honda plans to shift production of the Civic from Japan to the U.S.Hyundai announced a $20 billion investment — including...

President Donald Trump told NewsNation on Wednesday that historically Black colleges and universities should not be concerned about federal funding cuts to their budgets. In 2019, during his first term in office, President Trump signed a bipartisan bill that permanently provides more than $250 million a year to the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. “I took care of the Black colleges and HBCUs,” Trump said. “You know that better than anybody.” Last week, Trump signed an order establishing a White House Initiative on HBCUs to enhance capacity and “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students,” according to...

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope as the mourning of Pope Francis continues and just days before the conclave to elect his successor is set to begin. Trump’s action drew rebukes from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and among Italians.The image, shared Friday night on Trump’s Truth Social site and later reposted by the White House on its official X account, raised eyebrows on social media and at the Vatican, which is still in the period of nine days of official mourning following Francis’ death on...

Then they had the nerve to tell Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who criticized them, that they were just banning Nazis. What kind of a government tries to shut down its political opponents? A night-haunted dictatorship, which is what Germany is descending into, the outcome of its COVID lockdowns, its migrant surge, its self-induced energy dependence, its enfeebled green economy, and its social wokery. According to a German expat paper, the Munich Eye: The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the entire Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as confirmed right-wing extremist. This decision has prompted reactions...

For years, President Donald Trump blamed “communists” for his legal and political troubles. Now, the second Trump administration is deploying that same historically loaded label to cast his opponents — from judges to educators — as threats to American identity, culture and values.Why? Trump himself explained the strategy last year when he described how he planned to defeat his Democratic opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in the White House election.“All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody who is going to destroy our country,” he told reporters at his New...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett shocked an arena full of his shareholders Saturday by announcing that he wants to retire at the end of the year. Buffett said he will recommend to Berkshire Hathaway’s board that Greg Abel should become CEO at the end of the year. “I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said. Abel has been Buffett’s designated successor for years, and he already manages all of Berkshire’s noninsurance businesses. But it was always assumed he wouldn’t take over until after Buffett’s death....

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation to determine if toothpaste that contains fluoride is being illegally marketed to kids. While the recommended dosage of toothpaste says no more than a pea-sized smear or a drop the size of a kernel of rice should be used, Paxton says toothpaste manufacturers continue to flavor their products and deceptively market them in ways that encourage kids to ingest more than the safe and recommended amount of fluoride toothpaste. Now the attorney general wants to know if kids are ingesting too much fluoride based on how toothpaste is advertised to children. Toothpaste...

Buffett had largely avoided commenting on politics during the afternoon part of the annual meetings Q&A and seemed reluctant to directly address a question on what he thought about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. What Buffett did say was Congress isn’t doing its job to reduce the fiscal deficit. “We are doing something that is unsustainable,” he said. Buffett said the gap between revenue and spending was about twice as large as what can be maintained and that the more the gap widens, the more risk of it...

DOGE has referred 57 cases of potential voter fraud to the U.S. Justice Department ... Antonio Gracias noted that the individuals were "resident aliens who were registered to vote ... Musk, the hard-charging business tycoon who has been spearheading the DOGE initiative, has indicated that he plans to spend less time on the effort going forward. "Not stepping down, just reducing time allocation now that @DOGE is established ... "The federal government is a gigantic beast — very complicated — and so if you’re trying to figure out how to stop waste and fraud, you’ve got to map the territory,"...

The Chicago-born songbird’s years of paying dues were rewarded with a hit single that traveled far and wide.The tragedy of Minnie Riperton’s death from cancer at the age of just 31 in 1979 is a story for another day. For now, we’re celebrating the pinnacle of her chart career four years earlier. After topping the Billboard Hot 100, her signature hit “Lovin’ You” came close to repeating that success in the UK. After years of paying dues, as a solo artist and with the group Rotary Connection, the Chicago-born songbird had failed to make the impression she was hoping...

The frontman of the influential, avant-garde rock band was heralded for his untamable voice and spiritDavid Thomas, the founder and frontman of the influential, avant-garde rock band Pere Ubu, died yesterday (April 24) at his home in Brighton, England, the band wrote on Facebook. The statement attributed his death to a long illness, adding, “MC5 were playing on the radio. He will ultimately be returned to his home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be ‘thrown in the barn.’” Thomas was 71 years old. During their initial run from 1975 to 1982, Pere Ubu were an...

For as long as there has been war, there has been a need to reveal what the enemy is planning. This was no less true in ancient Greece where generals and statesmen relied on espionage to reveal the intentions and capabilities of their adversaries. The philosopher Plato believed that the ancient Greek states were in a constant state of war, whether declared or undeclared. It was within this grey zone that the subtleties of espionage took place, a dimension of foreign affairs that remains true to this day. Like the practice of spying itself, the sources regarding espionage in ancient...

When Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021, it allocated $350 billion in assistance to state and local governments – providing the largest infusion of cash to local governments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For New Orleans, that money represented a desperately needed lifeline. The city had been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. It was an early hotspot for the virus. And Black residents, who comprise about 60% of the city’s population, were disproportionately impacted, accounting for more than 75% of COVID deaths in the first few months of the pandemic. As...

Moniece Slaughter has gone on a serious rant online after her car was reportedly broken into. But it’s not just about the robbery; her comments about Black people have sparked major controversy and have a lot of people talking. After falling victim to a car break-in, she went on a scorched-earth rant that had social media gasping, critics furious, and Black Twitter calling for accountability. According to reports, Moniece took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday (April 30th) to vent about the people who broke into her truck and stole her belongings, including production equipment, a full talent wardrobe, props,...

Kilmar Abrego Garcia will return to the national spotlight when the Senate votes on a resolution calling for a report on his detention in El Salvador. In the coming weeks, the Senate will take up a Democratic resolution that would require the Trump administration to detail the human rights record of El Salvador, including its treatment of inmates in the megaprison where Abrego Garcia, a mistakenly deported illegal immigrant, was briefly detained.

With the new mineral rights deal between Washington, D.C., and Kyiv, President Donald Trump fulfilled his pledge to hold Ukraine financially accountable for the billions of dollars that has already been provided in military assistance. This now opens a new avenue for the U.S. to provide weaponry to the country without using any taxpayer funds. Following months of discussions, the deal was signed on Wednesday. It established a common investment fund to which both countries will contribute, including through the sale of mineral rights, oil, and gas licenses in Ukraine — with a 50/50 profit split. The agreement states that...