Trump due in China for high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping | First Thing

Good morning.

Donald Trump is due to get successful Beijing connected Wednesday evening, nan first sojourn to China by a US president since he was past location astir a decade ago, arsenic he seeks to mend powerfulness and prestige weakened by nan warfare successful Iran.

But nan Middle East conflict he started – and seems incapable to decorativeness – will formed a agelong protector complete 2 days of talks, amid fears he whitethorn beryllium tempted to weaken US support for Taiwan, nan self-governing populist claimed by China, successful return for Xi’s help.

White House officials said Trump would recreation pinch a delegation of much than a twelve US business leaders, including Elon Musk of Tesla and Tim Cook of Apple, successful a motion that some governments still activity economical practice contempt strategical rivalry.

• What is nan authorities of US-China relations? The 2 countries stay locked successful a fragile tariff truce, reached past autumn aft tensions threatened to erupt into a full-scale waste and acquisition war. Trump has agelong complained astir China’s waste and acquisition surplus pinch nan US, while Beijing has opposed American export controls and sanctions.

• What is nan latest pinch nan US-Iran ceasefire? The warfare has entered its 3rd month, pinch Tehran tightening its grip complete nan strait of Hormuz and Washington struggling to move a vulnerable ceasefire into a lasting settlement. Behind nan scenes, US officials person spent weeks urging China to put unit connected Iran to reopen nan strait and judge US position for peace.

Kash Patel denies excessive drinking allegations arsenic ‘total farce’ successful fiery Senate hearing

Kash Patel testifies during a Senate proceeding successful Washington DC connected 12 May. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The FBI director, Kash Patel, denied nether oath caller allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences connected nan job, dismissing them arsenic “baseless” during a fiery legislature hearing.

Democrats challenged him complete nan “extremely alarming” allegations successful nan Atlantic past month, which they based on would magnitude to a “gross dereliction” of duty. The FBI head has sued nan magazine and nan newsman of nan article, Sarah Fitzpatrick, for defamation.

• What did nan Atlantic allege? It reported that Patel’s intoxicant depletion had go “a recurring root of interest crossed nan government” which made him a “national-security vulnerability”, citing interviews pinch much than 2 twelve group including existent and erstwhile FBI officials. Patel denies each nan allegations, calling them “outrageous” and “malicious”.

Nebraska Democratic Senate superior victor says she will driblet retired to support independent successful wide election

Democrat Cindy Burbank and nan independent campaigner successful Nebraska, Dan Osborn. Photograph: Cindy Burbank run and Getty Images

Cindy Burbank, a Democratic challenger who said she intends to driblet retired of November’s title for nan Senate successful Nebraska to clear nan measurement for an independent candidate, has won nan state’s Democratic primary.

Burbank ran against William Forbes, who Democrats contend is simply a Republican works successful nan race, pinch nan intent to driblet retired if she won. Forbes, a pastor who has voted for Trump and opposed entree to abortion, is registered arsenic a Democrat.

• What is going on? While nan authorities Democratic statement endorsed Burbank for nan primary, it has backed Dan Osborn, an independent, for nan wide election. He is seen arsenic nan champion dream to hit nan Republican legislator Pete Ricketts successful November.

In different news …

A firefighter tries to put retired a blaze aft an aerial onslaught successful Dnipro. Photograph: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/AFP/Getty Images

• Russian forces launched attacks successful Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region connected Tuesday, sidesplitting astatine slightest six people, location officials said, aft nan expiry of a three-day ceasefire connected Monday.

• The caput of nan World Health Organization has told countries to hole for more hantavirus cases, aft nan outbreak onboard nan MV Hondius cruise vessel and considering nan virus’s “long incubation period” of six to 8 weeks.

• The UK premier minister, Keir Starmer, withstood calls to resign connected Tuesday. Starmer’s position has been successful peril aft a group of damning section predetermination results for his Labour statement past week led to aggregate ministers resigning.

• More than 110 Nobel laureates person called for nan contiguous and unconditional merchandise of Narges Mohammadi, nan imprisoned Iranian quality authorities activistic and Nobel bid prize laureate, aft she was transferred to hospital.

Stat of nan day: US ostentation jumped to 3.8% successful April amid warfare pinch Iran

The ostentation fig is nan highest since 2023. Photograph: Richard Levine/Alamy

US ostentation jumped to 3.8% successful April, according to nan information from nan Bureau of Labor Statistics, arsenic nan warfare successful nan Middle East continued to thrust power prices and mundane costs for Americans. The ostentation fig is nan highest since 2023. The Bureau’s power scale accrued 17.9% for nan 12 months ending April.

Wellness Wednesday: My twelvemonth trying San Francisco’s astir experimental slump treatments

‘In nan epicenter of Silicon Valley’s high-octane, experimental culture, I wasn’t unsocial successful my quest to get well.’ Illustration: Rita Liu/The Guardian

“The Bay Area successful nan mid-2010s was a petri crockery for nan wellness industry,” writes nan writer Carly Schwartz, from ketamine to transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy to fecal analysis. Schwartz wanted a solution for her intelligence wellness struggles. “I forged up successful earnest, sampling each avant garde intelligence wellness curen connected nan table,” she writes.

Don’t miss this: The 100 champion novels of each time. How galore person you read?

Spoiler alert: apical spot goes to George Eliot’s Middlemarch. Illustration: Lisa Sheehan/The Guardian

This week nan Guardian is publishing a countdown of nan top novels ever published successful English, arsenic voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. Spoiler alert: apical spot goes to George Eliot’s Middlemarch. “Anyone who sounds this caller cannot travel retired of it unchanged,” 1 of nan panellists said. Disagree pinch nan list? Tell america your favorites.

Climate check: Trump’s rollback of toxic state rules limits EPA’s authority to protect nationalist health, study says

Recent investigation has recovered EtO is astir 60 times much carcinogenic than thought erstwhile nan past regulations were developed successful 2006. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s proposals for rescinding 2024 regulations for toxic ethylene oxide (EtO) contamination – portion of a broader purpose to limit nan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authority complete hazardous emissions – could consequence successful an summation of 7.8 tons of nan carcinogenic gas released per year, according to a Harvard analysis.

Last Thing: Truck gets stuck successful spread it was sent to fix

Workers from Stabilised Pavements recovered their conveyance stuck. Photograph: Jason Bryant/JasonBryant/BNPS

On a agrarian roadworthy successful Somerset, England, a motortruck found itself stuck successful nan sinkhole it had been sent to fix. Workers were forced to wantonness nan conveyance aft it became trapped astatine a adjacent 45-degree angle. The sanction of nan company? Stabilised Pavements.

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