News without an agenda. AP is a not-for-profit organization with no corporate parent, no shareholders and no government influence. Our mission is journalism, not profit margins. Your donation supports independent reporting that serves the public interest, not corporate shareholders. Donate today.

Why this matters:

• It underscored just how far apart the leaders remain on thorny issues including the war in Iran, trade disputes and Taiwan — and suggested that Trump’s three-day visit to China is likely to be longer on pageantry and symbolism than major bilateral breakthroughs.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Live updates: Xi and Trump’s closed-door meeting
  
  
• WATCH: Trump declines to say if he and Xi discussed Taiwan
  
  
• Jury convicts man accused of running secret Chinese spy outpost in New York City 

POLITICS

Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flips

Senate Republicans on Wednesday again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, but the number of GOP senators voting against the war grew. Read more.

Why this matters:

• 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 legislation ultimately failed to advance 49-50, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to oppose it. Yet the close tally reflected Republicans growing unease with Trump’s war, with high gas prices a concern as the November elections draw near.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Denise Powell wins Democratic primary in Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ 2nd District
   
• Louisiana advances plan for new US House districts as Georgia joins redistricting effort for 2028
  
  
• Lutnick backs away from his Epstein ‘blackmail’ claim in interview with House committee
  
  
• Former private prison executive David Venturella will become ICE’s acting leader
  
  
• Thomas Massie tests if voters can stay loyal to him and Trump at the same time
  
  
• Senate Republicans block Democrats’ effort to reverse several Trump-era CFPB changes
  
  
• Officials say $1.3 billion in Medicaid money to California will be deferred over suspicions of fraud
  
  
• Giuliani returns to his show after viral pneumonia hospitalization
  
  
• Memphis residents claim harassment, arrest and abuse by Trump-ordered Memphis Safe Task Force
  
  
• Who is incoming Fed chair Kevin Warsh?
   
• Trump and DeSantis sued over donation of Miami land for extravagant presidential library
  
  
• WATCH: Pop-up arcade game in DC mocks Trump administration’s handling of Iran war

WORLD NEWS

UAE denies Netanyahu secretly visited the country during the Iran war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quietly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran, his office said Wednesday. The UAE’s official WAM news agency later denied reports of Netanyahu’s visit. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Netanyahu’s office said he met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and that the visit “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations.” According to WAM, the country’s relations with Israel, which were normalized in 2020, “are public and conducted within the framework of the Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements.”