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By Betsy Klein, Simone McCarthy, Kristen Holmes, CNN

Beijing (CNN) — President Donald Trump departed Beijing Friday afternoon local time without any immediate sign that the US and China have resolved thorny challenges dogging their fractious relationship, but with a freshly stabilized relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping – for now.

The leaders covered a range of issues from Iran and Taiwan to trade, during two days that included intensive bilateral meetings. But there were also grand displays of soft diplomacy, marking the first Beijing meeting for the longtime rivals in nearly a decade.

Since Trump’s last visit in 2017, he has reimagined Washington’s role in the world, while Xi has tightened his grip on authority domestically and spurred China’s high-tech transformation.

“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle, and the relationship is a very strong one,” Trump said at the start of bilateral discussions Friday, offering no concrete details on the problems in question.

Given how bad relations have been in recent years, the fact both leaders came away speaking of each other in warm terms and agreeing on the importance of their ties is evidence of a shift to stabilization at a time when a jittery world is desperately seeking geopolitical calm.

The US-Israeli war with Iran loomed over the whirlwind summit. There were questions of what, if any, behind-the-scenes support Xi might be willing to extend to help bring an end to the months-long conflict, which has thrown the global economy into turmoil without a clear endgame.

Details of the sweeping trade deals Trump promised ahead of the trip remain unclear, with big pronouncements from the president and some top officials, but any substantive announcements still absent and unconfirmed by China.

And amid concerns from experts and analysts that Xi was walking into the meeting with the upper hand, the Chinese leader offered his own flex on the issue of Taiwan.

But the visit also provided an opportunity to reset the tone of the fractious US-China relationship, Xi rolling out a literal and figurative red carpet that charmed and delighted his guest, a warm connection on display.

“I think it will go down as a very important moment in history. And maybe more than anything else, a great moment of respect,” Trump reflected during an interview with Fox News.

Iran war loomed over visit

Ahead of talks, expectations were high that the American president could push his Chinese counterpart to help resolve the Iran conflict.

China is a close diplomatic partner of Iran and the top purchaser of its oil – and has framed itself as proponent of peace throughout the war. The topic was part of the more than two hours of d

By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington (CNN) — The sharpest economic decline in American history, the highest inflation in more than 40 years, aggressive political attacks from the White House, and the worst-ever global energy shock.

Those are some of the extraordinary events that unfolded during the eight-year chairmanship of Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve, an institution tasked with managing the economy to achieve maximum employment and stable prices. Powell’s term ends on Friday, with Kevin Warsh now confirmed by the Senate to take the reins.

The outgoing Fed leader is known for being a steady hand who was collaborative and decisive, some of his former colleagues told CNN. They credited Powell’s leadership for the Fed’s success at handling the numerous economic crises of recent years, making him perhaps the most battle-tested Fed chair in the US central bank’s 113-year history.

“It’s hard to think about another Fed chair who faced such a combination of punches to the US economy,” Patrick Harker, who served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from 2015 to 2025 and worked closely with Powell, told CNN.

“You really have to go back to Marriner Eccles for a Fed chair who dealt with anything similar to Jay [Jerome Powell]. He dealt with the Great Depression and the second World War,” he said of Eccles.

Uncharted waters

The Covid-19 pandemic was Powell’s most daunting challenge at the helm of the world’s most powerful central bank, economists and former Fed officials say.

“The pandemic was not anything that the Fed had experienced before,” said Loretta Mester, who served as Cleveland Fed President from 2014 to 2024 and worked with Powell. “It was a health situation that had implications for the economy, fiscal policy and monetary policy.”

The sudden shuttering of businesses in the spring of 2020 triggered record declines in gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output; and consumer spending, the lifeblood of the US economy. It also jacked up the unemployment rate to 14.8% in April 2020, the highest rate since the Great Depression.

Financial markets also crashed, marking the quickest descent to bear-market territory in history as panicked investors rushed into cash, in turn sparking a severe credit crunch. Powell quickly convened his central bank colleagues for two rare emergency meetings in March 2020 to slash interest rates to near-zero and inject liquidity into the financial system through a lending program.

Powell described the Fed’s emergency actions as an “unprecedented” effort to “forcefully, proactively, and aggressively” support the economy. The goal, Powell said, was to build a “bridge” to an economic recovery, and those efforts, coupled with the aggressive response from Congress, are widely credited with blunting the pandemic’s initial blow to the US economy.

“The (Fed’s) Covid response was successful at restoring market stability and preserving access to credit,” Erin Lockwood, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine, and Fed resident at the Roosevelt Institute, wrote in a statement.

What the critics say

But the economy’s roaring comeback from the pandemic recession didn’t come without a hitch.

In 2021, when businesses scrambled to rehire the workers they laid off in the prior year, they offered higher wages to draw from a pool of workers that had shrunk during the pandemic for various reasons. Not only did American workers have the upper hand in the labor market, they were also flush with savings they had accumulated during the widespread shutdowns and pandemic-era stimulus payments. At the time, supply chains were also still recovering

By Arit John, CNN

Bakersfield, California (CNN) — Even when he was a child, healthcare was top of mind for Humberto Rico.

Like many children who grew up in the Central Valley — known for having some of the worst air quality in the country — he had asthma that would sometimes leave him bedridden for days. He still helps his immigrant parents schedule their doctors’ appointments. And he has family members who depend on Medicaid for health insurance.

“In the Central Valley, it’s not really something we have the privilege to ignore,” said Rico, a 26-year-old Bakersfield native who works with farm workers as an organizer.

Healthcare is also a key issue shaping his support in California’s 22nd Congressional District. Rico spent a recent Saturday afternoon canvassing for Randy Villegas, a pro-Medicare for All progressive and one of two Democrats seeking to unseat GOP Rep. David Valadao. State Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, who recently won the support of House Democrats’ campaign arm, is also running.

Since Valadao was first elected in 2012, Democrats have only been able to beat him once: in 2018, after he voted for his party’s failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

This year, Democrats are betting voters in the district — which was redrawn last year to slightly favor their party — will be equally frustrated with his vote in 2025 for President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts legislation, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Starting next year, the law increases the frequency of Medicaid eligibility verifications and imposes a new work requirement. Those changes will impact California’s 22nd District, which has one of the highest concentrations of Medicaid enrollees in the country.

Fifty-nine percent of residents in the district are insured by the program, according to data collected by the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based on the seat’s 2025 boundaries. Nearly 57,000 people in the district could lose their Medicaid coverage once the new eligibility requirements go into effect, according to an analysis of Congressional Budget Office data by Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee.

Republicans argue that critics are misrepresenting the impact of the changes to Medicaid, which they say are meant to push able-bodied people into the workforce. The law provides exemptions from work requirements, including for people with substance abuse, severe mental health or other significant medical issues, and pregnant people. States may also request a temporary exemption for enrollees in counties where the unemployment rate is either 8% or 1.5 times the national average. Much of the district currently meets that threshold — Kern County, which makes up the largest part of it, had an unemployment rate of 9.5% in March.

Valadao said in a statement to CNN that the legislation was designed to preserve Medicaid long-term.

“One of my goals representing the Central Valley is to protect Medicaid for those who truly need it the most: seniors, vulnerable children, and disabled Americans,” the statement reads. “That’s why I voted to include commonsense exemptions for Californians facing serious medical issues, economic hardship, or high unemployment.”

But healthcare providers who work in the district warn that they’re already feeling the impact of Trump’s agenda bill, as hospitals and healthcare centers begin making changes to their budgets.

“What’s happening now is that they’re facing reductions in resource

Por Esteban Campanela, CNN en Español

Las predicciones sobre quién será el próximo campeón del mundo fallan con frecuencia. La presión en este torneo es la más agobiante para cualquier jugador y son muy finos los detalles que pueden dejar afuera a un gigante. Sin embargo, también es cierto que solo ocho países en toda la historia han logrado coronarse campeones.

A menos de un mes del comienzo del torneo, son seis las selecciones que lideran la preferencia de los analistas y los rankings de las casas de apuestas: España, Francia, Inglaterra, Brasil, Argentina y Portugal.

Es una de las dos grandes favoritas. En las cuatro temporadas que nos separan de Qatar 2022, los españoles han ganado la UEFA Nations League 2022-2023, la Eurocopa 2024 y los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024. En las eliminatorias europeas se clasificaron con comodidad, liderando invictos su grupo. En el ranking FIFA ocupan la segunda posición.

España es un equipo muy goleador y ofensivo. Ha sumado velocidad y verticalidad al estilo de posesión del balón que la llevó a coronarse campeón en 2010. El país ibérico juega más rápido y es más agresivo. Sus puntos fuertes son el desequilibrio por las bandas y una presión asfixiante tras perder la pelota. Sus puntos débiles: un equipo demasiado joven y un exceso de ataque que puede dejar desprotegido su propio arco.

Su figura es Lamine Yamal, un crack de 18 años que, a fuerza de récords, ya empieza a erigirse como el heredero de Lionel Messi. A él se suman Nico Williams, un extremo que brilla por su velocidad en la banda izquierda, y Pedri, el director de la orquesta ibérica. Tiene un plantel extenso y con variantes en todas las líneas.

El entrenador es Luis de la Fuente, quien logró explotar al máximo el talento individual de esta nueva generación dorada.

El actual subcampeón del mundo llega como el otro gran candidato. El equipo galo viene de disputar dos finales seguidas: ganó ante Croacia en Rusia 2018 y perdió ante Argentina en Qatar 2022. Si lograse una tercera final consecutiva, conseguiría algo que no sucede desde Corea-Japón 2002, cuando Brasil fue campeón tras ser subcampeón en 1998 y campeón en 1994. También lo había logrado Alemania, que estuvo presente en las finales de 1982, 1986 y 1990.

Francia tiene una de las delanteras más temibles del torneo. Hay tanto talento que a veces hasta se da el lujo de dejar en el banco a Dembelé, el actual Balón de Oro. Mbappé es indiscutible: ha sido la gran figura de la selección desde Rusia 2018, convirtió nada menos que tres goles en la final de Qatar 2022 y es el jugador franquicia del Real Madrid. Dembelé fue campeón de la Champions League con el PSG y está nuevamente en la final, y si bien algunas lesiones en la segunda mitad de 2025 lo dejaron fuera de las eliminatorias europeas, ya parece haber recuperado la forma. Olise es el extremo derecho del Bayern Munich y una de sus armas más peligrosas, aunque muchas veces juega de media punta, detrás de Mbappé.

Es un conjunto que no depende exclusivamente de la posesión del balón y muchas veces se siente cómodo de contragolpe, aprovechando la velocidad supersónica de sus delanteros. A esto se le suma un mediocampo con muchísima dinámica y una defensa de primer nivel.

Su plantel combina algo muy difícil de conseguir y que es clave en equipos que quieren ser una dinastía: experiencia y juventud. Haber disputado los 14 partidos en los últimos dos mundiales le da un plus a la hora de los playoffs. Sabe manejar la presión.

Su entrenador es Didier Deschamps, quien ya fue campeón como capitán en 1998, campeón como entrenador en 2018 y subcampeón en 2022. Ya anunció que este será su último torneo al frente del equipo.

El vigente campeón del mundo es otro de los candidatos. Buscará algo que solo lograron Italia (1934-1938) y Brasil (1958-1962): ser bicampeón de manera consecutiva.

En los años que separan el

By Patrick Svitek, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump wants to take down Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment and has been a critic of parts of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. Trump endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow to run against Cassidy and most other challengers dropped out.

There’s just one problem: John Fleming.

The Louisiana state treasurer, who is largely self-funding his campaign, has remained a stubborn force in the race, complicating Trump’s revenge plot and making it a near-certainty that Saturday’s primary will head to a June runoff. In doing so, Fleming is testing Trump’s political operation and the power the second-term president has over the Republican base.

“What people expect from an endorsement from President Trump is really a candidate like me, but what they got was a candidate very similar to Cassidy,” Fleming said in an interview.

Letlow’s campaign has spent the final weeks of the primary attacking him more than the incumbent, even as Cassidy pummels her on the airwaves. A super PAC supporting her has spent about 10 times more money targeting Fleming in its advertising compared to Cassidy, according to AdImpact.

“Louisiana Republicans know Julia Letlow is President Trump’s choice in this race, while Fleming is a desperate career politician trying to lie his way into another office,” said Katherine Thordahl, a spokeswoman for Letlow’s campaign, in a statement.

Cassidy appears delighted. After Fleming and Letlow participated in a debate last week that he skipped, Cassidy’s campaign issued a statement promoting the escalating “cage match” between his two challengers, complete with images of popcorn.

The Senate seat in deep-red Louisiana is expected to stay in Republican hands in November regardless of who the party nominates. But Saturday’s primary is a gauge of Trump’s sway over the GOP at a crucial time, coming three days before a higher-profile test of his revenge in Kentucky against Rep. Thomas Massie.

There is little independent polling in Louisiana’s primary and no clear front-runner despite the president’s involvement.

Cassidy has mostly ignored Fleming and trained his attacks on Letlow, saying he sees the race as hers to lose. A Cassidy adviser, Mark Harris, told reporters Monday that Fleming was “putting on a hard charge” in the final days of the primary but that the Cassidy campaign would remain focused on Letlow.

Claims of job offers and endorsements withdrawn

Fleming first won a House seat in 2008 and served until 2017, a tenure during which he helped start the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Fleming waged an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2016 and then went to work in the first Trump administration, ultimately working in the White House as assistant to the president for planning and implementation. He was elected Louisiana state treasurer in 2023.

Fleming announced in December 2024 that he would run against Cassidy, citing the senator’s vote to convict Trump over the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump, but one of only three left in the chamber, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Among them, Cassidy represents the most pro-Trump state. The president carried Louisiana by 22 percentage points in 2024, his widest margin there through three campaigns.

Cassidy issued a brief statement on his vote at the time, saying: “Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I v