Yes, but: A bipartisan group of senators from the Senate Banking Committee today voted overwhelmingly for an amendment that would require the Trump administration to certify that ZTE had abided by U.S. demands before sanctions could be eased, per The Hill. That idea would still have a long road through Congress, but today's vote shows its popularity on both sides of the aisle.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told the House Education and Workforce Committee Tuesday that teachers, who are striking across the country for better wages and work conditions, should be "better compensated" when asked about teacher strikes around the country.
Why it matters: DeVos doesn't often speak directly about teacher pay — in April, she told the Dallas Morning News that teachers should "stay focused on what's right for the kids" — though she has expressed in the past that she believes teacher's deserve betters wages. Nonetheless, DeVos and her department have yet to address the issue in a policy way.
The Environmental Protection Agency blocked the AP, CNN, and E&E from attending a Tuesday morning summit featuring EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on harmful contaminants in drinking water, reports the AP.
The details: When an AP reporter "asked to speak to an EPA public-affairs person, the security guards grabbed the reporter by the shoulders and shoved her forcibly out of the EPA building." EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox told the news outlets they were not invited but did not cite a reason for barring them.
Among the most vocal critics of President Trump's cave on his trade threats to China is Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, his former opponent on the 2016 campaign trail.
What's happening: A perfect storm of North Korea, Steve Mnuchin and a lack of internal focus has Trump backing away from tariffs against Chinese goods and reportedly floating a deal for rogue Chinese phone maker ZTE. Rubio, one of the co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, is tweeting a steady stream of rebukes of the White House's moves — and hinting that Congress may act to overrule Trump's decisions.
Lowe's named J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison as its new chief executive — effective July 2 — on Tuesday, reports CNBC. Ellison had previously worked for more than a decade at Home Depot, Lowe's main rival.
Why it matters: Fortune senior writer Phil Wahba tweeted that Ellison's move shows "he really has no more faith" in J.C. Penney's ability to rebound in a dwindling marketplace for traditional department stores. J.C. Penney's shares have sunk 4.21% in pre-market trading on the news.
Who knows how the chest-bumping over China ends. But for now, President Trump’s anti-China advisers are right: The president is buckling on his threats to punish China with fundamental, lasting changes to trade tariffs and rules.
The big picture: The reasons are threefold: North Korea, Steve Mnuchin and a lack of focus internally.
Roku, the connected TV hardware company, is quietly building a large software business, driven mostly by advertising revenue.
Why it matters: For the first time in its history, Roku says that last quarter it made more money from its platform business, which includes TV software and advertising, than from hardware through sales of its connected TV device.
Americans are increasingly picky, impatient, distracted and demanding — and their media diets are changing so fast that most traditional industries can no longer keep up.
Why it matters: The modern consumer has completely reshaped advertising, content creation and consumption. Most media companies, advertising agencies, and telecom companies either didn't see it coming, saw it and ignored it, or acted too late.
Japanese entertainment giant Sony plans to purchase 60% of music publishing firm and record label EMI for about U.S. $2 billion, reports Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Sony already owns about 40% equity interest in EMI, and this transaction would bolster Sony’s current position as the world's largest music publisher — EMI reportedly has a catalog of 2.1 million songs — and further expand its content and services.
Barack and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year deal with Netflix to produce exclusive films and series for the streaming service, Netflix announced Monday.
The intrigue: The terms of the deal and the type of content they'll provide have not yet been revealed, but Barack Obama said they hope to cultivate "talented, inspiring, creative voices" to promote greater empathy and understanding within the world. The New York Times first reported a potential deal in March.
President Trump kicked off a Monday morning mini-tweetstorm this morning that touched on his administration's joint plan with China to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries, effectively freezing his planned trade war.
The big picture: Trump's tweets didn't provide much additional firm insight or detail into how his administration plans to rectify the trade situation with China — though he did explicitly link the issue to his push for peace with North Korea for the first time.
Companies from all sectors — retail, tech, health care, telecommunications, and the auto industry — made an appearance near the top of this year's Fortune 500, but Walmart snagged the pole position for the sixth year in a row.
The big picture: Traditional corporate giants Exxon Mobil and Berkshire Hathaway rounded out the top three, but the most impressive gains came from the tech sphere. Apple had the highest profits of any U.S. company, Amazon romped into the top 10, and relative upstarts like Tesla, Netflix, and Nvidia all notched strong showings for investors.
The #2 story on the WashPost's homepage argues that based on the joint U.S.-China statement released Saturday, "China looks as if it's winning President Trump's trade skirmish — so far."
Be smart: Axios' Jonathan Swan analyzes the Trump administration's weekend trade moves on China in a pithy tweet, "The bark to bite ratio is currently about 85:1."
China has outlined strategies for 2018, 2025 and 2050 all designed to displace the United States as the dominant global economic and national security superpower.
Why it matters: While America dawdles and bickers, China is thinking long-term — and acting now, everywhere. There is no U.S. equivalent of a plan for 2025 or 2050 — or really for next year.
