The U.S. is making progress in talks with China on access to rare earth minerals and other trade issues, but an extension to their tariff truce isn't yet final, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday.
Why it matters: The China trade relationship is of paramount importance to U.S. business leaders and financial markets, particularly the access to rare earth magnets, a crucial component for hundreds of products.
Barriers that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to eliminate have reappeared in modern forms as the country marks its 60th anniversary.
The big picture: A backlash to the 2020 racial reckoning has made it almost impossible for any bipartisan effort to renew the Voting Rights Act — even though the country is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families on Saturday that President Trump wants to "shift" the Gaza policy from trying to get a partial and phased Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal to reaching a comprehensive deal that ends the war and returns all remaining hostages at once, according to a statement by the families and recordings from the meeting.
Why it matters: Witkoff's remarks, during a two-hour meeting in Tel Aviv with dozens of families of hostages held by Hamas, were an acknowledgment that the approach Israel and the U.S. have pursued over the last six months to try and reach a partial and incremental ceasefire and hostage deal has failed.
Chinese hackers are targeting more sensitive U.S. targets than ever — not to smash and grab, but to bide their time.
Why it matters: Beijing is investing in stealthy, persistent access to U.S. systems — quietly building up its abilities to disrupt everything from federal agencies to water utilities in the event of escalation with Washington.
