Xi Jinping’s visit heavy on symbolism but no sign closed-door meeting yielded breakthroughs on thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and Iran

Donald Trump welcomed Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, with talks on AI, trade and a growing US-China strategic rivalry expected to feature on an elaborate state visit that critics say went big on style but lacked substance.

Here are the key takeaways from Xi’s first visit to Washington in more than a decade.

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© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump gave a statue of a bald eagle to President Xi Jinping before a state dinner at the White House.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The showdown over President Trump’s partial media ban played out as he welcomed President Xi Jinping, whose government is ranked among the most repressive in the world.

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Under the offer, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and nuclear talks would be revived.

© Mike Segar/Reuters

James Copenhaver, 76, left with lingering injuries after gunman opened fire from rooftop at 2024 Pennsylvania rally

James Copenhaver, one of three campaign rally attendees shot in 2024 during an assassination attempt on then candidate Donald Trump, has died in Pittsburgh, his lawyer said Thursday. He was 76.

Copenhaver was in the bleachers during the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, grazing Trump’s right ear with one bullet. Copenhaver was struck in the arm and in the abdomen, wounds that left him with lingering injuries and walking with a cane.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Droke/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rebecca Droke/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rebecca Droke/AFP/Getty Images

After breaking her back in a fall, she helped start Infinity Dance Theater, and found that her wheelchair was a tool, not a hindrance.

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Revelations about the conduct of former Representative Mary Peltola may not faze voters who have long elected abrasive and sometimes violent figures to represent them.

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A disclaimer says the ad was paid for by the U.S. government, which could violate federal law.

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At the Climate Forward live event, policymakers, executives and activists debated the boom in data centers, the growing backlash and its environmental effects.

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The death came two days after another hiker died on the same mountain trail in northwestern Washington, officials said.

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The White House said that the three-course menu, including sea bass and bok choy, featured American ingredients with a “subtle Chinese influence.”

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Deference was deafening as US president rolled out red carpet for world’s biggest jailer of journalists – perhaps he was seeking tips

One is an authoritarian who represses the media with a strong allergy to democratic elections. The other is head of the Chinese Communist party.

Donald Trump welcomed the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to the White House on Thursday, setting the stage for a scene quite unlike anything the august old building has seen over more than two centuries.

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© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Ukraine's Third Army Corps says it became the first military unit in the world to use ground robots for mine clearance inside a live offensive, sending the machines ahead of its infantry into the deadliest sectors to keep soldiers out of the line of fire, Censor.NET reported. The corps built the capability from nothing during its Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive in Donetsk Oblast.

Keeping soldiers alive has become the organizing principle of how Ukraine fights, and handing the jobs most likely to kill them to ground robots is how an army that refuses to treat its people as expendable defends the line.

Robots cleared 30 km of routes in two nights

On the Shandryholove axis, the robots cleared 30 kilometers of routes in two nights—work that two companies of sappers would have needed a full week to finish. The corps reported no losses among its sappers there. Announcing the operation's second phase, corps commander Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi said protecting personnel drives how his troops plan and fight:

"People often ask, but what about our losses? My answer: we minimize them by every possible means. In assault operations, drones and ground robots always move ahead of the infantry," he said.

Robots clear most of the mines and mine Russian routes in return

The corps says it built the system from scratch and scaled it from a single squad up to the entire corps, arguing that manual clearing would be impossible across open terrain swept by fire. Ground robots now lift roughly 60% of the anti-personnel mines in its area of responsibility. They also work in reverse, remotely mining Russian advance routes—one crew can lay up to 200 meters a day, cutting off enemy reserves. The same machines carry frontline logistics, evacuating the wounded and hauling in provisions and equipment.

Operation Vivaldi continues in Donetsk Oblast, where the corps recently air-dropped robots behind Russian lines. Its advance has disrupted Russia's plan to encircle the fortified belt of Donetsk cities. In the second phase, the Third Army Corps liberated Shandryholove and Derylove and took full control of Drobysheve. Across the operation's first two phases, it has retaken 125 square kilometers.

CNN senior reporter Betsy Klein gained access to the White House on 24 September, hours after a federal judge ruled against Donald Trump's media ban. The ban had barred reporters from CNN, MS Now and Politico from accessing the White House

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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, said two pandas would arrive soon at Zoo Atlanta. Panda diplomacy has been a cornerstone of U.S.-China relations.

© Jessica McGowan for The New York Times

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, said two pandas would arrive soon at Zoo Atlanta. Panda diplomacy has been a cornerstone of U.S.-China relations.

© Jessica McGowan for The New York Times

President Trump has repeatedly cited the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as inspiration and competition with his own design.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump has repeatedly cited the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as inspiration and competition with his own design.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

American artificial intelligence companies have accused their Chinese counterparts of using a technique called distillation to enhance their own systems.

© Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times

Chinese president’s proposals for lessening tensions come amid period of intense competition between the two countries over AI and trade

Xi Jinping has called for extensive cooperation with Washington to avoid the “Thucydides trap” that could put the US and China on a military collision course amid rising tensions over artificial intelligence, trade and Taiwan.

At the start of his summit meeting with Donald Trump in the White House, the Chinese president laid out terms for a mutual understanding that he said could steer the two competing superpowers away from future military conflict and on to a road of mutual gain.

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© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Demonstrations broke out across the country over the woman’s eviction in Madrid, putting rising rents and affordability at the top of the political conversation.

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The activist, Daniel Thomas on Thursday denied causing criminal damage when he filmed himself slashing an inflatable dinghy in the English Channel that had an emergency responder on board.

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This blog is now closed – our live coverage of US politics continues here

In the first row in front of the leaders sit US vice-president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her daughter Arabella, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

Donald Trump is speaking now. He notes that Xi is the first Chinese leader to make a second formal visit to the White House, and says the two have “forged a truly great friendship” since Trump was first elected in 2016.

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© Photograph: Matt Kaminsky/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Matt Kaminsky/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Matt Kaminsky/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

President Xi Jinping’s first visit to the White House in a decade comes as President Trump continues his unexpected turn from a hard line on China.

• Hitler was an artist in Vienna before first world war

• Horse also has full sister called New Order

The US Jockey Club has ordered a racehorse to be renamed after ruling the animal’s name was a reference to Adolf Hitler.

In a story first reported by Horse Racing Nation, Austrian Painter won its debut race at the Horseshoe Indianapolis track on Monday. However, the Jockey Club received a complaint about the name and began an investigation. Hitler, who was born in Austria, was a professional artist in Vienna before the first world war. People often use the term “Austrian Painter” online to discuss Hitler without naming him in order to avoid content moderation filters.

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© Photograph: Mark Evans/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mark Evans/Getty Images

Treasury sources concede ‘less room’ for manoeuvre as global bond sell-off also hikes government’s borrowing costs

• International bodies warn of rising debt and borrowing risks

• Burnham stands by claim UK is ‘in hock’ to bond markets

Oil prices lurched upwards again on Thursday, creating a growing headache for UK policymakers ahead of John Healey’s budget next month.

While Healey has been keen to present an upbeat picture of the UK’s economic prospects, Treasury sources concede the sharp jump in oil and gas prices means they have “less room” than a month ago.

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© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

The dissent reflects growing unease about the party’s prospects in November, as the G.O.P. struggles to overcome the president’s unpopularity.

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President Trump pressed his personal brand of diplomacy as President Xi Jinping of China made his first trip to the White House in more than a decade.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

A new bilateral security agreement puts Australia's support for Ukraine on a long-term footing, the Australian government said. The pact bundles fresh money for Kyiv, wider sanctions on Russia, and a new role for Australia in a multinational effort to rebuild Ukraine's Navy.

Australia sits half a world from the front, yet it wants what Ukraine has learned. The deal runs both ways—Australia sends money and equipment, and treats more than four years of Ukrainian war-fighting as a lesson for its own forces. One-off aid packages are giving way to long-term security pacts as Ukraine's partners lock in support—and, more and more, ask to learn from the force that has spent years fighting Russia.

A bigger package and new sanctions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the agreement on 24 September. Albanese pledged an additional A$60 million ($42 million) in support. It splits into A$45 million ($32 million) of Australian Defence Force equipment, A$10 million for Ukraine's Energy Support Fund, and A$5 million in humanitarian aid. That lifts Australia's total contribution to almost A$1.9 billion ($1.3 billion). Australia also widened its sanctions on Russia to almost 1,900 measures and listed nearly 300 shadow-fleet vessels—the aging tankers Moscow uses to move oil around Western price caps.

Australia will also join the Maritime Capability Coalition for Ukraine, a UK- and Norway-led group building up Ukraine's Navy. The government cast the move as another two-way exchange: it helps Ukraine at sea while giving Australian planners insights into advanced maritime capabilities and their operational use.

Lessons that run both ways

The agreement frames the partnership as a trade in know-how, not just aid. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said that through deeper cooperation Australia could "lend our strengths and insights to help grow Ukraine's defence industrial base, and likewise learn from the hard-fought lessons of Ukraine's resistance in developing our future capabilities." Ukraine has shown what an innovative, agile force can do in a drone-heavy war, and Canberra wants the lessons. Australia has already supplied 49 retired M1A1 Abrams tanks and 120 Bushmaster protected vehicles, hardware Ukrainian crews took straight into frontline use. Two Australian companies are also developing Arrow interceptor drones for delivery to Ukraine.

The Americans being held in China are U Min Zin, a scholar who studied Myanmar, and Youlin Chen, a seismologist who researched North Korean nuclear tests.

© Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

The Americans being held in China are U Min Zin, a scholar who studied Myanmar, and Youlin Chen, a seismologist who researched North Korean nuclear tests.

© Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Thousands of migrants cross the sea between France and England each year, though numbers have fallen amid increased policing.

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Balendra Shah, 36, comes to the U.N. as a sun-glassed symbol of Gen Z political power. But concerns about his style are growing at home after devastating floods left thousands dead or missing.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said one soldier tried to kill himself when he was captured. “This is how they raise people in the North,” he said.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that U.S. negotiators had restarted conversations about Iran’s nuclear program, but that there were no breakthroughs.

© Pool photo by Yuki Iwamura

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that U.S. negotiators had restarted conversations about Iran’s nuclear program, but that there were no breakthroughs.

© Pool photo by Yuki Iwamura

Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic told the Security Council that international cooperation was needed to ensure that A.I. remains under human control.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic told the Security Council that international cooperation was needed to ensure that A.I. remains under human control.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

In 2024 ethics filing, US health secretary pledged to ‘not engage in writing, editing, marketing or promotional services for any of these books during government service’

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, received $4m over the last year in book advances from allies within the Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a new report.

The advances were for upcoming books by Skyhorse Publishing, a publishing house belonging to Tony Lyons, a friend of Kennedy Jr who is also president of Maha Center, a non-profit that describes itself as “tackling America’s health crisis through education, investigation, innovation and action”.

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© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Hannah Gann, who teaches at a Philadelphia high school, said that she had misled people for years and that she is “a white woman of significant privilege.”

President lays out red carpet as treasury secretary announces extension of ‘Busan agreement’ pausing trade war hostilities

• AI, trade, Taiwan and climate: what will and won’t be on agenda at Trump-Xi summit

Donald Trump has welcomed Xi Jinping to the US, taking the unusual step of greeting the Chinese leader on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews to kick off his state visit to Washington.

Xi’s plane was met with a lavish arrival ceremony that included a 30-metre-long (100ft) red carpet flanked by US service members, a military flyover by two B-1 bombers and a presentation of the flags and national anthems of both countries.

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© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Discussion about the Chinese leader’s health is heavily censored in China even as the 73-year-old is expected to remain in power.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Discussion about the Chinese leader’s health is heavily censored in China even as the 73-year-old is expected to remain in power.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The Chinese leader seems to have the upper hand heading into a state visit to Washington and talks on trade, A.I. and Taiwan.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Despite the rivalry between the United States and China, President Trump has repeatedly found ways to give President Xi Jinping of China a pass, portraying him more as a personal friend than a competitor.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Experts attribute the changing mood to fading memories of the coronavirus pandemic, awareness of China’s tech innovations and disaffection with President Trump’s trade wars.

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As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, his country lags behind the United States on A.I. development in key areas — but Beijing has advantages elsewhere.

© Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.

© Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.

© Ruth Fremson/The New York Times