Trump and Xi meet in Washington
For the first time in over a decade, Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, visited the U.S. capital and was greeted by President Donald Trump with pomp and ceremony. After their meeting on the tarmac, the two entered a summit to discuss trade, technology, and military conflicts. Details on any agreements or disagreements are sparse. Xi pushed for the U.S. to oppose Taiwanese independence, a movement that isn’t being pressed either in DC or Taipei at this time. Xi also reported that China can maintain human control over artificial intelligence (or “super intelligence,” as Trump recently rechristened it). Regarding trade, China agreed to buy 25 million tons of soybeans, although it is currently about $17 billion behind on other farm commitments. Trump played the gracious host, heaping compliments on his Chinese counterpart to the chagrin of certain Republican leaders.

Senate rejects War Powers resolution, Iran sends ceasefire proposal
As the Iran war’s cost weighs on Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike are calling for President Trump to end the conflict. On Thursday, the Senate voted 49–50 against a resolution that symbolically called for just that. The four Republicans who joined the Democrats in voting for the resolution didn’t swing the outcome. Also yesterday, Iran’s foreign minister said the nation had proposed a seven-day plan to cease hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and discuss the regime’s nuclear program. The proposal closely mirrors the memorandum of understanding that failed back in June. During the UN General Assembly, both Trump and the Iranian president delivered hostile speeches. Peace efforts face resistance from other major Persian Gulf oil producers. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates want Trump to keep the pressure on their oil rival Iran.

Netanyahu skewers Mamdani
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed on all the moral cowards in his speech at the UN yesterday, not just the ones who walked out of the hall when he got up to speak. Netanyahu ripped into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, pointing out that since he was elected, many Jews in the city no longer feel safe, and that Mamdani “praised criminals convicted of supporting Hamas.” He noted Mamdani’s associations with radicals like Hasan Piker, who believes America deserved 9/11, and having a Palestinian journalist in his home who filmed Hamas terrorists beating and torturing Israeli hostages but didn’t release the footage to protect the terrorists. Netanyahu defended the attack on Iran, saying that many of the countries in the region are protected as a result of the U.S. and Israel’s action to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Mecca Agreement falling short as Saudis take Houthi heat
Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey last month, and now that it has been put to the test, both nations have done very little. The Iran-backed Houthis recently attacked Saudi infrastructure and took control of a large portion of the crucial Strait of Bab al-Mandab, the narrow chokepoint separating the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Pakistan has had troops stationed in the nation for decades, but it has not announced any deployments or major mobilizations as a nation at war would be expected to. Turkey has been even less committed, announcing only that it may provide “technical assistance” to the Saudis. Communications between the three nations remain strong, but Saudi Arabia was likely hoping that its closest allies would pull their weight against the terrorists.

Leftists support super intelligence ban
A bill that would effectively ban super intelligence has gained heavy support among the Left. The proposal introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar seeks to end artificial intelligence that “exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains or tasks.” A federal Department of Artificial Intelligence would be created to enforce and manage these models. Naturally, the likes of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna are backing the legislation, alongside a laundry list of the most left-wing members of Congress. What most people may not understand is that the previous definition of super intelligence is virtually every single major AI model being used right now, so it might be pretty safe for the Left to add “Abolish AI” to the list of two-word monikers they use to describe their platform.

Butler victim Jim Copenhaver dies
American Patriot and veteran Jim Copenhaver died on Wednesday, two years after being shot by the would-be Trump assassin at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. State Attorney General Dave Sunday said that Copenhaver died from “complications stemming from those wounds.” One bullet hit the 76-year-old in the triceps, and another lodged in his body, taking chunks of his colon, which left him with nerve damage. Both President Trump and House Republicans offered their condolences to the Copenhaver family and praised Jim’s “strength,” “tremendous bravery,” and “perseverance.” His lawyer issued a statement on behalf of the family, saying, “James’s dedication to this great country was a defining part of his life. As a veteran, he proudly served our nation in the armed forces, and his love of country never wavered. James was a true American patriot.”

Harvard president outed for fraud comes back to teach a class
Claudine Gay was the president of Harvard for only six months, during which she resigned in 2024 because she is a plagiarist and let antisemites run free on Harvard’s campus. Somehow, after only three years, Claudine Gay returned to Harvard as a faculty member. She now teaches a course on Harvard’s inner workings and politics. Readings reportedly delve into topics such as gender, racism, and Jeffrey Epstein. The class will end with students proposing “a vision for institutional reform or reinvention.” At least she won’t be plagiarizing anything. Gay has benefited from being a tenured professor at the most prestigious university in the world, and she has taken full advantage of it by doing nothing for years, only to now teach leftist slop.

Did Sunny Hostin lie about her juror record?
Yesterday, your Patriot Post team covered ABC personality Sunny Hostin’s revelation that she was the lone holdout juror in a case that ended with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for Daniel Rakowitz, the “Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.” A newspaper article quoting her under her original name as a juror supported Hostin’s claim. Further investigation revealed that while Hostin, then Asunción Cummings, was certainly on the jury, she was not the lone holdout; the holdout was apparently a man. Perhaps there’s more to the story — maybe Sunny misremembered almost 35 years later, or maybe she was simply self-aggrandizing and hoping no one would check the facts.

Obama says government is not corrupt, should be run by women
Former President Barack Obama’s limited-series podcast premiered yesterday. The podcast discusses contemporary literature, but when the conversation turned to politics, Obama said, “People are always surprised when I tell them the federal government is so much less corrupt than probably it’s ever been, in terms of just pure bribes, or patronage or favors.” Even so, Democrats frame corruption as a key election issue. Meanwhile, in a recent interview at Salem State University, Obama reflected on a hypothetical scenario. “If you put women in charge of every government for two years,” Obama said, “I have a strong belief that things — they wouldn’t be perfect, but they’d be better.” In 2008, he won the Democrat primary over a woman, Hillary Clinton. Obama, age 65, also warned, “One of the challenges we face globally is old men clinging to power.”

Headlines

  • CNN, MS NOW, Politico reporters back at White House after federal judge blocks Trump ban (NY Post)
  • Trump administration again urges justices to allow deportations to third-party countries (SCOTUSblog)
  • Haitian migrants fleeing the U.S. for Canada after temporary status canceled (Breitbart)
  • Four noncitizens face election fraud charges in Pennsylvania (Daily Signal)
  • Sherrill calls for resignation of her lieutenant governor after sexual harassment allegations (Washington Examiner)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, Jacob Geoffrey, Hudson Baldwin, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.