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Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will talk trade at a Beijing summit. An AI program that can help doctors make clinical decisions surges in popularity. And the 19-year-old pickleball phenom who’s already being called the sport’s GOAT.
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Here’s what to know today.
President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing today to begin a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the world’s two biggest economies look to stabilize a trade truce against the backdrop of the simmering U.S. conflict with Iran.
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Trade will be at the forefront of discussions and Trump is bringing more than a dozen chief executives with him, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla. The goal this week will be to return to Washington with positive economic headlines and a reinforced personal relationship with Xi. The possibility of extending the trade truce reached between Washington and Beijing last fall is on the agenda, as well.
Yet expectations for the summit’s outcomes are muted, with both leaders facing setbacks at home and abroad that may limit their room to maneuver. Trump faces the lowest approval ratings yet in his second term, and much of his global tariff regime has been struck down in courts. Xi faces his own economic problems, including high youth unemployment, weak consumer demand and new concerns about how long China can withstand the energy shocks from the Iran war.
While Trump said he would have “a long talk” with Xi about the Iran war, it’s not an agenda item, he told reporters yesterday. He also said that he is not thinking about Americans’ finances “even a little bit” when it comes to making a deal with Iran.
Xi also wants to focus on Washington’s stance on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. Trump has alarmed Taiwan supporters with comments suggesting that he and Xi are discussing U.S. arms sales to Taipei, which some experts say would violate long-standing U.S. policy prohibiting such consultations with China.
So what’s on the summit agenda? After welcome ceremonies and a meeting with Xi on Thursday morning, Trump will tour the Temple of Heaven, a vast architectural masterpiece dating to the 15th century, followed by a state banquet in the evening. On Friday, he will join Xi for a tea and a working lunch before he departs for Washington.
Here’s what else to know.
As the Iranian regime battles external forces, it has also been ramping up a deadly crackdown on those seen as the enemy within.
Since mid-March, there have been at least 28 executions in the country, including 13 people arrested in connection with anti-government protests in January, according to Norway-based group Iran Human Rights.
That includes Mohammad Amin Biglari, a 19-year-old who was arrested in January and accused of setting a building military facility on fire. On a call to his family, Biglari told his father while sobbing that he had received his sentence: death.
Trump has repeatedly said that the current leadership in Iran appears more reasonable than officials in the U.S. were dealing with prior to the war. But human rights groups say an even more hard-line group is now leading the country.
Read more about the crackdown.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is considering renaming its war against Iran “Operation Sledgehammer” if the current ceasefire collapses and major combat resumes, according to two U.S. officials.
Cindy Burbank won the Democratic Senate primary yesterday in Nebraska, defeating pastor William Forbes as questions swirl about her intentions in the race. Many believed November’s race would be a competition between Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, who easily won his primary, and independent Dan Osborn — who ran a surprisingly competitive campaign in 2024 — but Burbank’s win adds another candidate to the ballot. Burbank said last week that she would consider ending her campaign and backing Osborn if she does not have a clear path to victory, fueling allegations that she planned to drop out of the race all along.
More about the allegations against Burbank and Forbes.
Over the past two years, medical providers across America have quietly embraced a new tool called OpenEvidence to help them make clinical decisions, brush up on medical knowledge and even prepare for their licensing exams. The service, a sort of chatbot for doctors, has become the AI-era equivalent of consulting a colleague for their expert opinion. The software can also write patient discharge notes and provide custom study tools for medical exams.
NBC News spoke with over two dozen doctors, hospital administrators, medical students and health care researchers from Hawaii to Maine to explore the rise of OpenEvidence. Each individual said they either used it regularly themselves or knew someone who did. Almost two-thirds of physicians, or roughly 650,000 doctors, in the U.S. actively use OpenEvidence, while another 1.2 million use it internationally, company representatives said.
Yet with the tool’s skyrocketing popularity, some experts worry about potential hallucinations or incomplete answers, the potential for doctors’ critical thinking skills to erode and more.
Read the full story here.
The greatest players of all time in most sports are in their 40s, 50s or even older. But in pickleball, a relatively new sport, the GOAT is just 19 years old. Yes, you read that right. Anna Leigh Waters, a prodigy from Delray Beach, Florida, is known as the most accomplished player in pickleball history.
I caught up with the No. 1-ranked female singles, doubles and mixed doubles player before she competed in the Professional Pickleball Association’s Finals last weekend in San Clemente, California. She spoke about turning pro at 12, the pressure she faces every tournament and her future goal of one day participating in the Olympics. — Greg Rosenstein, sports editor
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