The briefing for Thursday, September 24.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping landed at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday for his first US state visit since 2015, greeted personally on the tarmac by President Trump in a rare display of protocol not seen since President Kennedy welcomed British PM Harold Macmillan in 1962. The three-day trip, which runs through Friday, includes a White House state dinner, private tours and a military flyover. Shortly after Xi's arrival, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US and China would extend their trade truce through January, averting an expiration that had been set for November 10.

The visit comes as trade talks have made limited progress. US and Chinese officials met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week but failed to resolve non-tariff disputes and agricultural trade issues, according to sources familiar with the discussions. China has reportedly pulled back on promises to buy more American farm goods and expand rare earth exports, even as the US trade deficit with Beijing tops $91 billion. Analysts expect Trump to press for lower Chinese tariffs and greater rare earth access, while Xi is likely to push Trump to further delay a $14 billion congressional arms sale to Taiwan.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a central theme of the visit, with both leaders viewing AI dominance as core to national power. Trump has dismissed industry warnings about AI risks as a "hoax" and sees beating China in the technology race as a primary objective, while Beijing's foreign ministry has called for cooperation rather than confrontation. Executives from major US AI firms are expected to attend Thursday's state dinner, underscoring how central the technology has become to superpower diplomacy.

Experts describe the relationship as entering a more stable, if still competitive, phase compared to a year ago, even as fundamental disputes over trade, technology and Taiwan remain unresolved. A Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll suggests American attitudes toward China have warmed somewhat, though the underlying rivalry between the world's two largest economies shows no sign of fading.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Iran would "never bow our head or bend the knee," directly responding to Trump's warning a day earlier that the US faced a choice to either negotiate with Tehran or "annihilate the Islamic Republic." Pezeshkian displayed photos of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in a US-Israeli strike in February, along with images of civilians Iranian authorities say died in strikes on a school and sports complex that day. The US has denied striking one of the sites and says it is still investigating the other.

The speech came the same day an attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz killed an Indian sailor, according to Omani and Indian authorities cited by AFP. India's foreign ministry condemned the attack and called for the strait to reopen to unimpeded passage. Iran effectively closed the waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments normally pass, after retaliating for the US-Israeli air campaign in February; the US responded with a blockade of Iranian ports that remains in place.

Indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, brokered by Qatar on the sidelines of the UN gathering, produced no breakthrough. Iran's foreign ministry called the talks "not anything new," reiterating demands that the US end its blockade and unfreeze Iranian assets before any deal. Pezeshkian said Iran would maintain a civilian nuclear program but insisted it does not seek weapons, while Trump has demanded Iran abandon its nuclear ambitions entirely.

The standoff carries direct economic consequences well beyond the Middle East, as continued disruption in the strait is a key driver of the diesel price spike now rattling US consumers and politicians ahead of the midterms.

A federal judge in Washington ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must restore White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, blocking a ban the White House had imposed abruptly last Friday. The three outlets sued Monday, arguing the ban amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination after journalists arrived to find their building badges disabled the day after the ban was announced.

The administration had argued in court filings that "access to the White House is a privilege — not a right," and cited specific reporting it said violated "standards of professionalism," including CNN's coverage of an East Wing bunker, MS NOW's reporting on a leak investigation, and Politico's publication of ballroom funding details. Trump himself has focused more on his displeasure with negative coverage, telling reporters at the UN this week he has "a right to clean out fake news," and has separately called the outlets "treasonous."

The dispute has rippled across the press corps: the five-network White House pool, which includes CNN, suspended coverage of Trump events in protest, and the Associated Press joined other outlets in withholding presidential photos. The White House also launched its own streaming channel, dubbed Trump TV, to distribute footage directly. The ruling marks an early but significant setback for the administration in its broader, multi-front conflict with media organizations it considers unfavorable.

The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday it is investigating how components from the F-35 — America's most advanced stealth fighter — ended up in Hong Kong, after Bloomberg reported China had obtained a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door. The F-35 Joint Program Office said it is "actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components" and to prevent a repeat occurrence. The parts were reportedly diverted unexpectedly while being shipped from Australia to the US for repair or disposal; it remains unclear how the diversion happened.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles acknowledged the shipment issue but said the parts were not "sensitive equipment," adding that Australia is coordinating with the US and Lockheed Martin, the plane's manufacturer. Politico reported the incident has prompted a congressional inquiry over concerns about Chinese access to classified F-35 technology. Hong Kong operates under tight Beijing oversight and cannot conduct independent military or diplomatic affairs.

The revelation lands with awkward timing, surfacing the same day Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a state visit focused partly on easing tensions. It also revives longstanding US security concerns about Chinese access to F-35 data; a 2013 Pentagon advisory report had already alleged Chinese cyberattacks accessed data from the fighter jet program. More than 1,200 F-35s have been built and 19 countries fly them, meaning any compromise of design details carries implications well beyond the US alone.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 7-2, with one abstention, that the benefits of Grail Inc.'s Galleri blood test outweigh its risks for people 50 and older, marking the first time a federal panel has backed this kind of multi-cancer screening technology. The test looks for DNA fragments shed by tumors, aiming to flag more than 50 types of cancer — including some, like liver and ovarian cancer, for which no routine screening currently exists — from a single blood draw. The FDA is not bound by the panel's recommendation but a final decision is expected within months.

Panelists voiced significant reservations even as they voted yes. The test detected only about one-third of cancers diagnosed within a year of screening in Grail's primary 140,000-person UK study, and roughly two-thirds of positive results were later confirmed as actual cancer. The panel specifically declined to endorse marketing the test for "early detection," and stressed it must supplement, not replace, existing screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies. The underlying UK study also failed to show a statistically significant reduction in late-stage cancer diagnoses, its original goal.

Grail argues the test represents a meaningful advance for cancers with no existing screening options, and the company's representatives told the panel that patients "want the chance to fight their disease while the chance to survive is possible." The test is already available for roughly $700 out of pocket, but FDA approval would likely open the door to Medicare and private insurance coverage, dramatically expanding access. Researchers on both sides caution that doctors and patients will need clear guidance on the test's limitations to avoid false reassurance or unnecessary alarm.

Diesel prices have surged to record levels amid the ongoing conflict tied to Iran, with a gallon costing $6.52 on Wednesday — up 73% from $3.77 before the war began, according to AAA. The spike stems largely from disruptions in the Middle East, which supplies a disproportionate share of oil used for diesel refining, compounded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz that briefly removed roughly 20% of global oil supply from the market.

The issue has become a genuine political liability heading into the midterms. Republican candidates in competitive races, including Iowa's Ashley Hinton and others, are calling for an end to US diesel exports to boost domestic supply, a position Trump has voiced support for, though Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday a "blanket ban" is not under consideration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he's open to the idea, while Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has become its most vocal champion. Democratic candidates, meanwhile, are citing diesel costs and the broader war to argue Republicans have mishandled both the economy and foreign policy.

Economists warn that export restrictions could backfire, potentially raising prices further rather than easing them, since the US both consumes and exports large volumes of diesel — 4.1 million barrels a day used against 1.5 million exported, according to S&P Global Energy. The price surge is also being felt beyond the pump: because diesel powers freight and agriculture, economists say it is quietly pushing up the cost of groceries and other goods, giving the issue reach well beyond drivers of diesel vehicles.