Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Supreme Court allows abortion pill access by mail to continueThe Supreme Court ruled this evening that a widely used abortion medication could continue to be prescribed by telemedicine and sent to patients across the country by mail. The two most conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented. The court’s order halted a lower-court ruling that would have made it much more difficult for women in states with abortion bans to access the medication, called mifepristone. That decision will now remain blocked, perhaps for months, while litigation continues in the lower courts.
Trump and Xi strike different tones on summit’s first dayPresident Trump sounded conciliatory at nearly every turn as he met today with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, for the start of a two-day summit in Beijing. He talked up his relationship with Xi, calling him a “great leader” and saying “we’re going to have a fantastic future together.” In contrast, Xi spent little time on flattery. Near the beginning of his remarks during today’s main meeting, the Chinese leader made clear to Trump that if the U.S. sided too heavily with Taiwan, it could bring Beijing and Washington into conflict. Xi also cautioned against the “Thucydides Trap.” Here’s what he meant by that. After their meeting, Trump and Xi toured the Temple of Heaven, a sacred compound that had been used by emperors since the 12th century. Trump seemed impressed. “Incredible,” the president said. “China’s beautiful.” For more:
Gulf Arab states carry out secret attacks in IranSaudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have separately carried out unannounced strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks conducted against them. It is their first known direct assaults against the Islamic republic. Neither the Saudi nor the Emirati government has acknowledged the attacks, and both have insisted publicly that they are bystanders to the U.S. and Israeli conflict against Iran, engaged only in defensive actions. In related news: A top American commander asserted that the U.S. had a nearly perfect record in avoiding civilian casualties in Iran, despite reports to the contrary.
U.S. plans to drop fraud charges against an Indian billionaireThe Justice Department is planning to drop its charges against Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire who was accused during the final weeks of the Biden administration of orchestrating a bribery scheme. The reversal came after Robert Giuffra, a former Trump lawyer hired by Andani, made a highly unusual offer: If prosecutors dropped the charges, Adani would be willing to invest $10 billion in the American economy and create 15,000 jobs. Prosecutors said the offer played no role in their decision. In other Trump administration news:
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This question comes from a recent edition of the newsletter. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link is free.) Which New York Times game is set to become a prime-time TV show, hosted by Savannah Guthrie?
This is a big week for the art worldArt dealers are finally feeling confident after a few down years. Over the next week, three auction houses are aiming to sell more than $2.6 billion of art, including pieces from the storied collections of S.I. Newhouse and Robert Mnuchin. These five blockbuster works will indicate how lively the art market is right now. It all begins tonight, when bidding opens for Mark Rothko’s “Brown and Blacks in Reds,” which is expected to sell for at least $80 million. For more art:
Travels — and journeys — through BuddhismYears ago, Hanya Yanagihara, the editor of T magazine, realized that she wanted to do a Grand Tour of Buddhism: Nepal, where the Buddha was born; Thailand, where it is the state-sanctioned religion; and Taiwan, where Chinese Buddhism has been preserved. In her final issue as editor in chief, she got her wish — but she entrusted it to the T writer at large Aatish Taseer, who found that “few teachings were better equipped to confront the problems of modernity than Buddhism.” Take the journey with them.
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