U.S. President Donald Trump is in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday in a push to finalize a deal to allow the popular social media app TikTok to continue operating in the United States.
It’s the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the two nations. But Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for TikTok, which faces a U.S. ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its controlling stake.
Trump, who has credited the app with helping him win another term, has extended a deadline several times for the app to be spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Here’s what to know:
Republicans sour on the country’s direction: According to a new AP-NORC poll that was conducted shortly after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, only about half in the GOP see the nation on the right course, down from 70% in June.RFK Jr.’s CDC advisory panel recommends new restrictions on vaccines: It advised that children under 4 get separate vaccines for MMR and chickenpox, instead of the combination shot MMRV vaccine. The panel, whose members were replaced by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year to include anti-vaccine voices, is expected to vote Friday on hepatitis B shots for infants and COVID-19 shots.The House passes funding patch as (another) shutdown looms: The House voted 217-212 to extend government funding for seven weeks and avoid a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1. But in the Senate, where some Democratic support will be needed to pass the bill, the two parties show no signs of budging. Democratic leaders say the Republicans would be responsible for a shutdown if they don’t allow Democrats to have a say.