00:00Here's a question we've asked a few times. Will the U.S. and Iran resume meeting about a peace
00:05agreement? The answer is ever-changing, but the latest information we have as of Thursday night
00:10is negotiators are negotiating a negotiation. Seriously, they're hammering out a plan for what
00:17to discuss during potential future peace talks. We're not at the actual talking about peace part
00:23yet. This is more like a negotiation appetizer. The roughly 14-point framework being fleshed out
00:29would serve as the foundation for a broader treaty to be negotiated later on. It's believed that if
00:34and when that first step is completed, the clock would begin ticking on a 30-day deadline to get
00:38something finalized. Meanwhile, as of Thursday night, U.S. officials insist the ceasefire is still
00:43in place, despite a wave of U.S. attacks earlier in the day. Those are being described as self-defense.
00:49The military claims Tehran unleashed an unprovoked attack of missiles, drones, and small boats aimed
00:54at U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command says it eliminated the threats
00:59and then struck the Iranian military assets responsible for the attacks. Or, as President
01:04Trump described the operation, quote, missiles were shot at our destroyers and were easily
01:08knocked down. Likewise, drones came and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever
01:13so beautifully down to the ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave.
01:19The war in Iran, and notably the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, is causing economic
01:25pain pretty much everywhere. Importantly, one of those places is China. President Trump is heading
01:31to Beijing next week to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and the U.S. conflict with Iran, along
01:36with its many far-reaching impacts, are sure to be front and center. The Post's White House reporter
01:42Emily Gooden is joining the president on that trip, and she filled me in on how the Iran war talk
01:47might go.
01:47So when President Trump goes to Beijing next week, he has a lot of issues on the table, and the
01:54number
01:54one is Iran, because China is the biggest purchaser of Iran's oil. So they have a vested interest in
02:01seeing the Strait of Hormuz being reopened, and the administration is pushing China to use its influence
02:07with Tehran to make that happen. China's been a little reluctant. They have some backdoor
02:14deals with Russia to get some oil, so they're not quite as dire as one would think, and they kind
02:21of see this as President Trump's war. So the thinking is they're going to try to use Trump's
02:26demand to get some concessions of their own, most likely on American technology. There's a technology
02:32war between the two countries, and America has very tight restrictions on what China can get of its
02:38technology, including AI and computer chips, which are two areas that China would like to have American
02:45technology. So it'll be interesting to see if President Xi makes an ask for some of this
02:52technological information in exchange for helping the president in the war in Iran.
02:57I also asked Emily about some of the other non-Iran topics we can expect to be discussed
03:02during the high-stakes Beijing meeting.
03:04So there's several other issues, because remember, this summit was scheduled long before
03:08there was a war with Iran. The biggest is the trade deficit. There is a huge deficit between
03:14China and the US on trade, and the Trump administration would like to see that narrow.
03:20And one of the big asks they're going to make is for China to increase its purchases and investments
03:25in America. Particularly, they want to see China buy airplanes and soybeans. Those are the two things
03:31they'd like to see some bulk orders on. So we'll be watching for that. Now on the Chinese side,
03:36they are very, very concerned about American policy on Taiwan. They would like to see the US stop
03:43supporting Taiwan's independence. So I don't know if there'll be any movement there, but that is
03:48something we expect President Xi to do some pressing on. And finally, fentanyl still remains an issue. That's
03:54something the president cares deeply about and is likely to bring up in his conversations.
03:58The Walt Disney Company is speaking out after ICE officials nabbed several of its crew from a company
04:04cruise ship last month as part of a child pornography sting. Now this federal operation is massive and
04:09it's ongoing. Customs and Border Protection told the California Post they arrested 28 workers from five
04:15different vessels between April 23rd and the 25th. Now Disney says they're cooperating with authorities,
04:20but noted that the majority of those apprehended were not employed by Disney directly. A spokesperson told
04:26the Post that any who were Disney employees were fired. Quote, we have a zero tolerance policy for
04:32this type of behavior. Customs and Border Protection said that many of those arrested were from the
04:37Philippines, as well as one detainee from Portugal and another from Indonesia. They also confirmed,
04:42quote, all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution,
04:47or viewing of child sexual abuse material or child pornography. The agency has canceled their visas
04:53and are removing them from the country. For more on these stories and everything else you could
04:58possibly want to know, check out the New York Post in print or online. And don't forget,
05:03like and subscribe to the New York Postcast wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
05:06I promise you'll be glad you did.
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