Trump's quiet China wins are more important than Xi's empty state visit

China’s President Xi Jinping, ruler for life, is not ready to make sweeping deals with the USA on soybeans, AI or anything else. This was a State Visit, not a summit, but even so, deliverables were light. China’s state-owned People’s Daily was so strapped for material that they ran a story titled: "Bonded by Ping-Pong: China-U.S. friendship writes a new chapter."

But don’t lose heart. The Trump Administration has scored some quiet wins and much better field position for the long haul. "The old adage of deliverables in a relationship that we have with China is really not measurable in many ways," said U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue. It’s about "continuing the conversation."

What matters most to America in the long term is the trade deficit. Good news: it's falling. Already the gap between U.S. exports and imports from China is down from $297 billion in 2024 to $202 billion in 2025, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the deficit is on track to drop to $140 billion for 2026. If achieved, this is a historic reversal of globalization. The gap hasn’t been this low in over 20 years.

TRUMP-XI REUNION COMES WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS — AND A BIGGER BATTLE LOOMING

Credit what Team Trump calls "managed" trade: specific, non-sensitive goods, such as agricultural products and medical devices. "All those export controls that are national security issues, we take those off the table," Greer told CNBC. Greer promised more trade details next week. However, China has bought only half the amount of soybeans agreed, according to American Soybean Association President Scott Metzger, so there’s still a ways to go on the trade balance.

This is not glamorous work. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent held a 12-hour meeting on Sunday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. In the end, all the two sides could do was extend the 2025 truce for two more months. You remember what happened last year: China stopped licensing rare earth material exports, and Trump slapped on massive tariffs. "I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know whether we will just roll the current deal," Bessent said Wednesday.

The Bessent-He meeting was also supposed to tee up some kind of agreement on an artificial intelligence safety mechanism for Trump and Xi. Afterwards, Bessent kept to the optimistic line that China was eager to engage, and spoke about at least setting up a hot line to deal with incidents across borders. Don’t count on much more. China does not participate in nuclear arms control. Any AI accord will be all talk with no teeth, just like the U.S.-China fentanyl working group.

AMERICA AND CHINA ARE FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE OF AI — CHIPS ARE THE BATTLEFIELD

What’s much more important is keeping the U.S. AI tech stack ahead of China. At the White House State Dinner on Thursday night, it was good to see Trump assemble the tech titans as he did on his visit to Beijing in May. These leaders from Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Dell, OpenAI, Citigroup, etc. have the cash and the smarts to keep the U.S. in the lead in AI. SpaceX and Amazon Leo are launching satellites that will keep U.S. dominance over China in the low earth orbit market sector. Google has Project Suncatcher to try running its tensor processing units with solar power on orbit. Innovation is America’s edge over China. Yes, they'd like to book deals with China in areas such as chips and financial services, but China has been lagging. For example, Nvidia is cleared to sell its H200 chips to China (not its most advanced products) but only small batches of chips have been purchased by Tencent and ByteDance. The reality is that China is cutting imports under Xi’s policy of semi-conductor self-reliance. That’s a sign that China is girding for long-term conflict.

Fortunately, President Trump has taken many actions to strengthen America’s position. The Greenland agreement, investing in Venezuela’s oil, getting Chinese operators out of the Panama Canal Zone, a hefty defense budget aimed at countering China, expanding the Space Force, and yes, the U.S. Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: all this has protected American interests. Boundaries are good for geopolitics.

CHINA IS TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE STARS. AMERICA MUST RECLAIM SPACE SUPREMACY

And what did Xi contribute? Xi Jinping announced China’s welcome loan of two pandas to the Atlanta Zoo, and a preposterous initiative for 100,000 Americans to study in China over the next five years. This, from a China ramping up nuclear weapons production, hassling U.S. satellites on orbit, backing Russia with oil purchases and defense electronics, and giving what Perdue termed "intel and parts" to Iran.

That offer was deeply cynical. Xi wants to show off Chinese culture, but in fact, there are fewer than 2,000 American students in China compared to 265,919 Chinese students in the USA. Last fall, Harvard enrolled 1,452 students from China, mostly graduate students. But if you want to go, Duke University has a joint venture in China which got a flattering and no doubt coincidental write-up in the state-owned China Daily on Friday.

source https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-quiet-china-wins-more-important-than-xis-empty-state-visit

Missouri's redistricting mess created an election problem Supreme Court has days to untangle

Missouri’s congressional map fight is hurtling toward another potential Supreme Court showdown, with courts at odds over which districts should govern the November election after more than 1.2 million Missourians voted in the August primary under a different map.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Monday that Missouri must use its 2025 congressional map in November, finding that switching to the state’s 2022 districts after the primary would violate the U.S. Constitution. But the appeals court paused its order until Sept. 28, 2026, opening a narrow window for another visit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Abhishek Kambli, a partner at Holtzman Vogel and former deputy associate attorney general at the Justice Department, told Fox News Digital the Supreme Court’s previous intervention does not necessarily signal how the justices will handle the latest ruling.

"It’s unpredictable how they’ll rule, mostly because we didn’t get their reasoning in the last order," Kambli said. "So, we don’t know the precise reason why they decided to stay at that time."

ELECTION CHAOS IN THIS RED STATE JUST GOT EVEN STRANGER FOR REPUBLICANS AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING

The Supreme Court previously stayed a federal district court's temporary restraining order requiring Missouri to use the 2025 map. The Eighth Circuit has now directed the lower court to enter a permanent injunction requiring the newer districts, putting the dispute in a different procedural posture.

"So unless the Supreme Court steps in again, the state will be required to use the seven-one map for this election," Kambli said.

Missouri held its Aug. 4, 2026, primary under the 2025 map. Roughly a month later, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that voters could challenge the map through a referendum, leaving the 2022 districts in place for the November election.

Kambli said switching congressional maps between the primary and general election raises serious constitutional concerns.

"You would have had a large number of Missourians who would have been disenfranchised because they voted for one set of candidates in the primary and will be voting for another set in the general," Kambli said.

MISSOURI AG FILES PETITION ASKING SUPREME COURT TO REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING MAP

"And what's even more concerning is sometimes those candidates are unopposed so that they miss their only chance to vote as a result of what the Missouri Supreme Court did here," Kambli continued. "So that's what's really at issue — is whether everyone gets an equal voice in a situation where the primary election is integral to the electoral system of the state."

But Yale law professor Akhil Amar and University of California, Davis, law professor Vikram Amar have argued the opposite. After the Supreme Court’s earlier stay, Vikram wrote on SCOTUSblog that using the 2025 map in November would not protect anyone’s right to vote if those lines were never legally in effect. Akhil agreed with his analysis.

"HB1’s district lines lack the force of law, full stop," Vikram wrote. "These lines cannot be used wrongly in November just because they were previously used wrongly in the primary. Two wrongs do not make (or vindicate) a right (to vote)."

Meanwhile, Kambli placed much of the blame for the eleventh-hour legal scramble over which map to use on the Missouri Supreme Court, arguing the turmoil was "entirely preventable."

VIRGINIA GOP, DEMS BATTLE IT OUT OVER REDISTRICTING BEFORE STATE SUPREME COURT

Kambli argued that the Missouri Supreme Court could have resolved the map dispute earlier, noting that the issue remained unsettled even after the candidate filing deadline passed.

Alicia Bannon, senior director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, pointed instead to delays by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins as a key reason the dispute dragged on.

Opponents of the 2025 map submitted more than 300,000 signatures in December 2025, but Hoskins did not formally reject the referendum petition until Aug. 4, the day of the primary.

"Time passed. And passed further," Bannon wrote for State Court Report. "As early as December 2025, Hoskins asserted in separate federal litigation that a referendum on redistricting was not authorized by the state constitution. But he held off on issuing a certificate on that basis — which would have triggered judicial review — instead going through a lengthy process of verifying petition signatures."

Bannon wrote that the Missouri Supreme Court’s criticism of Hoskins’ delays stood out, particularly the court’s rejection of his argument that it had waited too long to intervene.

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The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the referendum could proceed and faulted Hoskins for the delay, saying he had "created the confusion, expense, and practical difficulties of which he complains."

Kambli argued the Purcell principle, under which federal courts generally avoid changing election rules close to Election Day because of the potential for disruption, weighs in favor of keeping the 2025 map because Missouri already used it for the primary.

"The Eighth Circuit said that the Purcell principles support the injunction, not go against it," Kambli said.

Bannon also warned that courts being too cautious can create its own problems.

"It’s an approach that’s understandable in some circumstances but can also incentivize shenanigans to evade judicial review while harming voters’ rights," Bannon wrote.

Bannon suggested earlier court action in Missouri could have helped avoid the last-minute dispute, including by moving the primary or setting a firm deadline for the referendum petition.

But regardless of whether the Supreme Court decides to weigh in, the referendum will still be on the ballot.

"If the Supreme Court does not stay the Eighth Circuit injunction, there's no doubt that the 7-1 map is what will be in effect for this election. There's still going to be a referendum on the ballot deciding that issue for future elections, but for this one, that's how it'll be decided," Kambli said.

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/missouris-redistricting-mess-created-election-problem-supreme-court-has-days-untangle

DAVID MARCUS: Minnesota GOP candidates keep Trump at arm's length as they eye a post-Trump party future

As the once-long shot Minnesota GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya has closed in on Democratic opponent Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the issue of President Donald Trump — who is not particularly popular in the Gopher State — has taken a unique turn.

For Tafoya, as well as gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth and others down ballot for the GOP — not to mention their potential voters — the general attitude toward Trump is that while they support much of what he has done, they also represent what a post-Donald Trump Republican Party could look like.

This week in St. Cloud, I met John, who was sitting in his SUV outside the courthouse. Covered in pro-Trump stickers and flags, the vehicle served as a kind of quiet, solo demonstration.

I mentioned to him that his "Trump 2028" flag, in particular, seemed a bit provocative. He told me, "Well, I know he’s not really going to run again, I don’t think he legally can, but that’s just more for comedy and just for fun," adding that he thinks Vice President JD Vance is a great choice to run next, perhaps with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his running mate.

When I asked whether he thought that Tafoya and Demuth should embrace Trump more, John told me, "That's the problem with Minnesota [Republicans]. We need to be hardcore Trump, not lukewarm, and I think that’s kind of biting them in the butt, they've got to be all in."

Bob, who I had chatted with the night before, along with his wife Mary, was a counterpoint that showed the eye of the needle the Minnesota GOP needs to thread. He’s retired from banking and is now a soybean farmer with mixed and nuanced views on Trump and especially his tariff regime.

"The tariffs hurt us," Bob confided to Fox News Digital, but added that "the administration provided subsidies, we got about $40,000 last year that helped us stay afloat."

But Bob also pointed out that things weren’t perfect before the tariffs, when it seemed countries like China were simply taking advantage of American farmers.

Likewise, Scott, a man in his 60s, who I met as he was walking his dog amid the pretty, old brick buildings of solid Midwestern St. Cloud, is far from a Trump supporter, but is considering the GOP this year because of the Somali fraud scandal, which he said he has seen close up in his town.

"They don’t work," Scott scoffed, before adding, "But you see them in these shiny new cars, we all knew something was going on way before it hit the news, it was just obvious."

PEGGY FLANAGAN WAS MINNESOTA'S NO 2 OFFICIAL AS MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL EXPLODED UNDER STATE'S WATCH

The Somali fraud question can cut both ways, though, as the manager of the restaurant where I had lunch made clear. He told me that the crackdown in St. Cloud was "extreme," and that he rarely protests, but did in this case, getting pepper sprayed for his trouble.

But, when I asked if the enforcement has been less aggressive over the past few months, he was quick to admit that, "Yes, it has calmed down a lot."

When you put the above pieces of the Minnesota electoral mosaic together, it becomes clear why it behooves Tafoya and Demuth to keep Trump at arm’s length, without fully breaking with him: to embrace clear successes like the closed-up southern border and no tax on overtime, while questioning less popular measures such as tariffs and the Iran war.

And, after all, should Tafoya win, her four or six-year term will be under a president who is not Trump. Likewise, should Demuth serve two terms in the governor’s mansion, six of the eight years will see a new resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

DAVID MARCUS: IN DEEP BLUE MINNESOTA A RED DAWN MAY BE RISING AHEAD OF THE MIDTERMS

Gentle pushback on the POTUS is becoming something of a national trend for GOP Senate candidates, with both Michigan’s Mike Rogers and Iowa’s Ashley Hinson calling this week for an abrupt end to Trump’s military actions in Iran.

Just as was true at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas two weeks ago. The firm subtext of the tight races this year is: What comes after Donald Trump? With the Democratic Party hurtling toward socialism all over the map, many Republicans think Tafoya is a sensible centrist who can grow the brand over the next decade.

NEWT GINGRICH: REPUBLICANS CAN WIN THE 2026 MIDTERMS — IF THEY FOLLOW THE PLAN

For their part, expect Democrats in Minnesota like Flanagan and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor, to keep pounding away at Trump like Rocky attacking Apollo Creed’s midsection. They seek anything but a nuanced and thoughtful race — they just want rage against the "orange man."

But maybe, just maybe, more than a decade after Trump descended the golden escalator, American politics is once again becoming bigger than him. If that is so, Democrats will need more than name-calling to defeat this new moderate, Midwestern breed of Republican.

source https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/david-marcus-minnesota-gop-candidates-keep-trump-arms-length-eye-post-trump-party-future

Bills superfan defends OJ Simpson's football legacy after team leaves Juice off its Wall of Fame

The Buffalo Bills can attempt to scrub O.J. Simpson from their history, but members of Bills Mafia say they'll never forget what 'Juice' meant to the franchise.

At the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, Simpson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was left off the team's new Wall of Fame, which honors the greatest players in team history. Sure, there was the messy double-murder trial in which O.J. was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman, but Bills fans argue the Wall of Fame should be based on accomplishments on the field, not drama off it.

"His personal life is his personal life," Bills Mafia member Corey Teed told OutKick. "You put all that aside and you just make it about football, O.J. Simpson is the reason we started [putting] names on the wall. If you go back far enough in Bills history and you look, you put all the legal stuff aside, the wife murdered, all that, and you look at football alone, and his stats, as a running back, he was the reason we started putting names on the wall."

BILLS FAN PROTESTS OJ SIMPSON WALK OF FAME SNUB, MELANIE GRIFFITH RESPECTS SUMMER & BUFFALO REVEALS A NEW CAGE

Teed has a point. Simpson was, in fact, the first member of the franchise to be inducted and remained the only member from 1980 until 1984 when Jack Kemp became the second inductee. "When I came here in my rookie year, I was nervous, didn't have any friends and we weren't winning many games," O.J. said during the induction ceremony in 1980. "But it let me understand that in Buffalo, appreciation comes with respect. It's something you earn.

"They were the most valuable years of my life. I'll remember those accomplishments as I live the rest of my life and raise my kids."

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O.J. died April 10, 2024.

Now, with The Juice gone and a new stadium, Bills ownership has moved on. That decision has left fans like Teed shaking their heads.

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"We got players in the NFL right now, on my fantasy football team – Rashee Rice – that can legally be in jail for certain things and he's playing football, right? We still give them credit and they're still playing. So, why 40 years later, whatever it is, 30, 20, you're gonna take him off for something that had nothing to do with his personal life?"

Rice served 30 days in jail during May and June for violating his probation relating to a 2025 case in which he was sentenced to five years of deferred probation following a high-speed crash in 2024. Multiple people were in the crash in which Rice was driving nearly 120 miles per hour.

Teed's opinion isn't controversial in Buffalo. Former Erie County (NY) legislator Betty Jean Grant made headlines last week when she shared similar feelings on O.J.'s omission. "This is an American issue of a man who made Buffalo, who made the Buffalo Bills. Had he not done what he did from 1969 to 1977, the Buffalo Bills would not be here to play in the stadium," she said during a news conference.

"They would not be here. He made Buffalo. He built Buffalo, the Rock Pile. He made Buffalo world famous."

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick/bills-superfan-defends-oj-simpson-football-legacy-team-leaves-juice-off-wall-fame

Dabble Promo Code FOXNEWS: Play $5, Get $50 on Rams vs Giants on Monday Night Football

Giants. Rams. Monday Night Football. Does it get any better than this to close out the week? It does with Dabble. New users can enjoy a free $50 in bonus bets when placing a $5 bet on Dabble using promo code FOXNEWS. 

So much of the game is focused on quarterbacks and how good the offense can be, but we’ve seen so much success from defenses that it is impossible to ignore. The Los Angeles Rams came into the season with multiple big-name players on the defensive side of the ball. There were flashes of success in the first game against the Rams, but they still allowed 27 points to the 49ers. After the game, they lost Myles Garrett to injury, but they should have Aaron Donald back tonight. 

On the other side of the field, the New York Giants defense is now under the tutelage of John Harbaugh. In their opening game against a high-powered offense, the Cowboys, the Giants were able to hold them to just 20 points. They forced an interception, but the concern is that they couldn’t get a sack and just had one tackle for a loss. The team will need to generate more pressure against the opposing quarterback. They certainly can’t give Matthew Stafford a ton of time in the pocket tonight. 

Maybe this game will have no defense, or maybe it will be a low-scoring affair. The end result of the game won’t matter to new Dabble users, because you can get $50 in bonus bets when you play $5 on the game using promo code FOXNEWS. 

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-betting/dabble-promo-code-foxnews-play-5-get-50-rams-vs-giants-monday-night-football

Fanatics Sportsbook Promo Code FOXNEWS350: Bet $20, Get $350 on the Rams vs Giants

It was a fun day of football yesterday as we saw some great matchups. One of the best was saved for the end of the week, as Monday Night Football brings us the Rams and Giants in Los Angeles. Fanatics Sportsbook has also saved new users a great offer: using code FOXNEWS350, they can bet $20 and receive $350 in FanCash.

Tonight’s game features two teams in need of wins, but for different reasons. The New York Giants need a win to cement themselves as true contenders. If they can find a way to beat the Rams, they should get the attention of the league. New York already took down the Cowboys, but they were at home. Can they get a win on the road to show that they are a legitimate playoff contender? Maybe it is too early to even think about that, but a 2-0 record would be helpful.

The Los Angeles Rams need a win after dropping their opening game to the San Francisco 49ers. In what should’ve been a great matchup, the Rams looked lost and overmatched on both sides of the ball. The Rams now need to even up their record or fall two games behind the 49ers and the Seahawks in their own division. There are only about 11-12% of teams in history that make the playoffs after a 0-2 start.

This has the makings of one of the best games on the schedule. Week 2 will come to a close with either two more 1-1 teams or another pair of 2-0 and 0-2 squads. The result on the field doesn’t impact the offer from Fanatics Sportsbook, which is offering new users a chance to get $350 in FanCash from a $20 bet when using code FOXNEWS350. 

 

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-betting/fanatics-sportsbook-promo-code-foxnews350-bet-20-get-350-rams-vs-giants

Caleb Williams avoids major hamstring injury as MRI reveals a strain but no tear after Vikings game scare

The most important MRI in the history of the Chicago Bears (maybe) returned good news on Monday because quarterback Caleb Williams avoided a major injury.

A source tells OutKick that Williams has a strained hamstring injury and that he is not expected to miss significant time following a major scare during Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams has what is being described as a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

CALEB WILLIAMS CARTED OFF AT SOLDIER FIELD WITH APPARANT HAMSTRING INJURY

That means he may miss between one and three weeks while he rehabilitates. Bears coach Ben Johnson told ESPN1000 in Chicago on Monday he expects Williams to be "week-to-week."

Netflix Sports reported the Bears have not ruled out Williams for next Monday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The source told OutKick that was a "very optimistic" outlook.

What is realistic is that Williams avoided a full detachment of his hamstring, which was the fear after he went down untouched during a scramble out of the pocket in the game against the Vikings.

SCARY SCENE AS JAYDEN REED CARTED OFF ON SPINE BOARD DURING PACKERS GAME AGAINST THE JETS

But the player's reaction was not indicative of the injury's seriousness, apparently.

Not even close, apparently.

His hamstring remains completely attached and structurally intact.

Williams was heard screaming as he lay on the turf and was eventually carted off the field amid the fear it could be his last time in uniform this season.

Williams, who has suffered and overcome hamstring issues in the past, is expected to begin a rehab program as early as Monday.

The Bears will go with backup quarterback Tyson Bagent in the games Williams misses, coach Ben Johnson said on Sunday.

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source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/caleb-williams-avoids-hamstring-injury-mri-reveals-strain-no-tear-vikings-game-scare