MxM News

President Trump declared “we have a deal” Thursday after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, describing their nearly two-hour summit as “a 12 out of 10.” Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters the two leaders reached a sweeping agreement to stabilize trade relations and address the deadly fentanyl crisis. “We have a deal. Now, every year we will renegotiate the deal,” Trump said. “But I think the deal will go on for a long time.”

According to Trump, Xi agreed to suspend for one year China’s export restrictions on products made with rare-earth and critical minerals — materials essential to the production of semiconductors, batteries, and high-tech magnets. “There’s no roadblock at all on rare earth,” he said. “It’s a one-year deal that I think will be very routinely extended.” In exchange, Trump said the U.S. would lower the average tariff rate on Chinese imports from 57.6% to 47.6%. Trump emphasized that Xi also committed to intensifying China’s crackdown on fentanyl exports, which have been a major driver of overdose deaths in the United States. “We agreed he’s going to work very hard to stop the flow,” Trump said. “I think you’re going to see a big difference.”

Beijing also pledged to resume “tremendous” purchases of American soybeans, reversing its earlier retaliatory halt. In a Truth Social post later Thursday, Trump said China had additionally agreed to begin purchasing U.S. oil and gas, noting that “a very large-scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of oil and gas from the Great State of Alaska.” The president confirmed that Taiwan was not discussed during the meeting but said both sides talked about working together to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. “We didn’t really discuss the Russian oil,” he added. “We discussed working together to see if we can get that war finished.”

The meeting, held at a South Korean air base, marked the first in-person exchange between Trump and Xi since his return to the White House. The two leaders greeted each other warmly, with Xi telling Trump, “Great pleasure to see you again.” Xi praised Trump’s leadership, saying, “China’s development goes hand in hand with your vision to make America great again,” and added that the two nations “are fully able to help each other succeed and prosper together.” Much of Thursday’s agreement builds upon a framework negotiated earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur between U.S. and Chinese trade teams.

Trump said he plans to visit China in April, calling the meeting “amazing” and “an outstanding group of decisions.” He did not say whether the pending TikTok deal was discussed. The renewed cooperation on fentanyl follows years of tension over China’s role in the U.S. opioid crisis. The CDC reports the drug has killed nearly 330,000 Americans in the past five years — roughly one in every 1,000 people. Trump has long pressed Beijing to stop the export of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, arguing the problem is both moral and economic. “They make $100 million selling fentanyl into our country,” Trump said last week. “They lose $100 billion with the 20% tariff. It’s not a good business proposition.”

Trump left Thursday’s summit expressing confidence that the new arrangement marked a major step forward. “On the scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” he said. “It was an amazing meeting — and I think this deal will go on for a long time.”

MxM News

Prince Andrew has officially been stripped of his royal title and ordered to leave his longtime residence at Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday — the latest and most severe consequence of his years-long association with Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement provided to BBC News, the Palace said King Charles had decided — with the full backing of Prince William — that the disgraced royal will no longer be referred to as “Prince Andrew” and will henceforth go by “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.” The statement also confirmed that formal notice has been issued terminating his taxpayer-subsidized lease on the Royal Lodge estate, where he has lived for more than two decades.

“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the Palace said, adding that “their majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

Andrew will reportedly relocate to a smaller property on the Sandringham Estate — one financed privately by King Charles. The move follows months of renewed scrutiny over the Duke of York’s ties to Epstein, including the surfacing of emails from early 2011 suggesting Andrew remained in contact with the financier even after claiming to have severed ties. “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” one message allegedly from Andrew to Epstein read.

The decision to remove his “Prince” title marks a dramatic fall for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, who was forced to step back from public duties in 2019 following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview. In that appearance, Andrew denied ever meeting Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre despite photographic evidence to the contrary. Giuffre, who died earlier this year, accused Andrew of having sex with her on three occasions when she was a teenager — claims he has repeatedly denied.

Her posthumous memoir, published earlier this month, reignited outrage and fueled new calls for the monarchy to take decisive action. In a statement Thursday, Giuffre’s family said her “truth and extraordinary courage” had brought accountability at last. “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince,” they said.

Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, will also be forced to vacate Royal Lodge, where she continued to live despite their 1996 divorce. Ferguson, who has also faced scrutiny over her connections to Epstein, resigned earlier this year from a children’s charity she had long represented.

Though Andrew did not contest the King’s decision, it represents an extraordinary public repudiation by the royal family — one that effectively ends his life as a working royal and distances the institution from the lingering shadow of Epstein.