Xi and Blinken meet:Â Chinese President Xi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that they reached an understanding and will work to improve relations between their two countries. Blinken said that the Chinese did not agree to allow direct communication between military leaders of the two countries, for which the U.S. has been pushing. The U.S. and China agreed to have more talks but it was clear that major issues such as trade tariffs and the future of Taiwan have yet to be addressed.
Intel’s deal with Germany:Â U.S. chip manufacturer Intel and the German government have agreed on a deal for Intel to build a $19 billion computer chip manufacturing plant in Germany. Intel will receive about $10 billion in subsidies from the German government. It’s part of Intel’s plan to invest up to $88 billion in Europe over the next ten years.
Illinois mass shooting:Â Police report that 23 people were shot during a Juneteenth celebration yesterday in a parking lot at a strip mall in the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook. Â One person died. Police said that it had been a peaceful event until an undetermined number of people started shooting. No suspects were in custody as of this morning.
U.N. workers:Â Russia said today that U.N. aid workers cannot go to the area affected by the collapse of a dam in Ukraine to help in the cleanup because continued military action makes the area unsafe. Russia controls the area where it is believed an explosion was set off to destroy the dam. Tens of thousands of civilians still are affected by floodwaters, lack of power, lack of clean water and failed sewer systems.
Barr on Trump:Â Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr who served in the post during the Trump Administration and had been a strong defender of Trump, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation” yesterday that Trump has not been a victim and the government did not overreach in indicting him in connection with his taking classified government documents. Barr said, “He provoked this whole problem himself. He’s also a fundamentally flawed person who engages in reckless conduct that leads to situations, calamitous situations, like this, which are very disruptive and hurt any political cause he’s associated with.”
Clark wins U.S. Open:Â Golfer Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club yesterday. It was the first major victory of his career. He came in one stroke ahead of second place finisher Rory McIlroy.
Cover photo courtesy of Wyndham Clark’s Facebook page
