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U.S. and Chinese officials announced on Sunday that both countries had agreed on a framework for a deal to address export restrictions, tariffs, and the illicit fentanyl trade, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday that China is “ready to make a deal.” He added, “I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework” to avert President Donald Trump’s threatened additional 100 percent tariffs on China, which were scheduled to take effect on November 1. The deal was discussed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia over the weekend, where Trump announced trade and critical mineral deals with four Southeast Asian countries—Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam—and also oversaw the signing of an expanded ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand. Trump had previously threatened to impose trade penalties on the warring countries if they were unable to widen a current truce. After Trump said Thursday night that an unnamed “patriot” donated $130 million to compensate military service members during the ongoing government shutdown, the New York Times on Saturday identified the anonymous donor as billionaire Timothy Mellon, the grandson of businessman and former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. The White House has not yet announced plans for the funds disbursement, and the Times reported that the $130 million sum could pay each service member $100 if divided equally. Bessent told CBS News on Sunday that, while he “thinks” the government can pay service members in early November, they are currently set to miss paychecks starting on November 15. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture announced on Saturday that food stamp programs will be paused on November 1. In a statement on its website blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown, the agency wrote, “Bottom line, the well has run dry.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday ordered the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford—an aircraft carrier currently stationed in the Mediterranean Sea—to relocate to the U.S. Southern Command region, which includes the area around Latin America. In an X post announcing the move, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the vessel will support current counternarcotic operations in the region, and work “to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity” of the United States. Earlier that morning, Hegseth announced on X that U.S. forces conducted a strike on a suspected narcotics-carrying drugboat in the Caribbean Sea, which he said was operated by the Venezuelan-based cartel, Tren de Aragua, and killed all six aboard. “If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere,” he tweeted, “we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda.” On Sunday, a U.S. warship docked in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, which neighbors Venezuela. Argentine citizens voted on Sunday in the country’s midterm elections, with results showing that President Javier Milei’s libertarian party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), dramatically overperformed expectations. In the capital city region of Buenos Aires, LLA won 41.5 to 40.8 percent against the Peronist opposition coalition, despite the area being a longtime base of support for pro-Peronist candidates. Nationwide, with 99 percent of official votes tallied, Milei’s party received about 41 percent of the vote, more than any other coalition or party. Russia attacked Ukrainian cities overnight on Friday with missiles and drones, killing four civilians and injuring at least 31 others, including seven children. The Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, took the brunt of the aerial attack, with city Mayor Vitali Klitschko posting during the attack, “Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack.” Meanwhile, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced Sunday that the country had conducted a successful test launch of its nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable Burevestnik missile, a new tech weapon that he said “no one in the world has.” According to Russia’s military, the Burevestnik missile has a maximum range of 8,700 miles, more than twice Earth’s radius. This morning, Russian military officials claimed to have intercepted 193 Ukrainian drones during an overnight assault on Moscow, with regional officials reporting one fatality from the strikes.
