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Monday, April 27

Daily Briefing

NYT‘I’m Not a Basket Case’: Trump Describes His Mind-Set After an Evening of Chaos

Shawn McCreesh and Tyler Pager

An incident involving a gunman occurred at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, leading to President Trump's evacuation from the stage.
President Trump was unharmed after being rushed from the stage, while a suspect was apprehended following an exchange of fire with authorities.

New York Times

FTChina blocks Meta’s $2bn purchase of AI group Manus

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of the artificial intelligence (AI) startup Manus.
This decision marks an extraordinary late-stage intervention by Beijing, impacting two non-Chinese companies, and reflects escalating competition between Washington and Beijing over emerging AI technology.

Financial Times

WSJPalestinians Stream Back to Northern Gaza on Foot

Israel permitted displaced Gazans to begin crossing a military zone that bisects the enclave after a breakthrough in hostage release negotiations.
Thousands of Palestinians subsequently streamed back on foot to northern Gaza, returning to their homes for the first time since the early stages of the 15-month conflict.

Wall Street Journal

FTInside China’s plans to fight in space

China is developing extensive "dual-use" space capabilities, ranging from seizing satellites to striking targets on Earth from orbit, thereby intensifying an arms race with the United States.
Beijing's strategy for potential space conflict, revealed in military textbooks and academic papers, includes the development of robotic arms to capture satellites in geostationary orbit and ground-based systems for targeting satellites in low Earth orbit.

Financial Times

NYTMost Guests Ducked for Cover. This Man Munched on His Burrata Salad.

Tyler Pager

Michael Glantz, a prominent agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), remained composed and continued eating his burrata salad while other guests at the White House Correspondents' Dinner ducked for cover amidst a chaotic situation.
The commotion at the event was triggered by gunshots heard outside the ballroom, which led to widespread panic and the swift evacuation of President Donald Trump and other officials.

New York Times

WSJLeading China Property Developer Reports Huge loss, in Sign of Widening Real-Estate Woes

China Vanke, a leading property developer, reported a record net loss of 88.56 billion yuan (approximately US$12.9 billion) in 2025, marking its second consecutive full-year deficit since its 1991 public listing.
The substantial losses are attributed to factors such as increased inventory, credit impairment provisions, and the settlement of projects acquired with high land costs, further exacerbated by a past development model characterized by high debt, turnover, and leverage.

Wall Street Journal

WSJFreed Israeli Hostages Still Had Shrapnel in Their Bodies From Oct. 7 Attack

Some freed Israeli women were held alone for extended periods and spent eight months in tunnels, according to an Israeli medical official.
Medical experts documented that 14 out of 26 examined hostages had sustained wounds during their capture, with nine having shrapnel remaining in their bodies, including in the chest, limbs, and pelvis.

Wall Street Journal

FTWhy the UAE asked Pakistan for its $3.5bn back

The UAE demanded the immediate repayment of a $3.5 billion loan from Pakistan, which was part of financial support extended in 2019 and had been routinely rolled over.
This demand posed a significant threat to Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves and jeopardized its $7 billion IMF bailout program, as the country's reserves were already under pressure.

Financial Times

NYTU.S. Mint Buys Drug Cartel Gold and Sells It as ‘American’

Justin Scheck, Simón Posada and Federico Rios

A New York Times investigation uncovered that the U.S. Mint has been acquiring gold from illicit sources, including regions controlled by Colombian drug cartels, despite federal law mandating the use of American-mined gold for its investor-grade coins.
This illegally mined gold is laundered through a complex international supply chain involving intermediaries and falsified documentation, allowing it to enter legitimate markets and ultimately reach the U.S. Mint's inventory.

New York Times

FTAre Europe and America headed for divorce?

The Financial Times article questions whether Europe and America are headed for a "divorce" in their relationship.
It highlights a fraying of the United States' military commitment to Europe.

Financial Times

NYTMeet the New Leader of the Free World

David French

Ukraine has transformed from a nation expected to fall swiftly to an indispensable security partner in the Western alliance, revolutionizing land warfare and fighting Russia to a stalemate.
Volodymyr Zelensky is demonstrating how the post-American free world can preserve its liberty and independence, as European nations are rapidly working to become militarily independent from the United States.

New York Times

WSJSuspected Sabotage of Deep-Sea Cable Triggers First NATO-Led Response

A suspected sabotage campaign against critical infrastructure, including a severed deep-sea cable in the Baltic Sea, prompted NATO to mount its first coordinated response to such an incident.
NATO initiated a new mission called "Baltic Sentry," deploying frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, and naval drones to enhance surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea region, protecting vulnerable undersea cables.

Wall Street Journal

WSJRwanda-Backed Rebels Enter Congo's Safe-Haven City

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group entered Goma, a safe-haven city in Congo.
Residents reported gunfire and shelling in Goma after the rebels overran Congolese troops.

Wall Street Journal

NYTIsrael’s President, Putting Off Decision on Pardon for Netanyahu, Will Push for Plea Deal

Isabel Kershner

President Isaac Herzog of Israel has decided not to issue a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption case at this time.
Instead of a pardon, Herzog will seek to initiate a mediation process to reach a plea deal in Netanyahu's corruption trial.

New York Times

NYTA Timeline of the Attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Junho Lee, Helmuth Rosales, Elena Shao, Charlie Smart, Daniel Wood and Ashley Wu

An attack involving gunfire unfolded at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton, resulting in the evacuation of President Donald Trump and other officials.
The suspect, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, was apprehended after attempting to breach a security checkpoint while armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives.

New York Times

FTReeves set for new growth push after May elections

Rachel Reeves, UK chancellor, is preparing a new push for fiscal discipline, closer ties with the EU, and planning reforms.
This initiative aims to reassure Labour MPs following an anticipated defeat in upcoming May elections.

Financial Times

Friday, March 13

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

The White House

@WhiteHouse

UNDEFEATED. https://t.co/Jt69bcag5y

♥ 193.2k↺ 23.6k

Om Patel

@om_patel5

stop spending money on Claude Code. Chipotle's support bot is free: https://t.co/0NQU4a79T1

♥ 147.4k↺ 9.3k

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

I packaged up the "autoresearch" project into a new self-contained minimal repo if people would like to play over the weekend. It's basically nanochat LLM training core stripped down to a single-GPU, one file version of ~630 lines of code, then: - the human iterates on the https://t.co/3tyOq2P9c6

Thursday, March 12

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

The White House

@WhiteHouse

UNDEFEATED. https://t.co/Jt69bcag5y

♥ 124.7k↺ 14.4k

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

♥ 27.7k↺ 3.5k

Claude

@claudeai

Wednesday, March 11

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

♥ 27.4k↺ 3.5k

Claude

@claudeai

Introducing Code Review, a new feature for Claude Code. When a PR opens, Claude dispatches a team of agents to hunt for bugs. https://t.co/AL2J4efxPw

♥ 62.7k↺ 5.2k

Saturday, March 7

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Ben Stiller

@BenStiller

Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie. https://t.co/dMQqRxxVCa

♥ 736.7k↺ 83.0k

The White House

@WhiteHouse

JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 https://t.co/0502N6a3rL

♥ 129.4k↺ 20.6k

Barack Obama

@BarackObama

Friday, March 6

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Brian Allen

@allenanalysis

🚨 BREAKING: Rep. Ted Lieu says the full Epstein files contain information that Donald Trump RAPED minors. So he started a war to distract us from his crimes. Never stop speaking about Epstein. https://t.co/18HuhEucoG

♥ 272.8k↺ 76.4k

The White House

@WhiteHouse

JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 https://t.co/0502N6a3rL

♥ 105.0k↺ 16.7k

Elon Musk

@elonmusk