LANEVILLE – Laneville ISD certified its election results Thursday night, even as residents questioned the integrity of a bond measure that passed by just 16 votes and urged the board to delay the decision. On Saturday, May 2, Laneville ISD’s $8.5 million bond that aims to improve facilities, safety, and infrastructure while also supporting the district’s educational environment passed with 53% of the vote.
Laneville ISD Bond Vote
149/52.84% voted FOR the bond measure, while 133/47.16% voted AGAINST it.
Voters argue the election lacked basic ballot security, saying the makeshift box failed to meet Texas Election Code standards and left ballots easily accessible — a flaw they believe undermines the integrity of the entire election. Continue reading Voter integrity questioned
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.
The court ruled 4-3 that the state’s Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize the mid-decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment April 21, but the court’s ruling renders the results of that vote meaningless.
Writing for the majority, Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote that the legislature submitted the proposed constitutional amendment to voters “in an unprecedented manner.”
“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” he wrote.
Democrats had hoped to win as many as four additional U.S. House seats under Virginia’s redrawn U.S. House map as part of an attempt to offset Republican redistricting done elsewhere at the urging of President Donald Trump. That ruling, combined with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision severely weakening the Voting Rights Act, has supercharged the Republicans’ congressional gerrymandering advantage heading into this year’s midterm elections.
Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee said the ruling was another sign of GOP momentum heading into the midterms.
“We’re on offense, and we’re going to win,” he said in a statement.
Don Scott, the Democratic speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, said Democrats respect the court’s opinion but lamented that it overturned the will of the voters: “They voted YES because they wanted to fight back against the Trump power grab.”
Suzan DelBene, chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, criticized the court majority for what she said was a decision that “cast aside the will of the voters,” but she said the people will have the final say.
“In November, they will, and they’ll power Democrats to the House majority,” she said in a statement. A flurry of mid-decade redistricting
Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade after each census to account for population changes. But Trump started an unusual flurry of mid-decade redistricting last year when he encouraged Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts in a bid to win several additional U.S. House seats and hold on to their party’s narrow majority in the midterm elections.
California responded with new voter-approved districts drawn to Democrats’ advantage, and Utah’s top court imposed a new congressional map that also helps Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans stand to gain from new House districts passed in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. They could add even more after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Voting Rights Act case, which has prompted some other Republican states to consider redrawing their maps in time for this year’s elections.
Virginia currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who were elected from districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census. The new districts could have given Democrats an improved chance to win all but one of the state’s 11 congressional seats.
The Supreme Court’s majority was critical of the state’s redrawing of the congressional maps to benefit one political party. Those justices noted that 47% of the state’s voters supported GOP congressional candidates in 2024 but the new map could result in Democrats making up 91% of the state’s House delegation. What was in Democrats’ map
Under the Democratic-drawn map, five districts would have been anchored in the Democratic stronghold of northern Virginia, including one stretching out like a lobster to consume Republican-leaning rural areas. Revisions to four other districts across Richmond, southern Virginia and Hampton Roads would have diluted the voting power of conservative blocs in those areas. And a reshaped district in parts of western Virginia would have lumped together three Democratic-leaning college towns to offset other Republican voters.
The state Supreme Court’s seven justices are appointed by the state legislature, which has toggled back and forth between Democratic, Republican and split control over recent years. Legal experts say the body doesn’t have a set ideological profile.
The case before the court focused not on the shape of the new districts but rather on the process the General Assembly used to authorize them.
Because the state’s redistricting commission was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, lawmakers had to propose an amendment to redraw the districts. That required approval of a resolution in two separate legislative sessions, with a state election sandwiched in between, to place the amendment on the ballot.
The legislature’s initial approval of the amendment occurred last October — while early voting was underway but before it concluded on the day of the general election. The legislature’s second vote on the amendment occurred after a new legislative session began in January. Lawmakers also approved a separate bill in February laying out the new districts, subject to voter approval of the constitutional amendment. Arguments over the definition of ‘election’
Judicial arguments focused on whether the legislature’s initial approval of the amendment came too late, because early voting already had begun for the 2025 general election.
Attorney Matthew Seligman, who defended the legislature, argued that the “election” should be defined narrowly to mean the Tuesday of the general election. In that case, the legislature’s first vote on the redistricting amendment occurred before the election and was constitutional, he told judges.
But, the Supreme Court said in its ruling, “this view appears to be wholly unprecedented in Virginia’s history.”
An attorney for the plaintiffs, Thomas McCarthy, argued that an “election” should be interpreted to cover the entire period during which people can cast ballots, which lasts several weeks in Virginia. If that’s the case, he told justices, then the legislature’s initial endorsement of the redistricting amendment came too late to comply with the state constitution.
The Supreme Court agreed with that argument, writing: “The General Assembly passed the proposed constitutional amendment for the first time well after voters had begun casting ballots during the 2025 general election.”
By the time lawmakers initially endorsed the constitutional amendment, statewide voters already had cast more than 1.3 million ballots in the general election, about 40% of the total votes ultimately cast, the court said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling affirms a decision by a judge in rural Tazewell County, in southwestern Virginia. The court had placed a hold on that ruling and allowed the redistricting vote to proceed before hearing arguments on the case.
In the dissent to Friday’s ruling, Chief Justice Cleo Powell said the election for the purpose of considering the amendment does not include the early voting period.
“The majority’s definition creates an infinite voting loop that appears to have no established beginning,” she wrote, “only a definitive end: Election Day.”
Passenger cruise ship Sky Princess leaves the French Mediterranean port of Marseille. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(LONDON) -- More than 100 people have been sickened in a norovirus outbreak on board a Caribbean Princess cruise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the agency, 102 passengers and 13 crew members were reported sick so far, with symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC on Thursday, during the cruise ship's April 28 to May 11 voyage.
The ship is currently in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, headed towards Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, according to CruiseMapper. It is scheduled to arrive at Port Canaveral, Florida, on May 11.
There are 3,116 total passengers and 1,131 crew members on board the cruise ship, according to the CDC.
In response to the outbreak, the ship and crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolated people who had fallen ill and collected stool specimens for testing, the CDC said.
ABC News has reached out to Princess Cruises for comment.
Norovirus is quite common, especially on ships, and is not related in any way to the current hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship.
This is the fourth gastrointestinal illness outbreak reported on a cruise ship so far this year, according to the CDC.
DALLAS (AP) – Joni Lamb, who with her late husband founded the Daystar Television Network and guided it to become one of the world’s largest Christian TV networks, died Thursday. She was 65.
Lamb, the network’s president, had been suffering from serious health issues before sustaining a back injury that caused her health to deteriorate, the network said in a statement. A cause of death was not released.
“Joni’s love for the Lord and for the people we serve shaped this ministry from the beginning,” the network’s board of directors said in the statement.
The network said its ministry will continue on and that Lamb made sure a leadership team was in place.
She and her husband, Marcus Lamb, who died in 2021, began broadcasting in the Dallas area with a single station in 1993. Five years later, Joni Lamb began hosting her signature daily women’s show.
Based in Bedford, Texas, the Daystar Television Network grew to broadcast in more than 200 countries and has aired shows from many well-known evangelists, including Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes.
The network said it reaches 2.3 billion homes worldwide.
Its ministry was rooted in Pentecostalism, the Christian tradition known for its spirit-filled worship, and its belief in modern-day miracles and everyday battles with evil influences.
In addition to being the network’s president and working behind the scenes, Joni Lamb could be seen on the air hosting “Joni Table Talk” and discussing daily issues.
She stood beside her late husband in 2010 when he admitted on television to an affair with a woman years before. Marcus Lamb also alleged that three people tried to extort money from him to stay quiet.
Joni Lamb said at the time that when she learned of his infidelity she was devastated and prayed to the Holy Spirit, who told her, “He’s worth fighting for.”
The couple said they had healed their marriage and had hoped to keep the matter private.
“All you can do is tell the truth and take your pain and use it to try to help someone else,” Joni Lamb said.
Following her first husband’s death at age 64, she married Doug Weiss two years later. Together they hosted the show “Ministry Now.”
A local resident's phone screen is illuminated with updates of Virginia's congressional redistricting vote during a watch party at Inca Social on April 21, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. Democratic congressional candidate Adam Dunigan hosted the "Congressional District Divorce Party" alongside other Democratic candidates. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday overturned the state's redistricting ballot measure, delivering a major setback to Democrats who hoped the new map would allow them to flip up to four congressional seats.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court said the Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when referring the measure to the ballot. Virginia voters approved the ballot measure in an election last month.
The state's Supreme Court said Virginia will need to use its congressional map from 2021 instead.
The decision is a win for Republicans, who are now currently set to net more seats than Democrats in the ongoing, nationwide mid-decade redistricting scramble.
President Donald Trump celebrated the ruling in a post on his social media platform.
"Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia," Trump wrote. "The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats' horrible gerrymander. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Virginia currently has six Democratic members of the U.S. House and five Republicans, a balance that will likely stay in place instead of the 10 Democratic and 1 Republican delegation Democrats were hoping to elect under the new map.
The newly passed Republican-favoring congressional maps in Tennessee and Florida are undergoing their own separate legal challenges. The ruling on Friday is specific to Virginia and does not impact those maps.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat, wrote that his team is working to pursue "every legal pathway forward to defend the will of the people and protect the integrity of Virginia's elections."
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers missed the deadline to place the redistricting referendum on the ballot because early voting for the 2025 election had already started.
Under Virginia’s constitution, lawmakers must approve a constitutional amendment twice and have an election in between.
Democrats argued that requirement referred only to Election Day itself and not the early voting period. The court said early voting is legally part of the election, meaning the process had already begun before lawmakers acted.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger expended significant political capital on supporting the measure, which became a flashpoint just a few months into her governorship, although it was first championed by the state legislature and during her time on the campaign trail she indicated not being interested in redistricting.
“More than three million Virginians cast their ballots in Virginia’s redistricting referendum, and the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a President who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress with a temporary and responsive referendum. They made their voices heard,” Spanberger wrote in a statement on Friday.
“I am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we — the voters — will have the final say.”
In a dissent, three justices wrote, "Today the majority has broadened the meaning of the word 'election,' as used in the Virginia Constitution, to include the early voting period. This is in direct conflict with how both Virginia and federal law define an election."
The redistricting measure had prompted multiple notable Democrats -- including former Mike Pence aide Olivia Troye and former first lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe -- to launch runs for Congress. The fact that they'd have to now run under the old map may change their plan.
A sign displays the prices of unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel at a Shell gas station in Upland, Calif., on May 4, 2026. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- The monthslong war in Iran is inflicting economic pain across the country as many Americans report struggling with higher costs, particularly the record rise in gas prices.
An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released last week found that half of Americans expect gas prices to increase more in the next year, and that 4 in 10 Americans say they are not as well off as they were when President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Nearly a quarter said they are falling behind financially.
In callback interviews with several of the poll's participants, people emphasized they are struggling to pay for basic necessities and that they are unsatisfied with the country's leadership.
In an interview with ABC News, Jacob Olson, 28, from Beebe, Arkansas, said rising gas and food prices have made life challenging. After he was laid off from his position as a warehouse manager for a solar company that went bankrupt, Olson became a self-employed maker of custom wood projects like storage racks. He said he spends a lot on gas while driving around to his customers.
"One day at a time," Olson said. "One foot in front of the other. ... That's about the way to sum it up."
The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll found that in addition to the 50% of Americans who said they expect gas prices to get worse over the next year, another 15% expect gas prices to stay about the same.
Olson agreed that prices for gas and other goods will continue to go up.
"I don't really do anything, you know, for leisure or luxury anymore," Olson said. "It's all kind of just getting the bills paid ... I have a 1-year-old, and I just had another baby about a month ago, so I've got two little ones, and every day it's getting harder."
Brenda Howard, 66, from Lubbock, Texas, said she can't afford luxuries like trips or meals out either, and since she does not own a car she has to rely on rideshare services like Uber and Lyft for errands and transport to her job as a cleaner.
She said using Uber or Lyft to take a trip to the grocery store costs her around $30.
"This is not the way I thought my retirement was gonna turn out," Howard said. "I never dreamed that it would be a day-to-day struggle, sometimes hour to hour."
The poll found some Americans said they were changing their behaviors because of higher gas prices. Over 4 in 10 have cut back on driving (44%) or cut household expenses (42%). Another 34% said they have changed travel or vacation plans.
Those in lower-income households have been hit even harder by the gas price spike. More than half of people with household incomes of under $50,000 a year said they have cut down on driving and household expenses.
Martha Davis, a 66-year-old Texan who works as a caretaker for her disabled son, said she's struggling to pay for essentials, including gasoline and rent. She has to travel, sometimes as much as 60 miles from where she lives in Tool, Texas, to get to medical appointments.
"I used to get back and forth on like $20, $25, but now it's almost 70 bucks," Davis said.
Four in 10 Americans reported that they are less well off than they were at the beginning of Trump's second presidential term according to the ABC News/Post/Ipsos poll. Some of those who said they are doing worse still support the president.
Andy Breedlove, 51, from West Virginia said he believes both that Trump is doing well in his second term and that gasoline prices are too high.
"But with the price of everything else, it kind of evens out a little," said Breedlove, who is not working due to a disability. Breedlove suspects gas prices will continue to climb because of the war with Iran.
The Iranian government's retaliatory blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for the oil market, has led to severe trade disruptions. Around 20% of oil traded on global markets normally passes through the strait.
A 61% majority of Americans said in the ABC/Post/Ipsos poll that the Trump administration's decision to go to war against Iran was a mistake.
"He hasn't made a clear statement on why ... we're actually participating at all," said Olson, the woodworker with a young family. "From what I know, there's been a lot of just lying and, you know, not being transparent, and ... a big lack of professionalism, which I don't appreciate coming from the president."
Christopher Mosley, 43, a former Walmart employee from Fort Smith, Arkansas, described Trump as "reckless" on foreign policy.
Trump's messaging on gas prices has been mixed. When asked in early April whether he thought prices would decrease before the upcoming midterm elections, Trump said they might stay steady or get higher. On May 1, Trump said gas prices would come "tumbling down" once the conflict was resolved. Iran is reviewing the latest proposal from the U.S. government aimed at winding down the war, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said.
The financial strain felt by voters has the potential to significantly impact the midterm elections, a cycle in which Democrats are already positioned to make gains. Trump has framed the prospect of a change in the power dynamics of Congress as an existential threat to his presidency.
Jim Piper, a 36-year-old from Portage, Indiana, said he wishes Trump had more latitude to pursue his policy goals. Since the start of the second Trump administration, Piper said he has been doing worse financially, but he thinks political deadlock between Democrats and Republicans is to blame for rising prices. Since Piper has a disability and relies on a fixed income, inflation is hard on his wallet.
"I got to pay more, even though I'm not making more," Piper said.
Avantika Vandanapu and Ella Hunt star in 'Not Suitable For Work." (Disney)
The trailer for Not Suitable For Work has arrived.
Hulu has released the official trailer for Mindy Kaling's new comedy series.
The show follows "five work-obsessed twenty-somethings who strive for professional success and, if they have time, personal happiness, in Manhattan," according to its official synopsis.
It stars Ella Hunt, Avantika Vandanapu, Will Angus, Jack Martin, Nicholas Duvernay and Jay Ellis. Also part of the cast are Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Judy Gold, Ego Nwodim, Harry Richardson, Constance Wu, Laura Bell Bundy, May Hong, Bhavesh Patel, Emilia Suárez and Michael Benjamin Washington.
The trailer shows off the main five cast members as they settle into their professional careers in New York City.
"It's my first real day of work and I have decided it's my alpha day," Hunt's AJ Pascarelli says in the trailer.
"Your what?" Vandanapu's Abby says in return.
"Did you get nothing from Wolf of Wall Street?" AJ says, as she laces her tie.
Kaling created Not Suitable for Work. She executive produces it alongside showrunner Charlie Grandy.
Not Suitable For Work premieres its first three episodes on June 2. Two episodes drop each week that follows, before the finale airs on June 23.
“Well, we’re gonna get the band back together,” Fraser said. “The only way to do it. So, we are going to give the audience what they have been bothering all of us for, for the last 20-whatever years.”
Fraser said he's been hoping another movie in the franchise would get made for a long time.
“I was hopeful for a long while, and then I was like, ‘I don’t know if they are.’ Then other Mummy movies got made. But listen, what we’re gonna do is saddle back up, go back to the locations — I should probably stop talking like this, because I don’t want to give everything away," he said.
The actor continued, asking fans of the franchise to "please wish me luck."
"I’m doing my best to get this 57-year-old gear in shape,” he said.
Fraser will reprise his role of Rick O'Connell in The Mummy 4, which is set for a theatrical release on Oct. 15, 2027.
UPDATE: The Van Police Department told KETK News that the gas leak has been fixed.
VAN — A gas leak near Cherry Lane and Highway 16 prompted a shelter-in-place order Friday morning. Van Police said a main gas line was struck, causing the leak. According to our news partner KETK, emergency crews are on scene monitoring the situation while waiting for CenterPoint Energy to arrive and take over repairs. Residents are urged to avoid the area as crews work to secure the line and restore safety
TYLER — Tyler Police have identified two suspects in a 2017 homicide. According to Tyler PD’s Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, detectives recently received information regarding two potential suspects, Jakysia Rodgers (pictured), 33, of Tyler and Quadaverine Allison, 32, of Longview.
On August 11, 2017, officers were called to Christus Mother Frances Hospital ER by staff regarding a victim with a gunshot wound brought in by private vehicle. Officers determined that the shooting occurred on Lawrence Street around 7:30 a.m. that day. After being, shot the victim asked for a neighbor’s help who drove him to the hospital in the victim’s car.
The victim, identified as Joshua Alon McGee, 22, died at the hospital from a single gunshot wound. Investigators believe that narcotics were related to the shooting.
(NEW YORK) -- Hiring slowed in April as a rise in fuel prices hammered shoppers weeks into the war with Iran, U.S. government data on Friday showed.
The U.S. added 115,000 jobs in April, according to the report, which marked a cooldown from 178,000 jobs added in March. The reading for April exceeded economists' expectations.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected the previous month's survey data through the second week of March, before the full effects of the oil shock set off by the war.
As in previous months, the health care industry stood out as a top source of hiring in April, adding 37,000 jobs, the BLS said. The retail sector, as well as transportation and warehousing, also contributed to the increase in hiring.
Employment in the federal government continued to decline in April, shedding 9,000 jobs, the BLS said. The federal government has lost 348,000 jobs, or nearly 12% of its workforce, since October 2024, a month before President Donald Trump was elected.
The hiring figure for March was revised upward from 178,000 jobs added to 185,000 jobs added. Hiring for February, however, was revised downward from a loss of 133,000 jobs to a loss of 156,000 jobs.
The fresh data arrived as the war continues to drive up gasoline prices and borrowing costs, threatening a drag on the economy.
The U.S. added an average of about 15,000 jobs per month in 2025, BLS data showed. That performance indicated a drop-off from 186,000 jobs added each month in 2024.
The Middle East conflict, which began on Feb. 28, prompted Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the worldwide supply of oil.
The U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum, meaning the country produces more oil than it consumes. But since oil prices are set on a global market, U.S. prices move in response to swings in worldwide supply and demand.
The price of an average gallon of gas stands at $4.54 as of Friday, marking an increase of $1.56 per gallon since the war started, AAA data showed. That amounts to a roughly 50% jump in about two-and-a-half months.
In theory, a prolonged oil shortage could drive up prices for a vast array of goods, sapping energy from consumer spending, which powers most of the nation’s economic growth.
A potential jump in costs for additional goods delivered through the Strait of Hormuz -- such as fertilizer and diesel fuel -- could also raise prices beyond gasoline, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in an effort to quell inflation.
Last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the economic outlook as "highly uncertain."
"We're kind of waiting to see what happens with events in the Middle East," Powell said.
The Fed has opted to hold interest rates steady at three consecutive meetings since the outset of 2026. Before that, the Fed cut interest rates a quarter-point three straight times.
The benchmark interest rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the Fed moved to raise interest rates, it would hike borrowing costs for many consumer and business loans, risking a slowdown in hiring.
Markets peg a roughly 70% chance of interest rates holding steady for the remainder of this year, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- When President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing next Thursday, he'll be the first U.S. president to set foot in China in nearly a decade. The last visit was Trump's own, in 2017.
He arrives in a very different position than he expected: the trip was originally scheduled for earlier this spring, then postponed because of the Iran war.
Trump had said the war would only last four to six weeks. Instead, there’s no end in sight with the the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed and U.S. gas prices surging -- as the president faces record-low approval ratings.
That backdrop has flipped the leverage dynamic, according to experts who study the region.
The leverage flip
Beijing would have preferred this war never started -- the energy disruption and the hit to global demand are real headaches for an export-dependent economy, experts say. But they say the conflict has handed Xi a relative advantage: Trump now has too many fires to put out at home and abroad to risk another escalation cycle with China.
"China is a relative bright spot in Trump's foreign policy right now," said Jon Czin, a former director for China at the National Security Council.
The longer the Iran war drags on, Czin argued, the more it minimizes the chance of another economic confrontation -- Beijing has also already demonstrated it can retaliate -- as it did with tariffs and rare earth export controls -- and the administration backed down before.
Both sides are still trying to eke out an edge in the run-up. The Treasury Department recently sanctioned Chinese oil refiners and shipping firms tied to Iranian crude to cut off funding. In an unprecedented move, Beijing invoked a "blocking rule" for the first time, directing Chinese companies not to comply with sanctions on Chinese oil refiners.
Daniel Shapiro, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, points out the war has reduced the U.S. military posture in the Indo-Pacific with long-term consequences for deterring China and defending Taiwan.
"Trump's position and leverage at the summit is considerably weaker if he goes to Beijing with the war still unsettled, or even with renewed escalation. And the Iranians know that. So they are whittling down the terms to end the war to something much more modest than what Trump originally envisioned," Shapiro wrote in a post on X.
What Trump wants
The administration clearly wants Beijing to use its influence over Tehran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week urged Beijing to use the Iran's foreign minister's visit to China earlier this week to press Tehran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told," Rubio said when asked about China’s top diplomat meeting with Iran’s foreign minister. "And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You're the bad guy in this."
Beyond the war in Iran, Trump will be looking for wins on trade and investment: For instance, Chinese commitments to buy Boeing planes and U.S. agricultural goods as well as an extension of the trade truce reached during the last Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea last year, according to experts.
The administration also wants China to continue its pause on rare earth export controls, analysts say. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has also proposed a “Board of Trade” to manage economic ties between the countries and goods the two sides are trading.
What Beijing wants -- and what it doesn't
Here's the gap between the administration's public framing and what analysts who study China most closely are saying: Beijing doesn't actually plan to deliver much on Iran or get deeply involved.
Beijing’s statement after the meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry was carefully worded to not blame Iran for the crisis while also calling for greater efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.
"The Chinese are not interested in assuming any kind of direct role in the conflict," according to Patricia Kim, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "They see this as a problem that the United States needs to solve, and they have no interest in intervening on Tehran’s behalf."
Czin’s read is similar. While Beijing's meeting with the Iranian foreign minister this week let it "posture as peacemakers," he says the Chinese don’t want Iran to take up too much summit time. His analog: even on North Korea, right on China's doorstep, Beijing rarely puts real pressure on Pyongyang.
China's energy buffer is part of why the urgency is lower than the Trump administration assumes. Beijing has built strategic oil reserves, invested heavily in green energy, and can shift to domestically produced coal. The bigger risk for China isn't the energy crunch itself.
"The bigger issue for China is the secondary and tertiary effects from this conflict," Czin said -- such as a war-driven global slowdown that hits the Southeast Asian and European consumers that Chinese exports depend on.
What Beijing actually wants from the summit is more stability: lock in the trade truce, push back on U.S. export controls on advanced technology and ease restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S.
What’s unclear is how hard Xi will push Trump on Taiwan. Any small shift in U.S. declaratory language on Taiwan would be significant, though Czin is skeptical Trump would stick with new wording even if he agreed to it.
Bottom line
Expect fanfare, expect deliverables on the margins -- purchase commitments or a possible Board of Trade announcement -- and don't expect breakthroughs on the hard issues, experts say.
The summit's significance is less in what it produces than in what it preserves: a tenuous stability that both leaders, for different reasons, want to keep intact through the rest of the year.
We now have our first look at Harlan Coben's new mystery show, I Will Find You. Netflix has released the official teaser and release date for the upcoming series. It will debut to the streaming service on June 18. Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Logan Browning and Chi McBride star in the series, which will have eight 45-minute episodes. It follows an innocent father serving life for the murder of his own son who discovers his child may still be alive ...
We Were Liars has added six new actors as series regulars in its season 2 cast. Prime Video has announced that Josh Dallas, Costa D’Angelo, Parker Lapaine, Peyton List, Elysia Roorbach and Madison Wolfe have joined the second season of the series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s novel ...
Shailene Woodley has scored her next role. Deadline reports that the actress is set to lead the upcoming erotic thriller film Mother's Helper. She will star alongside Milo Callaghan and Luke Kirby. The film follows a woman who is struggling to balance work, kids and marriage, and hires a handsome young man to help out around the house ...
Billie Eilish and James Cameron attend the 'Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D' U.S. Premiere on May 6, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
BILLIE EILISH – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR (LIVE IN 3D), a concert film the Grammy-winning star co-directed with James Cameron, hits theaters Friday, and Billie says she's happy that she and her fans will be able to watch it "forever."
At the LA premiere, Billie told ABC News of the film, "I just feel really, really grateful that it's gonna exist forever, and I'll get to watch this show and this tour that I loved so much, and made so many memories with them, forever."
"I think that's really magical for them to have and for me to have," she continued. "It's just a moment in time captured forever."
Billie also wants her fans to "sing and dance if they want and just have fun" while watching the film. She notes, "It's a concert. It is a movie, but it's a concert."
The Oscar winner was also "really grateful" that a director "as incredibly talented and legendary" as James was "so eager to collaborate with me and listen to my feelings and thoughts and opinions" while working on the project.
As for James, he tells ABC News that initially they were simply going to film a show on Billie's tour. But then, he says, "It got complicated, because then we started trying to tell a story about [Billie's] relationship with her fans ... and what her ... reality is like." As a result, he says, "It kind of grew a little bit."
But throughout, James says he was impressed with "how in control ... of the show and of the process" Billie was while filming. In fact, he says, "I had to keep up with her, and that energy of — I don't want to say perfectionism, because that sounds a bit elitist — but I would say, the pursuit of excellence."
LANEVILLE – Laneville ISD certified its election results Thursday night, even as residents questioned the integrity of a bond measure that passed by just 16 votes and urged the board to delay the decision. On Saturday, May 2, Laneville ISD’s $8.5 million bond that aims to improve facilities, safety, and infrastructure while also supporting the district’s educational environment passed with 53% of the vote. 
