Iran-U.S. negotiations in New York have moved beyond initial diplomatic contacts into a more detailed technical phase, with sources in Tehran describing the atmosphere as increasingly positive, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Tehran, Nourddine Dgheir, reported Friday.

The Qatari-government owned network said technical experts had joined the discussions in New York after a first meeting involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. While visas were not initially approved by the U.S. government for the Iranian delegation, they were secured quickly, allowing the team to join the talks, Dgheir said.

There was no immediate confirmation by U.S. officials that the talks had progressed to the technical level, or that additional Iranian officials had been cleared to enter the country.

(Continue Reading – CBS)

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his state visit to Washington on Friday by announcing that he expects to meet President Donald Trump two more times before the end of the year, doubling the number of face-to-face discussions between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies in 2026.

The promise of more meetings to come capped off a three-day state visit that has been criticized by some in the U.S. for being heavy on pomp and light on substance, though Trump said they discussed the war in Iran. The two leaders have made a show of working to preserve harmony, but there were no major breakthroughs this week on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.

Some trade analysts were struck by how few tangible accomplishments seemed to come from the meeting. Little was announced outside of the promise of more meetings and Washington and Beijing agreeing as Xi landed in the U.S. to extend their trade truce only a few months until January.

(Continue Reading – AP)

When officials at the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week in their first major step in years to turn the tide on inflation, many expected that it would buy the central bank time to see whether price pressures were easing before taking action again.

But over the course of the past week, a newfound urgency has been injected into the debate, raising the prospects that the central bank will be boxed into delivering another quarter-point increase at its next meeting in October.

That gathering is scheduled just days before midterm elections that will determine how much leeway President Trump will have to enact his agenda in the latter half of his term.

(Continue Reading – NY Times)

The Trump administration is officially entering the artificial intelligence (AI) space with a new tool is says will provide much-needed relief for Americans interacting with the federal government, Fox News Digital has learned.

At an all-day event beginning Tuesday morning and featuring President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, officials will launch and showcase on stage America.gov, a new website designed to enhance "the citizen experience."

Also attending are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz and Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder who now heads the National Design Studio (NDS) and who is the first-ever U.S. Chief Design Officer.

The event will be held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and will also feature appearances from industry titans like Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp. NASA administrator Jared Isaacson is also a confirmed attendee.

(Continue Reading – Fox)