Shutdown ends, Epstein returns

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. Our On Assignment podcast digs into President Trump's battle with the BBC. City Memo takes us to Washington, D.C. American readers might wonder, "Is he really trying to sell me a cricket story?" Yes, I am trying to sell you a cricket story. And here's a good one about the furor over the Canadian Football League's rule changes meant to attract new viewers.

Shutdown ends, Epstein returns

Handout via REUTERS

Spotlight deflection: No sooner had the shutdown ended on President Trump's terms than the bogeyman of Jeffrey Epstein returned to bedevil him and his party. We examine what it might mean for the 2026 midterm elections. Trump asked the Justice Dept. to investigate the sex offender's ties with JPMorgan and Democrats including Bill Clinton.
Hiring decisions: The U.S. government hired 50,000 employees since Trump's second term began, with the bulk of the new employees working for ICE. A new Georgia state prosecutor said he is taking control of the criminal case that accused Trump and several allies of election interference. The Trump administration will drop a Biden-era plan to require airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when they cause flight disruptions. And Trump ditched Marjorie Taylor Greene after she took positions at odds with her former ally.

Ukraine strike on Russia hits global oil supply

Suspension: The attack on Novorossiysk forced the city to stop oil exports equivalent to 2% of global supply, driving crude prices higher. Russia in turn used drones and missiles to damage Ukrainian energy sites, infrastructure and apartment buildings. Here's a look at the endless race energy workers run to repair damage from Russian attacks, and here's how Russia is using spare capacity to process oil despite Ukraine's efforts to stop them.
Cheap and devastating: Russia plans to make up to 120,000 glide bombs this year, a Ukrainian intelligence official said. The weapons are cheaper to make than missiles, and they carry several hundred kilos of explosives that can blast through buildings and fortifications. EU finance ministers agreed that using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine would be a good idea. An alleged $100 million corruption scheme is fueling public anger at Kyiv's wartime government.

A rare earth gets rarer

Yttrium: Chinese export restrictions sparked fears that shortages and rising costs could harm aerospace, energy and semiconductor production. A congressional report says China's role as the largest producer of many critical minerals makes it nearly impossible for the U.S. to determine the true price of rare earths and other metals.
AI: While the rest of us fret about the ethical quandaries of artificial intelligence, other people are making money off it. Investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into startups that make AI products for lawyers. The CEO of Deutsche Bank says there's no playbook to figure out of it we're in an AI investment bubble. That and doubts about a Fed rate cut contributed to some fairly energetic trading on Friday.

Walmart CEO checks out

A planned transition: Walmart lifer John Furner will take over the retailer's reins after Doug McMillon said he would retire. McMillon is one of the company's longest-serving CEOs and began work there as an hourly associate in 1984. Furner becomes only the sixth chief executive since Sam Walton founded the company in 1962.
Brain and Abel: Warren Buffett urged shareholders to hold on to their Berkshire Hathaway shares as the 95-year-old CEO prepared to hand over the running of the conglomerate to Greg Abel. "Wish him an extended tenure," Buffett wrote.

European training for Gaza police officers

An idea: EU foreign ministers will discuss training 3,000 Palestinian police officers who would be deployed in Gaza. They also contemplate training an entire 13,000-strong Palestinian police force. South Africa granted entry to 130 Palestinians without travel papers and said it would examine accusations that an unregistered group arranged their trip "in an irresponsible manner." Do click on this one, the story gets weirder.
A signal: Israel's defense minister said he would close the publicly funded and editorially independent Army Radio. The station's chief said the move was unexpected, a blow to press freedom and not a professional process that prioritized the interests of soldiers.

Before I forget…

Seems like old times: Health authorities discovered the wild form of the virus behind polio in a sewage sample in Germany. Canada lost its measles-elimination status after three decades.
Cuba's former economy minister goes on trial next week for espionage and corruption.
Who's running in Chile's election and what's at stake: it's all here.
The U.N. thinks hundreds of people were killed in protests during last month's elections in Tanzania and received reports that security forces are hiding bodies.
Chinese authorities cleared of wrongdoing the parents of a 3-year-old boy who was photographed crawling naked at a service station off an expressway in Sichuan.
Enjoy your dollar candy. The U.S. is done with penny production.

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