President Trump announced today that the U.S. would end its sanctions on Syria, which have effectively cut it off from international commerce. The decision offered an economic lifeline for a country devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war and decades of dictatorship. He is expected to meet tomorrow with the country’s new leader.
Trump announced the policy change at the start of his four-day tour of the Middle East. He received a lavish welcome in Saudi Arabia today, complete with a lavender carpet, a team of Arabian horses and a delegation of royals. Executives from some of America’s largest companies also joined him for lunch.
Our photographer Doug Mills photographed the day’s extravagant events.
White House officials said that Trump had already secured $600 billion in deals with the Saudi government and Saudi companies. But the details his aides provided were vague and totaled less than half that number. Several were already in the works before Trump returned to the White House in January.
In other news from Washington:
Israeli officers concluded Gaza is on the brink of starvation
In public, Israel has for months maintained that its blockade on food and fuel to Gaza did not pose a major threat to civilian life. But in private, some senior Israeli officials have said that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks.
Israeli military officers who monitor humanitarian conditions in Gaza have warned their commanders in recent days that unless the blockade is lifted quickly, many areas of the enclave are likely to run out of enough food to meet minimum daily nutritional needs. They said that immediate steps were needed to ensure that the aid system could be reinstated fast enough to prevent starvation.
In related news, Israel bombarded Khan Younis in Gaza in an attempt to kill Muhammad Sinwar, one of Hamas’s top remaining leaders.
A star witness took the stand in Sean Combs’s trial
Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, testified today in the sex trafficking trial of the music mogul Sean Combs. It was her 2023 lawsuit, which accused Combs of rape and years of abuse, that led to his downfall. Her testimony is vital to the prosecution’s case.
In tear-filled testimony, Ventura told the jury today that Combs’s drug-fueled sex sessions with prostitutes could last several days and made her feel “disgusting” and “humiliated.” She also said there were “violent arguments” and “physical abuse” during her long-term relationship with Combs, describing busted lips, black eyes and “bruises all over my body.”
Data shows that boys are falling behind
Boys and young men are struggling. Research suggests that across their lives — in their educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood — they are stagnating, as their female peers surge ahead.
My colleague Claire Cain Miller highlighted the warning signs in the data.
More top news
-
Economy: Inflation eased slightly in April, to 2.3 percent, in what economists warn could be a final lull before tariffs push up prices more quickly.
-
Business: The chair of Tesla’s board made $198 million selling the company’s stock as its profits fell.
-
New York: A judge ordered that an outside official be appointed to oversee Rikers Island, removing the jail from city control.
-
Travel: Border detentions and confusion over visas are deterring international visitors, which could cause the U.S. to lose $12.5 billion in tourist spending.
-
Health: A federal ban on devices used to shock people with severe neurodevelopmental disabilities seemed imminent. Federal upheaval could delay it.
-
Illinois: In some cities, “crime-free housing laws” meant that shoplifting, calling 911 too many times or even being a victim of a crime could get you kicked out of your home.
-
France: In emotional testimony at a trial in Paris, Kim Kardashian described being held at gunpoint as jewelry worth millions was stolen from her in 2016.
-
Sports: Major League Baseball removed Pete Rose and other deceased players from its permanently ineligible list. The decision makes Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame.
-
Books: “Original Sin,” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, investigates how the people closest to a stubborn, aging Joe Biden enabled his quixotic run for a second term.
A Hollywood takeover at Cannes
The lineup for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which began today, has so many English-language films that it could be mistaken for a Hollywood event.
The biggest premieres include “Die My Love,” with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and the Spike Lee film “Highest 2 Lowest.” Several actors, like Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson, will be presenting their directorial debuts. Here’s what to look out for.
For more: The “naked dress,” a Cannes mainstay, will be covered up by a new dress code.
Chernow’s new biography is an endurance test
Ron Chernow is one of the best-known biographers of his time. So “Mark Twain,” published today, was among the most hotly anticipated nonfiction releases of the season.
Unfortunately, our critic Dwight Garner found the 1,174-page book to be bland and remote. “It squats over Twain’s career like a McMansion,” Dwight wrote. He observed that Chernow blows through the first third of the writer’s life in 150 pages, and that he “skimps on the things that formed Twain and made him the most lucid, profound, unpredictable and irascibly witty American of his time.”
A celebrity on four wheels
When Joe McCallen drives through cities, people point, wave and stare. That’s because, for the last three years, he has been patrolling America’s roads inside the Google Street View car. With a camera turret strapped to the top, McCallen has helped map out roughly 100,000 miles of roads across the Midwest and East Coast.
Thanks to him and many other drivers, the views Google Maps offers across 110 countries are the closest thing humans have to teleportation. Recently, a Times reporter rode along with McCallen to see what it’s like.
Have an eye-catching evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
Laurence Tan was our photo editor.
We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.
