U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods. A White House official confirmed the trip on Friday, just before the highest U.S. court dealt Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China. Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs. But the Supreme Court’s reversal created new questions for tense U.S.-China relations that had recently stabilized after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical minerals. Twenty-percent tariffs on China’s U.S.-bound exports were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court ruled Trump had overstepped. Those tariffs were tied to national emergencies related to fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances. Other duties on Chinese goods, including those implemented under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232, remain in place. It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he told a press conference that he would impose a new 10% global tariff for 150 days. Trump’s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president. “That’s going to be a wild one,” Trump told foreign leaders visiting Washington on Thursday about the upcoming China visit. “We have to put on the biggest display you’ve ever had in the history of China.” The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the dates of the trip, which were first reported by Reuters. Beijing has not confirmed the trip. The Trump administration has said the global tariffs were necessary because of national emergencies related to trade imbalances that have weakened U.S. manufacturing. Trump had already been “playing defense” in the trade war, given the effectiveness of Beijing’s threat to cut off rare earths, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The tariff defeat likely “cements his weakness in their eyes,” he said. Chinese officials “like the direction of travel of the bilateral relationship in which the U.S. is diminished and they want to keep things from re-escalating,” Kennedy said. Trump’s visit will be the leaders’ first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on the trade truce. While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised U.S. arms sales to the island when the two leaders spoke this month. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The U.S., bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has formal diplomatic ties with China, but it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island’s most important arms supplier. Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale approval with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales. Xi also said during the February call that he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump. Struggling U.S. farmers are a major political constituency for Trump, and China is the top soybean consumer. Analysts said on Friday that China may be less likely to follow through on another big purchase of U.S. soybeans after the Supreme Court ruling. Although Trump has justified hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela as necessary to thwart China, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones. The global trade war Trump initiated after he began his second term as president in January 2025 has alienated other trading partners, including allies. Critics had argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries across the board actually insulated Beijing from the tariff barrage and reduced incentives to move supply chains out of China. Friday’s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if the effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more than those on China, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics. “Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,” Chorzempa said. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel, Patricia Zengerle)

Ukraine hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in a missile strike in the remote Udmurtia region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday. Ukraine said its forces attacked the plant manufacturing Russian missiles, including the short-range Iskander and intercontinental Topol-M, in Votkinsk, east of Moscow and about 1,400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine. It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian forces used domestically produced ground-launched Flamingo cruise missiles. The attack caused a fire on the site, the Ukrainian military said. Alexander Brechalov, the governor of the Udmurtia region in Russia, had earlier said a site there had been attacked overnight with drones. “There has been damage and injuries as a result,” Brechalov said in a video posted on the Telegram app. He provided no other details. The airport in Udmurtia’s main city, Izhevsk, and those in cities in nearby regions suspended operations, the civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said. The unofficial Russian Telegram channel SHOT, which often quotes contacts in the security services, said residents in Votkinsk reported hearing at least three explosions and the humming of drones. Russia uses its ballistic missiles to reinforce its drone attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, knocking out electricity and heating supplies for millions across Ukraine during the cold winter months. Ukraine is increasingly targeting military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Kyiv says that hitting the weapons producers and the energy system that fuels Russia’s military is the best way to gain leverage over its bigger enemy as the war enters its fifth year next week. The Ukrainian military said it also hit a gas processing plant in the Russian Samara region. Russian officials in the Samara region issued no report of such an attack. (Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Alex Richardson)

Congressional candidate Justin Pearson (D-TN) refused to name even one illegal alien he would deport — even when asked directly — and instead delivered a series of comments attacking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Pearson began with a general complaint about ICE, claiming that no one in President Donald Trump’s administration could be “trusted” to hold themselves accountable to the people. He argued that both ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in their current forms should be dissolved entirely, and that new organizations with different priorities should be built from the ground up. WATCH: WATCH: Two-plus minutes of @ScottJenningsKY trying to get a Dem congressional candidate (Justin Pearson-TN) to say whether or not we should deport illegal aliens (he didn’t) pic.twitter.com/QiZq1Z0UNf — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) February 21, 2026 “Even after the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, they didn’t want to share information about what was happening,” he said. “Which is why we have to abolish ICE, why we have to abolish the Customs and Border Patrol in the way that they currently exist, and replace them with something that actually does the work that we need for them to do. Which is why we need a Congress that works —” Republican commentator Scott Jennings interrupted then, asking, “What work is that, by the way?” “I’ll tell you what the work is not,” Pearson replied. “The work is not killing American citizens.” “No, you said the work we need them to do. I’m interested in your opinion,” Jennings pressed. “What is the work we need them to do?” “Absolutely,” Pearson said. “The work is not killing American citizens —” “But what is the work we need them to do?” Jennings asked again. “Well, first let’s look at what they don’t need to do,” Pearson said, prompting a chuckle from Jennings. “They don’t need to go into communities like Memphis —” “Do they need to deport illegal aliens?” Jennings asked directly. “— they’re currently traumatizing our communities —” “Do they need to deport illegal aliens?” Jennings repeated the question. “Can you say it?” Jennings asked the question several times, and while Pearson was ready and willing to say many times what ICE should *not* do, he could not come up with one thing that a newly-formed immigration law enforcement agency *would* do, other than aid in finding a path to citizenship for illegal aliens who were already in the United States. At no point was Pearson able to provide Jennings with an answer to his question as to what ICE should be doing or whether there were any illegal aliens he believed should be deported — and after several minutes, host Abby Phillip stepped in to change the topic.

As New York City braces for what the National Weather Service has identified as the first blizzard warning in nearly a decade, far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani is once again urging residents to fill gaps left by the city’s snow response, this time by signing up en masse as emergency shovelers. Blizzard warnings are in effect across the city and much of the region from 6 a.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Monday, as a powerful nor’easter is forecast to bring snow, high winds, and hazardous conditions to the Northeast. Forecasters said New York City could see in the range of 15 to 24 inches of snow, with some places potentially exceeding that total, and winds gusting above 45 mph — conditions that meet blizzard criteria when combined with reduced visibility and sustained snowfall. Meteorologists say that snow will begin Sunday morning and continue into Monday afternoon, with peak snowfall and strongest winds overnight. The storm is expected to affect much of the I-95 corridor, from New York through New England, with heavy snow, coastal flooding, and possible travel and power disruptions. With the city facing potential historic snow accumulation and dangerous conditions, Mamdani issued an appeal encouraging New Yorkers to sign up as ad-hoc emergency labor. In a Saturday press conference ahead of the storm, Mamdani encouraged New Yorkers to report directly to city sanitation garages to help dig the city out after officials reportedly failed to recruit enough emergency workers during the last major snowfall. “For those who want to do more to help your neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an Emergency Snow Shoveler,” Mamdani said. “Just show up to your local Sanitation Garage between 8am and 1pm tomorrow with your paperwork.” The appeal comes after the most recent snow storm exposed shortages in the city’s emergency snow labor force, leaving sidewalks unplowed, streets impassable, and residents, particularly the elderly, struggling to navigate icy conditions. Rather than announcing reforms or improved planning, the city is again leaning on last-minute public mobilization. Emergency shovelers are hired on a temporary basis by the New York City Department of Sanitation, often with minimal notice, as storms are already underway. The program has long been criticized as reactive, relying on volunteers and short-term workers instead of consistent staffing and preparation. Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has repeatedly called for expanded government control over housing, labor, and public services, framed the recruitment push as an act of neighborly solidarity, even as critics argue it underscores the city’s inability to execute basic municipal functions without scrambling for day-of labor. City officials have not explained why staffing levels were not increased following the last storm, nor why emergency shovelers must once again be recruited in the immediate run-up to severe weather. Blizzard conditions are expected to cause near-zero visibility across much of the five boroughs, and Mamdani advised New Yorkers to stay indoors, avoid travel during the height of the storm, and prepare for potentially dangerous conditions. For now, New Yorkers are being told to grab their paperwork — and a shovel — and report for duty, as City Hall braces for another test of its winter preparedness.

The British government is considering removing former Prince Andrew from the line of succession following his recent arrest. The legislation would prevent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from ever becoming king, the BBC reported. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles last year, but is still eighth in line to the throne. He would only be next in line following the deaths of Prince William, William’s three children, Prince Harry, and Harry’s two children. Removing Mountbatten-Windsor from succession would be the “right thing to do,” Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC. The government would not take steps to remove Mountbatten-Windsor until after the police investigation concludes, Pollard said. He added that he hoped the move would “enjoy cross-party support.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated support for such legislation, The Times reported. Buckingham Palace has said it will not interfere should Parliament proceed. Still, James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, told the BBC that “any questions in that sphere would be quite complicated.” Thames Valley Police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on his 66th birthday on Thursday, The Daily Wire previously reported. He was held on suspicion of misconduct in public office but released later that day, according to the BBC. His was the first arrest of a member of the British royal family since Charles I was arrested almost 400 years ago. Law enforcement said Mountbatten-Windsor was being investigated over concerns that he shared “confidential material,” reportedly including trade documents, with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor could face life in prison if convicted. “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,” Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said at the time. The Metropolitan Police expanded the investigation Friday and is contacting all of Andrew’s former protection officers, The Times reported. King Charles III called for a fair investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor. “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” he said in a statement following Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. “In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.” Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by apparent suicide last year, alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor sexually abused her when she was 17. He previously settled a civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre in 2022 without admitting wrongdoing. “He knows what he’s done and he can attest to that,” Giuffre said in 2019. “He knows exactly what he’s done and I hope he comes clean about it.” Giuffre’s family welcomed the arrest. “Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” they said. “He was never a prince.” “For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you,” they added. Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.