Below is a selection of stories that were noted by Jim during the first quarter hour of the broadcast: 

–There’s been a breakthrough in the tariff standoff between China and the U.S. as the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative are poised to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland over the weekend.

–President Trump believes an 80% tariff seems right, setting a potential guidepost ahead of the weekend talks in Switzerland.

–President Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to China was sworn in Wednesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio just days before the anticipated trade meeting.    Former Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue was tapped by Trump last December.

–On May 8^th President Trump provided a broad overview of a prospective trade agreement with the U.K.

–Yesterday the first U.S. Pope was named: Pope Leo XIV (Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago).

–The new Pope shared articles on social media in the past that appeared critical of President Trump.

–The IDF on Tuesday released footage showing two senior Hamas operatives surrendering in Rafah, including a commander directly involved in the October 7^th attacks and the holding of Israeli hostages.

–Since the launch of Operation Iron Wall January 21^st, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 terrorists and arrested approximately 320 wanted individuals and seized around 450 weapons in Judea and Samaria.

–President Trump announced earlier this week that the Houthis would stop attacking vessels off Yemen’s coast in exchange for the U.S. ending the military campaign against them.

–The head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council declared that the rebel group  would continue its attacks on Israel even after reaching a cease-fire agreement with the U.S.

–When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Donald Trump stated that 21 of the 59 remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are still alive.

–Israel is preparing to implement a new humanitarian aid distribution system in southern Gaza that’s designed to prevent Hamas from seizing the supplies.

–According to a U.S. government watchdog group, the Taliban took in 3.4 billion dollars in revenue over the last year, boosting its cash supply by 14% amid the return of Afghanistan as a central safe haven for terrorist organizations across the Middle East.

–To mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between their nations, President Isaac Herzog is traveling to Berlin on May 12th, for a one-day state visit followed by a reciprocal visit to Israel by the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

–Disney chose the United Arab Emirates to build its 7^th theme park.

Other stories dealt with the tensions between India and Pakistan, a driverless trucking service on public roads, an Imam declares Floridians to be the future converts of Islam, homeschoolers targeted once again and much more.