Trillion dollars Saudi pledge, US-Syria Meeting, US-China Tariff Pause

$1 Trillion Saudi Pledge

Saudi Arabia pledged “$1 trillion” to the US. President Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia yesterday—the first leg of a four-day Middle East tour—was eventful. Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia would invest $1 trillion in the US, although experts cautioned the actual figure will likely be significantly less than that ($1 trillion is about the size of Saudi’s entire GDP). Per the White House, the investment includes a $142 billion defense pact. Trump also made news by announcing that the US will lift sanctions on Syria “in order to give them a chance at greatness” after Bashar al-Assad’s totalitarian regime was toppled last year.

US-Syrian leaders meet in Riyadh

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s leader, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The meeting was the first between a US president and a Syrian leader since former President Bill Clinton met with Hafez al-Assad in 2000.

The encounter comes on the heels of Trump’s announcement this week that he will lift all US sanctions on Syria. Those sanctions were enacted following the start of the civil war in 2011, and correspond with a tenfold decrease in Syria's exports by 2021. Al-Sharaa—the former leader of an al-Qaida affiliate—led rebel factions in toppling the Assad regime. Trump indicated yesterday al-Sharaa is open to joiningMorocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel; no deal has been announced.

Trump is approaching the end of his four-day Middle East trip, with a final stop today in the United Arab Emirates. He was in Qatar yesterday, where he signed a defense deal, oversaw a $96B purchase of up to 210 Boeing planes, and was gifted a $400M luxury Boeing 747-8 intended to one day serve as Air Force One. 

US-China Temporary Tariff Pause

The US and China agreed to a 90-day pause on most tariffs yesterday, easing tensions in the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. Under the deal, the US will reduce its tariff on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will lower its tariff on American imports from 125% to 10%. The deal aims to allow further negotiations, with President Donald Trump expected to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week.

The 30% rate includes a 20% duty imposed earlier this year, targeting Chinese efforts to curb fentanyl shipments, along with a 10% baseline tariff applied to most countries. Tariffs from Trump’s first term—affecting more than $300B in Chinese goods—will remain in place, as will targeted tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos. China also agreed to ease some nontariff barriers, including easing restrictions on rare earth material permits to the US.

National News for you

• CAIR Awareness Session - Unconstitutional Crackdowns: Protecting Your Green Cards, Visas, and Free Speech Rights.

• President Trump offered to join prospective peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday as part of his visit to the Middle East.

• Americans have gone through three historic junctures like what we're witnessing today — and they happen on an uncanny 80-year cycle.

• The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projects the US to lose $12.5 billion in travel revenue in 2025—a 7% dip from last year and a 22.5% drop from 2019, when international spending reached a record $217.4 billion. Of the 184 foreign economies tracked by the WTTC, the US is the only one on pace to see a decline in tourism revenue.

• Trump’s $4.9 trillion tax plan targets Medicaid to offset costs. Details of House Republicans' tax and immigration bill began to emerge yesterday, lifting the hood on a sweeping package meant to enshrine several priorities of the Trump administration. The mega-bill—involving 11 separate committees—would provide an estimated $5T in tax cuts while targeting around $1.5T in savings.

• Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University who was arrested amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students, was released after a judge ruled that his detention was in violation of his constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

• President Donald Trump signs executive order directing pharmaceutical companies to lower drug costs to prices in other high-income countries; companies have one month to comply with the order or risk incurring steep limits on earnings.

• Nearly 60 white South Africans arrive at Virginia's Dulles International Airport on a private charter plane; group is the first to arrive in the US following federal directive to fast-track Afrikaners' refugee claims.

International News for you

• India accuses Pakistan of attacking three military bases with drones and missiles; Pakistan denies the claim.

• Pakistan says its air force downed five Indian fighter jets, more drones.

• Pakistan also says 125 Indian and Pakistani jets fought in the air for over an hour Wednesday; if true, would be among biggest air battles since World War II.

• Pakistan says it downed five Indian fighter jets following Indian airstrikes that killed 31 people, wounded 57 others earlier this week; India has not yet commented on the claim, says Pakistani gunfire wounded 15 people in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir.

• Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to hold peace talks in Turkey today, but even figuring out who would attend them has been contentious.

Business & Markets

• US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.7%), with Nvidia shares continuing to drive up the Nasdaq following US-Saudi investment summit earlier this week.

• Saudi Arabia launches government-backed AI firm Humain to provide a range of data infrastructure capabilities, including Arabic-based large language models; company to be funded from country's $925B Public Investment Fund.

• Treasury Department reports the US collected record $16.3B in customs duties in April, above $8.7B collected during March and more than double the $7.1B a year ago; comes after the US imposed 10% global tariffs on imports last month.

• The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.3% in April from the year prior, lower than economists’ estimates. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.8% year-over-year and 0.2% from the previous month.

• 5% Remittance Tax : What does it mean for NRIs and OCIs in US?

• Trump Asks Apple to Stop Moving iPhone Production to India.

• Nissan to shut seven factories and slash 20,000 jobs globally.

• With UPS Out, Amazon turns to FedEx.

Science & Technology

• Humanoid helpers are now entering our homes.

• All PCs will be AI PCs “pretty soon,” says Intel exec.

• Humans still haven't seen 99.999% of the deep seafloor. Subhan’Allah, which of the favors of Allah they deny? His might is just unimaginable.

• Google’s ‘G’ logo just got prettier.

• Many US cities are sinking, new analysis suggests; between 20%-65% of urban zones in all cities studied were dropping around a few fractions of an inch per year, primarily driven by large-scale groundwater extraction.

Sports

• The 2025 NFL regular season schedule announced, highlighted by seven international games across five countries.

• The Dallas Mavericks win NBA Draft Lottery for first time, will get top pick in 2025 draft.

• The No. 6 Timberwolves closed out the No. 7 Warriors 121-110 in Game 5 to win the West Semifinals series 4-1, led by Julius Randle’s 29 points and Anthony Edwards’ 25 points.

• The No. 2 Celtics staved off elimination with a 127-102 Game 5 victory over the No. 3 Knicks, cutting their series deficit to 2-3.

• Celtics star Jayson Tatum was carried off the court and placed in a wheelchair due to a non-contact lower right leg injury late in Boston's Game 4 loss vs. the Knicks.

Health

• Measles math: What to know about 1,001 measles cases across the country.

• Should you toss your plastic kitchen tools for health reasons?

• More Than 75,000 Cases Of These Eye Care Products Have Been Recalled.

• A new clinical trial has found the migraine drug ubrogepant can reduce non-headache symptoms—such as fatigue, brain fog, and light sensitivity—that occur in the hours before a migraine attack begins.

Self Improvement - Purify your Heart

Start your day with the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) to purify your heart and strengthen your focus.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “The example of the one who remembers Allah and the one who does not is like that of the living and the dead” (Bukhari). Recite "اللَّهُمَّ بِكَ أَصْبَحْنَا، وَبِكَ أَمْسَيْنَا، وَبِكَ نَحْيَا، وَبِكَ نَمُوتُ وَإِلَيْكَ النُّشُورُ" ("O Allah, by You we enter the morning, by You we enter the evening, by You we live and die, and to You is the final return") each morning (Sunan Abi Dawud). Pair this with a small, actionable goal—like reading just two verses of Quran with reflection—to grow spiritually and mentally. As Allah says, “Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace” (Quran 13:28). Consistency in small deeds is the key to lasting change.

May Allah forgive us if we said anything wrong here, and Allah knows that’s not our intent. If you notice something not correct, please reach out to us as [email protected]. Jazākum'Allāhu Khayran.