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Trump-Xi Beijing Summit Ends Long on Talk, Short on Substance

Real Monet Painting Fools X Critics Hunting AI Flaws

Seven in 10 Americans Oppose Local AI Data Center Construction

Global Oil Reserves Drain at Record Pace as Hormuz Stays Shut

CIA Director Visits Cuba as Island's Fuel Supply Runs Dry

Trump-Xi Beijing Summit Ends Long on Talk, Short on Substance

President Trump left Beijing on Friday aboard Air Force One after a two-day summit with Xi Jinping that produced sweeping rhetorical claims but few verifiable changes to the shaky U.S.-China relationship. Trump told reporters the two leaders had struck "fantastic trade deals" and agreed that the conflict in Iran should end without Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon, though he provided no specifics on either front. Beijing said the sides had reached "a series of new common understandings" but similarly declined to describe what those entailed. The pattern echoed prior summits between the two countries, in which optimistic language from American leaders has often outpaced concrete deliverables on the Chinese side. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, asked about specific commitments after Trump's departure, fell back on standard framing that Sino-American trade ties are mutually beneficial. Citizen Journal editor-in-chief Greg Loving called the trip "a nothingburger."

WSJ / NYT / Citizen Journal

Real Monet Painting Fools X Critics Hunting AI Flaws

An X user posting under the handle @SHL0MS shared a cropped detail from Claude Monet's Water Lilies series on May 12 and asked followers to identify its AI-generated flaws. More than 1,100 replies criticized the image for inconsistent brushwork and muddled depth before the user revealed two days later that the work was an authentic late-period Monet painted in his Giverny garden. The reveal drew reactions from prominent figures including Marc Andreessen and the digital artist Beeple, while some art observers said they had identified the impasto and atmospheric light as genuine from the start. The exercise echoed a broader debate over how labels shape public perception of art, with critics often projecting flaws onto works framed as machine-generated.

Seven in 10 Americans Oppose Local AI Data Center Construction

Seventy-one percent of Americans oppose construction of an AI data center in their local area, with 48% strongly opposed, according to a Gallup survey released Wednesday. Only about a quarter favor the projects, and just 7% strongly support them. The wording targeted local siting rather than national policy, framing the result as a NIMBY question rather than a verdict on AI itself. Opposition exceeds resistance to nuclear power plants, which 53% of Americans oppose having built nearby in the same poll; nuclear opposition has not surpassed 63% in any Gallup survey since the question was first asked in 2001. Opponents most often cite environmental concerns, including data centers' heavy demands on water and electricity, while supporters point to job creation and tax revenue. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be strongly opposed, 56% to 39%, while Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to be strongly in favor, 9% to 4%.

Gallup

Global Oil Reserves Drain at Record Pace as Hormuz Stays Shut

A global surplus of crude oil that cushioned markets when the Strait of Hormuz closed two and a half months ago is now depleting at a record pace, according to oil executives and analysts cited by The Wall Street Journal. Acute shortages of key fuels and sharp price increases could emerge within weeks if the strait remains closed. Drawdowns from private storage tanks, ships and government strategic reserves, combined with falling demand caused by higher prices, have prevented an earlier price spike but left little margin for error. "You can only decrease consumption so much, and when inventories run out, they are going to run out," said Ellen Wald, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center. Analysts warn the market faces a collision in coming weeks, with prices likely to shoot up as cushions disappear.

WSJ

CIA Director Visits Cuba as Island's Fuel Supply Runs Dry

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba on Thursday and met with the country's interior minister, the Cuban government announced, making him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island since the Trump administration began intensifying its pressure campaign against the Communist government. State-controlled newspaper Granma reported that Cuban officials used the meeting to argue their country does not constitute a threat to U.S. national security. The visit came one day after Havana announced it had run out of fuel oil and diesel needed to keep the lights on, with extensive blackouts sparking protests in the capital over deteriorating living conditions. The administration has cut off foreign oil shipments to Cuba and increased military and intelligence reconnaissance flights around the island as part of what is expected to be a larger U.S. military buildup. Washington has not publicly stated the political or economic changes it seeks beyond an apparent goal of ending the Communist Party's hold on power.

NYT / WSJ

May 15, 1942: Seventeen States Put Gasoline Rationing Into Effect

Gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states to conserve fuel and rubber for the U.S. World War II war effort. Ration stamps limited how much individuals could drive, curbing nonessential travel and reshaping everyday American life on the home front.

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