A new paid internship program, set to begin this summer, will allow select college students to work on the reconstruction of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed last year.The program, which was announced Monday, is the result of a partnership between The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). Interns will be hired as temporary state employees and get hands-on experience in areas like project management, environmental and construction management, as well as community outreach activities for the historic project. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible.
The goal of the internship program is to strengthen collaboration skills among interns, foster community engagement, and help students build professional networks that will serve them well in their future careers, Maryland Transportation Secretary and MDTA Chairman Paul J. Wiedefeld said in the announcement.
The unique internship opportunity is fairly selective. More than 80 students from the University of Maryland College Park, Morgan State University, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Johns Hopkins University applied for the inaugural session. Only 10 were selected. Those interns will work alongside engineers and other experts involved in the construction from June through August 2025.
As the Key Bridge project develops, the MDTA and MHEC plan to continue bringing on more students to participate. Per the announcement, the internship program will run until construction is complete. The Maryland Department of Transportation, says the bridge could take four years to rebuild, and cost up to $1.9 billion.
Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsed in March 2024 after a cargo ship lost power and slammed into the structure. Six construction workers, who were making repairs on the bridge at the time, died in the incident. The bridge, which took five years to build, opened in 1977. Around 34,000 vehicles crossed it every day in the years leading up to its collapse.
The new bridge will be taller than the original, to accommodate larger ships, and will have other structural improvements. The cable-stay design was released to the public in February.
“Maryland’s first cable-stayed bridge will rise, not just replacing what we lost, but revealing what we have foundstrength and unityin this state,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said of the new design at the time. We stand here today united stronger than ever before, ready to rebuild, ready to show the nation what Maryland is made of. . . . This bridge will stand as a beacon of perseverance.”
Some important news for millions of 23andMe customers: The genetic testing company notified customers on Sunday that they now have until July 14 to file potential claims as the company navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to TechCrunch.
The DNA testing firm, which filed for bankruptcy in March along with 11 of its subsidiaries, must pay customers as part of its bankruptcy restructuring process.
23andMe, which provided DNA analysis to offer insights into ancestry, health traits, and genetic risks, filed for Chapter 11 after it rejected acquisition offers and its market value plummeted in the wake of a massive data breach in 2023.
That breach impacted nearly 7 million users by exposing their names, birth years, relationship labels, percentages of DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports, and self-reported locations, according to TechCrunch. Multiple class action lawsuits followed, as did mass layoffs and staff in-fighting, while 23andMe’s market value plunged from its 2021 peak of $6 billion.
How can I file a 23andMe claim?
There are three ways 23andMe customers can file a claim.
If you were a customer between May 1, 2023 and October 1, 2023, and you were also notified that your personal information was compromised in a data breach that was discovered and disclosed by 23andMe in October 2023, you can file what is known as a Cyber Security Incident Claim.
Alternatively, customers who suffered financial or other damages due to that 2023 breach can submit a claim as part of the bankruptcy case.
Finally, customers who have grievances about DNA test results or the companys telehealth services that don’t directly pertain to the breach can submit a claim using the General Bar Date Package.
If you have more questions about 23andMe’s Chapter 11 filing, data privacy, or the deadline to file a proof of claim, view the company’s customer support page here.
As the Class of 2025 graduates into an uncertain and fast-changing working world, they face a crucial question: What does it mean to be successful?
Is it better to take a job that pays more, or one thats more prestigious? Should you prioritize advancement, relationship building, community impact or even the opportunity to live somewhere new? Sorting through these questions can feel overwhelming.
I am a business school professor who spends a lot of time mentoring students and alumni in Generation Zthose born between 1997 and 2012. As part of this effort, Ive surveyed about 300 former undergraduate students and spoken at length with about 50 of them.
Through these conversations, Ive watched them wrestle with the classic conflicts of young adulthoodsuch as having to balance external rewards like money against internal motivations like wanting to be of service.
I recently revisited their stories and reflections, and I compiled the most enduring insights to offer to the next generation of graduates.
Heres their collective advice to the Class of 2025:
1. Define what matters most to you
Success starts with self-reflection. It means setting aside societys noise and defining your own values.
When people are driven by internal rewards like curiosity, purpose or pleasure in an activity itselfrather than outside benefits such as moneypsychologists say they have intrinsic motivation.
Research shows that people driven by intrinsic motivation tend to display higher levels of performance, persistence and satisfaction. Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabiles componential theory further suggests that creativity flourishes when peoples skills align with their strongest intrinsic interests.
The alternative is to get caught up in societys expectations of success, as one consulting alum put it. She described struggling to choose between a job offer at a Fortune 500 company or one at a lesser-known independent firm. In the end, she chose to go with the smaller business. It was, she stressed, the right choice for me. This is crucial advice: Make yourself proud, not others.
One related principle I share with students is the Tell your story rule. If a job doesnt allow you to tell your storyin other words, if it doesnt mirror your vision, values, talents and goalskeep looking for a new role.
2. Strive for balance, not burnout
A fulfilling life includes time for relationships, health and rest. While many young professionals feel endless pressure to hustle, the most fulfilled alumni I spoke with learned to take steps to protect their personal well-being.
For example, a banking alum told me that business once dominated his thoughts 24/7. He continued, Im happier now that I make more time for a social life and paying attention to all my relationshipsprofessional, personal, community, and lets not forget myself.
And remember that balance and motivations can change throughout your life. As one alum explained: Your goals change and therefore your definition of success changes. I think some of the most successful people are always adapting what success means to themchasing success even if they are already successful.
3. Be kind, serve others and maximize your happy circle
Some people believe to have a positive change in the world you must be a CEO or have a ton of money, another alum told me. But spreading happiness or joy can happen at any moment, has no cost, and the results are priceless.
Many alumni told me that success isnt just a matter of personal achievementits about giving back to society. That could be through acts of kindness, creativity, innovation, or other ways of improving peoples lives. A retail alum shared advice from her father: When your circle is happy, you are going to be happy, she said. Its sort of an upward spiral.
Your happy circle doesnt need to consist of people you know. An alum who went into the pharmaceutical industry said his works true reward was measured in tens of thousands if not millions of people in better health thanks to his efforts.
In fact, your happy circle doesnt even need to be exclusively human. An alum who works in ranching said he valued the well-being of animalsand their ridersmore than money or praise.
4. Be a good long-term steward of your values
Success isnt just about todayits what you stand for.
Several alumni spoke passionately about stewardship: the act of preserving and passing on values, relationships and traditions. This mindset extended beyond family to employees, customers and communities. As one alum who majored in economics put it, success is leaving a mark on the world and creating a legacy that extends beyond ones quest for monetary gain.
One alum defined success as creating happiness and stability not just for herself, but for her loved ones. Another, who works in hospitality, said he had a duty to further his employees ambitions and help them grow and developcreating a legacy that will outlast any title or paycheck.
In an analysis by the organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, Gen Z employees were found to be more prone to burnout when their employers lacked clear values. These findings reinforce what my students already know: Alignment between your values and your work is key to success.
Final words for the Class of 2025
To the latest crop of grads, I offer this advice: Wherever life takes you nexta family business or corporate office, Wall Street or Silicon Valley, or somewhere you cant even imagine nowremember that your career will be long and full of ups and downs.
Youll make tough choices. Youll face pressures. But if you stay grounded, invest in your well-being, celebrate your happy circle and honor your values, youll look back one day and see not just a job well done, but a life well lived.
Bon voyage!
Patrick Abouchalache is a lecturer in strategy and innovation at Boston University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Five American small businesses will ask a U.S. court on Tuesday to halt President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, arguing the president overstepped his authority by declaring a national emergency to impose across-the-board taxes on imports from nations that sell more to the U.S. than they buy.
Tuesday’s hearing before a panel of three judges at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade will be the first major legal test of Trump’s tariffs.
The lawsuit was filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small U.S. businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs.
The companies, which range from a New York wine and spirits importer to a Virginia-based maker of educational kits and musical instruments, say the steep “Liberation Day” tariffs that Trump imposed on April 2 are illegal and will hurt their ability to do business.
Small businesses are being harmed by the threat of increased costs, as well as “minute by minute changes” that prevent them from planning ahead, said Jeffrey Schwab, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.
“Our clients have no certainty on what the tariffs are going to be at any point, and that’s exactly the problem,” Schwab said. “One person shouldn’t have unilateral authority to impose tariffs on every country at any rate, at any time that he wants.”
The Liberty Justice Centers lawsuit is one of seven court challenges to Trumps tariff policies, and it is the first to seek a ruling that would stop the tariffs from moving forward.
The Court of International Trade previously rejected the small businesses’ request to temporarily pause the tariffs while their lawsuit went forward, but then quickly scheduled Tuesdays court hearing to decide whether to rule against the tariffs or impose a longer-term pause.
Trump imposed the new tariffs on April 2, saying the U.S. trade deficit was a “national emergency” that justified a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports, with higher tariff rates for countries with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits, particularly China.
Many of those country-specific tariffs were paused a week later, and on Monday the Trump administration said it was also temporarily slashing the steepest China tariffs while working on a longer-term trade deal with Beijing. Both countries agreed over the weekend to cut tariffs on each other for at least 90 days.
Trump’s on-and-off-again tariffs have shocked U.S. markets, but he has justified them as a way to restore America’s manufacturing capability.
The president’s executive order announcing the tariffs invoked laws including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives presidents special powers to combat unusual or extraordinary threats to the U.S.
The Liberty Justice Center said the law does not give the president the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs on any country he chooses at any rate he chooses.
The law is meant to address unusual and extraordinary threats, and the U.S. decades-long practice of buying more goods than it exports does not qualify as an emergency that would trigger IEEPA, according to the lawsuit.
The U.S. Department of Justice has argued that IEEPA gives presidents broad authority to regulate imports in response to a national emergency. It has said that the plaintiffs’ lawsuit should be thrown out, because they have not been harmed by tariffs they have not yet paid, and because only Congress, and not private businesses, can challenge a national emergency declared by the President under IEEPA.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Dietrich Knauth, Reuters
UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’s largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs.Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said.Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain chairman of the company’s board. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley.“Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said.Witty joined the company in 2018 after serving about nine years as CEO of the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. He was named UnitedHealth’s CEO in February 2021, replacing Dave Wichmann.UnitedHealth became one of the nation’s largest companies under Witty’s leadership. Total revenue topped $400 billion last year, a 55% increase from the $257 billion UnitedHealth brought in the year before Witty became CEO.Shares of UnitedHealth rocketed higher under Witty, up 60.5% since he took the company’s top job.Yet in the past five months, that stock performance reversed sharply, coinciding with the fatal shooting of company executive Brian Thompson in front of a New York City hotel late last year.The company has wrestled with the media attention focused on Luigi Mangione, who was indicted last month on a federal murder charge in the killing of Thompson.The case has captured the American imagination, setting off a cascade of resentment and online vitriol toward U.S. health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security.UnitedHealth cut its 2025 forecast last month following its first quarterly earnings miss in more than a decade. Shares of UnitedHealth, which have plummeted 38% since the deadly Dec. 4 ambush of Thompson in midtown Manhattan, fell 9% before the opening bell on Tuesday.UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it suspended its 2025 outlook as medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare were higher than expected.“To all stakeholders, including employees and shareholders, I’m deeply disappointed in and apologize for the performance setbacks we have encountered from both external and internal challenges,” Hemsley said during a conference call. “Many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals as well as our opportunities are largely within our control. I am optimistic about our future as these issues are within our capacity to resolve. We will approach them with humility, rigor and urgency.”More than 50 million people have health insurance under UnitedHealth Group Inc. It also has a large pharmacy benefit manager that runs prescription drug coverage and a growing Optum segment that delivers care and provides technical support.UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, with more than 8 million customers. Those are privately run versions of the federal government coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and older.
AP Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed to this report.
Michelle Chapman, AP Business Writer
Amazon leaned into the advertising funnel in a big way during its 2025 Upfront event at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Monday night.
Perhaps the most notable product enhancement the company unveiled was the use of AI to generate contextual advertising on its Prime Video platformmeaning that ads can and will be created on the fly, using AI, depending on the specific scene of a TV show or movie that is on the screen at any given time.
For instance, if a viewer is watching a scene involving a loving phone call between a mother and daughter, pausing the show could result in an ad for mobile phone service, with AI-generated text dynamically created, right then and there.
The ability gives Amazon’s massive advertising artillery even more firepower. Amazon execs at the event noted that its Prime Video service now has a global audience of more than 300 million, up from 275 million a year ago, and that engagement also increased 40% over the past year.
A star-studded pitch to advertisers
Amazon’s Upfront event was loaded with stars showcasing new projects for Prime Video.
That included appearances by Michael B. Jordan, discussing a new Creed spinoff TV show called Delphi; Arnold Schwarzenegger (who stole the show with a 15-minute rambling appearance loaded with jokes about his old age) talking about his upcoming Christmas movie; John Cena talking about his new movie due out this summer with Idris Elba; and Jamie Lee Curtis, who announced that shes producing and starring in a new series, Scarpetta, alongside Nicole Kidman. The series will be an adaptation of the popular book series authored by Patricia Cornwell.
Curtis later joined Schwarzenegger on stage to reminisce about the 1990s action movie True Lies in which they both starred.
Other announcements include the December return of Fallout, which will air its second season, and was also renewed for a third season. Nicolas Cage was also announced as playing Spider-Man in Spider-Noir, which will be available to watch in either color or black-and-white. Two new seasons of Beast Games are also on the way.
Finally, sports were front and center.
The NFL will continue with Thursday night games on Prime, and Prime will also host a Black Friday game between Chicago and Philadelphia, and a Christmas Day game between Denver and Kansas City.
Additionally, the NBA inked an 11-year deal with Prime, which will see 65 regular-season games air on the service, along with some playoff games.
One of the worlds most well-known stock market indexes, the S&P 500, will soon look a little different. Thats because its roster of 500 companies is getting a shakeup, which will see the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global join the index. In the process, Coinbase will replace legacy financial services company Discover Financial.
Heres what you need to know about the changes coming to the S&P 500.
What is the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 is one of the worlds best-known stock market indexes. A stock market index is essentially a running list of publicly traded companies whose stock prices are tracked. These indices can help give investors an overview of how the economyor at least the marketsare behaving over a certain period, whether an hour, day, week, year, or decade.
There are numerous stock market indexes across the world. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 are the most well-known in the United States. Other global indexes include Chinas Hang Seng, Japans Nikkei 225, the U.K.s FTSE, Germanys DAX, and France’s CAC 40.
Indices should not be confused with stock market exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Stocks are bought and sold on these exchanges, whereas an index only tracks the price of certain stocks (though you can buy ETFs and mutual funds on exchanges that are broadly representative of certain indices themselves).
As its name suggests, the S&P 500 tracks 500 publicly traded companies in the U.S. markets. This is much more than the Dow, which only tracks 30 companies. The S&P 500 launched in its current form on March 4, 1957. The full name of the S&P 500 is the Standard and Poor’s 500.
Why is Coinbase joining the S&P 500?
The catalyst for Coinbase joining the S&P 500 is that a legacy financial company that is currently tracked by the index will no longer be separately traded. That company is Discover Financial Services, which is being acquired by Capital One Financial Corporation.
Discover’s removal will leave the S&P 500 with only 499 companies, so the S&P 500 needed to find a replacement, which it has done with Coinbase.
Why did the S&P 500 choose Coinbase?
A committee chooses which companies are included in the S&P 500 and, generally speaking, the committee tries to include companies from a broad range of sectors so it is composed of 500 companies that are a good proportional representation of the American economy.
Whats interesting with Coinbases inclusion on the S&P 500 is that it is the first time a cryptocurrency company has been added to the index, notes The Crypto Basic. While this wont change the fundamentals of the company itself, it signifies that crypto companies are becoming a more important part of the U.S. economyor at least, that’s the perception.
However, the S&P 500 committee cant just choose any company it wants for the index. It uses multiple criteria when determining which companies to add. As noted by CNBC, any company added to the S&P 500 must have reported a profit in its most recent quarter and have had cumulative profits over the past four quarters.
But those arent the only requirements. As S&P Global states, companies must also meet other selection criteria, which include:
The company must be a large cap onethat is, it must have a market capitalization of at least $10 billion.
The company must have sufficient liquidity.
The company must have a sufficient number of shares that are available to the public (known as public float).
The company must help contribute to the sector balance.
The S&P 500 committee felt that Coinbase met these criteria.
How unusual is this?
Its important to note that changes to the S&P 500 arent as rare as changes to the Dow, which only tracks 30 companies. The S&P typically makes dozens of changes to its roster every year. As mentioned, the reason Coinbase’s addition is so notable is that its the first crypto company ever added to the S&P.
When do these changes take effect?
In a press release, S&P Global confirmed that these changes will take place on Monday, May 19.
On that day, Discover Financial Services will be delisted from the S&P 500 and Coinbase will be added.
How have Coinbase on Discover Financial Services shares reacted to the news?
Discover Financial Services stock (NYSE: DFS) pretty much shrugged off the news when it was announced after market close on Monday. Thats because DFS shareholders know the company is already being acquired for a fixed amount. Because Discover Financial Services is being acquired, its removal from the S&P 500 was expected.
On the other hand, Coinbase stock (Nasdaq: COIN) has surged on the news that it was joining the S&P 500. Shares are currently up over 10% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing. Yesterday, before the S&P 500 announcement, COIN shares closed at just over $207.
However, Coinbases addition to the S&P 500 does not change any of the companys financials. The reason the stock is surging anyway is that many mutual funds and ETFs that track the S&P 500 will likely now add COIN shares to their baskets, meaning they will buy the stock, thus causing it to rise.
Still, despite the companys inclusion on the S&P 500, COIN shares have taken a beating this year. As of yesterdays close, they were down over 16% year-to-date. Over the past five years, COIN shares have fallen 45%.
California’s governor called upon the state’s cities and counties to ban homeless encampments this week, even providing blueprint legislation for dismantling the tents lining streets, parks and waterways throughout much of the state.Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, made homelessness a priority of his administration when he took office in 2019. It had previously been an issue primarily for mayors and other local officials, but Newsom pumped money into converting old motels into housing and launched other initiatives to tackle the issue.
Still, he has repeatedly called out cities and counties to do their part, and on Monday, he unveiled draft language that can be adopted by local governments to remove encampments. Here is what to know:
What does the model ordinance say?
Newsom’s model ordinance includes prohibitions on “persistent camping” in one location and encampments blocking sidewalks and other public spaces. It asks cities and counties to provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter before clearing an encampment.
What do local governments say?
Organizations representing California’s cities and counties balked at the suggestion that they are to blame for street conditions. They say they need dedicated, sustained funding over multiple years for permanent projects instead of sporadic, one-time funding.Carolyn Coleman, executive director and CEO of the League of California Cities, said that eight in 10 cities have policies to address encampments but they need money to address the root causes of homelessness, such as more housing.The California State Association of Counties said the state has not provided as much money to address homelessness as it says it has and that half of the money has gone to housing developers.
What do homeless advocates say?
Studies have shown that encampment bans and other punitive measures make it even harder for people to find stable housing and work, said Alex Visotzky with the National Alliance to End Homelessness.People may lose critical documents or lose contact with a trusted case manager, forcing them to start all over again.In Los Angeles, Jay Joshua watches over a small encampment in which he also lives. He says encampments can be a safe space for those living there.
What are California cities doing about encampments?
Major cities with Democratic mayors have already started cracking down on encampments, saying they present a public health and safety hazard.In San Francisco, new mayor Daniel Lurie vowed to clean up city sidewalks. In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan has proposed arrests if a person refuses shelter three times.
Do cities and counties have to adopt it?
Newsom can’t make cities and counties adopt an encampment ban.But the proposed encampment legislation was paired with an announcement of $3.3 billion in grant money for facilities to treat mental health and substance abuse disorders, suggesting that he could condition state funding on compliance.In 2022, he paused $1 billion in state money for local government, saying that their plans to reduce homelessness fell short of the acceptable.
Janie Har, Associated Press
Since it launched two years ago, Spotifys AI DJ has been a one-way experience. It curates old favorites and helps listeners discover new tracks based on past listening experience and what similar users like. But now its getting interactive.
Spotify unveiled the ability to request songs from the DJ based on mood, genre, and vibe. The feature, which launched across 60 markets, is exclusive to Spotify Premium users, who can access the DJ by searching for the tool in the app.
Its the latest AI feature to come from Spotify, which introduced an AI-generated playlist builder for Premium users in the United States last fall. But Molly Holder, Spotifys senior director of product for personalization, says that tool was designed for people who want to take an active role in their listening experience. The new DJ request feature, by contrast, is designed to give users more input into an essentially lean back experience.
We know that even in a lean back moment, users still want some semblance of control,” she says.
How does the DJ request feature work?
After a user searches for and calls up the DJ in the app, they can make a request by holding down the DJ icon and speaking a prompt. (The feature requires microphone access.) After receiving the prompt, such as upbeat songs for running or ambient for a rainy day, the DJ will “think” for a bit before launching into a tailored playlist.
[Image: Spotify]
Focusing on mood or moment along with a genre tends to be the best approach for using the feature. Wanting to give it a slam dunk, I asked for early 2000s patriotic country and immediately got Toby Keiths Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. Not too hard. But when I asked for undiscovered African gems for a summer barbecue, expecting Afrobeats and Amapiano, the DJ instead served songs from the African diaspora. (The first was by Timbuktu, who Spotify describes as one of Swedens most well-known hip-hop artists.) Once I specified the genre, the results were better, but Id forgotten to make clear I wanted undiscovered artists, so I got a lot of Tyla.
With several of the requests, the DJ seemed somewhat buggy, abruptly stopping a song and launching into its more default mode. When I asked for DIY indie rock from the mid-2010s, it played a few bars from an early Mitski song, then reset itself and introduced my top songs from 2023.
Pairing insight with a human touch
Spotify’s Holder says that while the DJs content-surfacing abilities are powered by AI, many of the comments and insights that it delivers in between songsthe bits that make the tool feel like a personalized and expert experienceare powered by humans.
We have music experts and editors who have built whats called the writers room for the DJ product, she says. These folks come together with generative AI to build the commentary that DJ offers throughout the experience.
This commentary can increase listener engagementwhich can be beneficial for artists who are trying to break through as well. In that writers room, when we build that commentary, it helps to bring artists stories to life to bring a little bit more context to the content were recommending,” Holder says. One thing we see is that users who hear commentary about a track in the DJ experience are more likely to listen to a track they might have otherwise skipped.
Holder also positions the new feature in Spotifys long history of using machine learning to build personalization into the user experience, from Discovery Weekly to Daylists and now the DJ requests. Were really applying AI strategically across our product portfolio in ways that enhance the value proposition of our products.”
U.S. President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.Prince Mohammed warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital and kicked off his Middle East tour.The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts.
Fighter jet escort
The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a lunch at the Royal Court, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue accents and massive crystal chandeliers.As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe.At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S. intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner. Trump is also slated to take part Tuesday in a U.S.-Saudi investment conference.“When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen more often than not, great things happen,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said.
Oil production
Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Qatar and UAE next
Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but Trump ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.The three countries on the president’s itinerary Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are all places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.He’s expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.But Trump arrived in the Middle East at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach.
Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says
Before the trip, Trump announced that Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S. airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.The administration didn’t notify Israel which the Houthis continue to target of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it. It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement. “If others join us our American friends all the better.”William Wechsler, senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s decision to skip Israel on his first Middle East visit is remarkable.“The main message coming out of this, at least as the itinerary stands today, is that the governments of the Gulf are in fact stronger friends to President Trump than the current government of Israel at this moment,” Wechsler said.
Restarting efforts to normalize Israel-Saudi ties
Trump, meanwhile, hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East’s major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump’s Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.But Riyadh has made clear that in exchange for normalization it wants U.S. security guarantees, assistance with the kingdom’s nuclear program and progress on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. There seems to be scant hope for making headway on a Palestinian state with the Israel-Hamas war raging and the Israelis threatening to flatten and occupy Gaza.Prince Mohammed last week notably hosted Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh in Jeddah on the sheikh’s first foreign visit since assuming office in April.Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the crown prince appeared to be subtly signaling to Trump that the kingdom needs to see progress on Palestinian statehod for the Saudis to begin seriously moving on a normalization deal with the Israelis.“Knowing how the Saudis telegraph their intentions, that’s a preemptive, ‘Don’t even think of asking us to show any goodwill toward normalization,'” Abdul-Hussain said.
Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
