Trade Talks

China is looking to narrow the scope of its negotiations with the United States to only trade matters, putting thornier national security issues on a separate track in a bid to break deadlocked talks, as the WSJ’s Lingling Wei and Chao Deng report.

Troops to Syria

The Pentagon is preparing to send about 150 troops to northeastern Syria to conduct ground patrols with Turkish forces, reversing at least temporarily a withdrawal from Syria that President Trump ordered last December, as the New York Times’ Eric Schmitt reports.

Trump Administration Reinstates Military Aid for Ukraine

President Trump’s administration has released $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, U.S. senators said on Thursday, after lawmakers from both parties expressed concern that the White House had held up money approved by Congress, as Reuters’ Patricia Zengerle reports.

Enroll for Fall

Now enrolling for the Fall, CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer a new Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

$1 Trillion

The U.S. budget gap widened to more than $1 trillion in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, the Treasury Department said Thursday, the first time deficits have topped that amount in seven years.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Critical Quote

“In a world marked by humanitarian crises, the geopolitical challenges, strong American leadership is absolutely critical and I intend to provide it.”

— U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft

iDeas Lab

What began as a series of protests over an extradition bill has evolved into a mass movement with five demands. CSIS's Jude Blanchette explains "What's Happening in Hong Kong" in the newest episode of our video series about global policy hotspots.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images). The new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, takes up the United States’ seat at the Security Council at the UN headquarters today in New York.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., CSIS will host an event on the role of exchange rates and other policies in external adjustments featuring a keynote address from Gita Gopinath, economic counsellor and director of the research department at the International Monetary Fund.

And, at 10:00 a.m., the United States Institute of Peace will host a panel discussion on U.S.-Taliban talks, focusing on assessing the uncertain future of the Afghanistan peace process.

Later, at 11:45 a.m., the Hudson Institute will host a panel discussion on the rise of these Iran-backed militias in Iraq, the threat posed to the United States and its allies, and the role that Israel’s upcoming elections will play.

Video

In the latest episode of "High Resolution," CSIS’s Victor Cha examines the Kumchon-ni missile operating base, one of 20 undisclosed North Korean missile bases. If North Korea were to equip the base with Pukkuksong missiles, the base could threaten U.S. forces in Okinawa and potentially in Guam.

Podcasts

CSIS is out with a new podcast, "The Truth of the Matter." Each week, Bob Schieffer and I will break down the policy issues of the day with CSIS experts. No spin, no bombast, no finger pointing. Just informed discussion.

In our first episode, Dr. John Hamre, CSIS CEO and former deputy secretary of defense, explains his view that we are at the edge of a new epoch of U.S. foreign policy.

Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify, & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“One way or another, this darkness got to give.”

Another thing I can tell my son about the Grateful Dead’s resurgence in the late 1980s-early 90s is that they started performing lost classics and breathing bright new life into them.

“New Speedway Boogie” was a song that disappeared from the Dead’s live repertoire from 1970 to 1991. It made a major comeback in 1991. In a couple of weeks from now the Dead are releasing their well known Giants Stadium Show from June 17, 1991. Here’s “New Speedway Boogie” from that show.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Brad Honigberg.