U.S. President Donald Trump departed Beijing following a final day meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The leaders say they made progress in stabilizing U.S.-China relations, but deep differences remain after two days of meetings and meals. On Friday they walked the grounds of Zhongnanhai and had a working tea and lunch. During meetings and events Thursday the two discussed divisive issues such as the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan. China has shown little public interest in getting more involved in solving the war in Iran. Xi also suggested differences over Taiwan could put his country and the U.S. on the path toward conflict. Threats of each side imposing steep tariffs also still loom.

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have sent economic shock waves across the Mideast. In Lebanon, those woes have been compounded by the country’s existing economic problems and by largely unregulated markets that are vulnerable to price gouging. Lebanon was already battered in Hezbollah and Israel’s last war, which ended in late 2024 and cost the country an estimated $11 billion in damage and economic losses. The renewed fighting made the situation worse. Now 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced. Many are sheltering in schools with no work or draining whatever money they have renting out apartments or hotel rooms.

Today is Friday, May 15, the 135th day of 2026. There are 230 days left in the year.

Nations across Asia are pushing for the use of more biofuels in transportation in order to slash dependence on imported fossil fuels, which have been disrupted by the Iran war. Asia is hardest hit by the ongoing energy shock since most of the fossil fuel shipments through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz were Asia-bound. India is considering allowing vehicles to run on 85%, or even 100% ethanol. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia are both racing to increase fuel blending with similar ambitions of cutting back on imported fuels. Experts are split on the climate benefit of these fuels, with some stressing that other forms of renewable energy would likely be more efficient.

A bungled message from a South Texas housing authority prompted mass flight. The situation in Port Isabel offers a glimpse of what could happen nationwide if a Trump administration proposal takes effect to end housing assistance to families in which at least one member is in the country illegally. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to reverse a policy in effect for decades that allows families with at least one person with legal status to occupy a home as long as those here illegally pay a full, unsubsidized share of rent. Advocates estimate up to 80,000 people may lose their homes.

A Tennessee man who goes by the moniker Chud the Builder and is known for posting racist videos is charged with attempted murder. Dalton Eatherly posted audio to social media on Wednesday admitting to shooting a man who he says hit him. He says the shooting was self-defense. Eatherly also notes that he shot himself in the arm. Eatherly, who is white, posts videos to social media where he tries to provoke Black passersby by using racial slurs and racist dog whistles. He has claimed it is free speech, but the fact that he also openly carries a pistol could make it a crime under Tennessee law.

Shoppers tempered their spending in April as higher gas prices fueled by the Iran war meant less money left over for some nonessentials like clothing and furniture. But they’re still buying, thanks to more generous tax refunds. Still, economists worry that spending will fall off more dramatically in the coming months as benefits from the refunds dissipate, and shoppers continue to grapple with the cumulative impact of rising gas prices at the pump. Retail sales rose 0.5% in April, a slowdown from the revised growth level of 1.6% in March, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday. March marked the largest one-month increase in retail spending in more than three years, largely because gas prices spiked higher rapidly.