“As Donald Trump grew increasingly frustrated with diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran, administration officials were closely watching whether the president’s trip to China — a nation with close ties to Tehran — would yield a significant breakthrough,” CNN reports.

“But Trump landed stateside Friday with seemingly no progress to report.”

Washington Post: Trump’s China summit shows toll of a difficult year for the president.

“Raúl Castro holds no formal office in Cuba’s government and is rarely seen in public. Yet at nearly 95 years old, the younger of the two brothers who led the Cuban revolution continues to be the man who has the final say on the country’s most important matters,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Now, the Trump administration intends to prosecute the frail patriarch and former president on criminal charges, shifting the pressure campaign from broad sanctions against Cuba’s government toward accountability for a man who symbolizes the Communist regime’s power structure.”

Associated Press: Trump administration prepares to seek Raúl Castro indictment as it pressures Cuba.

“President Trump has described a potential multibillion-dollar weapons sale to Taiwan as a ‘negotiating chip’ with China, raising new doubts about the pace and scale of American military support for the island democracy,” the New York Times reports.

Axios: Trump waffles on Taiwan arms deal after Xi talks.

“Israel says it has killed the leader of Hamas’ military wing, one of the architects of the Oct, 7, 2023, attacks that triggered the war in Gaza,” the AP reports.

“Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in a strike in Gaza City on Friday, Israel’s army said. He was one of the last senior commanders in Hamas’ military who had directed the planning and execution of the Oct. 7. Hamas-led attacks on Israel.”

“Top Republicans on Friday condemned the Pentagon for canceling a U.S. troop deployment to Poland, an abrupt move that also appeared to catch Army leaders by surprise,” Politico reports.

“The decision, House Armed Service Committee members said, amounted to a gut punch to the NATO ally and to a Congress that has sought to beef up the U.S. presence in Europe. They made those frustrations clear at a hearing with Army officials, where the service’s top civilian and uniform leaders had few answers about the rationale for the move and confirmed its last-minute timing.”