Tracy Mumford: In Beijing this morning, President Trump was welcomed with a 21-gun salute as Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted him for the start of their high-stakes summit.

Trump: I sent you respect for China, the job you've done. You're a great leader. I say it to everybody, you're a great leader.

Tracy Mumford: The meeting marks the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade. And in their opening remarks, both leaders stressed the importance of US-China cooperation. But hanging over that relationship and this week's talks are long-standing clashes over trade and Taiwan, as well as a new source of tension, the war in Iran.

Tracy Mumford: Iran is China's closest partner in the Middle East and the country buys about 80% of Iran's oil exports. Since the beginning of the war, China has given Iran intelligence, plus access to a spy satellite that has tracked the positions of US forces in the region. And just as Trump was flying to China, the Times learned from US officials that Chinese companies have been discussing selling weapons to Iran.

Tracy Mumford: And notably, the war in Iran has actually tied the US more closely to China. That's because China dominates global production of rare earth minerals, which are crucial components of US weapons from cruise missiles to fighter jets. One former US trade official told the times quote, "Every missile fired at Iran makes us that much more dependent in the near term on China."

Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile, the UK energy giant BP has just released its latest results and it made profits of 3.2 billion dollars in the past 3 months, double this time last year. As the war continues, oil companies have been posting spectacular profits. Shell, the latest firm to announce its first quarter results, they reported profits of just under 7 billion dollars.

Patty Cohen: But a second reason, which most people probably don't realize, which accounts for a huge portion, particularly of European oil companies revenues in this first quarter, is because of their trading desks. Now, what do the trading desks do? They buy, sell, and they transport oil. And at a time when prices are very volatile, you can make money by trading. So, let me give you an example. TotalEnergies, which is a French oil company, they made essentially a billion dollars in one day by trading oil.

Tracy Mumford: On Capitol Hill yesterday, the Senate voted in Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve. But even as he steps into the new job, there are major concerns in Washington over whether he will maintain the Fed's tradition of independence from the White House. Warsh's confirmation hearings were filled with questions about whether he plans to do the bidding of President Trump, who hand-picked him for the job.

Tracy Mumford: In South Carolina, the state's top court overturned the murder convictions against Alex Murdaugh yesterday, a surprise reversal in one of the most high-profile homicide cases in the country. Now though, the state Supreme Court has ruled that a court clerk committed what it called shocking jury interference.

Tracy Mumford: And finally, Jason Collins. A historic moment as Jason Collins becomes the first openly gay athlete to play in any of this country's four major professional sports. Jason Collins, the first active NBA player to come out as gay, died this week at 47 years old. Back in 2013, Collins sparked a national conversation after he wrote an essay for Sports Illustrated declaring, quote, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black and I'm gay."