*By Carlo Versano*
Financial markets closed, mail delivery stopped, federal offices shut down, and bells tolled as the nation paused to remember the life of President George H.W. Bush, who was memorialized during a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral on Wednesday.
At 11:00 a.m., right on schedule, the famously punctual George W. Bush led his family into the cathedral under cloudy skies and chilly temperatures. In the front pew sat the other four members of what's known as the most exclusive club in the world ー Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and their wives.
It is believed to be the first time Presidents Trump and Obama have met or spoken since the former's inauguration. As Trump sat, he shook the hands of the Obamas as Bill Clinton glanced over. Hillary Clinton stared straight ahead.
The 43rd president delivered a stirring and humorous eulogy for his father, with whom he had a famously complicated but loving relationship. He was joined by Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister, Alan Simpson, the former senator from Wyoming, and Jon Meacham, the presidential biographer.
Meacham called President Bush the "last great soldier-statesman," and said his famous "thousand points of light" phrase was uttered alongside Lincoln's "better angels of our nature" line from his first inaugural as "companion verses in America's national hymn."
George W. Bush remembered his father as "the brightest of 1,000 points of light," again hitting on a phrase that President Trump once [mocked](https://youtu.be/ZbYZOHq2LEQ?t=3508).
"Through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could have," Bush said, breaking down.
"Dad is hugging Robin, and holding mom's hand again." Robin was the three-year-old daughter that the Bushes lost to leukemia in 1953.
The Bush family made a surprise visit to the Capitol rotunda on Tuesday evening to thank mourners who paid respects over two days as president lied in state. That followed a touching moment in which former senator Bob Dole was helped out of his wheelchair to salute the casket of his fellow WWII vet.
Bush, who served as the 41st president for a single term at a critical time for geopolitics, led a life that intersected with key moments of modern American history. A naval aviator turned congressman, RNC chair during Watergate, ambassador, CIA chief, vice and finally president, was also the patriarch of a political dynasty, as well as a respected family man and statesman.
"Some have said this is an end of an era," Rev. Russell Jones Levenson said from the pulpit. "But it doesn't have to be. Perhaps this is an invitation to fill the void that has been left behind."
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
