Mike Baker

European officials are also raising concerns about Chinese state subsidies, industrial overcapacity, a devalued currency, and China's near-monopoly position in certain critical raw materials.

Callas said reducing Europe's dependency on China will not be easy or cheap, but she called it necessary and urgent.

So this is really two disputes converging at once.

One is strategic.

Europe believes China is helping Russia continue the war in Ukraine.

The other is economic.

Europe believes China is undercutting European industry while building leverage over critical supply chains.

For Beijing, the accusations are part of what it sees as a Western effort to blame China for Europe's own failures and to pressure it over its relationship with Moscow.

For Brussels, the concern is that China is no longer simply a distant economic competitor.

It's a strategic actor helping power the largest war on the European continent since World War II.

And if the EU can prove that Chinese military personnel trained Russian troops who later fought in Ukraine, that would mark a serious escalation in how Europe views Beijing's role in the war.

The key question now is what Europe does with that assessment.

More sanctions are already moving forward.

New trade measures are already under discussion.

And the political mood inside Europe, well, that appears to be hardening.

OK, I want to shift stateside because for most Americans, last weekend's UFC fights at the White House will be remembered for the spectacle.

And it was a spectacle.

But behind the scenes, federal authorities say they stopped an alleged attack that, if carried out, could have been a mass casualty event.

A new report first published by Fox News is giving us a closer look at how federal authorities say they thwarted an alleged attack targeting UFC America 250 at the White House.

Investigators say five people have been taken into custody so far after allegedly discussing the use of explosive laden drones and gunmen against the crowd gathered for Sunday's event at the White House.