A.M. Edition for May 19. Former President Joe Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with his doctors, as representatives say the disease has spread to his bones. Plus, Israel says it will start allowing aid into Gaza for the first time in months, as the Israeli military expands its ground operation in the enclave. And Journal foreign correspondent Georgi Kantchev on what to expect from President Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin today after Russia unleashed a drone barrage on Ukraine. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is President Biden's health diagnosis?
Stocks especially had rallied a lot in the last couple of weeks. But I think the more important part of the market is the bond market. The 30-year rate touched 5% early this morning. The dollar fell again. Those parts of the market haven't rallied.
It's Monday, May the 19th. I'm Azhar Sukhri for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. Here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer just months after he left office.
His representatives said Sunday that the cancer has spread to his bones, but that the disease appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management. Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with his doctors. Biden, who was 82 when he left office in January, has come under scrutiny for age-related mental and physical declines he suffered while he was president.
Chapter 2: What treatment options is Biden considering?
President Trump wrote on his Truth Social channel that he and First Lady Melania Trump are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. He wished Biden a fast and successful recovery. President Trump is hoping to secure a Ukraine peace deal in calls today with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO leaders.
It comes as Moscow yesterday launched one of the largest aerial barrages of the war, killing at least one person and injuring three in the capital Kiev. Journal foreign correspondent Georgi Kanchev joins me now. Georgi, this is the third call between Trump and Putin this year so far. What are we expecting?
Chapter 3: What does Trump's statement on Biden's health reveal?
So this call is crucial because ultimately the discussions between Ukraine, Russia, the West, they're about an immediate ceasefire. But at the same time, Russia has been resisting such a truce. And for that reason, it's not very clear how much this call could accomplish. On Friday, Russia again came to the Istanbul talks with their maximalist demands that Ukraine's troops retreat.
Chapter 4: What to expect from the Trump-Putin call?
withdraw from these four regions, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2022. And of course, this is a complete non-starter for Ukraine. And Russia came up with other demands as well, something they call the root causes of the conflict, which include basically questioning Ukraine's whole sovereignty and expansion of NATO.
So we're seeing so far that Russia has not moved back an inch from its demands. And while Trump, of course, has had direct contact with Putin, it's not very clear how much this call can actually accomplish, given that Russia is continuing to hold to its maximalist demands.
Chapter 5: How is Russia responding to the Ukraine conflict?
Indeed, Georgi. And in fact, Russia has continued to keep up the pressure on Ukraine, hasn't it?
Absolutely. Yesterday, Russia launched one of its largest aerial barrages of the war. They deployed over 270 drones across Ukraine. People were killed. Ukraine has said that Russia is preparing the ground for a potential summer offensive.
So on the ground, as in the diplomatic realm, we're not seeing the Russians really giving any concessions or preparing for any meaningful cessation in military activity. Of course, there is pressure from the United States, potentially devastating economic sanctions on Russia, which the Europeans have said would kick in if Russia doesn't agree to ceasefire. So far, this has not happened.
But this is, of course, something to watch, maybe even for today's call, in case Trump threatens Putin with more economic sanctions, in case Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire.
And after Trump speaks to Putin, he is due also to speak to Zelensky and NATO leaders. What do we know about those calls?
I think European leaders will continue to press the US president to impose sanctions on Russia. And Trump seemed to agree at some point that new sanctions should be on the horizon, but now... That's not very clear because at the same time in his weekend social media post where he announced the call with Putin, he said that besides the conflict in Ukraine, they would also discuss trade.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of Trump's discussions with NATO leaders?
And that's something that obviously Russia definitely welcomes. They're really keen on resetting the relationship with the U.S., But from Zelensky's point of view, it's a tough situation because Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire in March. Russia didn't.
And now Zelensky needs to convince Trump ultimately, and the Europeans too, they need to convince Trump that if Russia doesn't agree to that truce, some serious action must follow. But we just have to see what Trump's reaction will be after he speaks to Putin.
Georgi Kanchev, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you.
Israel's military is continuing extensive ground operations in Gaza that began on Sunday. They're trying to bisect the strip, demilitarize Hamas and release the remaining hostages. It follows a wave of airstrikes targeting Hamas infrastructure, such as weapons storage facilities and underground sites.
A senior Israeli official said a strike last week targeting Hamas leader Mohamed Sinwa likely killed him. Journal reporter Carrie Keller-Lynn has the latest from Tel Aviv.
This new offensive in Gaza comes 19 months into the war and at a point in which a hunger crisis has been looming because Israel basically has blocked all aid into Gaza since the ceasefire with Hamas lapsed in early March. Over 250 Palestinians have been killed since Friday night when Israel intensified airstrikes and hit over 670 targets in the past 48 hours, according to local health authorities.
And fresh Israeli troops rolled into Gaza on Sunday to expand a ground operation in what Israel is calling a new phase and a different strategy for this war.
While part of the offensive includes bisecting the Gaza Strip, which aid groups have warned would be very disruptive to Palestinian civilians, Kari says some aid relief is planned.
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Chapter 7: How is Israel conducting military operations in Gaza?
NVIDIA said researchers from Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC also plan to use the system to advance its research and development. The news comes as NVIDIA looks to ramp up revenues and get ahead of competitors rushing to build crucial applications. and lucrative AI infrastructure.
Just last week, the company announced it's partnering with state-backed Humane to build a massive AI data centre in Saudi Arabia. And we are exclusively reporting that GM is racing to reverse California's EV mandate, which would restrict the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
Becky Peterson co-wrote the story and says the automaker is backing a bipartisan Senate bill that could prevent states from setting their own tailpipe emissions targets as soon as this week.
Initially, GM had its own targets to end the sales of nearly all gas-only vehicles by 2035 and supported the California target. But the company has also tried to advocate for national standards. Right now, there are states that are regulated by the EPA rules, which are less strict. And there's the 12 states, including California, that have adopted the stricter regulations.
In the meantime, the EV market has taken a downturn. So while three years ago, when the rules were set, U.S. automakers couldn't keep up with demand, now EV sales are beginning to decline.
And it's not just GM, an alliance of US automakers including Stellantis, Ford and Toyota, and even some states say they aren't ready for the full transition to electric vehicles.
States like New Jersey and New York that have adopted the California rules are fearful that people will just drive across state lines to buy gas-powered cars in states that don't have the mandate. I spoke with one analyst who said, that he thinks the car companies would have to dramatically alter how they distribute cars around the country in ways that don't correspond with consumer demand.
So you might see all of the EVs being manufactured going to states like California, while states that don't have any mandate won't get any at all.
A spokeswoman for the California regulator that sets the auto mandates said the rules provide ample flexibility to enable car companies to meet them. And that's it for What's News for this Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Bullivant and Daniel Bark. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Azhar Sukri for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas.
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