Trump Clashed With South Africa's President
President Trump's sit-down today with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa briefly resembled Oval Office meetings of an earlier era. The leaders exchanged a handshake and cordial pleasantries. Ramaphosa even brought along a couple of pro golfers whom he knew the American leader would like.
But Trump and his aides had prepared an extraordinary ambush. In front of the television cameras, the president dimmed the lights and played a video that he cited as evidence of racial persecution of white South Africans. Trump then went on to repeatedly make claims of land seizures and mass killings of white farmers in Ramaphosa's country.
With the stunned South African president looking on, Trump flipped through printouts that he said proved his narrative: 'Death, death, death,' the president said.
Trump's claims were false. Police statistics show that white South Africans are not killed at a higher rate than others in the country. South Africa approved a plan similar to eminent domain in the U.S., which Trump has used to take land. Ramaphosa tried to gently explain the situation in South Africa to the president, but Trump was unmoved.
Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs said it 'was a stark example of a foreign leader essentially trying to give a reality check to Trump, who instead amplified fringe theories.'
For context: The meeting came about a week after the Trump administration welcomed as refugees a group of white South Africans who claimed they had been persecuted in their home country. Zolan and John Eligon, our Johannesburg bureau chief, explained in this video what led to this moment.
For more: Sign up for our On Politics newsletter. My colleague Jess Bidgood will have inside details from the remarkable meeting later tonight.
Judge said U.S. had violated court order with deportations
A federal judge in Boston said today that the Trump administration had violated a court order by giving a group of eight migrants little more than 24 hours' notice before deporting them to a country that most of them were not from.
Lawyers for the migrants said the men had been told they were being sent to South Sudan, a violence-plagued country that the U.S. advises against visiting. For now, their flight has landed in the east African nation of Djibouti.
The judge, a Biden appointee, said the short notice was 'plainly insufficient' in allowing the men an opportunity to object to their removal. In one of the strongest judicial rebukes the administration has faced, he asked for a list of names of people involved so he could notify them that they might face criminal contempt penalties.
Justice Dept. ended oversight of local police in several cities
The Trump administration said today that it was planning to abandon efforts to force police reforms in several cities, including Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky. Justice Department officials said the federal oversight, which the cities had agreed to after incidents of police violence, cost too much and lasted too long.
In other news from Washington:
OpenAI united with the designer of the iPhone
OpenAI, the world's leading artificial intelligence lab, announced today that it was paying $6.5 billion to buy IO, a 1-year-old start-up created by Jony Ive, the former Apple executive who designed the iPhone. After the deal, OpenAI's largest to date, Ive and his team will be tasked with making hardware that helps people better interact with A.I.
More top news
A Times investigation found that, for years, Russia had been using Brazil as a launchpad for its most elite spies, known as illegals.
To build the perfect cover, the intelligence officers would shed their Russian pasts and assume Brazilian identities. They started businesses, made friends and had love affairs. Read the full investigation, and see texts between two deep-cover spies we obtained.
Morgan Wallen's new album is a despondent self-portrait
It seems as if the more melancholy the country superstar Morgan Wallen becomes, the more successful he gets, our critic Jon Caramanica wrote. The singer's new album, 'I'm the Problem,' is almost unrelentingly tragic. And it's already on track to become one of the most commercially successful releases of the year.
The album is mostly without the playful hip-hop-informed tunes of earlier Wallen releases. Instead, a new generation of singers — you could call them Wallen's protégés — have used that framework with repeated success.
A chocolate cake with an added bonus
Deservingly or not, vegan desserts often have a bad reputation: dry, dense and unexciting. That can make switching to a more climate-friendly, plant-based diet hard.
But Nora Taylor, a Portland-area baker, showed that it doesn't have to be that way. Her vegan chocolate cake recipe, which uses applesauce and apple cider vinegar, has fans across the country. It even helped convince my colleague Cara Buckley to commit to plant-based eating.
Dinner table topics
Cook: This harissa Bolognese is made from start to finish in one roasting pan.
Snack: Sausage rolls, England's favorite pastries, are better than ever.
Watch: 'Pernille' is an endearing Norwegian dramedy.
Tend: Embrace abundance in your garden with these expert tips.
Wear: Our fashion critic has advice for making sense of the latest trends.
Save: Memorial Day discounts are arriving. Wirecutter is tracking the best deals.
Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.
The fuzzy blue alien who's everywhere
It's been more than two decades since Disney released 'Lilo & Stitch.' But the presence of Stitch, a destructive but adorable blue alien, has only grown. There's a Stitch clothing line, Stich yogurt, Stitch dog toys and a cottage industry of TikTokers who show off their latest Stitch-centric items.
He's become one of Disney's most popular characters, and one of the studio's most bankable, along with classics like Winnie-the-Pooh and Mickey Mouse. The arrival this week of a live-action 'Lilo & Stitch' remake promises a whole new wave of Stitch merchandise.
Have a lovable evening.
Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
Laurence Tan was our photo editor.
We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.
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