| Border clash | An Indian officer and two soldiers died in a confrontation with Chinese troops along the unmarked border high in the Himalayas, the first fatalities from skirmishes in the area in four decades. Officials are meeting to defuse the showdown that followed six weeks of soaring tensions along the 3,488 kilometer (2,167 mile) boundary. Perfect storm | Trump's planned rally in Tulsa on Saturday is drawing fire over his response to the two key crises he faces: the coronavirus pandemic and widening protests over police brutality against black Americans. While public health officials worry packing as many as 20,000 people into an arena could spread contagion, others question the choice of Tulsa, the site of one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. Least worst option | The U.S. president has argued frequently that China is rooting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in November's election, but officials in Beijing are coming around to support four more years of Trump. The belief is Trump's erosion of America's postwar alliance network is a plus that outweighs further damage to China from trade and geopolitical disputes. Expanding cluster | Beijing is ramping up mass testing to determine if a new Covid-19 outbreak in the city warrants the same strict lockdown that shut large swathes of the world's second-biggest economy for months. The Chinese capital closed another food market located near the financial district today after a case linked to the original cluster was discovered. - The Beijing infections are being blamed on imported salmon, prompting a nationwide boycott of the fish.
- Taiwan, one of the few places that's effectively contained an outbreak, is already stockpiling supplies for the next pandemic.
Troop cuts | Trump confirmed he's slashing the number of American troops stationed in Germany by about half, accusing Angela Merkel's government of being "delinquent" in its financial obligations to NATO. The announcement marked a new low in relations roiled by U.S. complaints about German energy purchases from Russia and Merkel's snub of Trump's plan for an in-person Group of Seven summit in June.
What to Watch -
The Trump administration is preparing a plan to spend nearly $1 trillion on infrastructure to help to spur the world's largest economy back to life, Jenny Leonard and Josh Wingrove report. -
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that employers can't discriminate based on workers' sexual orientation or gender identity may help more than half of the nation's 8 million LGBT employees living in states that don't legally protect them. But it has a big loophole: It doesn't apply to small businesses. -
EU defense ministers held a video call today as France and Germany push for the bloc to boost its joint defense capabilities amid worsening ties with the U.S. And finally ... The coronavirus stranded roughly 200,000 seafarers on ships because of tight port restrictions and canceled flights. While some hubs are easing limits to help them get back to their families, most crew are still stuck on ships and at increasing risk of mental and physical fatigue. Normally, about 100,000 sailors change vessels every 30 days. But that isn't happening, and some have exceeded the industry norm for the longest they should be at sea — 11 months.  A crew switch on the ship Genco Liberty. Photo credit: Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd/Bloomberg | 
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