Senate Democrats finally crack GOP unity on Trump’s Iran war as Murkowski flips

The vote came hours after Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is on ‘massive life support’ with a ‘1% chance’

May 13, 2026 12:28pm EDT / Fox News

By Alex Miller Fox News

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Republicans’ support for President Donald Trump’s war on Iran fractured on Wednesday.

Senate Democrats have tried to splinter off Republicans from their near-unified backing of Operation Epic Fury for months with a campaign of attrition, putting war powers resolution after war powers resolution on the floor ever since fighting began.

And after two months of trying, they finally got some in the GOP to flip on Trump with Sen. Jeff Merkley’s, D-Ore., latest attempt. Still, it wasn’t enough to terminate ongoing operations in the Middle East.

GOP HOLDS WITH TRUMP ON IRAN WAR, BUT CRACKS EMERGE AS DEADLINE NEARS

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has consistently voted to handcuff Trump’s war powers, all joined Democrats to end Operation Epic Fury.

It comes after Congress blew past the 60-day deadline to weigh in on fighting in the region, and hours after Trump touched down in China.

Top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, argued that the 60-day deadline was moot because fighting was paused under a ceasefire.

However, Trump, after rejecting the latest proposal from Iran, said on Tuesday that the fragile truce is on “life support.”

CONGRESS IGNORES KEY DEADLINE AS REPUBLICANS READY ‘RESTRAINT’ ON TRUMP’S WAR IN IRAN

War Secretary Pete Hegseth forcefully denied allegations that he or others may have profited from the war with Iran during a heated Senate exchange.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us — I didn’t even finish reading it,” Trump told reporters.

“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,’” he said.

Whether Trump’s trip overseas and the deadline now in the rearview mirror would have an impact on Wednesday remained an open question heading into the vote.

SENATE GOP MOVES TO BLOCK DEMS’ WAR POWERS PUSH, PRESERVE TRUMP’S AUTHORITY IN RARE MOVE

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to reporters as he walks into the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that Trump’s trip to China would likely have national security implications, and said that it “would be best if everybody hung together and supported the president.”

“People have their own minds about some of these issues, and this is not a new vote, it’s one we’ve had many times before, but you know, we’ll see what votes are,” Thune said.

Congress has the option of voting on an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that would either authorize or halt any further fighting in Iran. Some Republicans argue that the move would give Trump a strong legal tool in making the case for the war.

Murkowski warned earlier this month that unless there were signs that a peace deal was nearing completion or further communication from the administration on their objectives, she would bring an AUMF to the floor.

During a hearing with Hegseth on Tuesday to pick through the president’s staggering, $1.5 trillion budget request for the Pentagon, Murkowski asked Hegseth if he believed it would “be helpful to the president if it was made clear that, in fact, the Congress did allow, did provide an AUMF” should fighting restart.

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“I think the president — our view is that he has all the authorities he needs under Article II to execute,” Hegseth said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who started the war powers effort, contended that if an AUMF were put on the floor, and it passed, it would make an “illegal and unwise war, just an unwise war, not an illegal one.”

“But I see almost no circumstance in which Republicans would want to have a vote on that in committee or on the floor,” Kaine told Fox News Digital. “They are actively trying to avoid accountability for the war.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Why Trump China is trending

2026-05-13T19:10:35.515Z / CNN

By Betsy Klein and Mallory Thompson, CNN

Published 3:10 PM EDT, Wed May 13, 2026

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. CNN’s Betsy Klein explains what the leaders are expected to discuss and who joined Trump on the trip. Discover more videos, including live streams and exclusive storytelling, on our Watch page.

1:25 • Source: CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/13/politics/video/trump-china-trip-begins-trending-cli-hrzn

Lawmakers seek crackdown on China-owned U.S. farmland as Trump meets with Xi Jinping

May 13, 2026 / 3:13 PM EDT / CBS News

By Callie Teitelbaum

President Trump’s face-to-face meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping comes as members of Congress are calling for a crackdown on China’s ability to acquire U.S. farmland, citing national security concerns.

Mr. Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a highly anticipated summit with Xi, which is expected to focus on trade, energy, Taiwan and the war with Iran. Ahead of his visit, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced new legislation that aims to close what they described as “dangerous loopholes” allowing foreign adversaries like China to purchase American farmland and real estate near U.S. military bases.

“Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries like China to buy up American farmland near our most sensitive military and critical infrastructure sites,” Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who heads the Select Committee on China and led the bill’s introduction, said in a statement.

The bill has backing from members of both parties, with Democrats such as New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and California Reps. Julia Brownley, Jimmy Panetta and Mike Thompson signing on.

A Trump administration official told CBS News that tracking foreign land ownership continues to be a priority, including reviewing how states compile data on the matter.

More than 40 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S., about 2% of the nation’s total, is owned by foreign entities, according to the latest assessment by the Department of Agriculture as of December 2024. Chinese investments amount to less than 1% of foreign-held land in the U.S.

Last February, President Trump signed a national security memorandum that sought to restrict Chinese investments in strategic U.S. sectors, including technology, healthcare and agriculture. White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told CBS News that Mr. Trump “is committed to making the United States a premier destination for investment while balancing national security interests — ensuring that America’s future remains firmly in American hands.”

“President Trump’s upcoming meeting with President Xi will advance these goals with a clear-eyed view of the economic and security realities of today,” she added.

USDA has previously reported that the states with the largest Chinese holdings include Texas (123,708 acres), followed by North Carolina (44,263 acres); Missouri (42,905 acres); Florida (12,555 acres); and Virginia (4,654 acres).

The Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc., one of the largest pork producers in the world, was bought by a Chinese meat company in 2013 for billions of dollars. Now, Smithfield Inc. is the second largest Chinese holder of agricultural land in U.S., with tens of thousands of acres, according to USDA.

Scott Lincicome, the vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, told CBS News he believes the congressional concerns about Chinese investments are overblown.

“If you look at the latest data from the USDA, Chinese ownership of farmland is a tiny, tiny sliver of all U.S. farmland,” Lincicome said.

He acknowledged there is a “justifiable security argument” when it comes to Chinese land ownership in close proximity to military bases, but added there needs to be further evidence to warrant restricting property rights.

“We always, always have to remember that in the vast majority of these farmland transactions, the seller is an American,” he said. “So this is the federal government restricting the property rights of American citizens.”

CBS News previously reported that China-linked acquisitions near U.S. military bases have sparked national security concerns — prompting lawmakers in North Dakota in 2023 to block a Chinese company from building a corn mill near an Air Force base in Grand Forks.

The proposed location of the Fufeng Group corn milling plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on May 18, 2023. Ben Brewer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Moolenaar’s bill, if passed, would require the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to review land purchases that involve China, Russia or other foreign adversaries. The office ruled in 2022 that it had no jurisdiction over a Chinese company’s purchase of farmland in North Dakota near Cavalier Space Force Station and Grand Forks Air Force Base.

“Huge data reporting gaps” have made getting a full picture of foreign investment in the U.S. difficult, David Feith, a former national security official who worked in the State Department on U.S.-China policy during the first Trump administration, told CBS News. He described the data as “very incomplete.”

The Government Accountability Office, an independent and nonpartisan agency, found in January 2024 that the USDA “needs to collect, track, and share the data better,” citing its reliance on paper forms filed in state counties. Without “improving its internal processes, USDA cannot report reliable information to Congress or the public about where and how much U.S. agricultural land is held by foreign persons,” the office said in the report.

A USDA official told CBS News that the agency has taken steps to strengthen mandatory disclosure of foreign transactions, citing an online portal for reports and an online form for the public to submit information.

Data for 2025 “should be available in late 2026,” the official said.

Dozens of states now have laws on the books “that seek to restrict to some degree foreign ownership or investments in private agricultural land within the boundaries of their state,” according to the National Agricultural Law Center. Efforts have picked up in recent years to limit ownership, including in Utah, where its Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed a bill into law that expanded previous foreign restrictions.

That effort disrupted a land sale in Utah near Provo Airport to Cirrus Aircraft, a company that is majority-owned by the Chinese state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The Agriculture Department and American Farm Bureau previously said that roughly 34,000 acres in Utah has been owned by Chinese investors and companies.

“Total farmland owned by Chinese Communist Party entities may be small in aggregate — but that isn’t what matters,” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the right-leaning Hudson Institute who specializes in U.S.–China relations, told CBS News, adding that lawmakers’ concerns relate to the properties’ “proximity to sensitive locations.”

“That’s why we need to take this issue seriously, and it’s good that Moolenaar is doing that,” he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-china-could-use-u-s-farmland-to-attack-america/

小马可斯5月13日晚说：“我们不清楚何人试图闯入参议院，将会彻查此事。” （法新社档案照片）

菲律宾总统小马可斯在参议院发生枪击事件后呼吁民众保持冷静，并坚称政府与此事无关，也不知道是谁所为。

路透社报道，小马可斯星期三（5月13日）晚发表视频讲话时说，他并未下达逮捕参议员德拉罗萨的指令，并表示政府并未策划此事。

他说：“我们不清楚何人试图闯入参议院，将会彻查此事。”

陆路交通管理局严正指出，使用报废车辆的行为对所有公路使用者的安全构成重大风险，当局对此绝不容忍。 （取自陆路交通管理局脸书）

违法使用报废车辆的案件近年呈上升趋势，陆路交通管理局今年已调查超过120起案件，充公55辆涉案车辆，另有三人将被控上法庭。

陆交局星期三（5月13日）在脸书发文透露上述数据，并严正指出，使用报废车辆的行为对所有公路使用者的安全构成重大风险，当局对此绝不容忍。

三名男子将被控上法庭

当局在文告中指出，三名男子因涉嫌在不同场合使用报废车辆，将被控上法庭。

在第一起案件中，一名56岁新加坡籍男子被指教唆他人驾驶报废车辆、允许他人在未缴路税或未购买保险的情况下驾驶，以及使用假车牌。他将在星期四（5月14日）被控上法庭。

第二起案件涉及一名63岁男子。他是我国永久居民，被指在2024至2025年期间，允许并驾驶报废车辆从陆路关卡出入境。调查显示，涉案的报废车辆在一年内多次通过关卡出入境。

第三起案件涉及一名62岁新加坡籍男子。他涉嫌驾驶未经注册车辆、使用假车牌，以及驾驶未缴路税或未购买保险车辆。调查显示，这辆报废车在2024至2025年期间数次通过兀兰关卡出入境。

后两名男子将在6月4日被控上法庭。

使用报废车辆案件去年翻倍增长

根据陆交局早前提供给《联合早报》的数据，当局在2022和2023年分别查获40和39起使用报废车辆的案件，同类案件在2024年上升至75起，去年更是翻倍增长至245起。

陆交局答复《联合早报》询问时透露，近年查获的案件有所增加，是因为当局和相关机构加强执法，并进行针对性的行动。

陆交局解释，在已知的违例案子中，这些车辆之所以会出现在路上，是因为违例者非法保留和驾驶报废车辆、虚报车辆已出口，或用假车牌将报废车开回新加坡。

当局提醒，自今年2月27日起，持有或使用未经注册或报废车辆的刑罚，将与罪行的严重程度挂钩。初犯者可面对最高2万元罚款，或坐牢最长两年，或两者兼施；重犯者刑罚加倍。

陆交局：公众可上网举报报销车辆

陆交局和新加坡警察部队强调，两个单位将继续紧密合作，对路上的违法行为采取必要的执法行动。“所有保留或驾驶报废或未注册车辆的违例者，都将被依法处置。我们将继续严格执法，打击这类行为。”

陆交局提醒车主，注销车辆时，车主应确保所有必要的行政程序都已完成。例如，在办理二手车交易的过户手续时，要确保买方在OneMotoring网站上确认过户交易。

对于交由经销商办理出口的车辆，车主应确保获得相关文件并提交给陆交局。如果发现这类车辆被滥用，当局将联系最后一位注册车主进行调查。

公众若发现任何涉使用报废车辆的行为，可通过OneMotoring网站或OneService应用举报。

菲国家调查局：无正式命令且未协调一致不会执行逮捕

2026年5月13日 23:51 / 联合早报

菲国家调查局：无正式命令且未协调一致不会执行逮捕

5月13日晚，菲律宾参议院大楼内传出枪声后，荷枪实弹的参议院安保人员在参议院大楼入口处站岗。 （法新社）

菲律宾国家调查局局长马蒂瓦格星期三（5月13日）接受采访时称，上级部门已要求国家调查局人员暂缓行动，原地待命，并强调“在没有正式命令，且未与所有相关部门协调一致时，我们不会执行逮捕”。

菲参议院当晚早些时候突然传出枪声，菲内政部长雷穆拉过后抵达参议院，称他的首要任务是确保“参议员们的安全”，不是为了逮捕菲参议员、前国家警察总监德拉罗萨。

雷穆拉说，德拉罗萨目前安全，他本人希望在办公室里休息。雷穆拉还说，他已向德拉罗萨保证，不会对他执行逮捕令。

菲总统小马可斯稍晚发表视频讲话，称他没有下达逮捕德拉罗萨的指令，“我们不清楚何人试图闯入参议院，将会彻查此事”。

菲律宾当地电视台直播画面显示，13日晚，菲执法人员和军方人员进入参议院大楼。大楼内传出枪声和人群惊慌失措的喊叫声。德拉罗萨早些时候在脸书说，自己即将被捕。

延伸阅读

小马可斯称未下达逮捕德拉罗萨的指令
菲参院秘书长：已就参议员德拉罗萨的情况达成协议

荷兰海牙国际刑事法院指控德拉罗萨是菲律宾前总统杜特尔特禁毒战的同谋者，去年11月已秘密签发他的逮捕令。杜特尔特去年3月从国外返回菲律宾时在机场被捕，并随即被押送到海牙。

夏立言呼吁思考保障多数人维持现有生活方式的两岸统一模式

2026年5月13日 23:54 / 联合早报

AI摘要

• 夏立言在演讲中强调，唯有以“九二共识”务实处理两岸关系，台湾才能拓展外交空间。
• 他呼吁思考保障多数人维持现有生活方式的两岸统一模式，以实现和平避战。
• 回顾马英九政府时期，夏立言认为“九二共识”带来了外交成果，如免签、ECFA及参与国际组织等。
• 夏立言批评民进党将“九二共识”污名化，并指出协商需要灵活处理，不能坚持主权一寸不让。
• 他提到统一有多种可能方式，学界应思考何种安排最能保障台湾多数人的现有生活方式。

本摘要由AI辅助生成，仅供参考

台湾的大陆委员会前主任委员、外交部前次长夏立言星期三（5月13日）在对外关系协会发表演讲。 （庄慧良摄）

台湾的大陆委员会前主任委员、外交部前次长夏立言在一场演讲中强调，美国不可恃，唯有以“九二共识”务实处理两岸关系，台湾才能拓展外交空间，并呼吁思考保障多数人维持现有生活方式的两岸统一模式，方能和平避战。

夏立言星期三（5月13日）于对外关系协会，以“在曲折夹缝中找到出路：谈欧鸿鍊部长的活路外交”为题发表演讲，怀念已故前外交部长欧鸿鍊的政务风骨与活路外交成果时，作上述表示。

夏立言回顾马英九政府在“九二共识”基础上推动活路外交，以“外交休兵”为手段，不与大陆互挖墙角，拿下百余国免签、签署海峡两岸经济合作架构协议（ECFA）及台新、台纽自贸协定，并以中华台北名义参与世界卫生大会等国际组织，邦交国几乎全数维持，仅冈比亚（台称甘比亚）因总统贾梅个人意愿而断交。

夏立言认为，相对于前总统陈水扁的“支票外交”、总统赖清德的ATA（Arrive then Announce，抵达后才宣布）外交，马政府的外交成果正是“九二共识”带来的红利。

他说，对国民党而言，依循一中宪法、两岸人民关系条例并不困难，但民进党执政10年不断污名化“九二共识”，将其与“一国两制”划上等号，导致“九二共识”变成脏字。民进党坚持“对等尊严”却不愿承认这块敲门砖，从中央到地方都无法互动。

延伸阅读

邱垂正否认赖清德就职周年因美国压力未提两岸关系 “马习会”10周年 郑丽文：国民党要成为主动、关键的和平缔造者

夏立言在国民党副主席任内，自2022年以来多次在两岸关系高度敏感时刻率团访陆，绿营人士指责他“卖台”，夏感慨说，国民党不执政，无法签署协议，如何卖台？

谈及两岸谈判困境，他直言协商是Give and Take（给予与索取）的艺术，但很多人坚持主权一寸不让、只能赢不能输，这根本不现实。

他指出，台湾从蒋经国时代就拒绝大陆提出的一国两制，却从未提出自己的政治主张，“到目前为止，所有政治人物都希望拖，拖越久越好”。

夏立言说，统一有从共和联邦（台称大英国协）、邦联到联邦等各种可能方式，包括陈水扁也愿意接受欧盟融合模式，前副总统吕秀莲也曾主张中华国协，学界应思考何种安排最能保障台湾多数人维持现有生活方式。

夏立言说：“我们有何选择？手上的牌有多少？真的靠特朗普、靠美国帮我们打仗？我们能相信特朗普吗？未来这48个小时，他不会作什么让步吗？他的政府也许不想，但他的嘴巴非常快，脑袋天天在变，不晓得他会做什么？”

特朗普星期三晚已抵达北京，将与中国国家主席习近平举行会谈，台湾方面多担忧台湾可能沦为利益交换的筹码，特朗普或许在外交措辞及军售承诺上作出退让。

夏立言提醒，两岸关系不佳，尤其两岸年轻世代对立加剧，但老一辈记得台湾对改革开放的贡献，彼此仍有希望和责任，最终目标是和平避战。

俄罗斯希望美国停止将发展对俄关系与乌克兰挂钩

2026年5月13日 22:54 / 联合早报

俄罗斯希望美国停止将发展对俄合作与乌克兰问题挂钩。

新华社报道，俄罗斯总统新闻秘书佩斯科夫星期三（5月13日）说，俄美在经济和投资领域有一系列有前景的互利合作项目，当美方不再将两国经贸关系正常化与乌克兰问题挂钩，或者乌克兰问题得到解决时，俄方希望这些项目能开始实施。

俄罗斯总统新闻秘书佩斯科夫说，俄美在经济和投资领域有一系列有前景的互利合作项目。 （法新社）

在回答记者有关俄乌停火的问题时，佩斯科夫说，乌克兰总统泽连斯基必须命令乌武装部队停火并撤出顿巴斯地区，那时停火协议才能生效，各方才能平静地开始谈判。

佩斯科夫说，俄方将继续通过现有渠道与美方对话。俄罗斯正通过美国与乌克兰交换信息。

“Monster wolf” robots in high demand to scare off bears in Japan after record number of attacks

May 13, 2026 / 10:21 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

A Japanese company making ferocious-looking robot wolves is being swamped by orders after record numbers of fatal bear attacks on humans last year.

“Monster Wolf” is an animatronic scarecrow with flashing red eyes that howls and growls menacingly to scare away wild animals.

Ohta Seiki, the Hokkaido-based firm that makes the devices, has already received around 50 orders in 2026, more than they usually see in an entire year.

“We make them by hand. We cannot make them fast enough now. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months,” company president Yuji Ohta told AFP.

“Awareness of bear safety and measures against wildlife damage (on farm products) improved. There was also a growing recognition that our product is effective in dealing with bears,” Ohta said.

Orders come mostly from farmers, operators of golf courses and people working outside in rural areas.

A robot called “Monster Wolf” is installed in an effort to scare away bears in Takikawa on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, on October 21, 2020. KYODO / REUTERS

Bears killed 13 people across Japan in 2025-2026, more than twice the previous high. More than 200 people were also injured. Last week, Japan confirmed the first fatal bear attack of 2026 and two other suspected fatal attacks.

More than 50,000 bear sightings were recorded nationwide, more than double the previous record set two years before, according to official data.

The animals were seen on airport runways, walking on golf courses, roaming near schools and causing panic in supermarkets and hot spring resorts almost on a daily basis.

The number of bears captured and then culled nearly tripled from a year earlier to 14,601, also marking an all-time high.

Some northern regions also reported in April more than four times as many sightings as last year as the animals emerge from hibernation, local media said. Scientists say the surge in attacks has been driven by fast-growing numbers of bears, combined with a falling human population, especially in rural areas.

That depopulation has left bears “a chance to expand their range,” biologist Koji Yamazaki, from Tokyo University of Agriculture, told CBS News’ Elizabeth Palmer in 2023.

Menacing wolf with red LED eyes

“Monster Wolf” features artificial fur draped over an assembled pipe frame, attached to speakers, topped with a menacing, open-mouthed face.

For prices starting from around $4,000 or higher, the system comes with a battery, solar panels, sensors, speakers and other apparatus.

It broadcasts more than 50 kinds of recorded sounds, including human voices and electronic noises, audible up to one kilometer away. (See video of the robot).

The device turns its head from side to side, flashes red LED eyes, while its tail is equipped with blue LEDs.

Ohta introduced the product in 2016 to prevent damage to agricultural products by deer, boars and bears, and it was initially derided as a gimmick.

The company is now upgrading the device by putting it on wheels to chase animals or patrol specific paths.

Ohta also plans to develop a hand-held version for hikers, anglers and schoolchildren, while also exploring artificial intelligence cameras for future models.

“We wanted to apply our manufacturing to do our part to deal with bears,” he said.

Princess Kate visits northern Italy on first overseas trip after cancer treatment

May 13, 2026 / 11:10 AM EDT / CBS News

Catherine, Princess of Wales, arrived Wednesday in Italy for her first foreign trip since she underwent cancer treatment. Arriving to greet eager crowds in the city of Reggio Emilia, Princess Kate, as she’s widely known, stepped back onto the world stage for the first time in years.

Catherine shocked the world when she announced her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, and she later said she had undergone six months of chemotherapy treatment.

Since then, Kate has been making a slow and carefully managed return to public life, sharing parts of her journey through select public appearances.

Catherine, Princess of Wales speaks with children during the first day of her visit to Reggio Emilia, Italy, May 13, 2026. Robino Salvatore/GC Images/Getty

But for her return to foreign travel, the princess chose northern Italy for a two-day visit focused on a cause close to her heart — early childhood development. The trip comes as The Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood expands its operations internationally, and Kate was to explore approaches to early childhood development focused on creativity and building relationships.

The timing of her arrival was notable. Back in London, father-in-law King Charles III, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, was carrying out one of the monarchy’s grandest ceremonial duties on Wednesday, delivering a landmark speech for the formal opening of a new session of the British Parliament.

Catherine, whose husband Prince William will one day be king, described the two-day visit to Reggio Emilia as a “special trip” in an Instagram post.

Her last official foreign tour was in 2022, when she visited Boston to attend the awards ceremony for William’s Earthshot Prize.

The princess lauded local leaders’ “world-leading approach to learning, encouraging children to ‘live’ connection,” and said they had recognized “that investment in early childhood is of critical importance.”

She was to meet local families, educators and community leaders who have worked on early childhood development issues in the Italian city.