Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said, sharing an agreement in principle has been reached on a meeting later this month in San Francisco. 

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that the White House believes the best way to manage competition is through “intense diplomacy,” and said, “It’s going to be a constructive meeting. The president’s looking forward to it.” 

Pressed repeatedly on the meeting, Jean-Pierre said she “just confirmed it,” though a White House official later clarified that the press secretary “was speaking to the agreement in principle.” 

“We are planning for a constructive meeting between the leaders, but still working together to put those plans into place,” the official said Wednesday, noting that logistical details continue to be worked out. 

Biden is traveling to San Francisco on November 14 to host representatives from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies for APEC Economic Leaders’ Week. 

The high-stakes meeting comes as the White House is navigating major wars in Ukraine and Israel, and amid growing competition with China as the US has worked to reestablish regular communication with Beijing following months of tension. Biden has frequently framed the battle between the world’s democracies and autocracies as a central issue of his presidency. Other key issues up for discussion include trade and the economy and human rights concerns. 

Biden has frequently pressed the importance of face-to-face interactions with world leaders as he seeks to foster improved relations. 

US officials have previously stopped short of confirming the Xi-Biden meeting, suggesting preparations were underway but noting that the Chinese government regularly confirms high-level meetings only at the last minute. 

Biden and Xi previously met face-to-face in November 2022 for a three-hour talk in Bali, Indonesia, at a G20 Summit, marking a step toward improving a souring –- but critical –- bilateral relationship. Since then, however, tensions have emerged over China’s spy balloon and restrictions on US investments in China. 

- by Betsy Klein, CNN

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The special votes are in and officially point to a National-ACT-NZ First coalition.

They all ran on a similar election promise of turning the country around, including how they pledged to save the economy. 

But what could this all mean for businesses?

Business commentator Rod Oram joined Andrew Dickens.

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Australian mushroom cook Erin Patterson appeared in court today facing two charges of attempted murder and three of murder.

A brief hearing was held at the Latrobe Valley magistrates court, with the case officially adjourned until May next year.

Her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson as well as Gail's sister Heather died from suspected toxic mushroom poisoning in July, and Gail's husband Ian was hospitalised.

Melbourne journalist Nathan Currie joined Andrew Dickens.

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Tonight on The Huddle - Three's Patrick Gower and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

The special votes are finally out, and National's two lost seats have all but confirmed they have to form a three-way coalition with ACT and Winston Peters.

It's also been a horror day for Labour, after only just clinging onto Mt Albert by 20 votes, and both the Greens and Te Pāti Māori making huge grounds on their special vote speciality.

And Labour deputy Kelvin Davis has announced he'll stay on as leader of Labour's Māori caucus, after losing his Te Tai Tokerau seat to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

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Corrections has admitted it was alerted when New Windsor dairy stabber Mitchell Lam's ankle bracelet went offline an hour and a half before the attack.

They say they didn't investigate the issue and didn't call the police because Lam had never tampered with it before.

However, Corrections say Lam had also breached bail conditions five times and had been arrested on multiple occasions.

Victims advocate Ruth Money joined Andrew Dickens.

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Labour's Rachel Boyack says she's delighted with the final count result for her Nelson seat, but acknowledges it’s a small margin. 

On the official count, she leapfrogged National's Blair Cameron to win the seat by 29 votes. 

Boyack told Andrew Dickens she's received notification from her National opponent he'll seek a recount for the Nelson seat. 

“My expectation is that’ll happen reasonably quickly, and I’m still very hopeful I will retain the seat.” 

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National's campaign chair has clarified his earlier warnings of a second election.  

The final vote count reveals National's dropped two seats to 48, which means it no longer has a majority with ACT's 11 and will need New Zealand First.  

During the campaign Chris Bishop cautioned voters could be sent back to the polls if the three parties couldn't come to an arrangement.  

Today he told Andrew Dickens that was only one scenario.  

“As things have turned out, there have been really productive and constructive conversations between New Zealand First and National, and also between National and ACT, and so that is not a possibility.” 

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The Beatles have released what they say is their very last song ever that’s been 45 years in the making. 

‘Now and Then’ is a cassette track that John Lennon gave to Sir Paul McCartney, and then Sir Peter Jackson used technology to recreate Lennon’s voice with AI and added music from the surviving Beatles Sir Paul and Sir Ringo Starr. 

It’s certainly made people think about The Beatles again, and their place in our culture. 

Ultra Beatles fan Joanna Jones joined Andrew Dickens. 

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Labour will be a “formidable opposition” as they work to “win back the confidence of more New Zealanders” over the next term, leader Chris Hipkins says.

The party will have 34 of the expected 123 seats in Parliament over the next three years.

Hipkins said he felt Labour had picked up some momentum over the campaign, as evidenced by on-the-day versus advance voting results. But the special votes appeared to reflect the advance voting.

“Labour has been sent a message and we have heard it. We will be working hard to rebuild support over the next three years and continue to stand up for working people, children and the environment,” Hipkins said.

“While Labour governed during an incredibly challenging time for New Zealand, progress was being made. We can’t let that go to waste.”

Hipkins said the party’s economic management was seeing the economy turn a corner with inflation and food prices coming down, low unemployment and growing wages. The former Government also made inroads in climate change and child poverty, he said.

He said the party would hold the expected coalition partners National, Act and New Zealand First to account and “stand up for working people, our children and the environment”.

“The incoming Government made big promises during the campaign and made it very clear to New Zealanders that they will deliver on all of them. This includes tax cuts of $250 per fortnight for many families, significant reductions in crime, greater numbers of frontline health workers and a free trade deal with India.

”We will be holding them to account for these promises but will also remain vigilant against any policies that hurt working families, our economy and the environment.”

Hipkins said the final results meant Labour had lost senior and new MPs who worked hard for New Zealand and New Zealanders, although he believed it was likely there would be a recount in some seats.

”I want to personally thank those MPs and their families, who have given so much to the country and to the Labour Party. Thank you for working hard to make a difference for your communities and for New Zealand,” he said.

He said he had a brief conversation with Peeni Henare, who lost by four votes, and he fully supported him if he wanted to call for a recount given the slim margin.

Hipkins said there was some “clear vote-splitting” in the Māori electorates, with voters opting to give Labour their party vote and Te Pāti Māori their electorate vote.

On safe Labour seats being flipped or held by slim margins, Hipkins said he felt Labour had to reflect in particular on its loss of support in Auckland.

He said the party’s research showed they lost a lot of support at the end of the Auckland Covid lockdown and had not regained it.

Hipkins assured New Zealanders they still had “great talent and experience” in their team, including a number of former ministers, and they planned to work hard.

”It has been an absolute privilege to serve as prime minister, and I’d like to offer my warmest thanks to everyone who supported me, and our Government over the past six years,” Hipkins said.

On his future as leader of the party, he said he still had a “bit of fight left in me” and was “absolutely committed to the Labour Party”.

He said he had not yet had the chance to seek feedback from colleagues if they would continue to support him but he would continue to “do right” by the Labour Party.

Hipkins said Labour would remain the caretaker Government for as long as it took for National, Act and NZ First to hammer out a coalition agreement.

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Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, today swore he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business.

But when a state lawyer pulled up decade-old emails in which a fellow Trump Organisation executive asked him for information needed to complete one of his dad’s financial statements, the irritated son strove to clarify.

“We’re a major organisation — yes, I’m fairly sure I understand that we have financial statements. Absolutely,” Eric Trump said. But, he insisted: “I had no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition.”

Later, when told another Trump Organisation figure gave evidence about him being on a video call about his father’s financial statement as recently as 2021, Eric Trump said he could not remember.

“I’m on a thousand calls a day,” he said.

Eric Trump followed brother Donald Trump Jr in giving evidence at the family’s New York civil fraud trial, a prelude to their father’s scheduled evidence on Tuesday. Both sons are Trump Organisation executive vice presidents.

As court adjourned, with Eric Trump watching from the witness stand, the judge laid into the defence for dragging his law clerk into their complaints about his handling of the trial.

The clerk was the target of a false and disparaging Trump social media post early in the trial, leading Engoron to impose a gag order barring parties in the case from smearing court staff.

Engoron, raising his voice at times, raised the possibility of expanding the gag order but took no action. The judge said he suspected “a bit of misogyny” toward the clerk, who sits alongside him. Trump’s lawyers denied the allegation.

Trump lawyer Christopher Kise sparked Engoron’s fury by calling out the clerk for passing notes to the judge. He said: “I feel like I’m fighting two adversaries” and said the defence team perceived there was “co-judging taking place.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Donald Trump, his company and top executives including Eric and Donald Jr, accusing them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on annual financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to secure loans and make deals.

The former president and other defendants deny wrongdoing.

Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, reiterated on his Truth Social platform that he sees the trial as “RIGGED,” a “Miscarriage of Justice,” and “Election Interference.” James and the judge who will decide the case, Arthur Engoron, are Democrats.

“The Trump Organisation is Financially Strong, Powerful, Very Liquid, AND HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG,” Trump wrote.

Eric Trump, as he started his evidence, said he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition,” didn’t believe he’d ever seen one and “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition.”

“It’s not what I did for the company,” said the son, who has insisted his interests lie mainly in “pouring concrete” — constructing and operating properties. He said that while he knew the company had financial documents, he “was not personally aware of the statement of financial condition”.

State lawyer Andrew Amer then showed him 2013 emails from then-Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney. He explained to Eric Trump, then in a different role at the company, that he was “working on your father’s statement of financial condition” and needed information on one of the company’s properties.

Eric Trump, second from left, appears at the fraud trial for his father, former President Donald Trump, at New York Supreme Court.

In another email that year, McConney said he was “working on the notes to Trump’s annual financial statement” and asked Eric and others for an update on any major construction work that had recently been started.

“Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father,” Eric Trump said, shifting back in his chair. Soon after, he sprang into his answer about the company being a “massive real estate organisation”, his voice rising as he spoke.

After pointing out emails and documents that indicated Eric Trump had answered McConney’s requests, Amer asked the witness to concede that he was, in fact, “very familiar” with the financial statements.

“I just don’t think it would have registered,” Eric Trump said, portraying the messages as answering an accounting colleague’s request for a property description. “I don’t really care where it’s being used. I care about providing them information from the department that I’m running.”

Donald Trump Jr. earlier gave evidence that, despite James’ allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” His father has said that, if anything, the numbers listed on the documents low-balled his wealth.

Echoing evidence from the previous day, Trump Jr insisted he dealt with the financial statements only in passing — signing off on them as a trustee for his father’s trust and providing them to lenders to comply with loan requirements. He reiterated that he did so while relying on assurances from company finance executives and an outside accounting firm that the information was accurate.

“If they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine, I would’ve been fine with that and signed off accordingly,” he said.

Answering questions for a second day, Trump Jr also revealed that gaming giant Bally’s recently paid their company $60 million to buy the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The terms of the lease transfer for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx hadn’t previously been disclosed.

Outside the courthouse, Trump Jr told reporters he thought his evidence went “really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”

“Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” he said. “I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it: accounting.”

- by Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak, AP

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