The U.S. announced it would lift sanctions on Syria. President Donald Trump said he will normalize relations with Syria’s new government to give the country “a chance at peace.” He met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. The rapprochement came at the urging of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Trump said. The comments put Mr. Trump at odds with longtime ally Israel, which has been deeply skeptical of Mr. al-Sharaa. – The Associated Press

Saudi Arabia pledged major U.S. deals. Mr. Trump secured the kingdom’s $600 billion commitment Tuesday to invest in areas including energy, defense, and mining. The United States agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever struck. – Reuters

Inflation rose at its slowest pace in more than four years. A decline in U.S. food prices helped offset a continued rise in housing costs. Prices only rose 2.3% in April compared with a year ago, below economists’ expectations. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.8%, according to the Labor Department.

Many economists don’t expect this cooling to last. Tariff-related price increases are starting to kick in, boosting inflation. Even with Monday’s announcement of cuts in U.S. and Chinese tariffs, those duties remain historically high. And as President Trump pushes for tax cuts, the prospect of a widening federal deficit adds fuel to inflation expectations. – Staff

A Wisconsin judge was indicted by a federal grand jury. Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee County Circuit Court was accused of obstructing a U.S. agency and concealing an unauthorized immigrant to prevent his arrest at her court. An attorney for Judge Dugan says she “asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.” Immigration officers have made at least a dozen arrests at or near courthouses since January, reports CNN. – Staff

In custody, Rodrigo Duterte notched a mayoral win. The former Philippine president won in his home city by a landslide Tuesday. Mr. Duterte served as Davao’s mayor for two decades before becoming president. He has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that left thousands of suspects dead during his 2016-2022 presidency. – AP
Related Monitor story: In March, we reported on how a press-freedom advocate sees hope and accountability as Mr. Duterte faces charges.

Chuck Schumer pushed back on the Qatari “gift” jet. The Senate minority leader called Mr. Trump’s plan to accept it to replace Air Force One “naked corruption,” and said Tuesday he would put holds on confirmation for all Justice Department political appointees until he gets answers. The proposed gift has faced criticism from across the political spectrum over concerns about legality, propriety, and security implications. Senator Schumer said he wouldn’t lift the holds unless Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former lobbyist for Qatar, testified before Congress. Senate Republicans can still confirm DOJ nominees, but a hold makes the process much more time-intensive. – Staff

Editor’s note: A news brief in Tuesday’s Daily misstated the total number of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. It is 58. Fewer than half of them are presumed to be alive.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that is potentially seismic. The 14th Amendment says anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen. President Donald Trump seeks to put an asterisk on that amendment as part of his immigration crackdown. In three lawsuits challenging Mr. Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order, lower courts have found it unconstitutional and issued nationwide injunctions. Now, administration lawyers are, in effect, asking the court to allow the order to take effect in parts of the country but not in others. It’s a case that could transform the power of the judiciary.

Announcing an end to 40 years of violent Kurdish insurgency in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday declared it would shift from an armed struggle to a political one. Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan appears to see Kurdish rights as best protected by Kurds becoming power brokers in countries where they have always been repressed: Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed the move as historic. A Turkey expert at The Brookings Institution in Washington credited a “unique moment ... when both sides – for hard-nosed geopolitical reasons – have decided that compromise makes greater sense.”

The scope of abuse at France’s Notre-Dame de Bétharram school has shocked the public. But the survivors of the violence are taking the opportunity to reclaim their agency and force change in the private school system. The revelations have created a movement similar to the #MeToo sexual abuse awareness campaign, along with a sense here that the taboo around talking about physical and sexual violence against minors is weakening.

The U.S. state of Florida is foretelling a broader effort by Washington to achieve deterrence through muscular policing of immigrant communities. The state is raising what some call an “army” of immigration enforcers by enlisting beat cops and even game wardens to arrest unauthorized immigrants. The initiative includes threatening local officials and police with arrest for failing to get on board, putting the Sunshine State on course to give Americans a glimpse into what mass deportation could look like with more local law enforcement support.

As water management problems arise – and in some cases go unaddressed – in places such as Alabama, Michigan, and Mississippi, our columnist wondered, Is there a link between civil rights protests of the past and the environmental injustices of the present? “These aren’t coincidences,” Bruce Strouble, author of “By Any Dreams Necessary,” told Ken Makin. “These are communities that dared to demand dignity, and now they face poisoned water, broken infrastructure, and government abandonment.”

The scene could be from just about any recent rec soccer game in South Africa, except for the fact that every player – sprinting for a breakaway, faking out the keeper – is eligible for a senior discount. The idea for a soccer league for older women took shape in the early 2000s, as AIDS tore through this northern region. Beka Ntsanwisi, a former gospel radio DJ, was troubled by older women’s silent struggles as they cared for others. Who was looking out for them? A few years later, players from Vakhegula Vakhegula FC – Grandmothers Grandmothers Football Club – were making their mark at home and abroad.

Last year, leaders in Norway were shocked to learn that less than half of citizens trusted government. The falloff in trust was 16 percentage points in only two years. To help patch up public faith in democracy, 40,000 people were picked at random from all walks of life, and then 66 were chosen to deliberate together over four months on a “citizens’ assembly,” or what was called the Future Panel. 

This group of everyday folks was given a broad assignment: What values should guide the use of Norway’s immense wealth from oil for “the good of the world, ourselves, and future generations?” They were asked to give advice on how to spend the country’s $1.8 trillion in oil riches, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. A balanced group of experts gave them advice.

On Tuesday, the citizens panel delivered its consensus: A specific percentage of the oil fund should be spent on sustainable investments in renewable energy and in developing countries, even if profits are low.

One participant, a 17-year-old student, told Reuters, “The idea was that we were different people from different parts of the country. My experience is that we had all the same fundamental values.”

This type of well-informed, civil, and participatory decision-making – across party lines and across age groups – is becoming common in many countries worried about declining trust in institutions. In a survey of 30 countries released last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found an average of 44% of citizens had low or no trust in national government.

Citizen assemblies can help break barriers between experts and the public. They set examples for listening, treating others as equals, and learning about difficult issues. The OECD survey found that 69% of people who believe they have a high say in government also have high trust in government, in contrast to only 22% among those who feel they do not have a say.

“Public debate ... in every country is dominated by people that are eager to discuss and to share their opinions,” said Kristin Halvorsen, a former finance minister who helped set up the Norwegian panel. “The citizens’ assembly gives us an opportunity to hear voices that don’t seek that kind of attention. That is important for democracy.”