Wife of US Seismologist Detained in China Says Trump Will Ask Xi to Free Him; DOJ Asks Court to Reject Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Press Ban

The wife of a U.S. expert on North Korean nuclear tests who has been imprisoned in China since late 2024 said on Tuesday that the White House has assured her that President Donald Trump will ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free her husband when the two meet this week.

Yufang Rong said she feared that Beijing planned to try her Chinese-born husband, Youlin Chen, on fabricated espionage charges even though his U.S.-funded research was openly published, used publicly available data, and was done in collaboration with Chinese scientists.

The Department of Justice has defended Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House and asked a court to deny their bid to restore their access.

Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing the news outlets of constantly reporting “fiction and lies” about the government. As a result, reporters from the three organizations were denied access to the White House, while some had their press passes revoked.

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