China’s flag carrier has resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang not long after the restoration of passenger train services between the capitals. The Chinese ambassador to North Korea and other diplomats welcomed the Air China flight that arrived in North Korea on Monday morning. Passenger train service from China to North Korea had resumed March 12. Flights and passenger trains to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed flights between the capitals in 2023. North Korea banned all foreign tourists during the pandemic but has started easing the restrictions, with a Russian tour group entering the country in 2024.

The House Ethics Committee is holding a rare public hearing into alleged ethics violations by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. By the end of the six hour hearing Thursday night, lawmakers on the panel of four Republicans and four Democrats expressed heavy skepticism at the arguments that Cherfilus-McCormick’s attorney presented. The third-term congresswoman is facing numerous ethics charges, including failing to follow campaign finance laws, commingling campaign, personal and business funds and violating ethics laws for members of Congress. She's also facing federal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in COVID-19 disaster relief funds. She denies any wrongdoing.