GEOFF BENNETT: We start the day's other headlines with more signs the U.S. is willing to lower its tariffs on China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent today said both countries see the current high tariffs as unsustainable, but he dismissed reports that the U.S. would bring them down unilaterally.

He suggested both sides could mutually agree to lower them.

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. Treasury Secretary: China needs to change.

The country knows it needs to change.

Everyone knows it needs to change.

And we want to help it change, because we need rebalancing too.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Trump speaking to reporters today claimed his administration was actively talking to China and seeking what he called a fair deal.

Yesterday, he softened his tone, saying he wouldn't play hardball with Beijing.

Chinese officials said they are ready to make a deal, but wouldn't be pressured into one.

GUO JIAKUN, Spokesperson, Chinese Foreign Ministry (through translator): If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop making threats and engage with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Saying they want to reach an agreement with China while continuing to apply maximum pressure is not the right way to deal with China and it will not work.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration is considering lowering tariffs on China from the current 145 percent to something between 50 and 65 percent.

Also on tariffs, a dozen states have sued the Trump administration, arguing that President Trump's tariff policy is both arbitrary and illegal.

The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, argues only Congress has the authority to impose tariffs.

The states say the president cannot rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act because he has not demonstrated an unusual and extraordinary threat from abroad.

The lawsuit follows one filed by the state of California in U.S. District Court last week.

Governor Gavin Newsom said his state would lose billions in revenue if the tariffs were to stand.

Late this afternoon, President Trump signed an executive order that will seek changes in the accreditation process for colleges and universities.

Accreditors are approved by the federal government and set standards that schools must meet in order to access federal financial aid.

The White House claimed without evidence that woke ideology exists in accreditation and insisted they be based on merit and performance.

It's the latest effort by the White House to change higher education to align it with President Trump's agenda.

Turning now to Capitol Hill after more than four decades in Congress, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois announced he will retire at the end of his term.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): The decision of whether to run for reelection has not been easy.

I truly love the job of being United States senator.

But in my heart, I know it's time to pass the torch.

GEOFF BENNETT: The number two Democrat in the Senate spoke of what he called a strong Democratic bench ready to serve.

His decision will set off a scramble for a seat that hasn't been open in nearly 30 years.

Durbin, who is 80, is now the fourth Democratic senator this year to announce their retirement.

Turning overseas to the Middle East, where Israeli airstrikes overnight in Northern Gaza killed at least 23 people.

The strike fell on a school acting as a shelter for the displaced.

Eyewitnesses saw torched tents and people burned alive.

The Israeli military says it targets Hamas terrorists who hide among civilians.

Gazan health authorities say over 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel relaunched its campaign against Hamas last month.

Meantime, Egyptian officials say they're working on a proposal alongside Qatar to end the war.

The deal would include a five-to-seven-year truce and Hamas' release of all remaining hostages.

No comment yet from Israeli officials on that proposal.

A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey today.

Its epicenter was in the Sea of Marmara, some 25 miles Southwest of Istanbul.

The massive tremor and its aftershocks prompted widespread panic.

Buildings swayed and people poured into the streets to seek safety.

The quake didn't appear to cause any major damage, but officials in Istanbul said more than 150 people were injured jumping from balconies.

For many Turks, memories are still fresh from a 2023 quake that killed more than 50,000 people there and took another 6,000 lives in Northern Syria.

Authorities in New Jersey say a large wildfire will grow before it is contained.

The acting governor declared a state of emergency today.

The blaze has exploded to more than 19 square miles in Central New Jersey, already the second largest fire in the state in the last two decades.

What caused it is now under investigation.

Officials lifted evacuation orders today for some 5,000 people as firefighters made progress and reported residential areas were no longer under threat.

SHAWN LATOURETTE, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: This is still a very active fire.

As we continue to get this under full control, the expectation is that that number of acres will grow and grow in a place that is unpopulated, that is more open wilderness.

GEOFF BENNETT: No one has been injured so far in the blaze and there's been minimal property damage.

Officials say this fire season has been especially active.

And on Wall Street today, stocks continued their surge.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 420 points, while the Nasdaq rallied to a 2.5 percent gain.

The S&P 500 also finished higher, as all three indices more than made up for their steep losses on Monday.

Still to come on the "News Hour": how U.S. citizens are getting caught up in the president's immigration crackdown.

; Tesla's revenue falls sharply, renewing questions about whether CEO Elon Musk is too focused on politics and not on his companies; and a new project lets us experience some of the world's most iconic places through sound.