Top US military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown spoke with China's General Liu Zhenli on Thursday after a more than year-long halt to high-level military talks between the two countries. China stopped the talks to express its displeasure over a visit by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in 2022, but leaders have agreed to resume them when they met last month. Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, "discussed the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations, and maintain open and direct lines of communication," his spokesman said.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPERPOWERS USING COMMUNICATION

The White House said Thursday it was preparing a new proposal to Russia to seek the release of two imprisoned Americans after Moscow rejected an earlier attempt. The State Department said Russia rejected a "substantial" proposal earlier this month to free the two Americans -- Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan. Russian President Vladimir Putin later said that the US needed to "make a decision that will suit the Russian Federation."

WHY THE US IS PLAYING A CHESS GAME AGAINST RUSSIA

A strike by workers operating the Channel tunnel blocked train travel Thursday between Britain and France, leaving thousands of holiday travelers as well as freight traffic stranded. There were scenes of chaos at Gare du Nord station in Paris and St. Pancras in London -- the main hubs for cross-Channel train travel -- as travelers waited for services to resume only to be told their trains were cancelled. There was no word about Friday availability or whether holiday travelers will be able to ride.

THE CHAOS BEING CREATED BY 'CHUNNEL' WORKERS' STRIKE

What year did the London-to-Paris Channel tunnel open? At what cost?

Thursday's answer: Late US statesman Henry Kissinger introduced "triangular diplomacy" for managing threats from China and the USSR.