daily news with update

  Trump trade deals appear distant as tariff tensions simmer U.S. President Donald Trump's promises of securing trade deals with major partners took another blow Thursday, with a French minister saying an agreement with the EU was "a long way" off and China insisting talks had not even started. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed 10 percent tariffs on most trading partners, including the European Union, as a means of pressuring them to negotiate trade agreements more favorable to the United States. He has also slapped tariffs on sector-specific imports, adding to strained ties with partners. But he saved his toughest blows for China, slapping an additional 145 percent tariff on goods from the world's second biggest economy this year -- drawing strong retaliation. Even though top U.S. officials have touted 18 proposals brought to the trade team and said Washington was setting the stage for a deal with China, Beijing has called claims of ongo...

  Trump poised to offer Saudi Arabia over $100 billion arms package The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for announcement during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the kingdom in May. The offered package comes after the administration of former President Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalize a defense pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel. The Biden proposal offered access to more advanced U.S. weaponry in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing's investment in the country. Reuters could not establish if the Trump administration's proposal includes similar requirements. The White House, Pentagon and Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In his first term, Trump celebrate...

  Judge blocks parts of Trump’s overhaul of U.S. elections, including proof-of-citizenship requirement A judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from immediately enacting certain changes to how federal elections are run, including adding a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. President Donald Trump had called for that and other sweeping changes to U.S. elections in an executive order signed in March, arguing the U.S. “fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections" that exist in other countries. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington sided with voting rights groups and Democrats to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the citizenship requirement from moving forward while the lawsuit plays out. She also blocked part of the Republican president's executive order requiring public assistance enrollees to have their citizenship assessed before getting access to the federal voter registration form. But she...

  Judge bars Trump from denying federal funds to ‘sanctuary’ cities that limit immigration cooperation A federal judge in California on Thursday barred the Trump administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, saying that portions of President Donald Trump's executive orders were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the injunction sought by San Francisco and more than a dozen other municipalities that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts. Orrick wrote that defendants are prohibited “from directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds” and the administration must provide written notice of his order to all federal departments and agencies by Monday. One executive order issued by Trump directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal money to sanctuary jurisdictions. The second order directs every federal ag...

  Crowds wait for hours to pay final respects to Pope Francis at St. Peter's Mourners stood in line for hours on Thursday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose body is lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica ahead of his funeral on Saturday. Huge queues snaked around St. Peter's Square and the surrounding roads, before being funneled through the heart of the basilica in a single column leading to the central altar, where Francis' open-topped coffin is placed on a dais. The viewing started on Wednesday and the Vatican had expected to close the doors at midnight, but ended up letting the faithful in until 5:30 a.m., before reopening again at 7 a.m. "After 3-1/2 hours in line, we had sore feet and tired legs. But we did see Francis, and the experience, while exhausting, was spiritually affirming," said Richard Lamb of New Jersey in the U.S., visiting with his wife Peggy, both devout Catholics. "We walked with groups from Italy, Spain, England, Ge...

  RFK Jr recounts heroin addiction and spiritual awakening, urges focus on prevention and community U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a personal story of his own heroin addiction, spiritual awakening and recovery at a conference on drug addiction Thursday and emphasized that young people need a sense of purpose in their lives to prevent them from turning to drugs. Kennedy called addiction “a source of misery, but also a symptom of misery." In a speech that mentioned God more than 20 times, he pointed to his own experience feeling as though he had been born with a hole inside of himself that he needed to fill. “Every addict feels that way in one way or another — that they have to fix what's wrong with them, and the only thing that works are drugs. And so threats that you might die, that you're going to ruin your life are completely meaningless,” he said. Speaking to about 3,000 people at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, Kennedy did not ...

  Trump tells Putin to 'STOP' after Russian attack kills 12 in Kyiv Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 12 people in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year and drawing a rare rebuke from Donald Trump, who told Vladimir Putin: "Vladimir, STOP!" The attack, which the U.S. president said was "not necessary" and "very bad timing" as he pushes for peace, also wounded 90 people, smashed buildings and set off fires, Ukrainian officials said. Rescuers were still recovering bodies from the rubble over 12 hours later. The attack comes at a critical moment in Russia's war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. Both Kyiv and Moscow are trying to show Trump they are making progress towards his goal of a rapid peace deal. "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peac...

  Indian army chief to visit Kashmir in aftermath of attack SRINAGAR India's army chief will review security arrangements on Friday and visit the site of a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir earlier this week, with fears of fresh tensions with long-time rival and neighbor Pakistan spooking markets. India has said there were Pakistani elements in Tuesday's attack, when militants shot 26 men in a meadow in the Pahalgam area, and Islamabad has denied any involvement. The nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India keeping a critical river water-sharing treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, among other steps. General Upendra Dwivedi, India's army chief, will visit Kashmir on Friday to review security arrangements and was likely to visit the site of the attack, an army source said, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to chase the perpetrators to "the ends of the earth". In...

  Dominican Republican nightclub roof collapse kills at least 79, including governor and ex-MLB pitcher Dotel A catastrophic roof collapse at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic's capital left at least 79 people dead on Tuesday and emergency crews were working frantically after nightfall to pull survivors from the rubble. About 155 people were injured. Families of the victims gathered near the Jet Set nightclub seeking information about their loved ones. "I still have family members that are still in the rubble, and we don't know what happened to them," Pedro Martinez, a 17-season Major League Baseball player, said in a video shared on his Instagram account in the evening. The deceased included a popular singer, a provincial governor, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, authorities said. Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the Dominican Republic's emergency operations center, said earlier on Tuesday that the exact number of people inside the club at ...

  U.S. forges ahead with 104% tariffs on China; says it is willing to talk to other countries The United States said on Tuesday that 104% duties on imports from China will take effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved to quickly start talks with other trading partners targeted by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plan. U.S. stocks retreated on the news. Global markets had previously posted gains on hopes that Trump might be willing to negotiate down the array of country and product-specific trade barriers he is erecting around the world's largest consumer market. The administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week. But the White House made clear that country-specific tariffs of up to 50% would nevertheless take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, as planned. Those tariffs will be especially steep for China, as Trump ...

  Musk calls Trump aide Navarro 'dumber than a sack of bricks' in tariff spat Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump's senior trade adviser Peter Navarro as "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" on Tuesday in a growing rift over the U.S. tariff policy that has rocked the world. The extraordinary public spat came after Navarro described the Tesla boss and so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief as "not a car manufacturer" but "a car assembler" who relies on imported parts. Musk, the world's richest person, has previously signaled his opposition to the president's new import tariffs that have roiled markets. "Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk posted on his X social network, under a clip of Navarro saying Tesla imported batteries, electronics and tires, and that Musk "wants the cheap foreign parts." Musk doubled down in a seri...

  U.S. tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands The world's remotest corners couldn't hide from U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs onslaught Wednesday -- even the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands. The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10 percent tariffs on all its exports, despite the icy archipelago having zero residents -- other than many seals, penguins and other birds. Strings of ocean specks around the globe, including Australia's Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Comoros off the coast of Africa, were likewise subjected to 10 percent new tariffs. Another eye-catching inclusion in the tariffs list was Myanmar, which is digging out from an earthquake that left nearly 3,000 people dead, and whose exports to the United States will now face 44 percent in new levies. Britain's Falkland Islands -- population 3,200 people and around one million penguins -- got particular punishment. The South Atlanti...

  U.S. officials object to European push to buy weapons locally U.S. officials have told European allies they want them to keep buying American-made arms, amid recent moves by the European Union to limit U.S. manufacturers' participation in weapons tenders, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The messages delivered by Washington in recent weeks come as the EU takes steps to boost Europe's weapons industry, while potentially limiting purchases of certain types of U.S. arms. The Trump administration's early foreign policy steps, including briefly cutting military aid for Ukraine and easing pressure on Moscow, have deeply unnerved European allies, prompting many to ask if the United States is a reliable partner. In mid-March, the European Commission, the EU's executive body, proposed boosting military spending and pooling resources on joint defense projects, as Europe girds for decreased U.S. military engagement under President Donald Trump. Some of the pro...