Trump news at a glance: Hegseth warns of ‘imminent' China threat, urging Asia to upgrade militaries
Pete Hegseth has called on Asian countries to increase their military spending to increase regional deterrence against China which was 'rehearsing for the real deal' of taking over Taiwan.
The US defense secretary, addressing the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, reiterated pledges to increase the US presence in the Indo-Pacific and outlined a range of new joint projects.
'It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,' Hegseth said. 'There's no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.'
Hesgeth said Donald Trump's administration had pushed European countries to boost their defensive spending, taking on a greater 'burden' of responding to conflicts in their region, and it was time for Asian nations to do the same.
The defense secretary, who in March was revealed to have told a Signal group chat that Europe was 'pathetic' and 'freeloading' on US security support in the region, told the Singapore conference it was 'hard to believe' he was now saying this but Asian countries should 'look to allies in Europe as a newfound example'.
'Deterrence doesn't come on the cheap … time is of the essence.'
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If you want a bellwether to measure the broad impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on the economy, look to the state of Georgia.
So far, it's a mixed bag. The hospitality industry is facing an existential crisis and wine merchants wonder if they will survive the year. But others, like those in industrial manufacturing, carefully argue that well-positioned businesses will profit.
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Australia's trade minister, Don Farrell, has described Donald Trump's trade tariffs as 'unjustified and not the act of a friend' after the US president announced he would double import duties on steel and aluminium to 50%.
'They are an act of economic self-harm that will only hurt consumers and businesses who rely on free and fair trade,' Farrell said.
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US immigration authorities are collecting and uploading the DNA information of migrants, including children, to a national criminal database, according to government documents released earlier this month.
The database includes the DNA of people who were either arrested or convicted of a crime, which law enforcement uses when seeking a match for DNA collected at a crime scene. But most of the people whose DNA has been collected by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the agency that published the documents, were not listed as having been accused of any felonies.
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Workers at the US Department of Energy say cuts and deregulations are undermining the ability for the department to function and will result in significant energy cost hikes for consumers.
Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' will raise energy costs for American households by as much as 7% in 2035 due to the repeal of energy tax credits and could put significant investment and energy innovation at risk, according to a report by the Rhodium Group.
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As the first Pride month under Donald Trump's second presidency approaches, LGBTQ+ businesses are stepping up, evolving quickly to meet the community's growing concerns.
The Guardian spoke with four queer business owners, and one message was clear: queer businesses are here to support the community now more than ever and spread joy as resistance.
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Tensions among Bruce Springsteen's fanbase have spread to his home state of New Jersey because of what the rock icon has said about Donald Trump.
Springsteen has long been a balladeer of the state's blue-collar workers. But last year many of those same workers voted for the president. Now their split loyalties are being put to the test.
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An undocumented man who was accused by the Department of Homeland Security secretary last week of threatening to assassinate Donald Trump may have been framed by someone accused of previously attacking the man, according to news reports.
As the Trump administration continues to exploit antisemitism to arrest protesters and curb academic freedoms, more American Jews are saying 'not in my name'.
Catching up? Here's what happened on 30 May 2025.
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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's TACO codename will make him so mad he'll enforce tariffs just to make a point: expert
The TACO codename used by Wall Street traders to describe President Donald Trump is more likely to make him stick with his international tariffs 'just to prove a point.' The nickname— short for 'Trump Always Chickens OUT' — came about because of the president's habit of making tariff threats, resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to walk the threat back and see the markets rebound. 'We think that, unfortunately, as the so-called TACO trade becomes more viral, it becomes more likely that Trump will stick to higher tariffs just to prove a point,' Joachim Klement of investment bank Panmure Liberum told Reuters. The acronym was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong writing about Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' in April, which caused the markets to hit historic lows before he ordered a 90-day pause one week later. It led to record highs. 'The US administration does not have a very high tolerance for market and economic pressure, and will be quick to back off when tariffs cause pain,' Armstrong said. 'This is the TACO theory: Trump Always Chickens Out.' It did not go down well with Trump, who responded with fury when asked about the acronym last week. 'That's a nasty question,' he said. 'To me, that's the nastiest question.' 'You call that chickening out? It's called negotiation,' Trump said, visibly irked. Since the nickname took off online, people shared AI-generated memes of the president in a chicken suit. The president was caught off guard and was unaware of the term, according to CNN. 'He thought the reporter was calling him a chicken,' a White House official told the outlet. Trump was reportedly irritated that his team did not tell him about the phrase as it gained traction in financial circles and the media. 'It clearly bothered him, primarily because it demonstrated a lack of understanding about how he actually utilizes those threats for leverage,' a person familiar with the matter told CNN. 'But obviously he's not a guy who looks kindly on weakness, so the idea anyone would think that with respect to his actions isn't received well.' The frustration follows the Court of International Trade's ruling that the Trump administration must dismantle the 'reciprocal' tariff policy. The federal court ruled he lacked the authority to create it, which the White House immediately appealed. The administration won a reprieve, which means the tariffs will be reinstated while the case makes its way through the courts, but uncertainty looms over the economy.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US manufacturing remains subdued in May; delivery times lengthening
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in May and suppliers took longer to deliver inputs amid tariffs, potentially signaling looming shortages of some goods. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI edged down to a six-month low of 48.5 last month from 48.7 in April. A PMI reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 10.2% of the economy. The PMI, however, remains above the 42.3 level that the ISM says over time indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PMI rising to 49.3. The survey suggested manufacturing, which is heavily reliant on imported raw materials, had not benefited from the de-escalation in trade tensions between President Donald Trump's administration and China. Economists say the on-gain, off-again manner in which the import duties are being implemented is making it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. Another layer of uncertainty was added by a U.S. trade court last week blocking most of Trump's tariffs from going into effect, ruling that the president overstepped his authority. But the tariffs were temporarily reinstated by a federal appeals court on Thursday. The ISM survey's supplier deliveries index increased to 56.1 from 55.2 in April. A reading above 50 indicates slower deliveries. A lengthening in suppliers' delivery times is normally associated with a strong economy. But in this case slower supplier deliveries likely indicated bottlenecks in supply chains related to tariffs. In April, the ISM noted delays in clearing goods through ports. Port operators have reported a decline in cargo volumes. The ISM's imports measure dropped to 39.9 from 47.1 in April. Production at factories remained subdued, while new orders barely saw an improvement. The ISM survey's forward-looking new orders sub-index inched up to 47.6 from 47.2 in April. Its measure of prices paid by manufacturers for inputs eased to a still-high 69.4 from 69.8 in April, reflecting strained supply chains. Factories continued to shed jobs. The survey's measure of manufacturing employment nudged up to 46.8 from 46.5 in April. The ISM previously noted that companies were opting for layoffs rather than attrition to reduce headcount.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Tourist jumps into Terracotta Army clay warriors and damages statues in China
A tourist in China jumped into a section of the world-famous Terracotta Army - damaging two of the ancient clay statues. The 30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Sun, launched himself over guardrails and a protective netting at the museum housing the clay warriors, in the city of Xi'an, on Friday. He reportedly began pushing and pulling the priceless statues, resulting in visible damage to two of the figures. Museum security quickly intervened and subdued the intruder. Authorities say Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an investigation is currently underway following the incident. The pit he leapt into is 18ft deep - raising serious concerns about how he managed to breach safety measures. The Terracotta Army is a collection of more than 8,000 life-sized soldiers created 2,000 years ago to guard the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. It is regarded as one of the country's greatest archaeological treasures. The Terracotta Army site has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1987 and draws millions of visitors each year. The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered on March 29, 1974, by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. They vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in the pits near Qin Shi mausoleum. Other, non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Over the past 50 years, archaeologists have located some 600 pits, a complex of underground vaults, across a 22sq mile area. In one long columns of warriors, reassembled from broken pieces, stand in formation, dressed in tunics or armored vests and wearing their hair in buns. Another pit within the museum demonstrated how they appeared when they were found. Some stand upright, buried shoulder-deep in soil, while others lie toppled on their backs alongside cracked clay horses. The site ranks with the Great Wall and Beijing's forbidden City, as one of China's most popular tourist attractions. A museum staff member revealed that the exhibit remains open to the public as normal, with officials working swiftly to assess and repair the damage caused by the man.
