Donald Trump

US president says he will announce decision on waterway during trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

United States President Donald Trump has said he will make a decision on how the US refers to the “Persian Gulf” during an upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he expected his hosts to ask about the name the US uses for the waterway during his first trip to the Middle East since retaking the White House.

“I’ll have to make a decision,” Trump said in response to a question about whether he would make an announcement on the body of water’s name.

“I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. I don’t know if feelings are going to be hurt.”

“I’m going to be given a briefing on that and I’ll make a decision,” Trump added.

Trump’s comments came after US media reported that he plans to use the May 13-16 trip to announce that the US will begin referring to the body of water as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia.

The name of the waterway has long been a source of tensions between Arab nations and Iran.

Iran argues that the “Persian Gulf” is the appropriate name in light of historical evidence, including ancient maps, that shows it is part of its territory.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and other Arab states use the term “Arabian Gulf” or “the Gulf”.

In 2023, Tehran summoned the Iraqi ambassador to protest his country’s use of the name “Arabian Gulf Cup” for the region’s flagship football tournament.

In 2012, Iran threatened to sue internet giant Google for leaving the waterway nameless on its online map services.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the latest suggestions of a name change as “indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people”, and warned that such a move would “only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life”.

“Such biased actions are an affront to all Iranians, regardless of their background or place of residence,” Araghchi said in a post on X early on Thursday.

“Let’s hope that the absurd rumours about the PERSIAN Gulf that are going around are no more than a disinformation campaign by ‘forever warriors’ to anger Iranians all over the world and agitate them.”

In one of his first actions as president, Trump in January signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that Donald Trump’s tariffs are creating “a great deal of uncertainty” and could put the Fed’s goals for low inflation and strong employment at odds. The central bank said it will hold rates steady for now.

Recent deportation flights that have taken migrants to the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador (pictured) and elsewhere have triggered legal challenges in federal courts. File Photo by Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security/UPI | License Photo

May 7 (UPI) — Officials in the Trump administration have proposed flying several deportees to Libya aboard a U.S. military aircraft as soon as Wednesday, several reports say.

The nationalities and number of those who would be deported to Libya are unknown, but a deportation flight to Libya might occur as soon as Wednesday, the New York Times, CBS News and NPR reported.

Deporting individuals to Libya, where they might be subjected to unpleasant conditions, supports President Donald Trump‘s encouragement for people to self-deport instead of waiting for the federal government to do so, the New York Times reported.

If a deportation flight does leave for Libya, it would herald an expansion of Trump’s controversial deportation policies to more nations and continents.

Recent deportation flights to El Salvador and elsewhere triggered legal challenges in federal courts and visits to El Salvador by members of Congress.

Opponents say people are being deported without due process and have accused the Trump administration of deporting U.S. citizens.

Officials in the Trump administration denied deporting U.S. citizens and have said those deported to El Salvador are members of violent gangs, such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13, which Trump has designated as terrorist organizations.

The State Department has warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Libya because of that nation’s “crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict,” the New York Times reported.

Libya has been divided since former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.

Libya now has a U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, which controls the western half of the nation.

The eastern half is controlled by warlord Khalifa Haftar from his headquarters in Benghazi.

Haftar controls most of Libya’s oil fields, and his son met with several officials in the Trump administration while visiting Washington, D.C., last week.

When asked about a potential deportation flight to Libya, Trump denied knowing anything about it and said the Department of Homeland Security handles such matters, NPR reported.

Trump picks Dr Casey Means, a close ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, as nominee for key health position.

United States President Donald Trump has selected Doctor Casey Means, a wellness influencer with close ties to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his previous nominee.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump said that Means would work closely with RFK Jr, who is his Health and Human Services secretary.

“Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” the post states. “Dr Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.”

Means, who was an adviser on RFK Jr’s 2024 presidential run, is currently serving as an advisor to the White House, and makes frequent appearances on TV and podcasts defending the administration’s moves related to health and nutrition policy.

She has no government experience and dropped out of her surgical residency programme, stating that she had become disillusioned with traditional medicine.

She founded a company named Levels that helps users track blood pressure and other health metrics. She also makes money from sponsoring various dietary supplements and other products that she says have health benefits on her social media account.

Few health experts would dispute that the American diet, full of processed foods, is a contributor to obesity and related problems. But Means goes further, linking changes in diet and lifestyle to a host of conditions including infertility, Alzheimer’s, depression and erectile dysfunction.

Members of the administration, such as RFK Jr, have attacked measures such as mandatory vaccinations and the use of fluoride in drinking water, both practices that scientists and health officials say have been highly successful public health measures.

Attacks on such measures and traditional sources of scientific authority showed limited, but energising, appeal among a group of core supporters during the 2024 campaign, tapping into mistrust of medical expertise as well as common disillusionment with the US healthcare and food production industries.

Critics say that appeals from figures like Trump and his allies tap into legitimate sources of concern while leaving their root causes largely unaddressed and simultaneously rolling back environmental and health protections.

The announcement comes after Trump withdrew his initial pick for the key health post, a medical contributor on Fox News named Janette Nesheiwat, who had been scheduled for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday.

Nesheiwat had come under fire from far-right allies of the administration over her support for the COVID-19 vaccine and allegations that she may have misrepresented her academic and medical school history.

May 7 (UPI) — Former Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, is the United States’ newest ambassador to China after being sworn in Wednesday afternoon at the White House.

President Donald Trump hosted Perdue’s swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office.

“Our new ambassador brings to this position a lifetime of experience at the highest levels of business and politics,” Trump said in a video recording of the swearing-in ceremony that was posted on Truth Social.

“Over four decades in business, he rose to lead several major American corporations,” Trump said, “including as the president and CEO of the footwear giant Reebok … and later CEO of Dollar General.”

Trump said Perdue, 75, did a “great job” and lived and worked in Singapore and Hong Kong for several years while negotiating business deals.

“Following his business success as an executive, David stepped forward to serve the American government and was elected to the United States Senate in Georgia,” Trump said.

“As our lead diplomat in Beijing, David will work to promote American interests in stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Trump told those attending Perdue’s swearing-in ceremony.

He will “help stop the flood of Chinese fentanyl from across the border, seek fairness and reciprocity for the American worker and ensure safety of our citizens overseas, and promote peace in the region and in the world,” Trump added.

The president called the relationship between the United States and China “complex and complicated” and said he is confident Perdue will do well.

“This is a very, very extraordinary man, and you’re going to do a fantastic job,” Trump said. “Say ‘hello’ to President Xi while you are there.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio swore in Perdue with Perdue’s wife, Bonnie, at her husband’s side during the about 5-minute ceremony.

“Mr. President, I am humbled to be in this office today,” Perdue said afterward.

“I want the world to know that I know this man personally,” he continued. “He loves this country, and I am glad to be your man in China.”

Trump gave Perdue the order that he signed to nominate him as the ambassador to China to end the ceremony.

Perdue represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate for one term from 2015 to 2021.

He replaces former ambassador to China R. Nicholas Burns, whom former President Joe Biden nominated for the position in 2021.

Perdue was sworn in as Chinese and U.S. representatives met in Switzerland to discuss a potential trade agreement.

The administration of President Donald Trump has continued to face setbacks in its attempts to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters, as courts probe whether the students’ rights have been violated.

On Wednesday, separate courts issued orders related to two of the most high-profile cases: that of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.

In New York, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish student from Tufts University, be moved to Vermont no later than May 14.

That ruling marked a rejection of a Trump administration appeal to delay the transfer and keep Ozturk in Louisiana, where she has been held in an immigration detention centre since late March.

“We’re grateful the court refused the government’s attempt to keep her isolated from her community and her legal counsel as she pursues her case for release,” said Esha Bhandari, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Ozturk.

Separately, in Newark, New Jersey, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to deliver specifics about its rationale for describing Khalil, a leader in Columbia University’s student protests, as a threat to US foreign policy.

Inside Ozturk’s case

The latest ruling in Ozturk’s case highlighted a practice that has become common under the Trump administration: Many foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement have been transferred to detention centres far from their homes.

Ozturk’s ordeal began on March 25, when six plain-clothed police officers arrested her outside her home in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, where she went to school.

Supporters believe Ozturk, a PhD student and Fulbright scholar from Turkiye, was targeted for having co-written an opinion article in her student newspaper, calling on Tufts University to acknowledge Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.

The US is a longtime ally of Israel and has supported its military campaign in Gaza. The Trump administration has accused Ozturk of having “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans”, though it has not offered evidence.

After she was detained outside her home, Ozturk was reportedly whisked across state borders, first to Vermont and later to Louisiana, all within a 24-hour period, according to her lawyers.

Critics have described those rapid transfers as a means of subverting due process, separating foreign students from family, friends and legal resources they can otherwise draw upon.

In Ozturk’s case, the confusion led her lawyers to file a petition for her release in Massachusetts, as they did not know where she was when they submitted the paperwork.

On April 18, a lower court ruled that Ozturk must be returned to Vermont no later than May 1, as it weighed her habeas petition: a type of complaint that challenges the legality of one’s detention.

“No one should be arrested and locked up for their political views. Every day that Rumeysa Ozturk remains in detention is a day too long,” Bhandari, her lawyer, said in a statement.

But the Trump administration appealed, seeking an emergency stay of Ozturk’s transfer to Vermont.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected (PDF) that request, however. It said the government had failed to show any “irreparable harm” that Ozturk’s transfer would cause.

“Faced with such a conflict between the government’s unspecific financial and administrative concerns on the one hand, and the risk of substantial constitutional harm to Ozturk on the other, we have little difficulty concluding ‘that the balance of hardships tips decidedly’ in her favor,” the court wrote.

Though Ozturk is expected to be transferred to Vermont, where her habeas petition will be heard, the Trump administration is slated to continue with deportation proceedings in Louisiana.

The appeals court, however, explained that this should be no challenge for the Trump administration, given that Ozturk can appear through video conference for those hearings.

“The government asserts that it would face difficulties in arranging for Ozturk to appear for her immigration proceedings in Louisiana remotely,” the court wrote. “But the government has not disputed that it is legally and practically possible for Ozturk to attend removal proceedings remotely.”

The Trump administration has the option of appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.

Inside Khalil’s case

Likewise, Khalil faces deportation proceedings in Louisiana while his habeas petition is heard in New Jersey, closer to his home in New York City.

On March 8, he became the first high-profile case of a student protester being arrested for deportation. Agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at his student housing building at Columbia University, where his wife, a US citizen, filmed him being handcuffed and led away.

Khalil himself was a US permanent resident who recently graduated from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is of Palestinian descent.

On Tuesday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey rejected a bid by the Trump administration to transfer Khalil’s habeas petition to Louisiana.

And on Wednesday, US District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered the Trump administration to provide a specific assessment of the risks Khalil poses by being in the US.

Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil’s detention and deportation. A rarely used provision of the law allows secretaries of state to remove noncitizens who could cause “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”.

But Rubio has so far been vague about what those consequences might be in Khalil’s case. The student protest leader has been charged with no crime.

Judge Farbiarz also required the Trump team to supply a catalogue of every case in which US officials have employed that law. The Trump administration is expected to appeal that judge’s order as well.

The increased price tag is a result of Trump’s tariffs on auto imports which car companies ultimately will pass on to consumers for cars that will hit dealer lots in June.

Ford Motor Company has raised prices for three of its vehicles produced in Mexico, becoming one of the first major carmakers to adjust sticker prices following US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The new prices took effect on vehicles produced on May 2 or later, according to the news agency Reuters, which first reported the story on Wednesday.

Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pick-up — one of its most affordable and popular vehicles— and Bronco Sport will increase by as much as $2,000 on some models, according to a notice sent to dealers, which was reviewed by Reuters.  A Ford spokesperson said the cars with the raised price tag would arrive at dealer lots in late June.

Ford said the trade war would add about $2.5bn in costs for 2025, but it expects to reduce that exposure by about $1bn. General Motors said last week that tariffs were projected to cost it between $4bn and $5bn following the imposition of hefty levies on foreign imports of automobiles, but it expected to offset that by at least 30 percent.

Trump’s tariffs have unleashed weeks of uncertainty across the auto sector, as major carmakers in the United States and Europe have pulled forecasts, shifted production and caused companies to idle plants.

Following weeks of pushback from the auto industry, Trump softened his tariffs on foreign auto parts imports to give carmakers credits for what is produced in the US and to avoid double-tariffs on raw materials used in production. However, the White House has not rescinded a 25-percent tariff on the 8 million vehicles the US imports annually.

Ford is in a better position to weather tariffs than some of its competitors because of its strong US manufacturing base. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker assembles 79 percent of its US-sold vehicles domestically, compared with GM’s 53 percent, according to an analyst note from Barclays.

Pricing pressure

Ford and GM also face significant levies on imports from China and South Korea, respectively. GM estimated that the costs on its Korean imports totalled about $2bn, while Ford declined to specify the expenses around importing vehicles from China.

Automakers that rely on exports to the US are facing increased pricing pressure. A dozen major carmakers, including Toyota and GM, import at least 40 percent of the vehicles they sell in the US, with some, such as Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor, importing more than 60 percent, according to 2024 data from S&P Global Mobility.

Before Ford’s move, most carmakers had not taken the step of boosting prices, but had warned that it was on the way. Porsche said it would have to boost its selling cost if tariffs remained in place, while US Volkswagen’s Audi brand also suggested potential price increases, without providing any details.

By contrast, BMW expects US car tariffs to decline from July, based on its contacts with US officials – a more upbeat assessment of the trade climate than many rivals. GM’s finance chief, Paul Jacobson, told analysts last week that the automaker was not expecting imminent price increases, saying they “feel good about where the pricing environment is today”.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans have added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who called the plan a betrayal that could lead to increased drilling, mining and logging in the West.

Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee adopted the land sales proposal early Wednesday morning. The initial draft had not included it amid bipartisan opposition.

The land sale provision put forward by Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah would sell thousands of acres of public lands in the two states, and calls for some of the parcels to be considered for affordable housing projects. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) called the plan “deeply irresponsible.”

“Public lands shouldn’t have a price tag on them. But [President] Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working like mad to hand over our public lands to billionaires and corporate polluters to drill, mine and log with the bare minimum oversight or accountability,” said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. The lands potentially for sale “belong to all Americans. They shouldn’t be given away to pad corporate bottom lines,” Manuel said.

The sales were approved as the Natural Resources committee voted 26-17 to advance legislation that would allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals. Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing former Democratic President Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.

The measure is part of Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up funding to halt migrants. House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a goal of passing the package out of his chamber by Memorial Day. All told, 11 different House committees are crafting portions of the bill.

Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican and former Interior secretary in the first Trump administration, had said before the vote that he was drawing a “red line” on public land sales.

“It’s a no now. It will be a no later. It will be a no forever,’’ said Zinke, whose state includes large parcels of federally owned lands.

Zinke and Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-New Mexico) are set to lead a new bipartisan Public Lands Caucus intended to protect and expand access to America’s public lands. The caucus was set to launch on Wednesday, hours after the resources panel vote.

Oil and gas royalty rates would drop from 16.7% on public lands and 18.75% offshore to a uniform 12.5% under the committee-passed bill, which still faces a vote in the full House and Senate once it is incoporated into the final legislative package. Royalties for coal would drop from 12.5% to 7%.

The measure calls for four oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next decade. It also seeks to boost the ailing coal industry with a mandate to make available for leasing 6,250 square miles of public lands — an area greater in size than Connecticut.

Republican supporters say the lost revenue would be offset by increased development. It’s uncertain if companies would have an appetite for leases given the industry’s precipitous decline in recent years as utilities switched to cleaner burning fuels and renewable energy.

Drew McConville, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress, denounced the committee vote.

“The Trump tax bill was already a massive and historic sellout of U.S. lands and waters to corporate interests. This dark-of-night maneuver shows how shamelessly focused congressional Republicans are on sacrificing public benefits to pay for Trump’s reckless tax cuts. If this bill passes, the losses to America’s great outdoor legacy will be felt for generations,” McConville said in a statement.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner in March proposed using “underutilized” federal land for affordable housing. Turner said some 7 million homes are needed. Officials under Biden also sought to use public lands for affordable housing, although on a smaller scale.

The agencies have not yet released more details of the proposal.

Daly and Brown write for the Associated Press.

May 7 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is reportedly about to unilaterally rename another gulf in the world. The change next week during a Saudi Arabia visit would call it the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia.

Making this announcement, especially in the middle of sensitive negotiations Iranian nuclear negotiations, is reportedly prompting outrage from some Iranian leaders and efforts are being made to persuade Trump to not go through with the name-change policy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “The name Persian Gulf, like many geographical designations, is deeply rooted in human history. Iran has never objected to the use of names such as the Sea of Oman, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea or Red Sea. In contrast, politically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned.”

While Arab nations have advocated changing the name of the body of water south of Iran, the Persian Gulf name has been used since Roman times.

Arab nations use either the Gulf of Arabia or Arabian Gulf.

European diplomats attempting to broker a deal with Iran on its nuclear program are urging Iranian leaders to not “lose it” over Trump’s reported renaming plans.

According to the Guardian news site, Trump believes renaming the gulf will help led Arab nations to offer concessions in relations with Israel.

U.S. Central Command uses Gulf of Arabia, while the U.S. State Department and CIA use Persian Gulf.

The Trump administration officially implemented changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name to Gulf of America in January. That action included renaming Alaska’s Mount Denali back to the old name of Mount McKinley.

Donald Trump pushed out his National Security Advisor Mike Waltz because he was reportedly talking to Israeli PM Netanyahu about bombing Iran. Does this mean Trump is serious about diplomatic reconciliation with Iran? Soraya Lennie explains.

SACRAMENTO — By more than 2 to 1, California registered voters believe that Gov. Gavin Newsom is more focused on boosting his presidential prospects than on fixing the problems in his own state, according to a new poll.

A survey by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that 54% of voters said Newsom is devoting more attention to things that could benefit himself as a future White House contender compared with 26% who said he’s paying more attention to governing the state and helping to solve its problems.

“People kind of look at him as being very ambitious,” Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll, said about Newsom.

The governor has said repeatedly that he is not considering running for president, despite the speculation about his political future.

He also agreed with journalist Mark Halperin’s assertion in a recent interview that he’s more undecided than people believe.

“I might,” Newsom said. “I don’t know, but I have to have a burning why, and I have to have a compelling vision that distinguishes myself from anybody else. Without that, without both, and, I don’t deserve to even be in the conversation.”

The poll, conducted in late April, comes after the governor struggled for months to find his political path as the leader of the Democratic stronghold of California in a nation that elected Donald Trump in November. Issue by issue, Newsom has toggled between embracing his brand as a fighter for his party and more judiciously stepping back from the role of Trump antagonist.

Newsom put on the boxing gloves when he called a special session immediately after the presidential election to fund court battles against Trump’s policies and led a lawsuit last month asking a judge to strike down the president’s tariffs. At the same time, he’s sought to tone down partisan rhetoric and work with the president on disaster recovery after the deadly Southern California wildfires in January.

The governor has become a target of conservative criticism over his liberal policies, such as offering undocumented immigrants state-sponsored healthcare that, according to the poll, received a mixed response from voters.

He’s also taken heat from progressives for voicing moderate views during discussions with controversial Republicans who appeared on his national podcast, including when he said it’s unfair for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. Newsom broke from Democratic leaders in the Assembly last week when he supported making it a felony to solicit a 16- or 17-year-old for sex.

Californians were evenly split on his performance as governor, with 46% saying they approved of the job he was doing and the same percentage saying they disapproved. DiCamillo said those numbers have been consistent for Newsom in Berkeley IGS polls since about October 2023.

The governor’s approval rating this time was 15 points lower than former Gov. Jerry Brown’s in a 2017 Berkeley IGS poll conducted at a similar point in his second term, DiCamillo said.

“I think it’s just a much more partisan view of Newsom than what some of his predecessors had and a lot of that has to do with just the background of where we are now in today’s politics,” DiCamillo said. “It’s just a very, very hyper partisan view of all politics.”

Partisanship came into play once again in a question about how voters feel federal policy changes by the Trump administration will affect California, with Democrats more strongly predicting worse outcomes than Republicans.

Nearly two-thirds of voters predicted negative effects of Trump’s proposed tariffs on California business and agriculture and more than half said the same about the fate of the state’s Medi-Cal insurance program, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the undocumented immigrant population, K-12 public schools and the public higher education system.

When asked about Newsom’s ability to effectively look out for California’s interests when dealing with the Trump administration, voters were pretty evenly split. The poll found that 48% expressed confidence in the governor and 45% said they were not confident.

The poll also surveyed voters about their take on Newsom’s signature healthcare policy to expand eligibility for state-sponsored healthcare to all undocumented immigrants who qualify based on their income. California gradually opened the program up to undocumented immigrants in different age groups over the last several years.

The poll found wide support for providing Medi-Cal coverage to children younger than 18. For offering healthcare to adults ages 50 and older, 53% approved and 40% opposed. Fewer supported care for adults ages 18 to 49, with 49% approving and 43% opposing.

The state’s costs for offering coverage to immigrants is billions more than earlier estimates. Although Newsom has pledged to continue offering care for the current fiscal year that ends in June, he may propose cuts to the program in mid-May when he unveils his updated budget plan for next year.

Among the more traditional routes to cut Medi-Cal is by reducing eligibility or rates, establishing enrollment caps, or adding co-pays, though there are other options. The governor has not said that he intends to rescind care from entire age groups.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington does not wish to decouple from China but wants ‘fair trade’.

The United States and China will hold trade talks in Switzerland this week, officials have said, as the world’s two largest economies seek to de-escalate tensions that have led to a de facto mutual trade embargo.

The talks would be the first official engagement between Washington and Beijing on trade since US President Donald Trump slapped a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods, prompting a retaliatory 125 percent duty from China.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will attend the talks for the US side, their offices said in a statement on Tuesday.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will represent Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Businesses and investors have been anxiously waiting for signs of a thaw in US-China tensions amid fears a prolonged trade war could cause serious damage to the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund last month lowered its global growth forecast for 2025 from 3.3 percent to 2.8 percent amid Trump’s trade salvoes.

Economists have increasingly warned of the possibility of the US economy tipping into a recession this year, with JP Morgan Research putting the likelihood at 60 percent.

The US economy shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter – a period before most of Trump’s tariffs came into effect – the first decline since early 2022.

In an interview with Fox News after the talks were announced, Bessent said the two sides had a “shared interest” in talks as the current levels of tariffs were unsustainable.

“We don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade,” Bessent told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

Bessent said he expected the initial talks to focus on “de-escalation,” rather than a “big trade deal”.

“We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward,” he said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that the talks should proceed on the “basis of mutual respect, equality, consultation, and mutual benefit”.

“As a Chinese saying goes, ‘Listen to their words and observe their actions,’” a ministry spokesperson said.

“If the US wishes to resolve issues through negotiation, it must acknowledge the severe negative impacts its unilateral tariff measures have had on itself and the world, respect international economic and trade rules and the voices of fairness and reason from various sectors, demonstrate sincerity in negotiations, correct its wrongful actions, and work with China to address concerns through equal consultations.”

May 6 (UPI) — The Yemen-based Houthis have “capitulated” and stopped attacking commercial and military shipping, President Donald Trump announced after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday.

“They’ve announced to us at least that they don’t want to fight anymore,” Trump told media.

“They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that,” Trump said. “They have capitulated. But, more importantly, they … say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.”

Trump said Houthi representatives approached his administration Monday night seeking a halt to nearly two months of continuous airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, Politico reported.

U.S Central Command has said military strikes have hit at least 800 targets and killed hundreds of Houthis after the aerial campaign against the organization that controls significant parts of Yemen.

The strikes began on March 15 and were intended to stop the Houthis from continuing to attack commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi strikes caused many commercial shipping outfits to stop using the Suez Canal and instead sail around the southern end of Africa to avoid waters near Yemen.

Trump said an informal agreement has ended the hostilities between the U.S. military and the Houthis.

It’s unclear if the Houthis agreed to stop attacking all shipping or only U.S.-flagged vessels.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff helped to negotiate the cease-fire over the weekend, with Oman officials acting as a mediator, Politico reported.

“Efforts have resulted in a cease-fire agreement between the two sides,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Tuesday in a post on X.

“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” he said.

The Houthis will continue their strikes against Israel, though.

Houthi senior official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the Houthis “will definitely continue our operations in support of Gaza” until hostilities end there, Bloomberg News reported.

May 6 (UPI) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has a permissive approach to Tren de Aragua activities there but does not control them in the United States, a federal report concluded last month.

“The Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” the National Intelligence Council said in a memorandum dated April 8.

The report says TDA was formed in 2007 in Venezuela’s Tocoron Prison in Venezuela’s Aragua State and has several people who act as its core leaders.

Recent setbacks have weakened the gang, including being removed from the Tocoron Prison in 2023, but it has several political leaders and military members who support its activities in Venezuela.

Maduro is not among the supportive political leaders, according to the report, but he does tolerate some TDA activities.

The regime also knows that fighting TDA and other armed groups “often results in personnel losses,” which further contributes to cooperating with them at times.

The inability to maintain control throughout the country gives the Maduro regime an interest in cooperating with armed groups in relatively lawless areas.

The report also says Venezuela’s security services are incapable of fully controlling the nation’s territories.

“The Maduro regime generally does not impede illegal armed and criminal groups from operating in Venezuela,” the report says, “but it does combat and seek to contain them when it fears they could destabilize the regime or when corrupt deals sour.”

The report acknowledges increased TDA activity from 2021 to 2024 while President Joe Biden was in office.

“There was a spike in Venezuelan encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in which some TDA members could have been present as they have generally moved with Venezuelan migrant communities and profit from human trafficking and migrant smuggling,” the report says.

The gang’s small size, its focus on low-skill criminal activities and its decentralized structure make it “highly unlikely that TDA coordinates large volumes of human trafficking or migrant smuggling,” according to the report.

President Donald Trump in March declared TDA a “terrorist organization” and accused Maduro of “perpetrating an invasion and predatory incursion into the United States,” the Miami Herald reported.

He said TDA operates in conjunction with Cartel de los Soles, which Trump called a “Maduro regime-sponsored narco-terrorist enterprise.”

Washington, DC – Jewish students involved in protests at Columbia University say their pro-Palestinian activism is driven by their faith – not in spite of it.

On Tuesday, a group of Jewish student activists met with members of the United States Congress in Washington, DC, to tell their stories, which they say have been left out of mainstream narratives about anti-Semitism on college campuses.

As student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza swept the country last year, Columbia University in New York became a flashpoint.

The university saw one of the first student encampments in the country, erected to demand an end to investments in companies complicit in human rights abuses. Shortly after the tents started popping up, the campus also witnessed some of the first mass arrests of student protesters in the Palestinian solidarity movement.

That visibility has made Columbia a focal point for President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on what he called “illegal protests” and campus anti-Semitism.

Earlier this year, Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil became the first student activist to be detained by the Trump administration and targeted for deportation.

Tuesday’s delegation of Jewish students came to Congress to push the case that Khalil and others like him should never have been detained in their name. They met with at least 17 Democratic legislators from both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Al Jazeera spoke to several students who participated in the lobbying day, which was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action, an advocacy organisation. Here are some of their stories:

Tali Beckwith-Cohen

Raised in upstate New York, history major Tali Beckwith-Cohen said she grew up in a community where Zionism was the norm. She remembers being told “myths” about Palestine as “a land without a people for a people without a land”: a slogan used to justify the establishment of Israel.

But as she began to learn Palestinian history and meet Palestinians, Beckwith-Cohen said her beliefs were challenged.

Eventually, after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, she became involved in Palestinian rights activism.

Human rights groups and United Nations experts have found evidence that Israel’s tactics in Gaza are “consistent with genocide”. More than 52,615 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far.

“For a long time, I had this kind of feeling of discomfort, this feeling of wrestling, this feeling of maybe cognitive dissonance, and how can I reckon these values I hold dear with Zionism?” Beckwith-Cohen told Al Jazeera.

“We are seeing the bombing, the disregard for human life, for children, for hospitals, for schools. It forced me to make a choice.”

She stressed that the protests were spaces of solidarity, where students of all backgrounds were committed to the idea that their safety is intertwined.

“There’s so much in the media narrative about what’s happening on Columbia campus that is just disingenuous and just so untrue to what we’ve experienced,”  Beckwith-Cohen said.

“So we’re here today to tell our Congress people that what we’re seeing on campus is clearly an authoritarian, fascist crackdown on all dissent, not only students peacefully advocating for an end to genocide.”

Carly Shaffer

When Carly Shaffer voiced concern about the Israeli escalation in Gaza on a university WhatsApp chat, some of her fellow students questioned her Judaism.

Out of the hundreds of people on the chat, she remembers that Khalil – the activist arrested for deportation – was the only person who contacted her directly to reject the comments she was subjected to.

As she got to know Khalil, she came to view him as the “embodiment” of someone who cared about the safety of all students on campus.

Shaffer told Al Jazeera that she felt “sick” and “horrified” when Khalil was arrested. Her discomfort was then compounded when she saw that the Trump White House celebrated his detention on social media with the phrase “Shalom, Mahmoud” – a Jewish greeting repurposed as a taunt.

Shaffer, who is pursuing a master’s degree in human rights and social policy, grew up in California and was raised by a single mother in a low-income household.

She said speaking out against injustice – including in Palestine – is a practice rooted in her Jewish faith.

“The Columbia protest movement, it’s a movement of love. It’s a movement of solidarity,” Shaffer said. “And Jewish students are also integral and crucial to this movement.”

She said that, when Jewish student protesters held religious events on campus, their peers from the encampment joined them and inquired about their traditions.

“These are the same students who are being portrayed as anti-Semites, who are going out of their way to go and learn about Passover and celebrate a Jewish holiday with their Jewish friends,” Shaffer told Al Jazeera.

She decried the “weaponisation of anti-Semitism”, saying that the issue is being used to shut down conversations about Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

“Jewish students are being used as pawns in Trump’s political agenda,” she said. “And the weaponisation of anti-Semitism to dismantle this movement is not just a threat to Jewish students; it’s a threat to all of us. That’s why it is so important for us as Jewish students to directly correct this false narrative.”

Sarah Borus

Barnard College student Sarah Borus, who was arrested during the crackdown on the Columbia encampment, said she grew up in an anti-Zionist family in a “very Zionist community”.

She felt it was important for Jewish students like herself to convey their experiences directly to the people in power in Washington, DC.

“We’re talking to members of Congress to tell them our stories that are left out of mainstream news,” Borus told Al Jazeera.

“Trump’s mission is not about protecting Jewish students. It is about using fears of anti-Semitism – because of the way that the Gaza solidarity encampment was portrayed last year – in order to target non-citizen student activists, in order to target academic freedom, free speech, and really put many, many people in danger.”

When asked how she feels about the potential backlash to her activism, Borus acknowledged that the current political climate left her fearful.

“I’m scared, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m proud of the choices I have made,” she said. “I would not make any different ones, and I am willing to take on the risks, if that’s what must be done.”

Shay Orentlicher

Shay Orentlicher has no regrets about participating in Columbia University’s encampments, despite the administrative and political crackdowns.

Orentlicher said Christian nationalists are trying to erase the perspective of pro-Palestine Jewish students and define Judaism in a way that fits their political purposes.

But protesting against the killing of Palestinians, Orentlicher said, is an expression of both Jewish and humanist values. And Orentlicher believes that Columbia’s demonstrations have helped raise awareness nationwide.

“Despite the oppression we have faced, despite the suffering, and despite the despair of worrying that we have not done enough to stop the genocide, to stand up for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, I think we have shifted the public discourse in a really important way,” Orentlicher said.

“And we also have built a really beautiful community. And I don’t regret what I did at all. I wouldn’t change anything.”

Raphie

Raphie, who chose to identify by his first name only, said he grew up “very Zionist”. But as he learned more about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, he felt he had been deceived.

“The Jewish elementary school I went to, for instance, had a map of Israel, and it was like a diamond – no West Bank or Gaza on it,” he said.

“When I saw the actual map with the occupied territories, I was like, ‘Wait, I was lied to.’ And that kind of made me go on this whole journey of exploring what Zionism is, what occupation is, what settler colonialism is.”

Raphie, who is studying maths, said the war on Gaza, the campus protests and the backlash the student protesters faced all made him feel a “personal responsibility to fight for what is right”.

In his experience, the demonstrations were welcoming, not anti-Semitic. What was anti-Semitic, he said, was the fact that the university targeted Jewish student protesters for their political views.

Several students, including Raphie, said Columbia refused to grant students associated with Jewish Voice for Peace the permission necessary to hold religious celebrations in public spaces. They described that rejection as a form of discrimination.

The university did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Raphie also drew a distinction between feeling uncomfortable about ideas that challenge one’s worldview and actually being unsafe.

“It’s normal in college to encounter new viewpoints, new perspectives. That’s how I became more pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist,” he said. “I initially felt uncomfortable when I encountered anti-Zionist views, but then I grew to understand them. That’s normal.”

Raphie stressed that the real suffering is happening in Gaza.

“The students who are not safe right now, of course, are the students in Gaza. Every university in Gaza has been destroyed. They haven’t had food for 60 days.”

May 6 (UPI) — India’s military launched missile strikes against what it called “terrorist targets” in Pakistan early Tuesday morning following the recent deadly attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

The Indian military launched Operation Sindoor by striking nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered areas in Jammu and Kashmir, ABC News, the Times of India and Al Jazeera reported.

Pakistani officials in Islamabad acknowledged the missile strikes and said there will be a response.

Pakistani Army officials said the missile attacks targeted Bahawalpur, Muzaffaabad and Kotli in eastern Pakistan and killed three people and injured 12 others.

The Indian Army declared “justice is served” after the missile strikes and blamed Pakistan for the deadly April 22 attack that killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, which is known as the “Switzerland of India” due to its proximity to the Himalayan Mountains.

Several gunmen emerged from a wooded area and fired on a group of tourists before disappearing back into the wooded area.

The attack occurred in a remote valley that is accessible only by horse or on foot.

President Donald Trump called the missile attack a “shame” when asked for comment on Tuesday.

“Just heard about it,” Trump told reporters. “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time.”

Trump said he hopes for a quick end to the hostilities between India and Pakistan, ABC News reported.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement in which she said, “I implore the two governments to exercise restraint and prioritize diplomatic engagement. The world can ill afford instability in South Asia.”

A State Department official said they are aware of the reports but have no assessment to offer at the time.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been among U.S. officials who are working to minimize any retaliation by India after the terrorist attack.

May 6 (UPI) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins on Tuesday accused Democrats of fearmongering while they oppose proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs workforce.

Reports have suggested Collins wants to eliminate more than 80,000 VA jobs, but he told the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs that number is a goal and not a hard target.

Collins told the committee he wants to reduce the VA’s workforce by 15%, which would mean firing more than 80,000 workers, but that goal has not become a reality.

Democrats have suggested such a workforce reduction would harm services for veterans, but Collins said no one is looking to fire doctors or nurses who work for the VA, the New York Times reported.

The VA so far has fired 2,400 workers and intends to end 585 contracts, NBC News reported.

Collins told committee members he would like to eliminate another 70,500 non-essential positions within the department to make it more efficient.

“The department’s history shows that adding more employees to the systems doesn’t automatically equal better results,” he said.

The agency would keep its health care workers but fire interior designers and staff whose jobs involve administering diversity, equity and inclusion policies that President Donald Trump eliminated via an executive order.

The quality of VA-provided health care and benefits would not harm veterans and other beneficiaries, Collins told the committee.

He said reducing the size of the VA’s workforce would increase the agency’s productivity and get rid of waste.

For example, removing DEI initiatives would save the VA an estimated $14 million, Collins said.

The VA has about 470,000 employees who provide services for 9.1 million people.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused the VA of “totally lacking” accountability and said the proposed workforce reduction could be a disaster for the people it serves.

“It is a disaster that is on the horizon, approaching us as surely as a thunderstorm in the nation’s capital,” Blumenthal said.

The United States Supreme Court has allowed a ban on transgender military members to take effect while legal challenges over the restriction continue.

On Tuesday, the court’s conservative majority issued an unsigned order lifting a lower court’s injunction that had blocked the ban from taking effect.

The order also indicated that the Supreme Court’s three left-leaning judges – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson – sought to deny the emergency request to lift the injunction.

Since taking office for a second term on January 20, President Donald Trump has sought to curtail the rights and visibility of transgender people in the US, including through restrictions on military service.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order declaring that his administration would only “recognise two sexes, male and female”. That same day, he rescinded an order from his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, that allowed transgender troops to serve in the military.

Then, on January 27, he unveiled a new directive, called “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”. It compared being transgender with adopting a “‘false’ gender identity”.

Such an identity, the order added, was not compatible with the “rigorous standards necessary for military service”.

“Adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the executive order said.

“A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

That executive order sparked a slew of legal challenges, including the one at the centre of Tuesday’s Supreme Court order.

In that case, seven active-duty service members – as well as a civil rights organisation and another person hoping to enlist – argued that a ban on their transgender identity was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Advocates for the group point out that the seven have together earned more than 70 medals for their service. The lead plaintiff, Commander Emily Shilling, had spent nearly two decades in the Navy, flying 60 missions as a combat pilot. Her lawyers estimate that nearly $20m has been invested in her training during that time.

But the Trump administration has argued that the presence of transgender troops is a liability for the military.

“Another MASSIVE victory in the Supreme Court!” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media following Tuesday’s order.

“President Trump and [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] are restoring a military that is focused on readiness and lethality.”

Hegseth also posted a short message, using an acronym for the Department of Defence: “No More Trans @ DoD.”

This is not the first time Trump has attempted to exclude transgender people from the armed forces. In July 2017, shortly after taking office for his first term, Trump announced a similar policy on the social media platform Twitter, now known as X.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote in consecutive posts, divided by ellipses.

Similarly, in 2019, the Supreme Court allowed that ban to take effect. Then, in 2021, Biden’s executive order nullified it.

The Trump administration pointed to its past success at the Supreme Court in its emergency appeal to lift the lower court’s injunction blocking its latest ban on transgender troops.

That temporary injunction was the decision of a US district court judge in Tacoma, Washington: Benjamin Settle. Himself a former army captain, Settle was named to his position under former President George W Bush, a Republican.

In March, Settle blocked the ban on transgender troops, saying that – while the government made reference to “military judgement” in its filings – its arguments showed an “absence of any evidence” that the restriction had to do with military matters.

“The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record,” he wrote.

Other judges have likewise issued injunctions, including District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, DC. She ruled in a case where 14 transgender service members sued against Trump’s ban, citing the right to equal protection under the law, enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

“The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them,” Reyes wrote in her decision, issued shortly before Settle’s in March.

Of the more than 2.1 million troops serving in the US military, less than 1 percent are estimated to be transgender.

One senior official estimated last year that there are only about 4,200 transgender service members on active duty, though advocates say that number could be an undercount, given the risk of violence and discrimination associated with being openly transgender.

The human rights groups Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation have been among those supporting transgender service members in their fight against Trump’s ban. The two organisations issued a joint statement on Tuesday denouncing the high court’s decision.

“By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” they wrote.

“We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down.”

In recent years, California – home to America’s film industry – has slipped to become the sixth most preferred location to shoot and produce movies.

Hollywood producers are moving to cities in Canada, the United Kingdom, Central Europe and New Zealand, lured by a range of financial benefits on offer.

US President Donald Trump wants to reverse this trend and says he wants to “make movies in America, again”.

And he’s using the stick to do so.

Trump has ordered 100 percent tariffs on imported movies and those made outside the United States.

The move has confused Hollywood and the European film industry.

So, how will the tariffs be implemented? Will a movie partly produced outside the US be punished?

And what about films made for streaming platforms? And how will the tariffs affect the movie industry globally?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Jonathan Handel – Entertainment lawyer and journalist

Chris Southworth – Secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce United Kingdom

Kamran Pasha – Hollywood director, screenwriter and novelist

May 6 (UPI) — The Trump administration does not have to await the outcome of a federal appellate court challenge to enforce its ban on transgender military members, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

“The preliminary injunction … is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the one-page ruling says.

“Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically,” the unattributed ruling says.

The ruling notes Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would deny the application.

Seven transgender military members filed a federal lawsuit to block the enforcement of President Donald Trump‘s executive order banning transgender service members.

Navy Commander Emily Shilling is the lead plaintiff in the federal case challenging the ban’s legality.

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a devastating blow to transgender service members who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense,” officials with the Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The joint statement says the ban “has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice.”

U.S. District Court for Western Washington State Judge Benjamin Settle on March 27 ordered a temporary nationwide injunction stopping the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on transgender members in the U.S. military.

Solicitor General John Sauer on April 24 filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to overrule Settle and end the injunction.

Former President George W. Bush appointed Settle to the federal district court.

Trump during his first term banned transgender members in the U.S. military, which eventually was ended after President Joe Biden entered office in 2021.

The latest ban applies to “service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria” and requires their removal from military service, CNN reported.

A senior defense official previously told CNN the military has 4,240 active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria is defined as “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and gender identity,” according to Psychiatry.org.

The Department of Defense discharged active duty personnel and banned transgender individuals from enlisting shortly after Trump banned their inclusion in the military, NPR reported.