GMB WORLD

Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan cast the political left as "crazy" and "mean" while he hyped up his colleague, U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, at a special meeting of Des Moines' Westside Conservative Club. Jordan, a Republican from Ohio who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, was in Des Moines on Thursday, May 29, supporting Nunn. Nunn is running for reelection to the 3rdCongressional District next year. And the race has begun in earnest as Democrats begin entering the race. Democratic state Reps.Sarah Trone GarriottandJennifer Konfrsthave both announced their candidacies. And national Democrats haveonce again targeted the seat as a prime pickup opportunity. "Thanks for getting off the sidelines and getting in the game," Jordan told the group, which gathered at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Urbandale. "I learned a long time ago, good things in life don't just happen. You want to accomplish anything that matters … it takes hard work, it takes sacrifice, but most importantly, it takes a willingness to assume risk." Politics is a risky business, he said, particularly in an age of division. He said the dividing line between the parties currently is one of "common sense." "We're the party of common sense and normal," he said. "You think about the left, it is crazy to defund the police. … It's crazy to not have a border. It is crazy to have men compete against women in sports." He painted Democrats broadly as untrustworthy, pointing to decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic to shut down schools and churches as well as the current conversation about whether former Democratic PresidentJoe Bidenwas mentally fit to serve in office. More:$1,000 to seek asylum? House Republicans propose new immigration fees "The left will tell a lie," Jordan said. "Big media will repeat the lie. Big tech will amplify the lie. And then when you tell the truth, they call you a racist or some other name. They'll attack you. They'll come at you personally because they're mean. Then pretty soon, your position will be proven accurate. So much so, in this example even, Jake Tapper wrote a book to say we were right." Tapper is the co-author of a bookthat suggests aides and confidantes close to Biden shielded him from the public to hide his declining mental state. Nunn said he had recently spoken to Republican PresidentDonald Trumpabout the importance of Iowa's congressional races in the coming midterm elections. "We were just on a conversation with the President, and he said, 'You know what, everybody looks to Iowa, and they might be looking at presidential races coming up in 2028,'" Nunn said. "But the President said, 'I am laser focused on 2026.'" Nunn again touted the tax cut and spending package that recently cleared the House of Representatives. "It adds 10,000 new ICE agents," he said. "But at this point, we almost don't even need them, because the president has been so effective, they've stopped coming over themselves." He said he believes there are people who need access to social safety net programs, but he believes the legislation, which makes massive spending cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are for the best. "There are important things that Washington can do for Americans," Nunn said. "I'll be the first to say, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP do help Americans. But they have to be used in a way to help Americans with a hand up, not a handout." Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her atbpfann@dmreg.comor 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register:US Rep. Jim Jordan backs Zach Nunn ahead of 2026 reelection bid

U.S. President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order during a tariff announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Credit - Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images The roller coaster that is President Donald Trump's trade war steamed ahead this week. On Wednesday, a federal district court dealt a major blow to Trumpwhen it ruledthat hissweeping global tariffswere illegal. On Thursday, an appeals courtruledthe levies could remain in place for now. And then, on Friday, Trumpaccused Chinaof violating a preliminary trade deal andsuggested he would respond. As all this unfolds and the U.S. legal systemlumbers toward a final verdict, one thing is clear: the White House needs to get a real trade strategy, and fast. Read More:The Five Small Businesses That Helped Block Trump's Tariffs Few issuesare more fundamentalto Trump's worldview than trade. For Trump, trade is not merely an economic issue, but a litmus test of whether America iswinning or losing on the world stage. Even matters of war and peace, such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, have seemingly taken a back seat toTrump's stubborn fixationon China's trade surplus with the U.S. During his first term, Trump launched a trade war against China with a goal, ashe framed it, of punishingChina's unfair trade practices. The trade war ended with aPhase-one dealwherein China promised to increase its future purchases of American products and enact structural reforms. Ultimately, this dealfailed to deliver. The Chinese underperformed on their pledges. Trumpblamedthe Biden Administration for not enforcing the deal. Unbowed by the disappointment of his first trade war with China, Trump launched a second one when he returned to office earlier this year. This time, he surrounded himself with loyalists who supported his instincts for public confrontation and rapid escalation to force China to the negotiating table. Trump's approach appeared to be built on an assumption that China's economy was brittle, and Beijing would buckle under pressure. Read More:Why Trump Will Blink First on China That bet backfired. Chinaretaliatedwith counter-tariffs. Beijing alsoimplementednovel new export controls on critical minerals and magnets upon which U.S. industries depend. Chinese policymakers moved swiftly to shore up China's economy while expanding trade ties with other partners. Rather than fold, China punched back. As the economic costs of the trade war mounted onbothsidesof the Pacific, Trumpdesignatedhis Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to negotiate a90-day truce. The Chinese accepted. Trump's trade war with China is not over. It is merely paused. Trump will continue returning to the well of grievance about America's trade imbalance with China until he can secure a deal that he can sell as a win to the American public. But therein lies the rub. Based on my recent exchanges with Chinese officials and experts, it seems Beijing has taken America's measure in recent weeks and concluded that China has greater capacity to withstand economic pain than the U.S. China's leaders lack confidence that any agreement with the mercurial Trump will last. At a more fundamental level, China's leaders are unclear on what specifically Trump seeks—and what he would offer in return. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that U.S.-China talks were "a bit stalled" and suggested Trump and Xi Jinping "have a call." But until the Trump Administration can articulate its concrete objectives, its strategy for achieving them, and its vision of a productive process for doing so, the U.S.-China trade war will stay stalemated. Read More:It's Time for Trump and Xi to Meet To be clear, the Trump Administration has legitimate grievances about China's unfair economic practices. China'smarket access barriers,forced technology transfers, andstate-directed subsidiesto preferred industries and businesses have createdmassive global trade distortions. But grievance is not a strategy. And daily improvisation is not a formula for progress in negotiations. The 90-day trade truce gives the Trump Administration time and space to do its homework. That means discarding the failed assumptions that Xi will cave under pressure and instead doing the hard work of homing in on what specifically Trump is aiming to achieve and what he is prepared to give in return. In the end, trade policy is not about scoring points or undermining competitors. It is about making America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. If Trump wants to succeed, he will need to move beyond theatrics and prepare for the grinding process of negotiating with China that awaits. Contact usatletters@time.com.

President Donald Trump sent stock futures diving early Friday after he accused China of breaking the handshake pact the two countries made in Geneva earlier this month that had helped reset a trade standoff. In a post on Truth Social just after 8 a.m. ET, Trump wrote China "HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US" and signaled a tough response lay ahead. "So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" the president said. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell about 0.5%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined about 0.4%. The "trade win" announced by the White House May 12 was expected to lead to China removing retaliatory tariffs and a suspension of "non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States." Both sides agreed to lower tariffs on each other by 115% for 90 days. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, speakingon CNBC Friday morningas Trump posted his message, said "this has been something that we've been discussing" since meeting with China in Geneva. "The Chinese are slow rolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable," Greer added. "You make every effort to be diplomatic and professional and to do things behind closed doors. But at some point the impact on on the U.S. economy, or the trade relationship, becomes such that it's hard to withhold that anymore," he continued. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade talks with China were "a bit stalled." Bessent said he believed there would be more talks in the coming weeks but "given the magnitude of the talks," Trump and Xi would likely need to "weigh in with each other" first. The matter hit a further snag Thursday after an appeals courttemporarily reinstateda set of tariffs a federal trade court had voided just hours earlier, casting fresh doubt on the path forward for Trump's tariffs gambit. The case is expected to make its way to the Supreme Court. There has been almost no resolution in the market fluctuations Trump's trade war has set off. The week's back-and-forth court opinionserasedmost of the stock gains from the first decision. Yet before Trump's Friday post, stocks were poised for a weekly gain. Since Trump took office, the S&P 500 has fallen approximately 2% — a modest decline that masks substantial weekly and even daily swings.

A combination drug treatment doubled survival time for patients with an aggressive form ofcolorectal cancer, according to late-stage trial data published Friday inThe New England Journal of Medicineand presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago. The three-treatment combination included a standard chemotherapy drug, an antibody drug called cetuximab and a pill from Pfizer called Braftovi, which targets acancer mutation called BRAF V600E. The mutation shows up in about 10% of patients with colorectal cancer, said Dr. Lionel Kankeu Fonkoua, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Patients with the mutation tend to survive for less than a year after diagnosis, and they often don't respond well to standard chemotherapy treatments, said Fonkoua, who wasn't involved with the new trial. According to Pfizer, the risk of death for these patients is more than double compared with those without the mutation. Braftovi was initially approved in 2020 to be used with cetuximab in this group of patients after other treatments had failed. The new trial looked at the drug combination as a so-called first-line therapy. The Food and Drug Administrationgranted the treatment fast-track approval as a first-line approach in Decemberon the condition that Pfizer provide additional data confirming its effectiveness. The agency often grants fast-track approval to treatments that address serious or life-threatening conditions, especially when there's an unmet medical need. Dr. Christopher Lieu, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who wasn't involved with the research, called the results "very impactful." "Patients are clearly living longer, and this represents the new standard of care for this specific subset of patients with this specific mutation," Lieu said. The trial included more than 600 patients with the mutation who had metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients were randomized to get either the three-drug combination treatment or standard chemotherapy alone. Some of the patients in the latter group were also given bevacizumab, a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. The trial found that patients who got the combination treatment lived, on average, about 30 months, compared with about 15 months for those who got standard chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab. What's more, 47% of patients who got the combination treatment had no disease progression after two years, meaning their cancer didn't grow or spread. The treatment was well-tolerated, with no unexpected safety concerns that would've caused investigators to stop the trial. "This is a really remarkable finding," said Dr. Scott Kopetz, a professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas and a co-principal investigator in the trial. "When we bring this together with standard of care chemotherapy, we get really substantially prolonged survival for these patients that are really unprecedented for this disease type." More than 141,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, making it the fourth most common cancer, according tothe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 52,900 people in the U.S. are expected to die from colorectal cancer this year, according tothe American Cancer Society. Laurie Ritchie, 61, of St. Louis, got the combination treatment in October 2023. Her results weren't included in the clinical trial analysis. Ritchie had been diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer with the BRAF mutation — a diagnosis she describes as "a huge shock." Previous colonoscopies hadn't detected cancer; by the time she was diagnosed, the cancer had already reached Stage 4. It eventually spread to her lungs and ovaries. Since she got the combination treatment, she said her blood tests have consistently shown no trace of cancer. While she still worries about the cancer coming back, she says she's now focused on living fully — including going water skiing and downhill skiing. "I've kind of learned to think of it as something in the trunk, not in the front seat," she said. "It still feels a bit like a ticking time bomb inside me, but I think the work I've done on my mental health has really helped me live with it."

Tropical Storm Alvinis producing large swells that will affect portions of the coasts of west-central and southwestern Mexico and the southern Baja California peninsula in the next couple of days, according to theNational Hurricane Center. These swells are "likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" and the hurricane center advises people to keep an eye on weather forecasts from their local weather office. TheNHC said Friday morningthe storm is located about 445 miles south-southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula with maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph with higher gusts. Alvin is moving toward the north-northwest, however a turn toward the north is expected Friday. "Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Alvin is expected to degenerate to a remnant low on Saturday," according to the hurricane center. While the 2025 Pacific hurricane season began on May 15, the Atlantic season officially begins on June 1 and will last through the end of November. Active hurricane weather typically peaks between mid-August and mid-October. TheNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationreleased its prediction for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season on Thursday, May 22,predicting an above-average season, with 13 to 19 named storms and six to 10 hurricanes. The hurricane center is also keeping tabs on a disturbance just offshore of Central America and southern Mexico. The NHC said an area of low pressure could form by the middle part of next week and that environmental conditions appear "favorable for some development" while it moves generally westward to west-northwestward. The hurricane center gives the disturbance a 20% chance of formation through the next seven days. This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time. Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts. Hurricanes are born in the tropics, above warm water. Clusters of thunderstorms can develop over the ocean when water temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm once its sustained wind speeds reaches 39 miles per hour. When its winds reach 74 mph, the storm officially becomes a hurricane. Delaying potentially life-saving preparations could mean waiting until it's too late. "Get your disaster supplies while the shelves are still stocked, and get that insurance checkup early, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period," NOAA recommends. Prepare now for hurricanes:Here's what you should do to stay safe before a storm arrives Develop an evacuation plan: If you are at risk from hurricanes, you need anevacuation plan. Now is the time to begin planning where you would go and how you would get there. Assemble disaster supplies: Whether you're evacuating or sheltering-in-place, you're going to need supplies not just to get through the storm but for the potentially lengthy aftermath,NOAA said. Get an insurance checkup and document your possessions: Contact your insurance company or agent now and ask for aninsurance check-upto make sure you have enough insurance to repair or even replace your home and/or belongings. Remember, home and renters insurance doesn't cover flooding, so you'll need a separate policy for it. Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or theNational Flood Insurance Program. Act now, as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period. Create a family communication plan: NOAA said to take the time now to write down yourhurricane plan, and share it with your family. Determine family meeting places, and make sure to include an out-of-town location in case of evacuation. Strengthen your home: Now is the time to improve your home's ability to withstand hurricane impacts. Trim trees; install storm shutters, accordion shutters, and/or impact glass; seal outside wall openings. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X@GabeHauarior email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tropical Storm Alvin tracker: See projected path, spaghetti models

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said China had violated an agreement on tariffs with the United States. "China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Katharine Jackson)

Wildfire smoke is pouring into the Midwest from Canada as dozens of fires burn north of the border. Let's get you caught up on all the latest information: Since the upper Midwest is closest to the fires burning in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, upper-level winds are blowing the thick smoke southward. This has prompted air quality alerts for the entire state of Wisconsin on Friday, as well as parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Minnesota. (MORE:Here's What Wildfire Smoke Does To Your Body) Chicago residents could also experience degraded air quality as the smoke pushes southward. From weather.com senior digital meteorologistChris Dolce: The image below shows near-surface smoke on Saturday afternoon – this is the kind of smoke that can be unhealthy to breathe since it's at the lower levels. As you can see, the greatest concentrations of that will be in the Midwest and Northern Plains today through this weekend. However, some of it is modeled in a less concentrated fashion into the South and East this weekend: This animation shows that a much larger area will see smoke aloft that is not necessarily an air quality concern, but will lead to hazy skies and orange/red sunrises and sunsets. That is spreading into the Midwest now and will head into the South and East this weekend. As you can see, this is amuchlarger area, but areas that overlap with near-surface smoke have the greatest air quality concerns in the Midwest and Northern Plains: - Make sure you have the latest version ofThe Weather Channel app– if you don't, head to your phone's app store and download/update it. - Locate the pill that displays lifestyle options like "Allergies," "Cold & Flu" and "Skin Health." Locate the button that says "Breathing" and tap on it to load our Breathing module. - Scroll down to "Today's Biggest Impacts" and the air quality index will load. You'll also find other important information in that module. Some 17,000 residents in Manitoba remain under evacuation orders as wildfires have spread in the province,and also into Saskatchewan, BBC.com reported. "The conditions that our northern residents, communities and wildland firefighters are facing today are as severe or quite likely unlike anything we have faced in quite some time, if not ever," Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, told BBC.com. A state of emergency is in effect in Manitoba and more than 80 fires have been deemed "out of control" in Canada. The entire town of Flin Flon, Manitoba, was ordered to evacuate; about 5,000 people live in the city. As the fires grew, some residents in Saskatchewan have also been ordered to evacuate their homes. According to the Associated Press: "Canada's wildfire season runs May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months."

Six more space touristsare preparing to join the growing ranks of civilianswho have flown on a Blue Origin rocket to the edge of space. The vehicle they'll ride to orbit, Blue Origin's New Shepard, is the same one that58 others have ridden to spaceon 11previous human spaceflightsfrom the company's west Texas facility. The New Shepard's maiden voyage in July 2021 with a creweven included billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns the space technology company. New Shepard is composed of both a rocket and a crew capsule, which is outfitted with large windows for its passengers to glimpse spectacular views thatmost of us will never see. The rest of us will instead have to content ourselves with watching the mission on solid ground. Fortunately, Blue Origin will provide a livestream for the launch and spaceflight. Here'severything to know aboutBlue Origin's next human spaceflight and how to watch a livestream. When is the next Blue Origin launch?What to know about New Shepard liftoff, crew Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, is the founder of the private space technology company Blue Origin. Bezos himself even boarded Blue Origin's New Shepardfor its maiden crewed voyage in July 2021, which came after the spacecraft flew on 15 flight tests beginning in 2012. For nearly four years since its first crewed mission, the New Shepard spacecraft has served as a powerful symbol of Blue Origin's commercial spaceflight ambitions amida growing space tourism industry. In addition to sending space tourists on brief joy rides to the edge of space, Blue Origin has also increasingly sought to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX. Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket, whichflew on its inaugural flight test in January, is also being developed for future spaceflights. At 320 feet tall, the spacecraft rivalsSpaceX's 400-foot Starshipin size. Blue Origin's next crewed launch, known as NS-32, could get off the ground as early as 9:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. CT) Saturday, May 31, the company announced announced Tuesday, May 27. Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches take place from the company's private ranch facility known asLaunch Site One. The facility is located 30 miles north of the town of Van Horn in Culberson County – more than 140 miles east of El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border. Blue Origin will provide a webcast of the launch beginning about 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled liftoff on itswebsite. When the New Shepard gets off the ground again, the six people selected to board it will join58 others who have flownon the spacecraft across 11 previous human spaceflights. Here's a look at the passengers: Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge, a STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas, who has led more than 60 zero-gravity space experiments. Gretchen Green, a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. Jaime Alemán, a Panamanian attorney, businessman and former ambassador to the United States. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer who serves as CEO of Car History Group, which he founded in 2012. Mark Rocket, an entrepreneur from Christchurch, New Zealand, who is CEO of Kea Aerospace, which develops solar-powered UAVs for aerial imaging and monitoring, and president of Aerospace New Zealand. Paul Jeris, a real estate developer and entrepreneur Eachspaceflight on a New Shepard vehiclelasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket is topped withthe gum drop-shaped crew capsule. During its ascent, the spacecraft reaches supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph before the rocket booster separates from the crew capsule. At that point, those aboard the capsule become weightless as the spacecraft continues toward its highest point on its brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space. While experiencing a few minutes of microgravity, passengers have the opportunity to unstrap themselves from their seats to gaze out thecapsule's large windowsand take in a stunning view of Earth. Meanwhile, the rocket booster heads back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land vertical about two miles from the launchpad. The capsule itself eventually begins what Blue Origin refers to as a "stable freefall" – plummeting back to Earth as three massive parachutes deploy and the capsule makes a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Blue Origin launch: Date, time, how to watch crewed mission live

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week aboutbrokering an agreementthat could halt the Israel-Hamas war, allow more aid into Gaza, and return more of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, around a third of whom are alive. Experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza —slightly eased in recent days— has pushed the population of roughly 2 million Palestiniansto the brink of famine. Israel's war in Gaza has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, mostlywomen and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left around 1,200 dead. Here's the latest: At least 14 dead in Gaza strikes, medics say Hospital officials and paramedics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 people and wounded others. Officials at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza said the bodies of 12 people, including three women, were brought Friday from the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the bodies of two people as well as nine others who were wounded were taken to Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. It said one of the wounded is a doctor who works at the same hospital. Hamas reviewing a new ceasefire proposal Hamas said Friday it was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal. The White House said Thursday that Israel accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas officials, however, gave the draft a cool response, saying that it seeks to perpetuate Israel's policies of killing and starving people in Gaza. Still, the group said it was going to thoroughly review it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to end the war until all the hostages are released and Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu undergoes a routine colonoscopy Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent a routine colonoscopy on Friday morning in Jerusalem, his office said. The office did not provide further information about whether Netanyahu was moderately sedated or under general anesthesia for the procedure. Netanyahu, 75, underwentsuccessful surgery in Decemberto have his prostate removed. Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader, as he manages multiple crises including thewar in Gazaand histrial for alleged corruption, despite a series of recent health setbacks.

Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands to flee as dire forecasts for the country's fire season come to fruition. The intensifying blazes are also beginning to send hazardous smoke toward major cities in the United States. The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency and much of Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Quebec, are at "extreme" risk of wildfires on Thursday—the highest level onEnvironment Canada's fire risk scale. There are just over 160 wildfires burning across Canada as of Thursday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, and about half are uncontrolled. The country raised itsNational Preparedness Levelto level 5 of 5 on Thursday, which is unusually high for this early in the fire season. Last year, Canada didn't reach that level until July 15. In Manitoba, around 17,000 people are under evacuation orders, including the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, according to CNN's Canadian news partnerCBC News. The province's state of emergency will remain in effect for a month and may be extended if conditions warrant, said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew. "This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern," Kinew said, acknowledging this is the largest evacuation order in "in most people's living memory." "But I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period, and we'll get through this trying period the way that we always do: by working together." Wildfires have forced thousands of evacuations in neighboring Saskatchewan as well, CBC reported, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moedeclared a 30-day provincial emergencyThursday. It followed calls from First Nations leaders to take that step, noting "deep concerns" over resources to battle the fires. "It's a very serious situation that we're faced with in Saskatchewan. We do need some rainfall and we need that sooner rather than later," Moe said at a news conference. Climate change is leading to anincrease in wildfire risk days, as well as more frequent andlarger firesthat exhibitmore extreme wildfire behavior. Canada had its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, when extreme heat and drought helped propel blazes thatburned more than 45 million acres. Last year's fire season was Canada's second-worst of the century. Some of those blazes also sent thick, hazardous smoke into US cities. This year, wildfires have burned more than 1.58 million acres in Canada so far, about 40% above the 10-year average for this point in the year. Nearly 90% of the acreage burned has been in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, though there are many ongoing blazes in British Columbia and Alberta as well, where some evacuations are underway. Fires this year have burned 490,000 acres burned in Manitoba, which is about four times the average for this time of year, according to theCanadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. Computer models show that smoke from the western Canadian blazes will reach the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Thursday and Friday, potentially affecting the cities of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit. The smoke will likely be in the lower to middle levels of the atmosphere, which could lower visibility and crater air quality in some areas. Authorities in Minnesota have already issued anair quality alertbeginning Thursday for northeastern parts of the state, warning that fine particle levels are expected to reach "a level considered unhealthy for everyone." A similar alert is in effect in northern Michigan for Friday. Some of the mid-and-low-level smoke could linger through the weekend in parts of the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service, while projections show a high-level smoke plume plunging even further south across the Plains. High-level smoke – which doesn't affect air quality – is beginning to spread across the Northern Plains, shielding the sun slightly and potentially creating vibrant sunrises and sunsets. More smoky days could be ahead for millions this summer. Canada'sseasonal wildfire forecastcalled for well above-average blazes, and much of the western US, too, will have above-normal wildfire potential by July, according to National Interagency Fire Centerforecasts. CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

By Julie Steenhuysen and Deena Beasley (Reuters) -Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. 'INCREDIBLE DISMAY' Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky." (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Jennifer Rigby in London; editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)

By Jody Godoy WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google and U.S. antitrust enforcers will make their final arguments on whether the tech giant should be forced to sell its Chrome browser or adopt other measures to restore competition in online search, as the blockbuster antitrust trial concludes on Friday. The U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states are pressing to make Google not only sell Chrome, but also share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers and wireless carriers that set Google as the default search engine on new devices. The proposals aim to restore competition after a judge found last year that Google illegally dominates the online search and related advertising markets. Artificial intelligence companies could get a boost after already rattling Google's status as the go-to tool to find information online. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is overseeing the trial, which began in April. He has said he aims to rule on the proposals by August. If the judge does require Google to sell off Chrome, OpenAI would be interested in buying it, Nick Turley, OpenAI's product head for ChatGPT, said at the trial. OpenAI would also benefit from access to Google's search data, which would help it make responses to user inquiries more accurate and up to date, Turley said. Google says the proposals go far beyond what is legally justified by the court's ruling, and would give away its technology to competitors. The company has already begun loosening agreements with smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics to allow them to load rival search and AI products. The DOJ wants the judge to go farther, banning Google from making lucrative payments in exchange for installation of its search app. (Reporting by Jody Godoy in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)

BEIJING (Reuters) -Sales of foreign-branded mobile phones in China, including Apple Inc's iPhones, edged up in April, according to data released by a government-affiliated research company on Friday. Calculations based on the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that April shipments of foreign-branded phones in China rose to 3.52 million units from 3.50 million a year earlier. As the largest foreign mobile phone maker in China's smartphone-dominated market, Apple's performance plays a significant role in the overall data on foreign-branded phone sales in the country. The uptick in April comes after a sluggish first quarter in which Apple's phone sales in China dropped 9%. Apple has faced increased competition from domestic rivals and has resorted to price cuts to stay competitive. Chinese e-commerce platforms are offering discounts of up to 2,530 yuan ($351) on Apple's latest iPhone 16 models earlier this month. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

President Donald Trump is set to hold a media event with Elon Musk, a key architect of the Department of Government Efficiency, on Friday afternoon at the White House as the tech billionaire concludes his tenure as a "special government employee." Trump announced the event, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET, on his social media site. "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trumpwrote on Truth Social. "Elon is terrific!" NBC News reportedthat Musk'smonthslong stintas a special government employee tasked with slashing federal spending formally ended Wednesday evening. He has served the designated 130 days out of 365 in the year as a special government employee. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX,announced his departure Wednesday on X, after he said he was "disappointed" by adomestic packageTrumprallied House Republicansto get behind. He told "CBS Sunday Morning"in an interview set to air Sunday, "I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing." Musk thanked Trump in his post Wednesday, adding that DOGE's "mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Musk, who in Januarywalked backa vision of cutting upward of $2 trillion with his department, has argued that bureaucracy has throttled his efforts to reduce government spending. "The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized," he toldThe Washington Post this week. "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least." House Republicans voted last week to approve the legislation that would extend Trump's tax cuts from his first term, which is estimated toadd $2.3 trillionto the federal deficit over 10 years and cancel health coverage for roughly 8.6 million people, according to the nonpartisanCongressional Budget Office.

After Julio David Pérez Rodríguez attended an immigration hearing last week in pursuit of a refugee status in the U.S., the Cuban national was stopped by undercover agents at an elevator, handcuffed and taken into custody. "If I have done nothing illegal, why do you have me handcuffed?" the 22-year-old implored in Spanish amid tears. The arrest in Miami was captured in anemotional video aired by Noticias Telemundo. "We're coming to this country to seek freedom. ... What is happening with this country?"he said before plainclothes officers whisked him away. Pérez Rodríguez is one of dozens of immigrants caught in similar dragnets drawn in cities around the country since last week, as the reality of President Donald Trump's mass deportation operation penetrates further into American families' consciousness. Many of those who saw loved ones handcuffed and taken away had accompanied their family members to ongoing immigration processes seeking asylum or hoping to make a case before a judge to stave off deportation, a legal process long afforded to immigrants and spelled out for immigration judges in court practice manuals. The arrests are happening immediately after immigration cases are dismissed or closed, leading some people to express joy, give thanks in prayer or celebrate, only to have all that replaced by sorrow, fear and anger, as they are handcuffed and taken into custody, said Billy Botch, an observer who works for theAmerican Friends Service Committee Florida, a social justice nonprofit formed by Quakers. "We are talking about people who are already complying with the legal court process and who have claims of asylum or have other legal protection," Gregory Chen, senior director of government relations for American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), told NBC News. "They should have a right to a fair day in court." Trump campaigned for the presidency on a pledge to focus on eradicating violent criminals, often invoking the names of crime victims of immigrants illegally in the country. But Chen said that, with arrests taking place in courthouses and in immigration and citizenship services offices, "the dragnet is sweeping in foreign nationals of all stripes, people who are members of our communities, who have been here for a long time, who have family here, who have jobs here. ... Those are the people who are really getting targeted now in mass numbers." Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration is reinstating the rule of law after President Joe Biden adopted policies that "allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets." But immigration attorneys and advocates said the dragnets appear to be an attempt by the Trump administration to bypass constitutional due process protections for immigrants. Based on observations by attorneys and advocates who have been monitoring the arrests, Chen said Immigration and Customs Enforcement trial attorneys are showing up in immigration courts where people have scheduled hearings and asking the judges to dismiss the cases. "They are doing it in most cases verbally, even though the practice manual of the court typically requires a written motion," Chen said, "and they are asking that these be granted immediately, even though people are required in the practice manual to be given time to respond." Similar arrests have been witnessed at field offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles such things as applications for citizenship or legal permanent residency, also known as green cards, as well as visas for workers and other benefits. "There have been arrests in several cities at those USCIS interviews," Chen said. He said AILA and immigration attorneys are instructing people at the court hearings to insist on a written motion from the government spelling out their dismissal request, to ask for time to respond to the motion — 10 days, according to the court manual — and to ask judges to not immediately rule on the government motions to dismiss. Some immigration judges, who are part of the administrative branch of government under the Department of Justice and not the judicial branch, appear to be going along with ICE requestsand dismissing cases. "Some judges are granting the motions immediately, even without a written motion and not giving a person 10 days to have that due process to understand and to respond to the motion," Chen said. With the case dismissed, plainclothes officers who have been stationed in hallways or other locations arrest them and set up the immigrants for accelerated deportation, which is known as expedited removal. Criminality often isn't an issue in these immigration arrests. Instead, the criteria seem to be to capture immigrants who came under the Biden administration and haven't been living in the country more than two years. The Trump administration has eliminated many of the programs that allowed immigrants to come to seek asylum or allowed them into the country through parole. Administration officials deem the people who used these programs as having entered the U.S. illegally, a misdemeanor. McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary, said Biden disregarded the fact that most of those people are subject to expedited removal and released millions of immigrants, "including violent criminals," with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. "If they have a valid claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim can be found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation," she said. Expedited removal typically has been reserved for people who are apprehended less than 100 miles from the border and people who are in the country for two years or less. But the Trump administration is using expedited removal everywhere in the country. Chen said the way the dragnets are playing out is troubling, because of the lack of due process and because ICE attorneys are not being required to present written motions explaining their basis for dismissal. "We are also concerned that there is a high level of cooperation between the courts and ICE, which is increasingly appearing to be a cooperative law enforcement operation where the judges are making these speedy decisions to dismiss the cases so that ICE can take them into custody and rapidly deport them," he said. DHS did not respond to questions about whether immigration judges had been instructed to close cases and, if so, provide copies of those instructions. Botch, the hearings observer from American Friends Service Committee Florida, said a Miami judge refused one person's request for their case not to be dismissed, saying, "We all have bosses." Botch said another judge stood out because he denied government attorneys' dismissal requests in six of seven cases and granted the immigrants six-day continuances, giving them time to find attorneys. He said most of the immigration cases he observed in court dated back to 2022. The arrests of people who are seeking asylum or relief is a waste of law enforcement resources, Chen said, because ICE will have to give them a "credible fear" interview. Such interviews determine if the person has reason to fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion if returned to their home country. Immigrants who already are in the asylum process have a good chance of passing the credible fear interview and will end up back in front of a judge for a hearing on the asylum claim, Chen said. "You are seeing this dramatic scale-up of not only ICE law enforcement but several other agencies coming into these courts; that's a huge expenditure of resources, taking them to detention, and expending taxpayer resources to detain these people already complying with the law," Chen said. According to attorneys, ICE officers have been clearing courtrooms during hearings, which are open to the public, and threatening with arrests or intimidating people who try to observe the proceedings or arrests. In some cases, they've forced closure of courtrooms even when hearings are public, Chen said. The immigration court arrests have put immigrants on edge, shocking and panicking those with pending cases and their families. On Tuesday, when Peréz Rodríguez showed up to his hearing, another 20 or so people went through similar scenarios in different floors of the building, said Karla De Anda, a legal observer who has been watching the arrests. Among those arrested wasa New York City high school student who ICE took into custodyafter his hearing last week, prompting a clamor of protests. Arrests have been reported last week and this week at courthouses in Miami;San Francisco;Sacramento, California;San Antonio;and several other cities. On Wednesday night, protesters clashed with police as they tried to interrupt arrests at a New York City building where immigration courts are located,The City news site reported. Chen said the law enforcement presence at courthouses has become "essentially a cooperative arm" and is intimidating. He said it is going to frighten people from coming to court appearances "when they have a legal right to their fair day in court." "It's going to undermine the rule of law that Americans expect," he said.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ activist Jimmy Sham was released from prison on Friday after serving overfour yearsin the city'sbiggest national security caseunder a Beijing-imposed law. Sham's activism made headlines during 2019 anti-government protests, when he was the convenor of a now-disbanded pro-democracy group that organized some of the biggest peaceful marches that year, including one that drew an estimated 2 million people. Sham was among 47 activists arrested in 2021 for their roles in anunofficial primary election. He was sentenced with 44 other activists last year afterjudges ruledthat their plans to effect change through the primary would have undermined the government's authority and create a constitutional crisis. Only two of the original defendants were acquitted. Even behind bars, Sham continued tofight for recognition of his same-sex marriageregistered overseas at the city's top court, which later ruled the government should provide a framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships. It wasa landmark decisionfor the city's LGBTQ+ community. "I feel happy. No matter whether there's a change in (my) freedom, I am definitely freer compared to yesterday," Sham told reporters Friday after he was reunited with his family. "But I also know many people are suffering. This makes me feel I shouldn't be too happy." Asked if police had warned him not to talk to anyone, he said he censored himself on some sensitive questions. Sham also sounded unsure whether he was a free man. "Maybe tomorrow, you still can see me, I am free. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back to the jail. I don't know," he said. The activist said he has no plans to leave Hong Kong for now. "So what I can do in the future and what I should, and where the red line lies, I still have to figure it out again." Sham and three other activists freed on Friday — Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong — are the second batch to be reunited with their families, followingthe release of four pro-democracy lawmakerslast month. The years of separation havepained the activists and their relatives. The case involved democracy advocatesacross the spectrum. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leaderJoshua Wong, who has to serve four years and eight months. Critics said the national security law has effectively crushed the city's pro-democracy movement, but Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist it brought back stability to the city.

By Liam Mo and Brenda Goh BEIJING (Reuters) -Semiconductor design software firm Synopsys has told staff in China to halt services and sales in the country and stop taking new orders to comply with new U.S. export restrictions, according to an internal letter reviewed by Reuters. The U.S. has ordered a broad swathe of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to certain suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Products affected include design software and chemicals for semiconductors, they said. Synopsys on Thursday suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts after it received a letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce, informing it of new export restrictions related to China. The internal letter sent to staff in China on Friday said "based on our initial interpretation, these new restrictions broadly prohibit the sales of our products and services in China and are effective as of May 29, 2025." To ensure compliance, Synopsys said it was blocking sales and fulfillment in China and halting new orders until it receives further clarification. The measures affect all customers in China, including employees of global customers working at sites in China and Chinese military users wherever they are located, the letter added. The steps Synopsys is taking in light of the new restrictions have not been previously reported. Synopsys declined to comment. Alongside Cadence and Siemens EDA, Synopsys is among the top three companies that dominate electronic design automation (EDA) software that chipmakers can use to design semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to computers and cars. Restricting Chinese firms' access to EDA tools would be a big blow to the industry as Chinese chip design customers heavily rely on top-of-the-line U.S. software. Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens's Mentor Graphics control more than 70% of China's EDA market, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported in April. Chinese companies that have said they use Synopsys and Cadence software include design firm Brite Semiconductor, Zhuhai Jieli and semiconductor IP portfolio provider VeriSilicon. The letter sent to staff in China on Friday also said that Chinese customers' access to its customer support portal SolvNetPlus had been disabled. (Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Lincoln Feast.)

Chinawill not send its defense minister to this year's Shangri-La Dialogue, shunning a chance for a high-level meeting with US and Asian counterparts as tensions simmer with Washington. China announced Thursday it will instead be represented by a delegation from the People's Liberation Army National Defense University, marking the first time in five years a high-level delegation from Beijing will miss Asia's largest defense and security forum. The United States will be represented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the event, which often provides opportunities on the sidelines for rare face-to-face meetings between top generals and defense officials from the US and China. Last year then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austinmet with Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Junon the sidelines of the event and the two pledged to continue a US-China dialogue amid simmering military tensions over Taiwan andChinese aggression in the South China Sea. Beijing's decision not to send Dong this year throws into question whether there will be any meeting between the US and China at a time of heightened tensions between the two. China has railed against America's efforts in recent years to tighten its alliances and defense posture in Asia, while economic frictions rose to historic levels earlier this year after US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on China sparked a tit-for-tat between the two countries that saw duties rise to more than 100% on each other's goods. While the two sides announced a temporary tariff truce earlier this month, tensions flared against this week. On Wednesday, two days before the forum's opening, the US aimed a shock double punchtargeting software exports to Chinese tech companies and study visas granted to Chinese students, risking a fragile trade war truce between Washington and Beijing. At a Chinese Defense Ministry press conference on Thursday, a spokesperson ducked a question on why Beijing was not sending its defense minister to the Singapore forum, expected to be attended by defense chiefs from around Asia, including many more closely tied to Washington than Beijing. China was "open to communication at all levels between the two sides," a ministry spokesperson said when asked about a potential sidelines meeting with the US delegation. China's downgrading of its Shangri-La delegation showed Beijing was not happy with Washington, a US defense official told CNN on Thursday. "They're torqued at us," the official said. "It's a signal that they are concerned about the level of engagement, specifically with the United States, to send a message that everything is not completely normal within that and there's probably some other underlying reasons about just uncertainty about what Shangri-La is intended to accomplish," the official said. China has traditionally had few friends at Shangri-La, where its speakers face real-time, unscripted questioning from journalists and academics attending the conference. "Beijing always wants to control the narrative and discourse. Shangri-La does not enable that," said Drew Thompson, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore. Last year, Defense Minister Dong faced tough questions after, in a Friday note keynote speech, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea in an apparent allusion to China. China's military has also been in the spotlight in recent years as its top ranks have beenroiled by a sweeping corruption purge, with more than a dozen high-ranking figures in China's defense establishment ousted since 2023. Analysts said the absence of a high-level Chinese delegation at the defense meeting may signal Beijing is emphasizing economics and trade over military relations in its foreign affairs at this time. "While surely security engagements such as the SLD (Shangri-La Dialogue) … do matter in the broader scheme of geopolitics, at this juncture it seems regional governments are perhaps even more concerned about the tariff impact on their economies," said Collin Koh, also an RSIS research fellow. Ahead of the weekend conference, much attention has focused on how US-led alliances across the region that grew during the Biden administration would hold up under Trump's second term. There was broad consensus among analysts thatunlike the turmoil Trump has caused in Europe– with threats to pull back from NATO and abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion – the US role in Asia has largely been consistent, centered on a policy to counter Chinese influence and back Taiwan. Hegseth's first trip to Asia as Defense Secretary began in the Philippines – on the front lines of China's increasingly aggressive posture in Asia – where he said the US would work with allies to"reestablish deterrence" to counter "China's aggression"in the Indo-Pacific. On Friday, during an early morning workout with sailors aboard a US Navy ship in Singapore, he had a similar message: "We send the signal to our allies and partners, hey, here in the Indo Pacific, America's here, and we're not going anywhere. We're here to deter adversaries who would seek us harm." Analysts noted that US-led military exercises, especially those involving key allies Japan, Australia, the Philippines and South Korea, have continued or even been bolstered in 2025. A US Pacific Command spokesperson told CNN there would be 120 bilateral or multilateral exercises involving US forces in the Indo-Pacific this year. But while increased US involvement is welcome by those participating in such exercises, Washington must be careful they don't aggravate China so much that new tensions threaten the security of regional nations that are not US treaty allies, said Evan Laksmana, editor of the 2025 Asia Pacific Regional Security Assessment compiled by the International Institute of Strategic Studies. "The deepening of US security engagement is welcome but not so far on the strategic side that it raises tensions," he said. On Thursday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said China "attaches great importance to the military relations" with the US, but warned Washington against "conjuring up a powerful enemy for itself whether intentionally or unintentionally." "Such imagination is not rational and extremely dangerous," Zhang said. Thompson, the RSIS researcher, said an extra irritant for China at this year's Dialogue is the large European contingent in attendance, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who is scheduled to give the keynote speech on Friday night. "China's support for Russia (in its war in Ukraine) has hugely impacted its relationship with Europe, which finds it harder and harder to ignore evidence of China's support for Russia's war machine, making a public tongue-lashing very likely," Thompson said. "This makes for an awkward environment for a high-level PLA officer trying to manage and improve relations in Asia. If you can't win, don't join them." CNN's Haley Britzky and Simone McCarthy contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

MOSCOW (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia's concern over the eastward enlargement of NATO was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the U.S.-led military alliance. Asked by U.S. network ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge over NATO not enlarging eastwards to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg said: "It's a fair concern." "We've said that to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we're not the only country that says that - you know I could probably give you four other countries in NATO and it takes 32 of the 32 to allow you to come in to NATO," he told ABC late on Thursday. "That's one of the issues that Russia will bring up." "They're not just talking Ukraine, they're talking the country of Georgia, they're talking Moldova," Kellogg said, adding that a decision on U.S. views of NATO enlargement was for Trump to make. Kellogg said the sequencing of the peace talks would include an attempt to merge the two memorandums drafted by Ukraine and Russia into one single document with talks in Turkey on Monday. "When we get into Istanbul next week we'll sit down and talk," Kellogg said, adding that the national security advisers from Germany, France and Britain would join discussions on the memorandum with the United States. Kellogg said Trump was "frustrated" with Russia because he had seen "a level of unreasonableness" from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He scolded Russia for striking Ukrainian cities and said he had told Ukraine to turn up to talks. A conservative estimate of dead and injured in the Ukraine war - from both sides combined - totals 1.2 million, Kellogg said. "That is a stunning number - this is war on an industrial scale," Kellogg told ABC. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

By Marko Djurica KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -In the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, it's hard to escape the war with Russia. On some days, when the wind blows in the right direction, residents of the historic city can hear the boom of artillery fire from the front line, some 30 km (20 miles) away. Most nights, Russian kamikaze drones packed with explosives buzz over apartment buildings as parents put their children to bed. Frequently - but unpredictably - a Russian ballistic missile will slam into the city. Three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, for many people in Kharkiv, the war with its unrelenting, inescapable proximity, takes a mental toll. But there is a space in the city where – for a few fleeting hours – the war stops existing. In the dark, brick-walled basement of the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, a dance company has created a space protected from drones and bombs where audiences can lose themselves in performances of classic ballets. In April, the space was host to performances of "Chopiniana", an early 20th-century ballet with music by Frederic Chopin. Despite the makeshift setting, the ballet was performed with full classical pomp, complete with corps de ballet and orchestra. That marked a milestone for Kharkiv's cultural life because it was the first full performance of a classical ballet in the city since February 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. "In spite of everything - the fact that bombs are flying, drones, and everything else - we can give a gift of something wonderful to people," said Antonina Radiievska, artistic director of Opera East, the ballet company which staged the performance. "They can come and, even if it's just for an hour or two, completely immerse themselves in a different world." Despite Ukraine's history of excellence in classical ballet, the art form seems far removed from the everyday lives of Ukrainians in wartime. Daily routines are given over to checking apps for drone attack warnings, sleeping on the metro station floor to escape an air raid or seeking news of relatives on the front line. Pirouettes, pas-de-deux and chiffon tutus feel a world away. NEW NORMAL Nevertheless, the journey of Kharkiv's ballet through the war mirrors the ways Ukrainian society has adapted and evolved. On February 23, 2022, the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre put on a performance of the ballet "Giselle". The following day, Russia launched its full-scale invasion. As Moscow's troops reached the outskirts of Kharkiv and threatened to capture the city, the theatre closed its doors and many of the ballet troupe moved away. Some of them reassembled in Slovakia and Lithuania, and began touring ballet productions outside Ukraine with help from European sponsors. By 2023, the war was grinding on, but the situation in Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast, had stabilised after Russian ground forces pulled back. The realisation dawned on the city that this was a long game, a new, wartime reality. Local people started referring to the city - and themselves - using the Ukrainian word "nezlamniy", meaning invincible. It was that year that work began on converting the theatre basement into a performance space. In October 2023, it began to be used as a rehearsal space. In spring the following year, the theatre was granted permission to bring in an audience, and it held small-scale ballet performances such as children's concerts. The revival of "Chopiniana" represents the next milestone in Kharkiv's wartime cultural journey. Staging a classical opera again sends a message that Ukraine is still standing, according to Igor Tuluzov, Director-General of Opera East, the company staging the production. "We are demonstrating to the world that we really are a self-sufficient state, independent, in all its aspects, including cultural independence," he said. The auditorium seats 400 people on stackable chairs, compared to 1,750 in the main theatre upstairs, where the plush mustard seats lie empty. The stage downstairs is one quarter the size of the main stage. The aesthetic is grey-painted brick, concrete floors, pipes and electricity ducting running along the walls - a contrast to the varnished hardwood and marble of the space upstairs. The acoustic qualities of the basement, say the performers, don't match the lofty expanses of the main theatre. What matters to artistic director Radiievska, though, is that after a long hiatus, she and her troupe can once again perform at their best, in front of an audience. "It means, you know, life," she said. "An artist cannot exist without the stage, without creativity, without dance or song. It's like a rebirth." (Writing by Christian Lowe;Editing by Ros Russell)