AFP USA

Donald Trump made an unexpected appearance Tuesday on a White House rooftop and joked about installing nuclear missiles at a time of escalating tensions with Russia.The US president, flanked by bodyguards and under the protection of snipers, strolled for 20 minutes on the flat roof above the press room as he looked across to the site of his proposed new ballroom.Asked why he was on the roof, he replied he was just “taking a little walk.”Quizzed about what he intended to build, he joked “nuclear missiles,” before appearing to mimic the launch of a weapon with his arm.The United States and Russia have engaged in heated rhetoric for several days. Trump last week ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines near Russia in response to remarks he deemed provocative by former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev.- $200 million project -With his planned ballroom and other projects, Trump is determined to leave an imprint on the White House, drawing inspiration from the opulent style of his private properties.He has paved the lawn of the famous Rose Garden and adorned the Oval Office with lavish golden ornamentation.The 79-year-old leader recently announced plans for the ballroom, in what is shaping up to be the most significant project at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in over a century.He has vowed that he — with perhaps some help from private donors — would pay for all the work, estimated at $200 million.”It’s just another way to spend my money for the country,” he said Tuesday.A former reality TV host, Trump is known for his public appearances that are half-comical, half-provocative, delighting his supporters and providing television networks with the images they relish.In 2015, he announced his presidential candidacy after slowly descending a golden escalator. And during the last presidential campaign, he staged photo ops in a garbage truck cabin and served fries in a McDonald’s restaurant.

The US trade gap narrowed in June, government data showed Tuesday, as imports pulled back more than exports while businesses grappled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs on allies and competitors alike.The overall trade deficit in the world’s biggest economy narrowed by 16 percent to $60.2 billion, down from a revised $71.7 billion figure in May, the Department of Commerce said.The narrowing was more than analysts expected but largely reflected a drop in goods imports — including consumer goods as Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs added to businesses’ costs of bringing in foreign products.In April, Trump imposed a 10-percent duty on most US trading partners and he has also slapped much steeper tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.This baseline tariff is set to rise to varying levels for dozens of economies including Japan and the European Union come Thursday.Given that plans have been set out for higher rates to take effect, policy uncertainty has eased somewhat, said Nationwide financial markets economist Oren Klachkin.”But businesses hoping tariffs were just threats must now adjust to the reality they are here to stay,” he added in a note.”We think the negative impact of high tariff rates will outweigh any positives from lower policy uncertainty,” Klachkin said.The June deficit narrowed on the back of a fall in imports, by 3.7 percent to $337.5 billion, while exports also dropped by 0.5 percent to $277.3 billion.The drop in imports came as those of consumer goods decreased $8.4 billion, while those of industrial supplies and materials fell by $2.7 billion. Imports of autos and parts also dropped by $1.3 billion.The retreat in exports, meanwhile, came as goods exports declined by $1.3 billion, with decreases seen in industrial supplies as well.The goods deficit with China dropped by $4.6 billion, to $9.4 billion in June.Washington and Beijing slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products in April, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling supply lines between the world’s two biggest economies.But in May, the countries reached a temporary agreement to bring these duties to a lower level until August 12.

US lawmakers on Tuesday subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for testimony on Jeffrey Epstein, in a major escalation of the controversy surrounding the investigation into the notorious sex offender.The Clintons were among multiple former Democratic and Republican government officials — as well as the Justice Department — targeted by investigators reviewing the handling of the disgraced financier’s case after he died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent after the Justice Department angered Trump supporters — many of whom believe Epstein was murdered in a cover-up — when it confirmed last month that he had died by suicide in his prison cell and that his case was effectively closed.The department also said Epstein had no secret “client list” — rebuffing conspiracy theories held by Trump’s far-right supporters about supposedly high-level Democratic complicity.Trump has urged his supporters to drop demands for the Epstein files, but Democrats in the Republican-led Congress — with some support from majority lawmakers — have also been seeking a floor vote to force their release.”By your own admission, you flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane four separate times in 2002 and 2003,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to former president Clinton.”During one of these trips, you were even pictured receiving a ‘massage’ from one of Mr. Epstein’s victims.”The White House has been seeking to redirect public attention from uproar over its handling of the affair with a series of headline-grabbing announcements including baseless claims that former president Barack Obama headed a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump.Epstein was for years a friend and associate of Trump and numerous high-profile people before he was convicted of sex crimes and then imprisoned pending trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls.His death supercharged a conspiracy theory long promoted by Trump supporters that Epstein had run an international pedophile ring and that elites wanted to make sure he never revealed their secrets.After Trump returned to power in January, his administration promised to release Epstein case files.- Past relationship -When Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on July 7 that she had nothing to release, Republicans were furious — and Trump has attempted to control the scandal ever since.The case got even more complicated for the president after a Wall Street Journal report that he had written a lewd birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. Trump denies this and has sued the Journal.The Journal then dropped a separate story, saying Bondi had informed Trump in May that his name appeared several times in the Epstein files, even if there was no indication of wrongdoing.Other officials targeted by the Oversight Committee include former FBI director James Comey, former special counsel Robert Mueller and ex-attorney generals Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales. Their depositions will take place between mid-August and mid-October.Comer also issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for records related to Epstein — including its communications with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and his officials.Lawmakers have also been seeking testimony from Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for her role in his alleged crimes — although her cooperation is considered unlikely.The latest move from Comer comes after Democrats on the oversight panel forced a vote to issue a subpoena just before the August recess, with three House Republicans backing the effort.”Justice must apply to everyone, no matter how rich, powerful, or well-connected they are,” said Summer Lee, the Democratic congresswoman who introduced the motion.

Multiple failures to follow standard safety protocol led to the deadly implosion of a private submersible visiting the Titanic wreckage in 2023, according to a final report published Tuesday.The US Coast Guard investigation outlined a litany of issues with operator OceanGate’s conduct, as well as design flaws in its Titan submersible, that contributed to a “preventable tragedy” in which all five passengers were killed.The 335-page report said “OceanGate’s failure to follow established engineering protocols for safety, testing, and maintenance of their submersible, was the primary causal factor” for the implosion.It also accused the company of “intimidation tactics…to evade regulatory scrutiny.”OceanGate had a “toxic workplace environment which used firings of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns,” the report said.OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush was joined on the doomed expedition by British explorer Hamish Harding, French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.Seats on the submersible cost $250,000 per person.Communications were lost with the SUV-sized submersible about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive on June 18, 2023, kicking off a dramatic search that briefly captivated the world.- ‘Instantaneous death’ -Over two miles underwater when the hull collapsed, all occupants “were exposed to approximately 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure,” resulting in “instantaneous death,” the report said.Two seconds later, the monitoring team on the support ship “heard a ‘bang’ emanating from the ocean’s surface, which the investigation later correlated to the Titan’s implosion.”Debris was found a few days later on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic, and human remains were recovered when the sub was brought to the surface.In its report, the Coast Guard said that OceanGate had continued to use Titan despite “a series of incidents that compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible without properly assessing or inspecting the hull.”It also identified design flaws with the unique carbon fiber hull “that weakened the overall structural integrity.”The US Coast Guard said that the vessel was not “registered, certified, inspected, or classed” by any international flag administration or recognized organization.Last year, the family of Nargeolet sued OceanGate for $50 million, accusing the US-based company of gross negligence.Known as “Mr. Titanic,” he had visited the wreckage 37 previous times.Shortly after the tragedy, OceanGate halted all operations.The wreckage of the Titanic sits 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland and has become a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists since its discovery in 1985.The ship hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York, with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died.

US President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors could be unveiled as soon as the coming week, as he presses on in efforts to reshape global trade.Trump’s latest comments, in an interview on CNBC, come days before a separate set of tariff hikes takes effect on dozens of economies later this week.The sweeping tariff plans have sparked a flurry of activity as governments seek to avert the worst of his threats — with Switzerland’s leaders heading to Washington on Tuesday in a last-minute push to avoid punitive duties.But he appears set to widen his trade wars further.The US president told CNBC that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could reach 250 percent, while adding that he plans for new duties on foreign semiconductors soon.”We’ll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent,” Trump said.”And then it’s going to go to 250 percent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”Trump also said that Washington will be announcing tariffs “within the next week or so.”He added: “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips.”- Concern for US economy -Trump has taken aim at products from different countries with varying tariff rates after imposing a 10-percent levy on almost all trading partners in April — with excluded products targeted by sector.While Swiss leaders are seeking to stave off a US tariff hike to 39 percent come Thursday — which excludes sectors like pharma — Trump’s plans for a steep pharma levy will likely be a point of contention in any talks.Pharmaceuticals represented 60 percent of Swiss goods exports to the United States last year.Besides probing pharmaceuticals and chips imports, Trump has already imposed steep duties of 50 percent on imports of steel and aluminum, alongside lower levels on autos and parts.In the same CNBC interview, Trump said he expects to raise the US tariff on Indian imports “very substantially over the next 24 hours” due to the country’s purchases of Russian oil.This is a key revenue source for Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine.His pressure on India comes after signaling fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by Friday towards a peace deal with Kyiv, more than three years since Russia’s invasion.Moscow is anticipating talks this week with the US leader’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin has criticized Trump’s threat of raising tariffs on Indian goods.Weak employment data last week pointed to challenges for the US economy as companies take a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump’s radical — and rapidly changing — tariffs policy.The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees as putting US exporters in a stronger position while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports.But the approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world’s biggest economy.

The US National Park Service (NPS) announced Monday that it will reinstall a statue in Washington of a Confederate general that was torn down amid the racial justice protests of 2020.Reinstalling the statue of Albert Pike supports two executive orders issued by President Donald Trump early in his second term, the NPS said in a statement: one “on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” and another on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”The statue, which honors Pike’s contributions to freemasonry, was the only memorial to a Confederate general in the US capital before it was toppled.Statues honoring the Confederacy — which seceded from the United States to preserve slavery, prompting the 1861-1865 Civil War — were a prime target of vandalism during the mid-2020 racial justice movement.Protests broke out nationwide in June 2020 following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis.Trump, who was president at the time, called the toppling of the Pike statue a “disgrace.””The D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested,” Trump wrote on Twitter.The NPS said the Pike statue has “been in secure storage since its removal and is currently undergoing restoration.”It aims to reinstall the statue by October 2025.After losing re-election later in 2020, Trump went on to run again in 2024, winning on pledges to harshly crackdown on illegal immigration and to reverse many of the social justice policies enacted in the wake Floyd’s death.

Dozens of Democrats in the Texas legislature faced possible arrest Monday after fleeing the US state to block a redrawing of districts in Republicans’ favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.The state’s Republican leaders, following a push by President Donald Trump, plan to shift congressional district borders such that five seats become likely to flip from Democratic control.The contentious but legally permitted move, known as gerrymandering, seeks to help Republicans retain control of the US House of Representatives in next year’s midterms, when the opposition party usually does more favorably.State lawmakers draw legislative maps themselves in Texas, like in many other states across the country, but usually only do so once every 10 years following the national census.Democrats are in the minority in the Texas legislature, but enough members have fled the state to deprive the body of a quorum necessary to do business.”This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.The lawmakers left the state Sunday and most headed to Democratic-controlled Illinois, whose Governor JB Pritzker told a news conference that he would “protect” them.They face at minimum a $500 fine per day of absence. But Texas Republicans raised the stakes, passing a motion to issue warrants for the missing Democrats’ arrests.The warrants apply only within the state, however, meaning the missing legislators could only be detained on their return.Governor Greg Abbott, a close Trump ally, has also threatened to push for the lawmakers to be expelled, saying their absences amount to “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.”Democratic lawmakers have dismissed Abbott’s threats as bluster, with state representative Ann Johnson on Monday telling CNN, “I think it shows how desperate they are.”Abbott, who ordered the special session on redistricting, has sought to pile on the political pressure by concurrently calling for votes on disaster relief related to the state’s catastrophic flooding last month, which killed over 130 people.Wu said the move by Abbott “has turned the victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages.””We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system,” he added.- Domino effect -Gerrymandering has been at the center of long-running political dispute in the United States, especially as computer-assisted analysis helps refine map-making.Some Democratic-led states have also drawn maps steeply favoring their party — including Illinois — but the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court has ruled for now that only state courts can decide on the legality of partisan redistricting.The Texas push to redraw its maps mid-decade has set off a scramble of other states to potentially follow suit.Democratic-led New York and California are considering moves to pencil out Republican seats — but, unlike Texas, they have previously enacted legal constraints against such practices, deeming them undemocratic.Leaders in those state have signalled they would seek to push through those measures to respond to Texas.”This is a war. We are at war,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul told a press conference, as she welcomed some Texas legislators to her state.”That’s why the gloves are off. And I say, bring it on.”All 435 US House seats are up for election in 2026, with Republicans currently narrowly controlling the chamber by single digits.

Thousands of members of a union representing Boeing defense industry workers in the US states of Missouri and Illinois went on strike Monday after rejecting a contract proposal.In a post on X, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers said: “3,200 highly-skilled IAM Union members at Boeing went on strike at midnight because enough is enough.”This is about respect and dignity, not empty promises.”It came hours after the union said in a statement that members at Boeing facilities in Missouri and Illinois had voted to reject a modified four-year labor agreement with Boeing.The St. Louis local’s stoppage follows a bruising Boeing strike last fall in the Pacific Northwest region of some 33,000 workers that halted production at factories that assemble Boeing commercial planes.Local broadcast media showed footage of workers picketing outside the St. Louis factory. Members of the union’s local chapter “have spoken loud and clear, they deserve a contract that reflects their skill, dedication, and the critical role they play in our nation’s defense,” said IAM District 837 representative Tom Boelling.The American aerospace giant’s initial proposal, which included a 20 percent wage increase over four years and more vacation time, was rejected a week earlier.The new offer doubled the wage increase, according to Boeing.”We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40 percent average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and senior St. Louis, Missouri site executive, said in a statement.”We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.”The storied company has been in crisis since last year due to production quality issues and a seven-week strike that crippled two of Boeing’s major assembly plants.IAM is one of North America’s largest unions, representing some 600,000 members in aerospace, defense, shipbuilding, transportation, health care, manufacturing and other industries.Products produced at Boeing’s St. Louis operation include the F-15 and F-18 combat aircraft, the T-7 Red Hawk Advanced Pilot Training System and the MQ-25 unmanned aircraft. The site was originally part of the McDonnell Douglas company, which Boeing acquired in 1997.Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg described the business hit from the strike in Missouri as manageable, noting that the operation has a far smaller number of workers compared with those who went on the picket lines last fall.”I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of the strike,” Ortberg said on an earnings conference call. “We’ll manage our way through that.”Shares of Boeing rose 0.2 percent on Monday.

A month after a wildfire erupted at the edge of the Grand Canyon, US firefighters were struggling Monday to bring the blaze under control.A lightning strike on July 4 — Independence Day in the United States — sparked a fire that spread rapidly on the northern rim of the canyon, a major draw for domestic and international tourists.The Dragon Bravo Fire — named after the Dragon rock formation near the conflagration’s start — was initially allowed to burn unabated as part of a natural cycle that thins vegetation and renews the landscape.But a week later, strong winds whipped through Arizona and fanned the fire, pushing it through a major hotel, as well as the North Rim Visitor Center and some guest cabins.A nearby water treatment plant was also damaged, venting chlorine gas into the environment.The blaze, which now stands at over 123,000 acres (50,000 hectares), is being actively fought with more than 1,000 personnel on site, battling the flames from the air and from the ground.”Yesterday, crews patrolled and monitored the east and west flanks of the fire,” said a Monday update from incident commanders.”Despite relative humidities as low as four percent they were able to hold the fire’s growth to a minimum. “In the southwest part of the fire, crews were able to go direct on the fire. Last night they walked sections of the perimeter searching for signs of heat, a process required before lines can be declared contained.”The level of containment — the amount of the perimeter where firefighters have completely stopped the fire’s progress — stood at 13 percent on Monday.Operations throughout the day looked set to be helped by the local topography along the northern part of the fire, despite continued critical fire weather, the update said.”The pinon-juniper fuels in the area will assist since they do not carry the fire as effectively as mixed conifer or ponderosa stands,” it continued, in reference to the vegetation growing in the vicinity.Humidity remains low in the region, with a disappointing seasonal monsoon bringing rain far below expected levels.Scores of wildfires burn across North America every year, many of them started by lightning.Those that do not threaten population centers are now frequently left to burn by forest managers who understand the need for the kind of woodland renewal such blazes bring.The policy contrasts with what was previously in effect for much of the last 150 years, where managers took an aggressive firefighting stance.Doing so had the unintended effect of leaving some areas overstocked with fuel and liable to burn much hotter and faster when they did catch fire.While wildfire is a natural phenomenon, human activity — specifically the unchecked use of fossil fuels — is changing the climate, often making blazes more likely and more destructive.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would pick an “exceptional replacement” for his labor statistics chief, days after ordering her dismissal after a report showed weakness in the jobs market.In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump reiterated — without providing evidence — that Friday’s employment report “was rigged.”He alleged that commissioner of labor statistics Erika McEntarfer had manipulated data to diminish his administration’s accomplishments, drawing sharp criticism from economists and a professional association.”We’ll be announcing a new (labor) statistician some time over the next three-four days,” Trump told reporters Sunday.He added Monday: “I will pick an exceptional replacement.”US job growth missed expectations in July, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed, and sharp revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them to the weakest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic.Trump ordered the removal of McEntarfer hours after the figures were published.”We had no confidence. I mean the numbers were ridiculous,” Trump told reporters Sunday. He charged that McEntarfer came up with “phenomenal” numbers on his predecessor Joe Biden’s economy before the 2024 election.- Hiring slowdown -Even as he called for more reliable data Monday, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett conceded that the jobs market was indeed cooling.But Hassett maintained in a CNBC interview that this softening did not reflect the incoming effects of Trump’s flagship tax and spending legislation — signed into law early last month.US employment data point to challenges as companies took a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump’s sweeping — and rapidly changing — tariffs this year.The United States added 73,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent, the Department of Labor reported.Hiring numbers for May were revised down from 144,000 to 19,000. The figure for June was shifted from 147,000 to 14,000.These were notably lower than job creation levels in recent years. During the pandemic, the economy lost jobs.Over the weekend, Hassett defended McEntarfer’s firing in an NBC News interview: “The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers they are more transparent and more reliable.”Trump’s decision has come under fire. William Beach, who previously held McEntarfer’s post, said the move set a “dangerous precedent.”The National Association for Business Economics condemned her dismissal, saying large revisions in jobs numbers “reflect not manipulation, but rather the dwindling resources afforded to statistical agencies.”In addition to a successor to McEntarfer, Trump is also expected to name a replacement for Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler.Kugler’s early resignation, effective Friday, allows Trump a vacancy to fill as he pushes the independent central bank to lower interest rates.German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil on Monday emphasized the importance of supporting “independent, neutral and proven institutions.”He said: “It is right that independent institutions remain independent and that politics do not interfere with them.”McEntarfer, a labor economist, was confirmed to the commissioner role in January 2024.