We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The world will never forget China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Taiwan's president and the top U.S. diplomat said on the 36th anniversary of an event Beijing treats as taboo. The events on and around the central Beijing square on June 4, 1989, when Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led pro-democracy protests, are not publicly discussed in China and the anniversary is not officially marked. Public commemorations now take place in overseas cities including Taipei where senior Taiwan government leaders often use the anniversary to criticise China and urge it to face up to what it did. Lai, in a post on Facebook on Wednesday, praised the courage of those who took part in the protests, saying human rights are a concept shared by Taiwan and other democracies that transcend generations and borders. "The commemoration of the June 4 Tiananmen incident is not only to mourn history, but also to perpetuate this memory," Lai said. "Authoritarian governments often choose to silence and forget history, while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who gave their lives - and their dreams - to the idea of human rights," he added. "Not only do we refuse to forget history, we will implement our core values every day." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday praised the courage of the Chinese people who were killed in the bloody crackdown. "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," Rubio said in a statement. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Before dawn on June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square, crushing weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers. China has never provided a full death toll, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into thousands. China blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the ruling Communist Party. (Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The world ...

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White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

The White House has sent itslong-awaited spending cuts requestto Congress as it seeks to formalize a slew of DOGE slashes to federal funding. The $9.4 billion package – known as "rescissions" on Capitol Hill – would claw back previously appropriated government funding. The move to cancel the funding through Congress would insulate the administration from legal challenges related to its cuts to federal funding. As anticipated, the cuts target the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a small chunk of the federal budget that provides some public funding for NPR and PBS, as well as the United States Agency for International Development. This initial request, however, is far more limited in scope than themore than $1 trillion in spending cutsthat DOGE has promised. The lengthy time it took the White House to send over a first round of cuts underscores the uphill battle for even a Republican-led Congress to codify DOGE's work. Congress will have 45 days after the White House submits the request to consider it. It can pass both the House and Senate with a simple majority, meaning it could clear the chambers without Democratic support. House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed in statement Tuesday that "the House will act quickly on this request." "This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE's findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity. Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible," Johnson said in part. Johnson said in a joint statementposted on Xlater Tuesday that House GOP leaders will put the package on the House floor next week. CNN has reached out to the Office of Management and Budget on the package. OMB Director Russell Vought told Fox News the administration is "intending to be strategic, work with Congress, see what they're willing to do, and if they pass this, we'll send up many more." The Republican speaker had told reporters Monday that he expects there may be "multiple" such packages coming to the hill in the next few months. "It's a big priority for me," Johnson said. As with all things, the challenge for him will be muscling the package through the House with his narrow majority. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ahead of the White House transmitting the package that it was his "full expectation that, as has been the case up until this point, they will confront strong and unified Democratic opposition in the House, struggle to get any bill out of the House of Representatives, and then it's dead in the United States Senate." Trump has before sought to employ the maneuver to pull back funding. During his first administration, theSenate rejected a packagethat would have canceled $15 billion in unspent funds from the prior fiscal year. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN's Samantha Waldenberg, Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress The White House has sent itslong-awaited spending cuts requestto Congr...

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Trump asks Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in DOGE savings, hits NPR and PBS

Trump asks Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in DOGE savings, hits NPR and PBS

WASHINGTON – PresidentDonald Trumpis asking Congress to claw back $9.4 billion of federal funding to reflect a portion of the cuts made byElon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Thelong-awaited requestsent to Congress on June 3 would strip funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and from foreign aid agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Health Organization. Republicans in the House and Senate are expected to move quickly to enact the cuts, which are a sliver of the$175 billionDOGE claims to have cut from the federal government. Musk, whodeparted the administrationin late May, initially aimed toeliminate $2 trillionin government spending. Congress has 45 days to act on the request. Passing it would require only a majority vote in the Senate, unlike most policies, which require a 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that the panel will "carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations." The Office of Management and Budget announced the request through apost on X, through which they detailed several specific cuts, such as "electric buses in Rwanda" and "'net zero cities' in Mexico." House SpeakerMike Johnsonsaid in a statement that the lower chamber will vote on the proposal "as quickly as possible." "UnderPresident Trump, every federal taxpayer dollar is actually being used to serve the American people, not to fund a bloated bureaucracy or purely partisan pet projects," Johnson said. "We thankElon Muskand his DOGE team for identifying a wide range of wasteful, duplicative, and outdated programs, and House Republicans are eager to eliminate them." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, called the public media cut an effort to "settle political scores and muzzle the free press," and the cuts to foreign aid as hurting programs that "push back on China's malign influence, save lives, and address other bipartisan priorities." The White House provided justification for each proposed rollback in theformal requestsent to Congress. For example, one request to eliminate $500 million from USAID's budget would strip funding for activities related to child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. "This proposal would not reduce treatment but would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like 'family planning' and 'reproductive health,' LGBTQI+ activities, and 'equity' programs," the White House's request reads. "Enacting the rescission would reinstate focus on appropriate health and life spending. This best serves the American taxpayer." (This story has been updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump asks Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in DOGE savings

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Trump asks Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in DOGE savings, hits NPR and PBS

Trump asks Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in DOGE savings, hits NPR and PBS WASHINGTON – PresidentDonald Trumpis asking Congress to claw...

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Harper homers in return, Turner goes deep twice as Phillies use 6-run 1st to beat Blue Jays 8-3

Harper homers in return, Turner goes deep twice as Phillies use 6-run 1st to beat Blue Jays 8-3

TORONTO (AP) — Bryce Harper homered in his first at-bat following a five-game absence, Trea Turner went deep twice and the Philadelphia Phillies scored six runs in the first inning Tuesday night on the way to an 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that ended a four-game skid. Harper was back in actionafter being sidelinedwith a bruised right elbowafter being hit by a pitch. The Phillies went 1-4 without the slugger and fell out of first place in the NL East. Against the Blue Jays, Harper went 1 for 3 with two walks and scored twice. Left-hander Christopher Sánchez (5-1) allowed one run in six innings to win for the first time since May 7. Addison Barger hit a two-run home run off Maz Lazar, and Davis Schneider hit a solo shot off Sánchez, but Toronto had its five-game winning streak halted. Barger has homered in four straight games, raising his season total to six. Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis (2-7) matched a career-worst by allowing seven runs, six earned, in 1 2/3 innings. Bryson Stott drew a leadoff walk and Turner followed with a two-run homer. Harper piled on with a 394-foot drive, his ninth. It was the third time the Phillies have hit back-to-back homers. Max Kepler's RBI single and Stott's two-run hit capped the six-run inning, which matched Philadelphia's biggest of the season. Turner added a solo homer, his seventh, off Erik Swanson in the eighth inning. It was Turner's first multi-homer game of the season and the 18th of his career. Key moment Back at third base after filling in for Harper at first, Alec Bohmmade a diving stopon George Springer's grounder in the third, then threw from one knee to get the out. Key stat The Phillies have won 14 of 16 on the road. Up next Blue Jays RHP José Berríos (2-2, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Phillies RHP Mick Abel (1-0, 0.00) ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Harper homers in return, Turner goes deep twice as Phillies use 6-run 1st to beat Blue Jays 8-3

Harper homers in return, Turner goes deep twice as Phillies use 6-run 1st to beat Blue Jays 8-3 TORONTO (AP) — Bryce Harper homered in his f...

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French Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats a hurting Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals

French Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats a hurting Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals

PARIS (AP) — It's tough enough for any player to deal withCarlos Alcarazat theFrench Open. When you're not at your absolute best against the defending champion, as was the case forTommy Paulin the quarterfinals Tuesday night, there's no chance. No. 2 seed Alcarazreturned to the semifinals at Roland-Garros for the third consecutive year with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Paul, who had his right thigh heavily taped and was unable to run, serve or hit groundstrokes at full force. "I've felt better, you know?" said Paul, who had leg and abdominal muscle issues during the tournament. "Obviously, I went into the match like, 'I want to win the match.' But pretty early on in the match, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't moving amazing." Didn't help his cause that Alcaraz was at his very best. "Today was one of those days that you're feeling great. You feel like every shot was going to be in, every shot was going to be a winner," Alcaraz said. "You play with a lot of confidence. No fear of anything." It took just 52 minutes for him to collect the first two sets. The 22-year-old Spaniard compiled a 23-5 edge in winners in that span, and the final totals were 40-13. "He played some great tennis. Returned very well. Had me on my back foot all the time. Playing so fast," Paul said. "Even on the changeovers, I felt like he was getting up with 20 seconds left. I was like, 'You got to slow down.'" Things got more competitive in the third set, which Paul led 4-3 as some spectators at Court Philippe-Chatrier chanted his first name. But Alcaraz grabbed the next three games to wrap things up after a little more than 1 1/2 hours. "At Grand Slams, the less time you spend on court, it's great to save energy for the next matches," said Alcaraz, who isseeking his fifth major trophy. "Can't ask for a better performance." He is the first reigning men's champion in Paris to get back to the semifinals the next year since 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in 2021. He improved to 20-1 on red clay this season and leads the men's tour with 35 wins and three titles. Alcaraz's opponent in the semifinals will be No. 8Lorenzo Musetti, who eliminated No. 15 Frances Tiafoe in four sets earlier Tuesday. The last two men's quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. unseeded Alexander Bublik, and No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. 24-time major championNovak Djokovic. Paul, a semifinalist at the 2023 Australian Open, and Tiafoe, a two-time semifinalist at the U.S. Open, were the first American men to get to the round of eight at Roland-Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003 — and the first pair to do so in the same year since Jim Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996. Since Agassi completed his career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 1999, U.S. men are now 1-60 against opponents ranked in the top 10 at the clay-court tournament. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here:https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis:https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

French Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats a hurting Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals

French Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats a hurting Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals PARIS (AP) — It's tough enough for any ...

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