Trump live updates: Just 37% of Americans approve of president’s handling of the economy, new poll shows

The IMF’s downgrade of global growth forecasts, a direct result of U.S. tariffs, will only add to the pressure on U.K. chancellor Rachel Reeves to make the case during her visit to Washington for a fabled U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at fired staff for leaks which revealed he had shared details of military strikes on the Houthi group in a second Signal group chat.

China says it is willing to negotiate but it would not bow to pressure from the U.S. over a trade deal.

President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both indicated on Tuesday that the dispute with China would de-escalate.

Trump said he wasn’t “going to play hardball”, but warned the U.S. would “set the deal” if China decided not to make one.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said exerting pressure like that was not the way to reach an agreement, according to remarks published by Chinese state media.

“To fight, we will fight to the end; to talk, the door is wide open,” he said, according to the China Daily.

“Saying it wants to reach an agreement with the Chinese side while constantly exerting extreme pressure is not the right way to deal with the Chinese side, and it will not work.”

Trump lifted tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent earlier this month and Beijing retaliated, lifting duties to 125 percent in an escalating trade war.

Chinese factories have flooded social media with claims that high-end accessories were, in fact, ‘Made in China’.

Zoë Beaty looks at the truth behind their allegations and examines how Donald Trump’s tariffs could cause the luxury fashion market to unravel at the seams:

Some U.S. citizens have received surprise deportation notices after thousands of warnings aimed at immigrants were issued by the Trump administration.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection have quietly set out to revoke two-year permits granted in the Biden era for those who used an online appointment app for Mexican border crossings called CBP One.

In an effort to scrap the permits, cancellation notices which opened with “It is time for you to leave the United States,” began to be delivered in late March.

Connecticut-born lawyer Timothy J. Brenner was among those to receive an email.

“I just thought it was absurd,” he said. “I became concerned that the administration has a list of immigration attorneys or a database that they’re trying to target to harass.”

CBP confirmed that they were terminating the legal status for those who used CBP One, and said it was addressing unintended recipients on a case-by-case basis.

U.S. financial markets are expected to open with big gains after the President said he would not fire the head of the central bank and signalled a de-escalation in the trade war with China.

Donald Trump had spooked markets when he said he could “terminate” Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, but on Tuesday he walked those comments back.

“I have no intention of firing him,” he said.

Trump also said that tariffs on China would fall, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the trade war was unsustainable and a de-escalation was coming.

Before the bell on Wednesday, Dow Jones futures climbed up 1.9 percent while S&P 500 futures rose 2.6 percent and Nasdaq futures jumped by a full 3 percent.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, told Associated Press that markets will continue to monitor the latest White House rhetoric on tariffs and trade.

“As such, market direction will more likely than not continue to be dictated by Trump’s latest whims regarding tariffs and trade,” he said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed without basis that teenage boys have less testosterone than 68-year-old men.

RFK Jr declared it an “existential problem” in an interview on Fox News, adding that sperm counts have dropped 50 percent worldwide.

“We have fertility rates that are just spiraling. A teenager today, an American teenager, has less testosterone than a 68-year-old man,” he said.

He also peddled misinformation about autism, claiming it was worse than Covid-19, which has killed millions around the world.

U.K Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says Britain is making progress on a trade deal with the U.S.

During prime minister’s questions, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said British farmers were worried about what a trade deal with the Trump administration would look like, and were concerned a bad deal could see local businesses undercut by poor-quality imported meat.

“So will the Prime Minister guarantee a vote in this House on any trade deal that he agrees with the United States?” he asked.

The prime minister said the Liberal Democrat raised “a really important point of real interest” to farmers.

“We will negotiate, as he would expect, in the national interest and uphold the highest animal welfare standards,” Sir Keir said.

“We are making progress on that and then there will be a process if a deal is reached.”

Leaks against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have continued after it was revealed he had discussed military strikes on Houthis in a second Signal chat.

Hegseth’s brother, personal lawyer and wife were in the second group chat, the New York Times reported. The first group chat came to light after the Atlantic’s editor reported he had been added to the group by mistake.

Hegseth has grown increasingly paranoid about leaks, multiple sources told CNN, and he has depended on a small circle of confidants including his wife, Jennifer.

While Hegseth’s brother and lawyer have official Defense Department positions, his wife does not.

A source told CNN that Jennifer had submitted paperwork for a security clearance, but it was unclear if that application had been approved.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said Jennifer had “never attended a meeting where sensitive information or classified information was discussed.”

Three officials told NBC news that Hegseth had used his personal phone to send sensitive information to two group chats.