Hegseth taking questions as Trump demands Iran's surrender to Israel

Washington, Jun 18 (AP) Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for another potentially combative hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee as airstrikes between Iran and Israel threaten a potentially devastating wider war.
     President Donald Trump has demanded Iran's “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that joining the Israeli strikes will “result in irreparable damage" for the United States.”
     TikTok still isn't banned: Trump is expected to sign yet another order extending the deadline for TikTok's Chinese owner to divest the popular video-sharing app. Despite a ban on the app in the US that went into effect the day before Trump's inauguration, this will be the third time Trump has extended the deadline.
     A federal judge has blocked the administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is “ alert and recovering” after being hospitalized out of caution following an allergic reaction, department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
     Here is the Latest:
    
     Businesses hope to recover after military response to Los Angeles protests     With an overnight curfew lifted but military troops still guarding the the downtown federal detention building, boarded-up businesses in the adjacent Little Tokyo district hope customers will return quickly.
     Don Tahara, the owner of Far Bar, said the historic Japanese American neighbourhood has lost business and suffered some vandalism and break-ins after thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to Trump's immigration crackdown.
     But Tahara, a third-generation Japanese American immigrant, said the protests are a necessary response, and compared the Trump administration's immigration raids to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
     “The problems that Little Tokyo had 75 years ago was basically the federal government coming in and imprisoning all of them in concentration camps,” Tahara said. “They were uprooted from their homes and businesses, their churches ... we're seeing a repeat of that.”
    
     Job growth suggests Trump's trade policies are weighing on economy
     So far this year, employers are adding a decent but far from spectacular 124,000 jobs a month, down from an average 168,000 last year and an average of nearly 400,000 from 2021 through 2023.
     The slowdown is partly the drawn-out result of 11 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023. But Trump's aggressive and often-erratic trade policies — including 10 per cent taxes on imports from almost every country on earth — are also weighing on the economy, paralysing businesses and worrying consumers who fear they'll mean higher prices.
     The Fed, satisfied that an inflation was coming down, cut rates three times last year. But the central bank has turned cautious in 2025, worried that Trump's tariffs will rekindle inflationary pressures. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged as it wraps up a two-day meeting Wednesday.
    
     Unemployment claims dip amid signs economy is decelerating
     The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dipped to 245,000 last week, hovering at historically low levels, while the Labor Department said the four-week average rose to 245,500, the highest since August 2023.
     Weekly unemployment claim are a proxy for layoffs and mostly have stayed within a healthy band of 200,000 to 250,000 since the economy recovered from a brief but painful COVID-19 recession in 2020, which temporarily wiped out millions of jobs.
     In recent weeks, however, claims have stayed at the high end of range, adding to evidence that US job market is decelerating after years of strong hiring.
    
     Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates      Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans.
     The questions — which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers — may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war.
     But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security.
     The US has shifted significant numbers of refuelling tankers and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect US personnel and airbases.
    
     Trump says new magnificent' flagpoles to be installed at White House          Trump says that the two new flagpoles he's paying for will be installed Wednesday on the White House grounds.
     The White House broke ground last week on construction projects ordered by Trump to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden and install flagpoles on the north and south lawns.
     The projects are part of a series of personal touches that Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, has added or is adding to the Executive Mansion and its grounds since he opened his second term in January.
     “These are the most magnificent poles made,” Trump said in a social media posting “They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality. Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!”
    
     36 countries face Wednesday deadline to commit to addressing US travel concerns
     A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department instructs embassies and consulates in the 36 countries, mostly in Africa, to gauge willingness to commit to improving their citizens' travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals in the US illegally.
     Countries that fail to address the concerns within 60 days risk being added to the US travel ban.
     The cable says the countries should reply by Wednesday 8 pm ET. There is no specific consequence outlined for countries that do not respond or commit.
     State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the specifics in the cable, which was described to The Associated Press, but said the administration wanted nations to improve their own vetting processes for passport-holders, accept their nationals deported from the US and take other steps to ensure their citizens are not a threat to the US.
     The Washington Post first reported on the cable. (AP) GRS
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)