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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt found herself under pressure on Tuesday when reporters repeatedly asked why President Donald Trump had undergone an MRI during a recent visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center last week. Leavitt offered little clarity, saying only that she would “check back,” while insisting the president remained in “optimal physical health.”The questions came after the 79-year-old MAGA chief revealed last week that he had undergone both an MRI and a cognitive test during a visit to the military hospital. The disclosure came just six months after his annual physical in April.During the briefing, CNN’s Kristen Holmes asked, “Why did President Trump get an MRI during his recent visit to Walter Reed?” Leavitt responded that the visit had been a “follow-up appointment” and repeated that the president was in “optimal physical health.” When Holmes pressed further, noting that an MRI is “a very specific procedure” and not typically part of a routine exam, Lea..

Actress Sydney Sweeney has spoken out for the first time about the storm surrounding her viral American Eagle campaign, which drew both fierce criticism and unexpected praise from political leaders. The ad, featuring the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” sparked accusations of promoting “whiteness” and eugenics. Now, Sweeney says the experience was “surreal,” after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance came to her defence amid the escalating culture war over the ad.Sydney Sweeney calls the experience “surreal”In a recent GQ interview promoting her film Christy, Sweeney described her reaction to seeing the nation’s top leaders discuss her ad. “It was surreal,” she said, adding that she never expected a simple brand campaign to become part of a national conversation about race and identity.Sweeney also addressed reports claiming the controversy hurt American Eagle’s sales. “I was aware of the numbers as it was going,” she said. “So when I saw headlines saying in-stor..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaDiplomacyTrump signs order to lower fentanyl-related tariffs targeting ChinaThe lowering of additional duties from 20 per cent to 10 per cent formalises a deal the US president struck with Chinese leader Xi Jinping
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 7:35am, 5 Nov 2025US President Donald Trump signed an order on Tuesday to lower fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese products, formalising a key part of his deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after their first face-to-face talks in years.
AdvertisementShortly after returning to the presidency this year, Trump imposed additional tariffs of 20 per cent on goods from China over its alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.
But China has since committed efforts to halting the flow of precursors used to make fentanyl into the United States, after Trump and Xi’s summit last month in Busan, South Korea.
In turn, Washington pledged that it would cut its additional tariffs o..

AdvertisementHong Kong politicsHong KongPoliticsExclusive | 30% of 161 Hong Kong Legco election candidates linked to mainland Chinese firmsHigher proportion marks significant increase from 2021 poll and reflects growing prominence of mainland capital in Hong Kong’s economy
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMatthew ChengPublished: 7:30am, 5 Nov 2025Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election has seen a significant increase in candidates linked to mainland Chinese enterprises, with at least 49 – almost a third of the total – affiliated with such firms, up 50 per cent from 2021.
AdvertisementThe higher proportion reflected the growing prominence of mainland capital in Hong Kong’s economy and Beijing’s push for Legco to drive the city’s integration into national development, a political scholar said.
A check by the Post found that among the 161 candidates who signed up for the December 7 poll, at least 49 – or nearly 30 per cent – hold positions or serve as independent direct..

Elon Musk has thrown his support behind Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s heated mayoral race and advised New Yorkers to not go for the 'socialist' Zohran Mamdani.In a post on X, the Tesla and SpaceX chief urged New Yorkers to “remember to vote tomorrow,” warning that “a vote for Curtis [Sliwa] is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.” He ended his post with a blunt message: “VOTE CUOMO!”The endorsement aligns Musk with several billionaire figures who have rallied against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, including Mike Bloomberg, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. US President Donald Trump also said he preferred Cuomo, calling him the “lesser evil” compared to Mamdani in a CBS 60 Minutes interview. The MAGA chief said he would rather have Cuomo — whom he called a “bad Democrat” — as New York City’s mayor than a “communist,” referring to Mamdani.About the candidates
Zohran Mamdani is a progressive state assemblyman from Queens who ha..

Thousands of truck drivers across the United States have been barred from operating after failing newly enforced English proficiency tests, with Indian-origin and Latino drivers among those most affected. The rule, reinstated under Donald Trump’s administration, has raised alarm among trucking companies and worker groups, who say it unfairly targets immigrant drivers. It could worsen the ongoing truck driver shortage.Since June, more than 6,000 commercial truckers have been taken off the road for failing roadside English-language checks, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) data. FreightWaves, a transport and logistics outlet, reported that at least 5,006 “English language-related out-of-service violations” were recorded through October, a number that continues to climb as states increase enforcementLast week, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, in a post on X, said that “7248 drivers placed out of service for failing to mee..