Trump Orders US Military to Resume Nuclear Testing, Meets with Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump ordered the US military to resume nuclear testing just minutes before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the two leaders were able to reach a successful agreement.

Just before his meeting with Xi, Trump announced on social media that he had instructed the newly-named Department of War to resume nuclear testing, matching the actions of other countries. The US maintains the second-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, but they have not tested nuclear weapons since 1992.

Other nations like North Korea, Russia, and China are already conducting nuclear tests, and they are all making advancements with new weapons and strategies. Now, Trump has told the military to bring back these tests in order to be ready for attack and advance their own nuclear program.

He did not specify where these tests will take place, but they will likely resume testing in the Nevada desert, which is mostly government land and has been used for nuclear testing in the past.

Then, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived. Trump talked with Xi for less than two hours in the city of Busan, South Korea, but he was quick to acknowledge that they had made some major progress. When asked to consider their agreements during the meeting on a scale of 1 to 10, Trump declared that he thought of it as a 12.

The first and most important item on Trump's agenda was to settle their argument over rare earths, which could have proven costly for the United States. China is the world's largest supplier and processor of rare earths and critical minerals, which are used for various technological purposes, allowing them to keep a tight grip over the world's supply. However, this also puts other countries at risk, and tension between the US and China quickly escalated after the latter announced new export restrictions on rare earths several weeks ago.

After the meeting, though, Trump confirmed that he had discussed the issue with Xi, and they had established a framework for a one-year deal that would be extended each year. This deal would allow for no restrictions on rare earths from China in exchange for the removal of 50% economic sanctions and export controls from the US.

Another major topic, among others, that was discussed was tariffs. According to Trump, Xi plans to take significant action to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Because of this, Trump has lowered the US tariff on China to just 10%, and China has lowered their levies on US goods as well.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): When shuffling a deck of cards, the number of possible arrangements is approximately 8 × 10⁶⁷. That’s more than the number of stars in the observable universe.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Indeed, the test of orderliness in a country is not the number of millionaires it owns, but the absence of starvation among its masses. (Mahatma Gandhi)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Deliquesce (verb, del-ih-KWESS) - Deliquesce can mean "to dissolve or melt away" or, in reference to some fungal structures (such as mushroom gills), "to become soft or liquid with age or maturity."

In a Sentence: The mushrooms deliquesced into an inky fluid.

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