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Target cuts annual forecasts as tariff pressure mounts

(Reuters) — Target slashed its annual sales forecast on Wednesday, after a surprisingly sharp fall in quarterly same-store sales, as customers pulled back on discretionary purchases due to ongoing worries about inflation and the economy due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

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Target also said its first-quarter performance was affected by negative reactions to its pullback on diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI) in January, which angered some loyal customers who have long praised the company’s commitment to inclusiveness. Shares of the company fell 4% in afternoon trading, continuing a run of weakness. In the last 12 months, the stock has lost 40% of its value, while Costco shares have gained 30% and Walmart shares have doubled. Target has struggled with merchandise missteps, retail crime, and inventory management. Over the past year it has faced challenges in maintaining steady sales growth, dealt with boycotts and lawsuits related to its DEI practices and relied heavily on sourcing from countries where Donald Trump has placed broad-based tariffs.

Target said Wednesday it now expects a low-single digit decline in annual sales, a surprise for Wall Street analysts, who expected a 0.27% rise, according to LSEG. Target previously forecast net sales growth of around 1%. The big-box retailer’s results showcase the pressure American consumers are under. In May, consumer sentiment slumped further while one-year inflation expectations surged. Still, Target’s forecast contrasts with bigger rival Walmart, which maintained its annual forecasts last week but said it would need to pass on higher prices due to tariffs. That drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who said Walmart should “eat the tariffs” on imported goods.

US Army to change records to birth sex for trans soldiers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Army will alter the records of transgender soldiers to show only their sex at birth, according to internal guidance seen by Reuters that details a series of steps it will take as it pushes them out of the service.

“Commanders will take immediate measures to update personnel records and administrative systems to reflect biological sex for all individuals,” the 14-page memo stated.

The Army considered a person’s sex to be “unchanging during a person’s life,” it said, echoing a February 26 Pentagon memo.

The Army document illustrates how President Donald Trump’s administration intends to treat thousands of transgender troops after the Supreme Court’s ruling this month cleared the way for the Pentagon to implement a ban on their service.

Reuters first reported on May 8 the Pentagon’s plans to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6. On May 12, it detailed plans to halt gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops.

Flash floods force Australians to rooftops

SYDNEY (Reuters) — Heavy rain in Australia’s southeast triggered flash flooding and cut off entire towns on Wednesday, stranding some residents on the roofs of their homes, as authorities issued snap evacuation orders with rivers staying above danger levels.

Rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, were the worst hit from the downpour, with some areas receiving more than four months worth of rain over the past 24 hours.

“We have seen an enormous amount of rainfall,” New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib told reporters.

“We’ve got a situation here where the rain really has been falling quite heavily and quite hard, and it hasn’t been moving away. Part of that is because the ground is saturated and another part is also because the rivers are swollen.”

In its latest update, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said some areas could receive up to 300 mm (12 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours, three times the mean total for May.

Images shared on social media showed some residents sitting inside their homes ankle-deep in water waiting for rescue crews.

In the towns of Taree and Glenthorne, which sit along the Manning River more than 300 km (186 miles) north of Sydney, some residents were trapped on verandas and roofs with emergency crews struggling overnight to access the area by boat or air, authorities said.

“We didn’t expect this amount of water,” Glenthorne resident Jordan Halloran told ABC News.

“Our neighbours will have to go onto the roof next and if we’re not rescued, I would say we will have to make our way to the roof as well.”

Suicide bomber kills five on school bus in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) — Three children were among at least five people killed when a suicide bomber struck an army school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday, in an attack that Pakistan blamed on Indian proxies.

About 40 students were on the bus, which was headed to an army-run school, and several sustained injuries, said Yasir Iqbal, administrator of Khuzdar district, where the incident took place.

Pakistan’s military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif swiftly condemned the violence and accused “Indian terror proxies” of involvement, although they did not share any evidence linking the attack to New Delhi.