Author: potus

(The Center Square) – U.S. markets dropped off sharply Tuesday after President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and another 10% duty on imports from China in an escalating trade war.The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks blue-chip industrials, fell about 1.5%, or 670.25 points points on Tuesday adding to a 650-point drop on Monday. The broader S&P 500 eliminated all post-election gains during Tuesday’s session as it dropped about 1.2%. The S&P hit its lowest level in four months.The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite, which traded in the green briefly, closed down about 0.4%. Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported…

Facing the threat of tariffs from President Trump after he took office, Mexico bent over backward to comply with his demands.Almost immediately, the government moved to secure its northern border, severely stanching migration to the United States. Then it hunted cartel leaders in a dangerous fentanyl stronghold. And just last week, in a once-in-a-generation move, it delivered into U.S. custody 29 of the country’s most powerful drug lords.But even after all of that, Mr. Trump imposed the tariffs anyway, shaking global markets. The move left officials in both countries baffled about what the White House was trying to accomplish and…

Elizabeth Oyer’s job as the U.S. pardon attorney is to run the process by which people apply for and receive clemency. A onetime federal public defender from Maryland, she is a nonpartisan advocate for second chances.That’s why two statements from her in the past month carried so much meaning.Follow live politics coverage hereOne came after President Donald Trump appointed former federal inmate Alice Marie Johnson — who was once serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug crime — as his new “pardon czar” late last month. Oyer applauded the move. “Alice is an inspiring and effective advocate, a wonderful and…

President Trump made one of the biggest gambles of his presidency Tuesday by initiating sweeping tariffs with no clear rationale on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, triggering a trade war that risks undermining the United States economy.His actions have upended diplomatic relations with America’s largest trading partners, sent markets tumbling, and provoked retaliation on U.S. products — leaving businesses, investors and economists puzzled as to why Mr. Trump would create such upheaval without extended negotiations or clear reasoning.Mr. Trump has offered up a variety of explanations for the tariffs, saying they are punishment for other countries’ failure to stop…

Sweeping tariffs imposed by President Trump threatened economic upheaval for consumers and businesses in the United States on Tuesday as the country’s biggest trading partners struck back, raising fears of a burgeoning trade war.Canada and China swiftly condemned the U.S. tariffs and announced retaliatory tariffs against American exports. President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said that if the U.S. tariffs were still in place on Sunday, she, too, would announce countermeasures.“This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said in a stern and,…

President Trump will address the joint session of Congress on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., expected to lay out his aggressive agenda for remaking the federal government and shifting U.S. foreign policy during his first televised prime-time speech of his second term.Mr. Trump is expected to speak about the sweeping staff firings affecting nearly every corner of the federal government. He is also likely to address the strained relationship with Ukraine after the Oval Office blowup with the country’s leader last week, as he has sought to improve ties with Russia while pushing through a critical minerals deal with Ukraine.The…

(The Center Square) – Enbridge cannot move forward with Line 5 construction until there is a resolution of a contested case filed in December.Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy ruled the group of petitioners showed that continued work “would cause significant adverse impacts resulting in irreversible environmental harm” and therefore the case would need to reach its result before Enbridge can move forward on further work or permits.The Bad River Band filed a pair of December challenges to a proposed Line 5 reroute that had been approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and still requires federal approval from…

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump took to social media Tuesday to warn Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that additional tariffs could follow the 25% duty added to imports from Canada.”Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. That came after Trump posted “IF COMPANIES MOVE TO THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE NO TARIFFS!!!”Trump’s posts were in response to Trudeau’s comments during an earlier news conference. Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and…

(The Center Square) – The Tennessee House Health Committee voted Tuesday to remove soft drinks and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, following the lead of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.House Bill 1236 does not change any eligibility requirements for the program, commonly known as SNAP, but restricts the purchase of soft drinks and candy using program funds.The bill would require the state to follow the federal definitions of “candy” and “soft drinks” but there is not one, the bill’s sponsor said.Kennedy said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published before his appointment to the Trump…

(L-R) Attorney Alina Habba speaks as Donald Trump looks on during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City on Sept. 6, 2024.Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump’s top lawyer Alina Habba on Tuesday questioned whether some military veterans fired from federal government jobs as part of an ongoing workforce reduction are capable of working or willing to do so.”You know, we care about veterans tremendously,” Habba told reporters at the White House.”But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually…