China retaliates against Trump tariffs
China today announced it is imposing 34% retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the U.S. in response to Donald Trump’s new 34% tariff on Chinese goods announced yesterday. Trump’s new 34% tariff against China is on top of his previously announced 20% tariff on Chinese products. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said what Trump has done with his sweeping tariffs is pushing the U.S. toward a recession and, in Schumer’s words, is one of the dumbest moves in history.
Wall Street faces more losses due to tariffs
Wall Street faced a second straight day of massive losses following Thursday’s loss of $3 trillion in wealth because of the tariffs Donald Trump put into effect. The Dow Jones Industrial Stock Average was down more than 1,100 points after futures indicated a loss of 1,200 points at the opening, following yesterday’s 1,679 point loss. S&P 500 stock futures were down about 3% for Friday. NASDAQ futures were down 2.8% for Friday’s opening.
Assault on Social Security continues
The Trump Administration continues its actions against Social Security by cutting 30% of the technical staff that keeps the agency’s computers running. The personnel cuts are being made even though the Social Security computers recently have been having more problems than usual. One system was out of commission for several hours this week, according to CNN. Social Security officials declined to comment when CNN asked for details on the cuts of technical personnel.
Trump fires National Security Council officials
Donald Trump has fired some employees at the National Security Council after right-wing activist Laura Loomer complained to him about staff members who she felt were not loyal enough to Trump. Trump defended Loomer as a patriot and admitted that she asked him to hire certain people. Among the security experts reported to have been fired were: Director for Intelligence Brian Walsh; Thomas Boodry, senior director for legislative affairs; and David Feith, senior director for technology and national security.
Measles continues to spread
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that as of March 27 there were 483 confirmed cases of measles reported in 19 states. In addition, there were 22 new cases confirmed in Texas in the past five days. About 97% of the cases involve people who have not been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. The CDC still recommends two vaccine doses for children to produce 97% immunity from the disease even though the head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., opposes vaccination and called for using Vitamin A to treat children who come down with measles.
Putin accused of delaying ceasefire
Britain and France today accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet on implementing a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Speaking in Brussels today, officials of both countries denounced Putin for delaying peace talks and rejecting the plan put forward by the U.S. for a 30-day ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the negotiations have reached the stage where genuine progress is needed. A Kremlin spokesman said today that progress toward a ceasefire is being made.
