Donald Trump

Subterms

    More stories

    • 188 Shares119 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: president unleashes slew of new tariff rates for trading partners

      by

      Donald Trump has signed an executive order placing tariffs on dozens of US trading partners just hours before the 1 August deadline he set for deals to be done.The new tariffs, the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy, are set to go into effect in seven days. The extension reflects the government’s need for more time to harmonize the tariff rates, AP reports, according to a senior official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.The order applies to 68 countries and the 27-member European Union. Rates were set at 25% for India’s US-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan, 19% for Thailand and 15% for South Korea.Trump also increased duties on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% for all products not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal. Trump had threatened on Wednesday that Ottawa’s move to recognise a Palestinian state would make agreeing a trade deal “very hard”.Asian shares fell on Friday after the tariffs announcement.Read on for more on tariffs and other key US politics news of the day:Trump imposes tariffs of 10% to 41% on dozens of countries, hours before deadlineUS president Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations, as he extended the deadline for a tariff deal with Mexico by another 90 days.Rates were set at 25% for India’s US-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan and 30% for South Africa ahead of Trump’s self-imposed deadline to strike trade deals with countries around the world by 1 August. Brazil’s tariff rate was set at 10%, but a previous order signed by Trump placed a 40% tariff on some Brazilian goods, to punish the country for prosecuting its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for trying to overturn an election he lost and inspiring his supporters to storm the seat of government.Separately, the White House announced that Canadian imports will face tariffs of 35%, not the current 25%. Trump had threatened on Wednesday that Ottawa’s move to recognise a Palestinian state would make agreeing a trade deal “very hard”.Read the full storyTrump signs order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods from 25% to 35%Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday increasing tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the United States from 25% to 35%.The new import tax rates goes into effect on Friday, according to a White House factsheet. The tariff would cover all products not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Goods transshipped to another country to evade the new tariffs would be subject to a transshipment levy of 40%.The decision comes after months of tariff threats from the Trump administration, and escalating trade tensions that have sowed anger in Canada.Read the full storyTrump threatens drug giants with crackdown over pricesDonald Trump has threatened to use “every tool in our arsenal” to crack down on pharmaceutical companies if they fail to cut drug prices for Americans within 60 days.The president wrote to executives at 17 companies on Thursday, demanding they match their US prices for prescription drugs with the lowest price offered in other developed nations.Read the full storyExecutive order brings back presidential fitness test in schoolsDonald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to bring back the presidential fitness test, a series of physical tests for schoolchildren in the US that was in place for decades but suspended 12 years ago to focus less on competition and more on healthy lifestyles.Read the full storyHegseth aides used polygraphs against colleaguesSenior aides to the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, conducted polygraphs on their own colleagues this spring, in some cases as part of an effort to flush out anyone who leaked to the media and apparently to undercut rivals in others, according to four people familiar with the matter.Read the full storyFema denies grants to Kentucky counties ravaged by stormsThe Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) denied requests for three Kentucky counties affected by severe storms last spring, and deemed the state ineligible for hazard mitigation grants that would help prepare for future disasters.Read the full storyTrump to build ‘beautiful’ $200m ballroom at White HouseThe White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom to be ready before Donald Trump’s term ends in early 2029.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the building will be 90,000 sq ft and will hold up to 650 seats.It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “the People’s House” since the Republican president returned to office in January. It also will be the first structural change to the executive mansion itself since the addition of the Truman Balcony in 1948.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      British singer Jess Glynne says she feels “sick” that the Trump administration was using her music to promote immigration deportations.

      The Pentagon will remove 1,350 national guard troops from Los Angelesoriginally sent to the state by the Trump administration to deal with protests over its immigration policies.

      Donald Trump evaded the question when asked if he agrees with Marjorie Taylor Greene that “what is occurring [in Gaza] is a genocide”. Trump replied: “Oh it’s terrible what’s occurring there, yeah”, before repeating his complaint that “nobody said thank you” when the US donated money to feed the people of Gaza, and his false claim that the recent donation of $30m was $60m.

      Reuters reports the Trump administration has sent a letter to Harvard informing the university it has referred been referred to the Department of Justice, to address allegations of antisemitic discrimination.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened 30 July 2025. More

    • 100 Shares69 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump threatens drug giants with crackdown over prices

      by

      Donald Trump has threatened to use “every tool in our arsenal” to crack down on pharmaceutical giants if they fail to cut drug prices for Americans within 60 days.The president wrote to executives at 17 companies on Thursday, demanding they match their US prices for prescription drugs with the lowest price offered in other developed nations.Current prices were an “unacceptable burden” on US families, Trump said, claiming they could be up to three times higher than in other countries.After returning to the White House earlier this year and pledging to bring down drug prices, the president claimed that “most proposals” from the pharmaceutical industry amounted to “more of the same”, accusing firms of seeking to shift blame and requesting policies that would pave the way for handouts worths billions of dollars for the sector.“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” Trump wrote. “But if you refuse to step up we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.“Americans are demanding lower drug prices, and they need them today.”The bosses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK were among those who received the letters. GSK did not respond to requests for comment. AstraZeneca declined to comment.Pfizer said: “Pfizer is working closely with the Trump administration and Congress on solutions that will increase access and affordability for American patients and enhance the power of the biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem in the United States. Our discussions have been productive.”Shares in Pfizer slipped 2%, AstraZeneca fell 3.8% and GSK dropped 3.9% during afternoon trading in New York.At the heart of of Trump’s proposal is a status known as “Most Favored Nation”, through which he wants to bind the cost of medications sold in the US to the lowest prices paid elsewhere.The White House is demanding that pharmaceutical companies extend this to drugs used by older people through the government-backed Medicaid health program, as well as new drugs. More

    • 163 Shares118 Views

      in US Politics

      Jess Glynne feels ‘sick’ over use of Jet2 song to promote US deportations

      by

      It is the internet meme of the summer, sparking laughter and thousands of wry smiles at the pitfalls of a British summer holiday.But the journey of the viral Jet2 holiday advert – with its promotional voiceover played out over cheerless summer holiday footage, including water-slide disasters and images of pouring rain – took a darker turn this week when it was used by the White House in a post on X to promote Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) deportations.Jess Glynne – whose 2015 single Hold My Hand accompanies the advert – responded to the post on Wednesday, saying she felt “sick” that her music was being used to spread “division and hate”.She told the Guardian on Thursday: “I’m devastated to see my song used in this way. Hold My Hand was written about love, support, and standing by someone through everything – it’s meant to offer hope and empowerment. Using it to promote something I fundamentally disagree with goes completely against the message of the song.”On Thursday afternoon Jet2 also condemned the post, saying it was “disappointed to see our brand being used to promote government policy such as this”.The official White House account posted a clip on X on Wednesday evening showing people wearing handcuffs and being taken out of cars and on to planes, captioned: “When Ice books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!”In the six months since Donald Trump took office, the US president has supercharged the country’s immigration enforcement, overseeing a sweeping mass arrest and incarceration scheme, which resulted in a record number of arrests by immigration officers in June, according to Guardian analysis.The post delighted Trump supporters but was decried as disgusting, embarrassing and unchristian by critics. Glynne, who has previously joined in with the fun spirit of the Jet2 holidays meme by posting a TikTok video miming the voiceover, expressed her disapproval of the White House’s appropriation of the trend on Instagram.“This post honestly makes me sick,” she wrote. “My music is about love, unity and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.”Jet2 had previously appeared to welcome the extra publicity generated by the meme, launching a challenge that offered a £1,000 holiday voucher as a prize.A spokesperson said the company welcomed the “good humour” of the viral phenomenon, but not the White House’s contribution. “We are of course aware of a post from the White House social media account,” they said. “This is not endorsed by us in any way, and we are very disappointed to see our brand being used to promote government policy such as this.”The advert’s voiceover actor, Zoë Lister, said she would never condone her voiceover “being used in promotion with Trump and his abhorrent policies”.She told the BBC: “The Jet2 meme has spread a lot of joy and humour around the world, but the White House video shows that Trump has neither.”The White House Ice deportation post is the latest example of an unorthodox digital communications strategy that has veered away from previous administrations’ traditional – and relatively sedate – use of social media platforms.In February, the White House used X to promote Trump’s congestion pricing policy, posting a fake Time magazine front cover portraying the president as a monarch, along with the phrase: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”The post was described as “revoltingly un-American” by Adam Keiper, the executive editor of the conservative Bulwark news site, while New York state’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, said: “New York hasn’t laboured under a king in over 250 years and we sure as hell are not going to start now.”The administration also faced criticism after Trump shared an AI-generated video that showed him in a transformed, glittering Gaza, topless and sipping a cocktail with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. After criticism, the administration recently posted on X: “Nowhere in the constitution does it say we can’t post banger memes.”Last month the Trump administration appeared to be on track to oversee one of the deadliest years for immigrant detention after the deaths of two men – one from Cuba and another from Canada – while in federal custody.Human rights experts have raised concerns about the detention of children with their parents at the newly recommissioned “family detention centres” in Texas, and while Trump has repeatedly claimed his administration is trying to arrest and deport “dangerous criminals”, analysis shows that most of the people Ice is now arresting have never been convicted of a crime. More

    • 188 Shares111 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump’s tariffs face skepticism in court hours before latest round is set to kick in

      by

      Donald Trump’s global tariffs faced significant skepticism in a federal appeals court on Thursday, as judges investigated whether the president had overstretched his powers just hours before the latest sweeping round of duties is set to kick in.The full 11-strong bench of the US court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington DC is considering whether Trump exceeded his authority in imposing “reciprocal” tariffs on a large number of US trading partners.Judges repeatedly asked if Trump was justified in relying on emergency powers to effectively tear up the US tariff schedule without consulting Congress.Businesses challenging his strategy accused the White House of engineering a “breathtaking” attempt to force it through, unlike any trade move attempted by a US administration in two centuries.The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump has used to invoke emergency powers and enforce many of his tariffs, “doesn’t even say ‘tariffs’”, one of the judges noted. “Doesn’t even mention them.”In May a three-judge panel of the court of international trade blocked the import duties on grounds that Trump’s use of IEEPA was unjustified. The appeals court has stayed that ruling pending the outcome of Thursday’s hearing.“The government uses IEEPA all the time,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general in the justice department’s civil division, representing the administration, to the court. He conceded, however, that it was the first IEEPA had been used to implement tariffs.The US trade deficit – the gap between what it imports to and exports from the world – has “reached a tipping point”, claimed Shumate, enabling Trump to take emergency action. “It’s affecting our military readiness,” he said. “It’s affecting our domestic manufacturing capability.”But Neal Katyal, a lawyer representing businesses challenging the tariffs, argued that Trump was laying a “breathtaking claim to power that no president has asserted in 200 years”.The administration is effectively saying “that our federal courts are powerless; that the president can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, for as long he wants – so long as he declares an emergency”, Katyal argued.Trump posted about the hearing on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, calling it “America’s big case”. He said: “If our Country was not able to protect itself by using TARIFFS AGAINST TARIFFS, WE WOULD BE ‘DEAD,’ WITH NO CHANCE OF SURVIVAL OR SUCCESS.”“Now the tide has completely turned, and America has successfully countered this onslaught of Tariffs used against it,” the president claimed. “ONE YEAR AGO, AMERICA WAS A DEAD COUNTRY, NOW IT IS THE ‘HOTTEST’ COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.”The challenge to Trump’s use of emergency powers has been brought by five small businesses acting alongside 12 Democratic-controlled states. They argue that the IEEPA was designed to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats arising in national emergencies, and that the reason for the tariffs do not meet that standard.The small businesses are being represented by a libertarian public interest law firm, the Liberty Justice Center. The non-profit is supported by billionaire rightwing donors including Robert Mercer and Richard Uihlein, who, paradoxically, have also been major backers of Trump’s presidential campaigns. More

    • 163 Shares90 Views

      in US Politics

      Canada braces as tariff deadline looms and talks with US ‘chaos machine’ drag

      by

      After months of tariff threats from the US and escalating trade tensions that have sowed anger in Canada and fractured a once-close alliance, the country is now fast approaching a 1 August deadline to reach a deal with the Trump administration – which has shown no signs of backing down.And observers are keeping a close eye on negotiations this week to determine whether too large a chasm has grown between the countries, resulting in what could be an explosive end to what was decades of free-flowing trade.Canada is also in a highly vulnerable position, as it has closely intertwined its economy with the US’s, and is extremely reliant on a low-barrier trade environment, said William Huggins, an assistant professor in economics at McMaster University in Ontario.“Canada has tried to negotiate sort of forcefully from a position of not acquiescing to every demand, but by the same token, has also realised it’s not in the strongest position to do so … We’ve had to navigate carefully,” said Huggins.The Canadian public is also anxiously awaiting the deadline to strike up a deal. Economists and political scientists say the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, was elected on the belief that he’s the right person to be at the helm of negotiations and lead Canada through a tenuous period with their southern neighbour.His successes or failures in this arena could affect public perception – as he has characterised his government as being the most adept in the crisis around its sovereignty due to the tariffs and Donald Trump’s persistent claims that he’d like to make Canada the 51st state.“[Carney] is in a situation where he doesn’t hold all the cards and whoever we put in was going to have to figure out a way through this … [His] ability to plan is severely limited by the chaos machine that is operating south of the border,” said Dennis Pilon, the chair of the politics department at York University in Ontario.On Monday, Carney said at a news conference on Prince Edward Island that the trade negotiations are at an “intense pace” and that they are “complex”. But he projected tentative optimism, stating that the negotiations are “tough” because the government is standing up for Canadian interests.“There is a landing zone that’s possible but we have to get there. We’ll see what happens,” he told reporters.But Trump spoke of the negotiations flippantly when asked by reporters outside the White House last Friday. “We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada … Canada could be one where there’s just a tariff, not really a negotiation,” he said.So far, much of the talks have happened behind closed doors. There was a glimpse into what could be the dynamic between Carney and Trump when the prime minister had his first meeting with the president in the Oval Office in early May. There were positive tones in both initially offering praise for each other, but the encounter quickly grew tense as Trump repeated his annexation claims, which were subsequently rebuffed by Carney.Since March, Trump has imposed several tariffs on Canadian goods and energy resources. There is a 25% tariff on all goods, excluding potash and energy products. But there’s separately a 10% tariff on energy resources, including potash. Additionally, there’s a further 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imports and a 25% tariff on autos and auto parts.At this stage, the tariffs have seemingly not delivered a significant blow to Canada’s economy, but that could change quickly. The Royal Bank of Canada noted in its June forecast that nearly 90% of Canadian goods are exempt from tariffs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the free trade deal that replaced Nafta in 2020 and which provides a degree of insulation.In an assessment published by the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) on Tuesday, it reported that energy exports have not been significantly affected by the tariffs, as most exports are compliant under the USMCA, and are therefore exempt from tariffs.Some of the insulation so far from tariffs could be from opening Canada up to other markets. TD said that in the past four months, Canadian businesses rapidly moved to reorient supply chains and export to non-US markets. Now about 30% of exports go outside the US – a level not seen since the pandemic, when TD notes there was disorientation in trade.But TD also warned that the negative effects of the tariffs might be beginning to emerge. It said that Canadian exports to the US are “generally underperforming” in tariff-targeted industries, particularly steel and automaking. Canada’s auto exports fell to levels not seen since late 2022, following the April imposition of tariffs. Automakers have also “slashed” production in response, it said.Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University, said that while there haven’t been many layoffs or a complete reorientation of production lines yet, industries targeted by tariffs are preparing to do so.Lawlor also said that Carney has been prudent in his negotiation strategy so far, and right in waiting for deals to be brokered between the US and other nations, as they were this month with Japan and the EU, to help inform Canada’s strategy.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAnd despite concerns about marred relationships with First Nations people, pushing forward controversial infrastructure legislation and his quick scrapping of Canada’s digital services tax – which many, including top former diplomats, viewed as fawning capitulation toward Trump – the prime minister is still enjoying fairly positive polling in his term’s infancy.Abacus Data reported at the end of June that 52% of Canadians surveyed approve of the Carney government. The research firm states it shows that his post-election honeymoon period is “far from over”.Lawlor said the best outcome for Carney in the negotiations is a favourable trade deal – however, there has been signalling from Carney, in his discussion of “tough” talks so far, that Canadians may have to accept a baseline of tariffs.“Many Canadians just simply will not be satisfied if that is the outcome,” she said. But due to Carney facing limited criticism of his interactions with the Americans so far, Lawlor said she believes the prime minister will not face extreme negative blowback if he doesn’t trounce tariffs for good this week.But he will be more vulnerable if the tariffs start to place downward pressure on multiple industries, she said.As Canadians are waiting and watching for the Friday deal deadline, the real fears are around the cementing of a new world order and whether long-term business and consumer decisions need to be made in response, said Preetika Joshi, an assistant professor at McGill University in Quebec that specialises in taxation.“If you were a business owner and you knew Trump is going to be in power for only three, four years, would you necessarily make big, significant changes in your supply chain … or would you just wait it out?” she said.But given some grim messaging from those close to Carney – Canadians might be facing tough decisions. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-US trade, said last week there’s a lot of work ahead of them and minimised the 1 August deadline.“We’re going to continue to work toward the 1 August deadline,” said LeBlanc to reporters in Washington. “But all of these deadlines are with the understanding that we’ll take the time necessary to get the best deal,” he said.Deal or no deal, the negotiations might reveal that there isn’t a best-case scenario, said Joshi.“What we were used to before Trump, where there were very little tariffs, that reality is slightly over,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see … but the reality is that there are going to be some tariffs.” More

    • 225 Shares69 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump’s Unesco withdrawal is part of a broader assault on democracy | Liesl Gerntholtz and Julie Trebault

      by

      Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States a second time from what is essentially the beacon of global culture and heritage – Unesco – is depressing but unsurprising given the administration’s lack of respect for art and culture that celebrates the diversity of humanity in all of its fullness. But it is still a grave error of moral leadership that harms the United States’ global standing on free expression, human rights and democracy.Earlier this year, he initiated a takeover of the Kennedy Center’s programming and content, and linked National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants to highly partisan ideological conditions. Meanwhile, the government’s attempts at censorship in schools are all but rewriting American history.Trump has also systematically removed the United States from global obligations connected to health, human rights and the betterment of society. This includes withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN human rights council (UNHRC) and in effect the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).It was only a matter of time before Unesco – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – came under fire, representing as it does everything the Trump White House rails against. Unesco’s chief was unsurprised, saying that since the last time Trump was in power and pulled the US out of the organization, they had reduced their reliance on US funding significantly and would be carrying on with its mission.Why, then, does this withdrawal matter? Surely it can be chalked up to another strong-arm tactic designed to make headlines and give the administration some more “America First” policies to boast about. Unfortunately, when it comes to culture, it is not that simple.Culture comes under fire when democracy is dying. Russia’s imprisonment of writers, artists and cultural figures who question official narratives about the war on Ukraine; or the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas – these are examples of how culture becomes both a target and a battleground because it represents identity, memory and freedom of thought – the very things authoritarianism seeks to control or erase.What the US administration has dismissed as “woke” is actually Unesco preserving democratic ideals, teaching the world valuable lessons based in history and protecting artistic freedom – all things that autocrats see as a threat to their ability to control the narrative. It is no small irony that the organization’s recognition of Palestine has also been used as an excuse for the withdrawal, when Unesco is one of the leaders of Holocaust education in the world, and Palestine itself is suffering near total cultural obliteration.It would be a grave error for the United States not to recognize that Trump’s disdain for cultural preservation is part of a broader assault on human rights, democracy, free expression and artistic freedom. It is a story repeated across the world and throughout time. It is notable that one of the few countries to also withdraw from Unesco was South Africa, which withdrew in 1955 in protest against Unesco’s stance against apartheid. During this period of isolation, the apartheid government intensified its control over culture and education, seeking to tightly control the narrative in South Africa and globally about its discriminatory policies.There is still time to reverse this decision. PEN America, which defends free expression worldwide and ARC, the Artists at Risk Connection that protects artistic freedom, urge Congress to oppose this latest move to further isolate the United States globally, and ensure that the country continues to fulfill its international human rights obligations. US funders and foundations should also increase support to writers, journalists and media outlets, artists and cultural institutions, and free expression advocates in countries affected by the shutdown of US foreign assistance.By working with Unescoto commemorate sites of apartheid resistance when it rejoined in 1994, South Africa has shown how global engagement can honor truth and build inclusive memory; the United States, by contrast, risks forfeiting that same moral leadership by retreating from the very institution that makes such progress possible.

      Liesl Gerntholtz is the managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center at PEN America. Julie Trebault is executive director of the Artists at Risk Connection More

    • 163 Shares139 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: president on tariff blitz ahead of August deadline

      by

      Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions against the judge overseeing the prosecution of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro and hit Brazil with huge tariffs amid accusations from the country’s president that Trump has launched “a direct attack on Brazilian democracy”.The US president has partly attributed his 50% tariff to his outrage at the supposed political “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, who is on trial over an alleged coup attempt after the 2022 election.Amid a blitz of tariff announcements, Trump also hit India with a 25% levy and an extra “penalty” because it buys arms and energy from Russia, while imposing a 15% rate on South Korea as part of a trade deal that avoids even higher levies.Domestically, experts say they have “enormous concerns” with a Trump administration initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies.Here are the key stories.Trump accused of attack on Brazil’s democracy over Bolsonaro judge sanctionsAllies of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have accused Donald Trump of launching “a direct attack on Brazilian democracy” after the US treasury slapped sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, the supreme court judge widely credited with helping save Brazilian democracy from a 2022 rightwing coup.The controversial US move was announced on Wednesday by the secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, shortly before Trump followed through on a threat to hit Brazilian imports with 50% tariffs by signing an executive order “to deal with the recent policies, practices and actions by the government of Brazil”.Read the full storyBrazilian president hits back as US tariffs threaten trade showdownLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said he does not fear getting on the wrong side of Donald Trump as South America’s largest economy braces for the introduction of 50% tariffs.Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order confirming the US would impose the rate on Brazil from next week.Read the full storyDivided Fed holds interest rates in face of Trump pressureThe US Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday despite intense pressure from Trump to lower rates. Amid an onslaught of attacks from the White House against the Fed, officials at the central bank said economic “uncertainty” remained too high to lower rates.Read the full storyUS to impose 15% tariffs on South Korea as part of trade deal, Trump saysThe president has said the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the key Asian trading partner and ally that avoids even higher levies.The arrangement – announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House – came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed 1 August deadline, when the president has promised higher tariffs will kick in on US imports from a range of countries.Read the full storyTrump administration launching health tracking system with big tech’s helpThe US government is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising easier to access health records and wellness monitoring.“There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specialises in public health. “Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.”Read the full storyEx-CIA agent hits out at Gabbard for going after Obama A former CIA officer who helped lead the intelligence assessments over alleged Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election has said Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is ignorant of the practices of espionage after she accused Barack Obama and his national security team of “treasonous conspiracy” against Donald Trump.Read the full storyKamala Harris won’t run for California governor Donald Trump’s former rival for the presidency, Kamala Harris, has announced she is not running for California governor, as had been widely expected.The former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee announced on Wednesday that she would not run, in a decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.Read the full storyTrump backs Israel and rebukes Starmer over Palestinian state recognitionDonald Trump has doubled down on his backing for Israel after having appeared to give a green light to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, to recognise a Palestinian state.Amid signs of mounting opposition among his Maga base to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Trump criticized Starmer’s plan to grant recognition as “rewarding Hamas”, even after having not taken issue with it when the pair met in Scotland this week. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, later announced his country also planned to formally recognise Palestine in September.Read the full storyUS placed on rights watch list under TrumpA group of global civil society organisations has placed the US on a watchlist for urgent concern over the health of its civic society, alongside Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia and Kenya.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      The US is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped into the country without facing tariffs, the White House said. Under Trump’s order, parcels valued at or under $800 sent outside of the international postal network will face “all applicable duties”.

      Republicans have unveiled a new congressional map in Texas that would allow the party to pick up as many as five additional congressional seats, an aggressive manoeuvre that has already met decisive outcry from Democrats and comes as the GOP tries to stave off losses in next year’s midterm elections.

      Arizona congressman Greg Stanton says the US government violated federal law when it refused to allow him to visit a local restaurant owner held in an immigration detention facility last week.

      Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said the country is demanding the repatriation of at least 30 of its citizens currently being held in the controversial Florida immigration detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened 29 July 2025. More

    • 275 Shares102 Views

      in US Politics

      Kamala Harris says she won’t run for California governor, saying ‘for now’ she won’t be in elected office – US politics live

      by

      Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.In a statement Harris said:
      For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office. I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.
      Brown University announced on Wednesday it “reached a voluntary agreement with the federal government to restore funding for the University’s federally sponsored medical and health sciences research and resolve three open reviews assessing Brown’s compliance with federal nondiscrimination obligations.”As part of the agreement, signed by Brown president Christina H. Paxson, attorney general Pam Bondi, education secretary Linda McMahon and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Brown will pay $50 million “to state workforce development organizations operating in compliance with anti-discrimination laws” over the next 10 years.One provision of the agreement stipulates that “Brown shall not maintain programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotas, diversity targets, or similar efforts.” Defining the effort to bring diversity to campuses as a form of illegal discrimination against white students is a core element of the Trump administration’s ideological war on higher education.“Accordingly,” the agreement adds, “Brown will provide a timely report to the United States summarizing its compliance with this obligation, including an assurance that Brown has acted responsibly to ensure its programs do not promote unlawful DEI goals.”Another provision, which might seem to be at odds with the ban on promoting diversity, is a commitment from the university to combat anti-semitism by taking actions “to support a thriving Jewish community, research and education about Israel, and a robust Program in Judaic Studies, through outreach to Jewish Day School students to provide information about applying to Brown, resources for religiously observant Jewish community members, renewed partnerships with Israeli academics and national Jewish organizations, support for enhanced security at the Brown-RISD Hillel, and a convening of alumni, students, and faculty to celebrate 130 years of Jewish life at Brown”.The education secretary called the agreement as evidence that the Trump administration “is successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions.”At the start of his remarks, before touting what he called the supposed benefits of helping Americans to access their medical records on their phones, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr took a moment to praise the way Donald Trump has changed the White House since January.As Kennedy recalled visiting the Oval office when his uncle, John F Kennedy, was president, he said that the White House had become, over time, drab. He then thanked Trump for making it now “the opposite of drab”, a compliment that brought a massive smile to the face of the president.Donald Trump just spoke at the start of what’s billed as a Making Health Technology Great Again event at the White House, to unveil a new private health tracking system that asks Americans to share their personal health data and medical records with private tech companies.While privacy advocates have raised alarms about the plan, Trump announced that what he called “the CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem” would “give healthcare providers, insurers and software companies the tools they need to empower Americans with a 21st Century experience on health.”Before inviting his health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to speak, Trump also recited a series of boasts about how well things are going under his leadership that have become a regular part of his remarks in all settings.One of them was his claim that “the king of Saudi Arabia” told him on a recent visit to the Middle East that “one year ago, your country was dead, and today yo have the hottest country anywhere in the world.”As we noted last week when Trump recited this story at an AI summit, Trump was not hosted on his trip by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, the 89-year-old monarch who has largely retreated from public life and took no part in the lavish ceremonies and meetings Trump attended in Riyadh.Instead, Trump met with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, who approved the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a US intelligence report made public three weeks after the end of Trump’s first term.Here are some of the latest developments we’re tracking in our continuing live coverage of the second Trump administration on Wednesday:

      The US Federal Reserve elected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at between 4.25 and 4.5%, a rate it has maintained since the end of 2024. Two Trump-appointed officials on the central bank dissented.

      Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California, or any elected office, “For now” – fueling speculation that she could run for the 2028 Democratic nomination.

      Donald Trump signed an executive order which adds a further 40% tariff to Brazilian imports – bringing the total to 50%. The order exempts hundreds of products that form a large share of Brazilian goods imported by the US, but not coffee.

      Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer outlined a new attempt to force attorney general Pam Bondi to release the files related to the federal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein.

      The treasury department announced sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes – the Brazil supreme court judge leading the prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, for allegedly attempting to launch a coup after losing the 2022 Brazilian election.
      The executive order issued by Donald Trump on Wednesday, imposing 50% tariffs on goods imported from Brazil – to punish the South American nation for supposedly “persecuting” its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for attempting to stay in power despite losing an election – exempts hundreds of products, including certain metals, aircraft parts, wood pulp, energy and energy products, and fertilizers.The long list of exemptions included in an annex to the order on the White House website does not, however, include coffee, one of the main items American companies import from Brazil.The Jeffrey Epstein files weren’t the only business of the day on Capitol Hill today. Legislation sponsored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri gained approval from a key committee today.The bill was initially named the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, which would bar elected members of Congress from buying, owning or selling individual stocks.The bill’s original name takes a pointed jab at Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi – who has been criticised for her stock holdings. Democrats have since negotiated for the legislation to be renamed as the “Honest Act”.In a statement today, Pelosi said:
      I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service. The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the Floor of the House.
      However, since the legislation stipulates that the law doesn’t start until an elected official’s new term in office, it exempts Donald Trump and JD Vance.Donald Trump signed an executive order which adds a further 40% tariff to Brazilian imports – bringing the total to 50%.The White House says that the tariffs are a penalty for the Government of Brazil’s politically motivated persecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters. The administration maintains that these punitive tariffs are part of the President’s plans to protect “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States from a foreign threat.”This comes after the earlier move from the Treasury Department to issue sanctions against the high court judge overseeing Bolsonaro’s attempted coup trial.Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.In a statement Harris said:
      For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office. I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.
      Powell adds that today’s Federal Reserve meeting was “quite good” but there were two dissenters at the meeting.And on the impact of tariffs, Powell says there has been “substantial amount of tariff revenue collected” each month. But he adds that the process with “probably be slower than expected at the beginning, but we never expected it to be fast, and we think we have a long way to go.”Powell underscores the Fed’s reasoning:
      The labor market looks solid. Inflation is above target. And even if you look through the tariff effects we think it’s still a bit above target.
      Jerome Powell said that while the interest rate will remain steady today, there will be two rounds of jobs and inflation data by the time of the next meeting in September.He did add, however, that they have made “no decisions about September,” but they will be taking that interim information into consideration ahead of the next decision.Jerome Powell is outlining the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the interest rate steady.“Our obligation is to keep longer term inflation’s inflation expectations well anchored, and to prevent a one time increase in the price level from becoming an ongoing inflation problem,” he said. More