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      Romanian Nationalist Wins First Round of Presidential Voting

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      George Simion bucked a recent trend of voters around the world punishing candidates seen as friendly to President Trump.George Simion, a right-wing nationalist who has promised to “Make Romania Great Again,” won the first round of his country’s presidential election on Sunday, bucking the recent trend of voters punishing candidates seen as friendly to President Trump.With more than 98 percent of the votes cast inside Romania counted, Mr. Simion was far ahead of 10 rival candidates, garnering more than 40 percent. A partial count of the votes of Romanians living abroad, who generally tilt hard right, also gave Mr. Simion a big lead.The results, though incomplete, ensured Mr. Simion a slot in a runoff on May 18 against the likely second-place finisher, Nicusor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, Romania’s capital.Unlike voters in Canada and Australia who in recent elections favored parties openly opposed to Mr. Trump, Romanians, by supporting Mr. Simion, rewarded one of Europe’s most vocal admirers of the MAGA movement.Romanian voters also gave a strong rebuke to a decision in December by the country’s Constitutional Court to annul an earlier first round of the presidential ballot and to cancel the victory of Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist. He was charged in February with various crimes, including illegal campaigning and involvement in the establishment of an organization “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character.”Mr. Georgescu, who was barred from competing in the rescheduled vote, voted on Sunday alongside Mr. Simion. Both men have cast themselves as champions of ordinary Romanians against a corrupt establishment.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Someone Should Tell Trump He’s About to Make the Trade Deficit Worse

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      There are many reasons President Trump should not be pushing Congress to pass huge tax cuts, but here’s one you may not have heard: Budget deficits and trade deficits are twins. When the former go up, so, generally, do the latter. So at the same moment Mr. Trump is upending the global economy in a feckless attempt to eliminate America’s trade deficit, he’s essentially pressuring Congress to increase it.Here’s how it happens. The United States buys a lot of goods from other countries, and we pay for the goods with dollars. But those dollars are no good abroad, so the countries we buy from invest them here. Some of the money goes, directly or indirectly, into businesses that are raising cash to build new data centers or expand natural gas facilities or construct new apartment complexes. Other dollars go into Treasury bonds or bills, which the federal government uses to fund our large budget deficit. (The same thing happens in reverse when other countries buy from the United States — but to a lesser degree, since our imports are larger than our exports.)If the budget deficit rises, American investors could theoretically cover the shortfall, but that would mean putting their money in Treasury securities rather than businesses and their capital needs. The other option is that foreign countries amass more dollars and plow them back into the U.S. economy. How would they get those additional dollars? From all the German cars and Chinese electronics and imported beer that Americans will buy with the money from their tax cuts.More generally, a larger budget deficit will require the government to borrow more money, which drives up interest rates. Higher interest rates mean a stronger dollar, which makes it more expensive for people in other countries to buy our products, cheaper for us to buy theirs, and thus the trade deficit widens.So cutting taxes, as Mr. Trump has told Congress to do, will drive up the budget deficit — and the trade deficit. All of this may seem counterintuitive, but it’s one of the few things that economists agree about.The budget deficit is already worryingly high and the tax cuts Mr. Trump is seeking would make it even larger. Last year the United States ran a $1.8 trillion budget deficit, or 6 percent of the gross domestic product — higher than at any other time except during World War II, the late-2000s financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic — despite strong economic growth and no unusual emergencies.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Singapore’s Election, All Eyes Are on the Margin of Victory, Not the Winner

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      The People’s Action Party is widely expected to continue its six-decade reign. But discontent with its policies is fueling a growing opposition.The last time Singapore held elections, it was in the throes of a global crisis. That’s also true today.Five years ago, the governing party portrayed itself as the steady hand to guide the nation through the coronavirus pandemic. The pitch is the same this time, only with a different catalyst: President Trump’s upending of the world’s trade order.And, like last time, there is no doubt that the People’s Action Party, which has been in power since 1959, will retain power. But Saturday’s election will be a test of the popularity of the P.A.P., which had a near record-low showing in 2020, even as it garnered a clear majority. It was growing evidence of a desire for a competitive democracy in the city-state.When polls opened on Saturday morning, people stood in line to cast their ballot as heavy rain fell in parts of Singapore. The voting age is 21 here, and all citizens are required to vote. Polling stations close at 8 p.m. local time, and a final result is not expected until after midnight.Many political analysts agree that the opposition is gaining clout in Singapore, with voters unhappy about the P.A.P.’s response to the rising cost of living. During the campaign, rallies for the country’s main opposition party, the Workers’ Party, were packed, and its merchandise sold out. Still, Pritam Singh, the party’s leader, took pains to assure the public that his party was not contesting enough seats to form a government, merely that Singapore needed a more balanced political system.“When you have opposition in Parliament, your alternative voice is heard by the government,” Mr. Singh said at his party’s first rally last week.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Reform UK Surges as Conservatives Lose Seats: 4 Local Elections Takeaways

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      Britain’s two main parties suffered significant losses in municipal and mayoral votes as Reform U.K., a right-wing populist party, surged ahead.While the votes in England’s local elections were still being counted on Friday, Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. party emerged as the biggest winner of the first major polls since Labour swept into government last summer.Voters have been selecting councilors for about 1,600 municipal seats in 23 areas, as well as six regional mayors.Here are four takeaways from a night that saw Britain’s two major political parties suffer significant losses.Reform U.K. is a serious force in British politics.The right-wing populist party headed by Mr. Farage won a special election in Runcorn and Helsby, in northwestern England, giving it five lawmakers in Parliament. The party also won the mayoralty in Greater Lincolnshire, a new position, and is gaining council seats across the country.The party was initially called the Brexit Party but rebranded itself after Britain formally withdrew from the European Union.Results on Friday indicated that Reform’s efforts to shed its image as a single-issue party and appeal to a broader range of voters were bearing fruit. Brexit is now rarely discussed by its politicians, who have been focusing on a hard line on immigration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Clashes Erupt in Damascus Outskirts, Killing 9

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      The sectarian-tinged violence was directed at a suburb of the Syrian capital with a large population from the Druse minority. Local Druse leaders said they held the government responsible.Deadly clashes fueled by sectarian tensions erupted on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least nine people, Syrian officials and a war monitoring group said on Tuesday.The violence erupted overnight from Monday to Tuesday in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, which has a large population from the minority Druse sect. It began after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man insulting the Prophet Muhammad. The clip was attributed to a Druse cleric.The cleric and Druse religious figures in Jaramana denied the accusation. The Syrian Interior Ministry said that its initial findings showed that the cleric was not responsible and appealed for calm.As public anger over the clip grew, fighters in armored vehicles amassed overnight outside Jaramana and began shelling the city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group based in Britain. Heavy gun battles also broke out.The audio clip set off demonstrations in a number of other cities, with some of the protesters inciting violence against the Druse, according to the Observatory.The Observatory did not say who was behind the attack on Jaramana, which also wounded 17 people. But local Druse religious authorities in the city said in a statement that they held the government “fully responsible for what happened and any worsening of the situation.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Elon Musk Could Make Mars His Next Business Venture

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      Even as Musk’s work at the Department of Government Efficiency appeared to consume him, his top adviser created a set of companies named Red Planet I, II and III.Elon Musk is leaving his full-time Washington assignment next month to try to save Tesla (which has seen its stock battered), to keep up with SpaceX (which is positioned to do big business with the Trump administration) and to chart a new course for xAI, which he just combined with X itself.He’s a busy guy. So what’s another company — or three?Two months ago, even as Musk appeared consumed by his work at yet another job, at the Department of Government Efficiency, his top adviser, Jared Birchall, quietly created an intriguing-sounding set of limited-liability companies in Texas, whose existence has not been previously reported.Their names: Red Planet I, II and III.For the world’s richest man, who is pursuing an elaborate, decades-long plan to colonize Mars, this seemed no idle corporate filing.When Musk bought Twitter, after all, he formed three holding companies (X Holdings I, II and III) to execute the transaction.So, is he planning to buy Mars?Birchall hasn’t returned my requests for comment since I learned of the LLCs a few weeks ago. But he doesn’t typically take actions like this without his boss’s direction. He registered them on Feb. 25, listing himself as the manager of each and using an Austin address that other Musk entities have used.Still, it is surprising to see Musk take this step now, when he has so much on his plate and is already facing pressure to do less, not more. On a Tesla earnings call last week, he said he would substantially reduce the amount of time he spent on DOGE to spend more time on the car company, whose quarterly revenue is way down from a year ago.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Florida Democratic Party Is ‘Dead,’ State Senator Says as He Leaves It

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      State Senator Jason Pizzo, the Democratic minority leader, announced in a floor speech that he was leaving the party.The highest-ranking Democrat in the Florida Senate announced in dramatic fashion on Thursday that he was leaving the party, the latest setback for Democrats whose influence in the state has rapidly diminished.State Senator Jason W.B. Pizzo, whose district includes parts of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in South Florida, said in a speech on the Senate floor that he was changing his voter registration to “no party affiliation,” the most common registration in Florida for independent voters.“The Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” Mr. Pizzo told his fellow lawmakers. “There are good people that can resuscitate it. But they don’t want it to be me. That’s not convenient. That’s not cool.”Mr. Pizzo had signaled that he might run for governor next year. He had been visible in many high-profile debates, using his background as a former prosecutor to grill Republicans. But he was also sometimes at odds with fellow Democrats on matters of law and order. Earlier this week, he said critics had accused him of being a racist for calling for an audit of a South Florida municipality with a largely Black population.“I follow the law,” Mr. Pizzo said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “If anybody’s feelings are hurt and think I’m a racist for my position — suck it.”Mr. Pizzo did not immediately respond to interview requests on Thursday.In a statement after Mr. Pizzo announced he was leaving the party, Nikki Fried, the chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, called Mr. Pizzo “one of the most ineffective and unpopular Democratic leaders in recent memory” and said his resignation was “one of the best things to happen to the party in years.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Tariffs on China Aren’t Likely to Rescue Battered U.S. P.P.E. Industry

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      The few domestic companies that still make protective gear for health care workers have clamored for federal intervention. But they worry President Trump’s trade war with China won’t help.Few domestic industries have been as devastated by the flood of cheap Chinese imports as manufacturers of face masks, exam gloves and other disposable medical gear that protects health care workers from infectious pathogens.The industry’s demise had calamitous consequences during the Covid pandemic, when Beijing halted exports and American hospital workers found themselves at the mercy of a deadly airborne virus that quickly filled the nation’s emergency rooms and morgues.But as President Trump unveiled his tariff regimen earlier this month, and Beijing retaliated with an 84 percent tax on American imports, the few remaining companies that make protective gear in the United States felt mostly unease.“I’m pretty freaked out,” said Lloyd Armbrust, the chief executive of Armbrust American, a pandemic-era startup that produces N95 respirator masks at a factory in Texas. “On one hand, this is the kind of medicine we need if we really are going to become independent of China. On the other hand, this is not responsible industrial policy.”The United States once dominated the field of personal protective equipment, or P.P.E. The virus-filtering N95 mask and the disposable nitrile glove are American inventions, but China now produces more than 90 percent of the medical gear worn by American health care workers.Despite bipartisan vows to end the nation’s dependency on foreign medical products — and to shore up the dozens of domestic manufacturers that sprung up during the pandemic — federal agencies and state governments have resumed their reliance on inexpensive Chinese imports. Earlier this year, when California purchased millions of N95 masks for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, it chose masks made in China.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More