The Ugly

“You have to break the system a little bit and follow your own instincts, but if your vision is right, nothing will hold you down. Nothing. You have to have the right vision. If you look at some of these internet people, I know so many of them, Elon is so terrific, but I know now all of them. You know, they all hated me in my first term, and now they’re kissing my ass.”

— Trump’s speech to graduates at the University of Alabama

John Fetterman insists he is in good health. But staffers past and present say they no longer recognize the man they once knew (New York Magazine)

“You can’t reform a carton of sour milk,” Fetterman told Ben-Ami, according to notes from the meeting, referring to the Palestinians. Fetterman said he did not believe in a two-state solution and claimed he had never met an Arab person who would condemn Hamas. “Correction,” the notes from the meeting stated. “Only a single Arab he has met with that staff was present for wouldn’t outright condemn Hamas.”

Fetterman went on to make statements that shocked people. In opposing a cease-fire, he said, “Let’s get back to killing.” A person who heard the conversation told me, “He said, ‘Kill them all.’” In a statement, Fetterman denied the account, adding, “Any reference to killing was solely about Hamas, and I do support the destruction of that organization, down to its last member.”

Trump’s Worldwide Tariffs War

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said automobile parts compliant with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will not be hit with Trump’s tariffs (Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press)

Trump slapped a 25% tariff on all vehicle imports to the US last month, but made a carveout for the American-made parts of cars compliant with the continental trade pact, also called CUSMA.

The White House originally said they were looking to develop a similar scheme for auto part imports compliant with CUSMA before those duties were set to go in place on May 3.

Beijing will only engage in negotiations if Washington cancels its tariffs on Chinese goods first (NYT)

“If the United States does not correct its wrong unilateral tariff measures, it means that the United States has no sincerity at all and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese goods to a minimum of 145 percent last month, while omitting China from a 90-day pause on his tariffs that he granted to all other countries.

(AP)

Apple says Trump’s tariffs will cost it a whopping C$1.24 billion (US$900 million) this quarter (Quartz)

US companies are raising prices because of Trump’s tariffs (NYT)

More companies are starting to warn that they will have to pass on higher costs to American consumers, raising prices for products like strollers, mattresses, power tools and cast-iron cookware as President Trump’s tariffs take hold.

Some company officials said they had been left with no choice but to raise prices as they pay more to import goods and materials into the United States. Other firms have said they will soon run out of inventory for certain products because they have paused orders from China.

The de minimis exemption that allowed shipments of goods worth under $800 to be imported into the US duty free, has just ended (CNN)

“I can’t afford to buy from Temu now, and I already couldn’t afford to buy in this country,” Rena Scott, a 64-year-old retired nurse from Virginia, previously said to CNN Business.

Lower-income households will suffer the most from the end of cheap Chinese e-commerce sites. About 48% of de minimis packages shipped to the poorest zip codes in the United States, while 22% were delivered to the richest ones, according to February research from UCLA and Yale economists.

More Ugly

Trump defunds US public broadcasters PBS and NPR

The Guardian »  President says neither NPR nor PBS presents ‘fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events’Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to cut public funding for the news outlets NPR and PBS, accusing them of being biased.

NPR and PBS are only partly funded by the US taxpayer and rely heavily on private donations.

(NPR / WaPo / The Daily Beast / Al Jazeera / AP // Video » DW) White House Press Release

Radio Free Asia lays off most of its staff (CNN)

Trump administration will be rescinding Harvard University’s tax-exempt status (CBS)