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May 7, 2025 - World

University of Michigan Economics Professor Justin Wolfers warned that things are going to be a lot worse than Americans understand as a result of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Wednesday, Wolfers said the best thing that could happen is that Trump would "back off" his trade war. Trump ran on tariffs in 2024, but he also ran on them in 2016, he recalled. "And when he ran on them last time, he used them a little bit more carefully. There were tariffs on steel and aluminum and washing machines. They were all quite destructive, but they're actually small parts of the economy," said Wolfers. "The thing he's done differently this time is he's ratcheted up American tariffs. So, we are easily the highest tariff nation among any leading industrialized country."ALSO READ: Trump is doing it all in broad daylight because he thinks no one will stop himNow, he explained, U.S. tariff rates are roughly 10 times those of trading partners. "You may have heard of the Depression era Smoot-Hawley tariffs, and there's a funny fact — you have to be an economist to really geek out on this — which is the pain that a tariff causes rises in the square of the tariff rate," Wolfers said. "So what that means is not just that things are bad or worse, they're worse squared. In fact, I did a calculation that suggested the pain that this set of tariffs is going to cause is going to be roughly 50 times larger than the tariffs that Trump imposed in his first term."When it happened in 2018, "mostly life went on." The only real change was if someone wanted to buy a washing machine. But for Americans going to the grocery store, things were normal. "But now, realize that everything we buy is at risk. So, next time you go to the grocery store, pick things up off the shelf and have a look at where they're made. Many of them will be made in China. Many of the things that aren't made in China, though, are made maybe in the U.S. using inputs from China. Think about things like, yes, the president makes fun of plastic dolls, but actually, it turns out American Girl dolls also come from China. But more than that, it's strollers. It's toasters, it's equipment."So, with the 145% tariff Trump imposed on China, family budgets and planning "depend entirely on what happens in the White House."See his full comments below or at the link here. - YouTube youtu.be

May 7, 2025 - World

U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy clarified this week that President Donald Trump's administration "would clearly violate" his order if it follows through with a reported plan to send migrants to Libya.U.S. officials confirmed to multiple outlets that migrants without legal status were on track to be deported to the war-torn country. According to CNN, flight plans were scheduled for Wednesday.In an emergency motion on Wednesday, plaintiffs asked Murphy for a restraining order preventing the flights from taking place."The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that this motion should not be required," the judge wrote in an afternoon ruling, "as the relief sought is already provided by the Preliminary Injunction entered in this case."ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams"The April 18, 2025 Preliminary Injunction requires all third-country removals to be preceded, inter alia, by written notice to both the non-citizen and the non-citizen's counsel in a language the non-citizen can understand as well as a meaningful opportunity for the non-citizen to raise a fear-based claim for CAT protection," Murphy explained. "If there is any doubt—the Court sees none—the allegedly imminent removals, as reported by news agencies and as Plaintiffs seek to corroborate with class-member accounts and public information, would clearly violate this Court's Order."For his part, Trump has claimed not to know the plan to deport migrants to Libya.

May 7, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump pleaded ignorance on Wednesday when asked about reports his administration was looking to deport prisoners to Libya, in addition to El Salvador. Last week, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reported on X, "The Trump admin has discussed with Libya and Rwanda the possibility of sending migrants who have criminal records to those two countries." Wednesday, CNN's Natasha Bertrand posted, "The Trump admin is moving forward with plans to transport a group of undocumented immigrants to Libya on a US military plane, an admin official says. Flight trackers show that a US Air Force C-17 has filed a plan to fly on Wednesday from Kelly Field in San Antonio to Misrata Airport in Libya." In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump responded, "Uh, I don't know. You'll have to ask Homeland Security, please," when asked about the report. Attorney John Jackson posted to X, "Transparent attempt to evade U.S. court review in one of the most remote, disconnected, and hellish places on earth as far from America as humanly possible. That's what this is. They might as well be transporting them to Mars." ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote, "Yet another in a long line of examples of Trump openly saying he has no idea what his government is doing. In this case, it's about a reported plan to send migrants to Libya, a country whose migrant detention facilities were described as a 'hellscape' by Amnesty Int'l." In a second post, Reichlin-Melnick included a photo of a Lybian migrant detention facility. "Don’t look away. This is what Libya’s migrant detention facilities look like," Reichlin-Melnick wrote. "This is what Trump is doing. Amnesty International called these places a' 'hellscape' where beatings are common and sexual violence are rampant. There are reports of human trafficking and even slavery." In response, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega posted, "He knows it's happening. He just says he doesn't know because he doesn't want to answer the question. It's his standard modus operandi." Attorney George Conway wrote, "Oh yes by all means please throw more gasoline on the six-alarm fire that used to be our Constitution."

May 7, 2025 - World

The escalating conflict between India and Pakistan — one that has the real possibility of becoming nuclear — could turn out to be the first true test of the Trump administration's foreign policy mettle, according to a new piece in The Atlantic. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed to have downed several Indian fighter jets in response to India's attack on Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir earlier this week. Pakistan claimed 21 people were killed in the strikes, including two children, and vowed further retaliation. India claimed it was striking back after a terror attack on India-controlled Kashmir killed more than 20 tourists in April. The Atlantic writer Tom Nichols claimed that it's in America's best interest "to prevent a larger conflict, which would be a diplomatic and humanitarian disaster on multiple levels even without the introduction of nuclear weapons."He wrote, "We must hope that the [Trump] administration, which so far seems obsessed only with political revenge, culture wars, and indulging the president’s pet economic theories, can rise to this occasion."ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreamsNichols postulated, "Perhaps President Donald Trump is meeting with National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, who in turn is handling meetings and contributions from administration leaders such as…well, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And maybe Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are working hand in glove with other top National Security Council members to provide Trump with solid options for approaching the nations (as well as other interested parties) and de-escalating a potentially existential crisis.""It would be pretty to think so," Nichols wrote, paraphrasing Ernest Hemingway.Nichols gave an example of Trump's ignorance of the situation in South Asia when the president commented, "They’ve been fighting for many, many decades, and centuries, actually, if you really think about it." Except they didn't start fighting until they became two independent nations in 1947.Nichols wrote that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "for his part, seems engaged" in lessening the conflict, having "reached out to the Pakistani prime minister and the Indian external affairs minister in an effort to lessen tensions; he has also engaged with both countries’ national security advisers." Nichols encouraged the rest of the administration to "focus far less on its internal grievances (and insulting our allies), and more on keeping the nuclear peace."Read The Atlantic article here.

May 7, 2025 - World

The United States is requiring businesses and government offices in Stockholm, Sweden, to comply with the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies, according to Swedish news outlet Dagens Nyheter. "Stockholm's urban planning office must not work for diversity, equity, and inclusion," according to the outlet's English translation. "The U.S. embassy demands this in a letter with a contract that they expect the city to sign." Stockholm's urban planning councilor Jan Valeskog called the requirement "completely bizarre," adding, "We will never sign this contract." In addition, the U.S. Embassy is requiring Swedish suppliers "to certify that they do not apply certain inclusion programs," the outlet reported. ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams The X account @ChrisO_wiki translated more of the report in a post, saying the Swedish government was given 10 days to comply."Since February 2025, US embassies around the world have been sending letters to local contractors making similar demands," the post said. "This seems to be the first time that it's been reported that a similar letter has been sent to a foreign government organisation."Valeskog is quoted as saying, "If the U.S. terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have difficulty obtaining a building permit if they want to rebuild, for example. That's their headache, not ours."The X account continued, "The Swedish government says that it would violate Swedish law to comply with such a demand. Commenting on similar letters sent to Swedish businesses, Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life Nina Larsson says: 'According to the Discrimination Act, Swedish companies are obliged to work preventively and actively to counteract discrimination and promote equal rights – for example based on gender, ethnicity or disability. Otherwise, there may be penalties. Companies should feel secure in the fact that Swedish law is firm. It is also important that we – both politically and from the industries – are clear about this towards foreign clients.'"