Trump risks transforming the U.S. into an economic backwater

Trump risks transforming the U.S. into an economic backwater

Konrad Yakabuski writes: It has taken fewer than 100 days for Donald Trump to transform the United States from the world’s most reliable safe haven for global investors into a speculative bet, a country too unpredictable, unstable and lawless in which to risk storing their assets. That is quite the feat. This week, the floundering U.S. President was finally brought to heel, if only momentarily, when investors dumped U.S. Treasury bonds, in part a reaction to his erratic policy shifts…

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The chinks in Trump’s political armor are starting to be exposed

The chinks in Trump’s political armor are starting to be exposed

Rachael Bade writes: The vast, impressive coalition that catapulted Trump back into the White House started to fray as the MAGA faithful took stock of the shock tariffs. Start with the sniping on display from Trump’s allies in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, including many who were openly balking at his full-bore embrace of protectionism. Even Elon Musk, Trump’s most prominent adviser, reportedly tried to get Trump to back off his tariff obsession, then took to openly attacking top…

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Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government claims power to deport people for beliefs

Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government claims power to deport people for beliefs

The Associated Press reports: Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent…

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Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

“Annie Newport” and Nina Jankowicz write: Scientists, policy experts, and artists have been concerned about the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence since before the technology was readily available. With most technological innovations, it’s common to ask whether that invention could be maliciously weaponized, and there has been no shortage of experts warning that AI is being utilized to spread disinformation. Just a little more than two years after the public release of AI language models, there are already documented cases of malign actors using the technology…

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Facebook whistleblower testifies that company undermined national security by working with China

Facebook whistleblower testifies that company undermined national security by working with China

The Independent reports: A Meta whistleblower testified before Congress Wednesday about how she witnessed the company repeatedly “undermine‬ U.S. national security.” Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook employee who released an explosive memoir last month accusing the social media giant of retaliating against her after she reported sexual misconduct, testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism with another revelatory allegation: the company was engaged in “illegal and dangerous activities” with China. Wynn-Williams worked at Facebook for seven years,…

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Trump told people to buy. Hours later, his tariff pause sent markets soaring

Trump told people to buy. Hours later, his tariff pause sent markets soaring

The Washington Post reports: Less than four hours before President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was pausing tariffs sent markets soaring, he posted online telling his 9.4 million followers that it was a good time to buy. “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT” he posted on his social media site, Truth Social, at 9:37 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. Shortly after 1 p.m., he announced on the same site that he would pause most new tariffs, causing the ailing…

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Trump’s drive to dominate can neither be satisfied nor appeased

Trump’s drive to dominate can neither be satisfied nor appeased

Jamelle Bouie writes: The fundamental truth of Donald Trump is that he apparently cannot conceive of any relationship between individuals, peoples or states as anything other than a status game, a competition for dominance. His long history of scams and hostile litigation — not to mention his frequent refusal to pay contractors, lawyers, brokers and other people who were working for him — is evidence enough of the reality that a deal with Trump is less an agreement between equals…

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For U.S. and China, a risky game of chicken with no off-ramp in sight

For U.S. and China, a risky game of chicken with no off-ramp in sight

The New York Times reports: A whopping increase in tariffs, followed by a whopping retaliation. Nationalist Chinese bloggers comparing President Trump’s levies to a declaration of war. China’s Foreign Ministry vowing that Beijing will “fight to the end.” For years, the world’s two biggest powers have flirted with the idea of an economic decoupling as tensions between them have risen. The acceleration this week of their trade relationship’s deterioration has made the prospect of such a divorce seem closer than…

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Trump caved on tariffs after undermining ‘safe haven’ status of U.S. Treasuries

Trump caved on tariffs after undermining ‘safe haven’ status of U.S. Treasuries

Heather Long writes: President Donald Trump is pushing the economy into a recession. The early signs are already apparent with autoworker layoffs in Indiana and Michigan, a stock market sell-off in recent days and Americans pulling back on spending. But as Trump’s tariffs took effect in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, something even more alarming occurred: panic in the bond markets. Investors started dumping U.S. government bonds. They sold and sold and sold. This is not normal. Typically, U.S….

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DOGE is getting audited by the Government Accountability Office

DOGE is getting audited by the Government Accountability Office

Wired reports: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is auditing Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The probe, which has been ongoing since March, covers DOGE’s handling of data at several cabinet-level agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Education, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the Treasury, and the Social Security Administration, as well as the US DOGE Service (USDS) itself, according to sources and records reviewed by WIRED. Records show that the GAO—an independent auditing, research, and investigative…

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Court tells government to provide evidence justifying deportation of Mahmoud Khalil or case is over

Court tells government to provide evidence justifying deportation of Mahmoud Khalil or case is over

The Associated Press reports: An immigration judge in Louisiana said she would terminate the case against Mahmoud Khalil if the government does not provide evidence this week justifying their attempted deportation of the Columbia University student activist. At a hearing Tuesday in Louisiana, Judge Jamee Comans gave the government 24 hours to provide evidence showing that Khalil, a 30-year-old legal permanent resident, should be expelled from the country for his role in campus protests against Israel and the war in…

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America is at risk of losing a generation of scientists

America is at risk of losing a generation of scientists

Neel V. Patel writes: American science has been a beacon for aspiring researchers since the end of World War II, when a rivalry with the Soviet Union spurred the United States to make huge investments in science and technology research and recruit the most brilliant thinkers from abroad. Scientists saw the United States as a kind of nationwide laboratory for pursuing work under the best conditions possible — a remarkable combination of positive pressure and competition that pushed them to…

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Trump, Musk, and the Christian right are waging war on empathy

Trump, Musk, and the Christian right are waging war on empathy

Julia Carrie Wong writes: Just over an hour into Elon Musk’s last appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, the billionaire brought up the latest existential threat to trouble him. “We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on,” Musk said. “And it’s like, I believe in empathy. Like, I think you should care about other people, but you need to have empathy for civilization as a whole and not commit to a civilizational suicide.” The idea that caring about others could end civilization…

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Rightwing group backed by Charles Koch and Leonard Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs

Rightwing group backed by Charles Koch and Leonard Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs

The Guardian reports: A libertarian group that has been funded by Leonard Leo and Charles Koch has mounted a legal challenge against Donald Trump’s tariff regime, in a sign of spreading rightwing opposition to a policy that has sent international markets plummeting. The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a suit against Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on exports from China, arguing that doing so under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which the president has invoked to justify…

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