Markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China matched President Trump’s big raise in tariffs in the US president’s escalating trade war.
The worldwide sell-off for financial markets slammed into a higher, scarier gear. The S&P 500 plummeted 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.
See a recap.
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Trump’s tariffs have launched global trade wars. Here’s a timeline of how we got here.
By the Associated Press
Long-threatened tariffs from President Trump have plunged the country into trade wars abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
Here’s a timeline of how we got here.
Government memo reveals research projects targeted in Harvard review — 10:27 p.m.
By Mike Damiano and Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff
When the Trump administration announced a review of $9 billion of federal funding for Harvard and its affiliated institutions this week, it did not specify which research projects might be targeted.
But a Monday memo from the government’s antisemitism task force obtained by the Globe contains some answers.
It lists more than $255 million of contracts included in the review, most of them for health and medicine research projects. One contract with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is worth nearly $60 million and provides funding for research on tuberculosis at 14 labs across the country. Another, with Boston Children’s Hospital, provides nearly $36 million for what public records describe as an online vaccination site locator.
That contract is just one of many on the list for Boston Children’s Hospital. In total, the hospital’s contracts now under review are valued at more than $122 million. The list, which was not previously reported, also includes $98 million of contracts with Harvard University itself, including the School of Public Health contract.
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It’s called vote-a-rama in the Senate, and it’s just what it sounds like — 8:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Senate is about to dive into a late night — or all-nighter — of contentious debate over the GOP’s plan for trillions of dollars in tax breaks and spending cuts, what Trump has dubbed a “big, beautiful bill.”
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But first, amendments.
It’s a unique Senate process called “vote-a-rama” in which senators will be voting on dozens of amendments to shape the bill – mostly from Democrats trying to gut the GOP priorities and replace them with their own.
Expect proposals from the Democrats to stop Trump’s tariffs, end tax breaks for billionaires and save Medicaid from potential cuts. None are expected to be accepted as Republicans, who have majority control of Congress, push their plan forward, and off to the House for next steps.
Navy lists books removed from Naval Academy library in new DEI purge — 7:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were among those removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library earlier this week, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office ordered the school to get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Navy late Friday provided the list of 391 books that have been take out of its library. The move marks another step in the Trump administration’s far-reaching effort to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings, and curriculum at schools.
Pentagon leaders turned their attention to the Naval Academy last week when a media report noted the school hadn’t removed books that promoted DEI.
Tune in: It’s Friday night live in the Senate — 7:25 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The pizzas have been carted in for the Republicans. Tacos on the Democratic side.
Senators are preparing to work through the night on the GOP’s budget framework for Trump’s “big” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, despite the economic turmoil from his new tariffs.
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Republicans are eager to take this next step toward what they hope will be the centerpiece of the GOP domestic policy agenda.
Democrats, who as the minority party don’t have enough votes to stop the plan, at least intend to shine a bright light on the details — and drag out the process.
Columbia must give 30 days’ notice before sharing student records with Congress’ antisemitism probe — 7:21 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A Manhattan federal judge says Columbia University must give detained activist Mahmoud Khalil and other students 30 days’ notice before handing over any more documents to Congress as it investigates antisemitism on college campuses.
But US District Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday stopped short of outright blocking the Manhattan university from providing records to the House Education and Workforce Committee, as lawyers for the activists sought.
US Rep. Tim Walberg, who chairs the House committee, called the decision a “victory for credible oversight.”
Lawyers for Khalil and the other students said the decision means they can continue pursuing their legal fight.
‘Hands Off,’ anti-Trump/Musk rallies planned in Boston and across country Saturday — 6:45 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
The Dropkick Murphys is set to headline an anti-Trump/Musk rally Saturday on Boston Common, one of hundreds of “Hands Off” rallies scheduled to take place across the country to protest the policies of the Trump administration policies.
The beloved Boston Irish punk band will also be joined by US Senator Edward J. Markey and activist groups that will gather at the Parkman Bandstand at 11 a.m., followed by a march to City Hall Plaza for more speeches.
The “Hands Off” protests are intended to send a message to Trump, his billionaire advisor Elon Musk, and congressional Republicans, according to organizers.
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Over 100 organizations, including Indivisible Mass, Mass 50501, and the Swing Blue Alliance, have organized the rally. Other cosponsors include several dozen churches, Democratic town committees, and organized labor groups.
Trump administration nixes plan to cover anti-obesity drugs through Medicare — 6:40 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump’s administration has decided not to cover expensive, high-demand obesity treatments under the federal government’s Medicare program.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday that it would not cover the medications under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule in late November after Trump won reelection that would have extended coverage of drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. The rule was not expected to be finalized until Trump took office.
Medicare does pay for drugs like Wegovy for patients who have heart disease and need to reduce their risk of future heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems.
Interior secretary orders national parks to be open and accessible as workforce is cut — 6:37 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is directing national parks to “remain open and accessible” and says officials will ensure proper staffing to do so.
The order, issued late Thursday, also calls for a detailed review of each park’s operating hours, trail closures and other limits on visitor services.
Burgum said his department and the National Park Service “are committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation’s most treasured places.”
But park advocates and others questioned how park employees could comply, given the Trump administration’s workforce reductions. Fewer workers can mean shorter hours, delays, closed campgrounds, overflowing trash bins, unkept bathrooms, and risks to public safety, they say.
The park service has lost around 1,500 permanent employees since the beginning of this year, Rick Mossman, president of the Arizona-based Association of National Park Rangers, said Friday in a statement. And it’s “bracing for another reduction in force expected in the very near future.”
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Think twice before bailing out of the stock market, financial advisers say — 6:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The huge swings rocking Wall Street and the global economy may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, drops of this size have happened throughout history.
Stomaching them is the price investors have had to pay in order to get the bigger returns that stocks can offer over other investments in the long term.
Here’s what experts advise investors young and old to consider.
US says it’s providing another $7 million for Myanmar quake victims — 5:31 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Criticized for a slower and smaller US response than usual, the Trump administration said Friday it was providing about another $7 million to aid victims of the 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar, on top of the $2 million promised earlier.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced the aid in a post on the social media site X. Bruce said the money would help stricken communities in the Southeast Asian nation with shelter, food, medical care and water.
The Trump administration has worked with Elon Musk to dismantle the main US aid agency and most of its programs, and lay off almost all of its staff. While China and some other nations have sent scores or hundreds of people to help with the aftermath of the March 28 quake, the US has disclosed sending only a three-member assessment team, announced days after the quake.
Supreme Court allows Trump administration to cut teacher-training money, for now — 4:52 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s plea to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in teacher-training money as part of its anti-DEI efforts, while a lawsuit continues.
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The justices split 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the three liberal justices in dissent.
The cuts had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Boston, who found that they were already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage. The federal appeals court in Boston turned away an appeal from the administration to allow them to resume.
Mass. AG Campbell, other Democratic attorneys general sue Trump at least three times in under 24 hours — 4:36 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic attorneys general have sued President Trump’s administration at least three times in New England in under 24 hours, from challenging his administration’s slashing of federal funding to opposing his efforts to upend election procedures across the country.
The most recent slew of legal fights further underscore how Democratic attorneys general have been at the forefront of countering Trump’s agenda. Courts in New England, in particular, have seen a whirlwind of activity, as Trump’s opponents seek to take advantage of factors such as the high number of Democratic appointees in the circuit.
S&P 500 plunges 6% to close its worst week since 2020 — 4:05 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The worldwide sell-off for financial markets slammed into a higher, scarier gear. The S&P 500 plummeted 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.
Judge blocks Trump from dismantling agency that funds community groups in Latin American countries — 3:54 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge agreed to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
US District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the administration doesn’t have the authority to remove the head of the group. Congress created the foundation more than 50 years ago. It has disbursed $945 million to thousands of grant recipients in roughly three dozen countries.
AliKhan, who President Biden appointed, found that only the foundation’s board can fire its head.
“Because neither President Trump nor Mr. Marocco had the authority to fire her from her position as the president of the IAF, Ms. Aviel is likely to succeed on the merits of her case,” AliKhan wrote.
US has twice as many measles cases so far this year than in all of 2024 — 3:53 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The once common, vaccine-preventable virus continues to spread in active outbreaks in at least five states.
Health experts in Texas and elsewhere have said the outbreak could continue for months and even threaten the US’s status as having eliminated measles spread.
The new count from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as a proposal to cut billions of dollars of health funding winds its way through the courts.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has delivered a tepid message on the importance of vaccination against measles, saying it should be encouraged while also claiming the shots cause “deaths every year.” The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely to prevent illness for more than 60 years and is 97% effective against measles after two doses.
More than 500 law firms sign brief criticizing Trump’s executive orders targeting legal community — 3:42 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Friday’s legal brief supports the law firm of Perkins Coie in its challenge to a Trump executive order meant to punish its attorneys. It urges the judge to permanently block the order.
Perkins Coie is among roughly a half-dozen law firms subject to the order, which seeks to suspend lawyers’ security security clearances, terminate federal contracts and block access to federal buildings. The firm won a court order temporarily blocking enforcement of several provisions, but its court case is still pending.
The brief says the executive order poses a “grave threat to our system of constitutional governance and to the rule of law itself.”
EU trade commissioner met with Trump officials, says ‘The EU-US trade relationship needs a fresh approach’ — 3:34 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Maros Sefcovic said he had a “frank” two hour discussion with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and told them the US tariffs are damaging and unjustified.
“EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests,” Sefcovic wrote on X. In terms of concrete results from the discussion, Sefcovic could only offer, “We stay in touch.”
Trump picked 20 percent as his rate for taxing European imports as part of a sweeping set of tariffs on countries that trade with the US.
EU officials have said they’re ready to negotiate to rescind or modify the European Union’s response, but will otherwise impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of US goods.
Leading US Jewish group suggests Trump crackdown on foreign students has gone too far — 3:29 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League said it’s important to preserve the civil rights of protesters while fighting antisemitism.
“We should be holding people accountable for actual crimes, not Orwellian thoughtcrimes,” Jonathan Greenblatt wrote in a Thursday op-ed for the website eJewishPhilanthropy.
The State Department has been revoking visas for international students in a crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism, and Greenblatt said it “hasn’t been even remotely clear” that their due process rights have been upheld.
The op-ed marks a shift from the ADL’s statement supporting the Trump administration’s first arrest of a Columbia University student.
“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism,” the ADL posted on X on March 9. That post also called for due process in “any deportation action or revocation of a Green Card or visa.”
Judge denies motion to dismiss petition from detained Tufts student, transfers her challenge to Vermont — 3:24 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
A federal judge in Boston transferred the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Turkish national and Tufts graduate student who was arrested by ICE on March 25 and whisked off to a Louisiana detention facility, to federal court in Vermont, where she can continue to challenge her detention and the Trump administration’s revocation of her student visa.
In a 26-page ruling, US District Judge Denise Casper denied the government’s motion to dismiss Öztürk’s petition for release and its alternative request to transfer the case to Louisiana.
“The Court ALLOWS the alternative relief sought by Ozturk and transfers this matter ‘in the interest of justice’ ... to the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont,” she wrote.
US must return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, judge says — 3:21 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to arrange for the return of a Maryland man to the United States after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled Kilmar Abrego Garcia last month despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to his native El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.
Trump abruptly fires the 4-star general who led the National Security Agency — 3:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
That’s according to U.S. officials and members of Congress. The White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move.
Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who also oversaw the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, the officials said. They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions.
The move has triggered sharp criticism from members of Congress. This latest dismissal of national security officials by Trump comes as his Republican administration faces criticism over his failure to take any action against other key leaders’ use of an unclassified Signal messaging chat that included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss plans for a military strike.
States sue over billions of dollars in delayed NIH research — 2:53 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Sixteen states sued the Trump administration Friday for disrupting research funding from the National Institutes of Health, citing billions of dollars of science in limbo.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston challenges “unreasonable and intentional delays” in grant applications — many that directly impact patients, such as possible Alzheimer’s-preventing drugs — as well as terminations of already-issued grants.
Since January, required meetings to review NIH grant applications have been repeatedly canceled or postponed. The suit also says NIH has withheld final approvals of grants that had already passed initial steps — and withheld payments for multi-year projects that are supposed to be automatically renewed.
The suit, the latest in a string of lawsuits against research cuts and mass firings, argues that this violates congressional allocations.
Dow plunges 2,100 in a worsening global sell-off after China retaliates against Trump tariffs — 2:49 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The worldwide sell-off for financial markets is slamming into an even higher, scarier gear.
The S&P 500 tumbled 5.7 percent Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2,100 points and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.7 percent. Markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China matched President Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war.
Not even a better-than-expected report on the US job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide. The price of oil slid to its lowest level since 2001.
Trump says he needs more time to bring TikTok under American ownership — 2:32 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Congress had mandated that the platform be divested from China by Jan. 19 or barred in the US on national security grounds, and the Supreme Court unanimously upheld that law. But Trump moved unilaterally to extend the deadline to this weekend, and now he’s giving his administration another 75 days to find a US owner.
Trump has entertained an array of offers from US businesses seeking shares of the popular social media site, but China’s ByteDance, which owns TikTok and its closely-held algorithm, has insisted the platform is not for sale.
TikTok also has said it prioritizes user safety, and China’s Foreign Ministry has said China’s government will not ask companies to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” in foreign countries. But if the extension means ByteDance keeps control of TikTok’s algorithm, those national security concerns persist.
Federal judge orders FEMA to comply with his order to release millions in funding to states — 2:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Despite Judge John McConnell’s preliminary injunction last month requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to resume, nearly two dozen states said they have not received any “significant dispersal of funds since February.”
The federal government argued the delays were not tied to a directive from the White House Office of Management and Budget — which was the subject of the lawsuit — but rather a FEMA decision to add “internal controls” to prevent fraud and abuse.
McConnell sided with the states who argued there has been no processing of awards and that FEMA’s review process was based “covertly” on an executive order from Trump on immigration that among other things targeted so-called sanctuary cities.
Trump says he’s giving TikTok another 75 days to find a US buyer — 2:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump said is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the US for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership.
Congress had mandated that the platform be divested from China by Jan. 19 or barred in the US on national security grounds, but Trump moved unilaterally to extend the deadline to this weekend, as he sought to negotiate an agreement to keep it running.
Attorney General predicts a Supreme Court victory on deportation flights — 1:37 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Pam Bondi defended the Trump administration’s actions to rush hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador while a federal judge sought to block their deportations.
Whether the Trump administration ignored U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s orders to turn around planes deporting immigrants is a question likely to land before the Supreme Court, Bondi said. And if it does, she anticipates a Trump administration victory.
When asked at a Fort Lauderdale press conference whether she was involved in that decision to ignore Boasberg’s order, Bondi did not answer.
“We should be concerned about the victims of these crimes here in our states more than these defendants,” Bondi said.
Senators gripe at tariff restrictions, express optimism for change in policy — 1:34 p.m.
By the Associated Press
“We’ve heard from businesses across New Hampshire, from the tourism industry to manufacturing, who are very worried about the ability to continue to operate, about the losses that they’re incurring,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Some said the uncertainty led their Canadian suppliers and customers to cancel contracts, the New Hampshire Democrat said.
But some GOP senators expressed optimism over the tariffs levied against U.S. trading partners.
Montana Republican Steve Daines said he’s “encouraged” by reports that the Vietnamese government is “actively engaged at the moment with the administration finding ways to lower tariffs.”
Daines said that he hoped the White House will “find ways to reduce some of these tariff and non tariff barriers that’s affecting a lot of our American businesses, American farmers and ranchers.”
California governor hopes trading partners won’t retaliate against his state — 1:29 p.m.
By the Associated Press
“California leads the nation as the #1 state for agriculture and manufacturing — and it’s our workers, families, and farmers who stand to lose the most from this Trump tax hike and trade war,” Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
“To our international partners: As the fifth largest economy in the world, the Golden State will remain a steady, reliable partner for generations to come, no matter the turbulence coming out of Washington. California is not Washington, D.C.”
Under Newsom’s direction, the state will seek “new strategic trade relationships” with key partners, including Mexico, Canada and China, since over 40 percent of California imports come from the three countries, his office said.
Brazil sees other big trade agreements sidelining the US — 1:20 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Trump’s sweeping tariffs could accelerate the Mercosur–European Union trade agreement, which was signed in December and awaits ratification by each member nation in Europe and South America.
Alckmin — who also serves as Brazil’s minister of industry, development and trade — told the podcast Direto de Brasilia Thursday night that the government will continue to negotiate and doesn’t intend to use a fast-tracked retaliation bill that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has yet to sign.
“It’s a good and necessary piece of legislation, but we don’t intend to use it. What we want to do is engage in dialogue and negotiation,” Alckmin said. “Even though Brazil got the lowest tariff, 10%, it’s still bad. No one wins in a tariff war.”
Democratic leader says Trump’s tariffs trap American families. Republican hopes for more dealmaking. — 1:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Senator Chuck Schumer called them “a brutal pincer move with American families trapped in the middle.”
“Trump’s tariffs raise costs on one side, and Trump’s budget cuts rob people of health care, nutrition, Medicaid, more on the other, and it squeezes them,” Schumer said.
GOP senate leaders meanwhile gave room for what they hope are presidential parleys with each nation’s leaders.
“The president is a dealmaker if nothing else, and he’s going to continue to deal country by country with each of them,” said Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who is no. 2 in GOP Senate leadership.
Barrasso said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Senate Republicans this week that the tariffs would be a “high level mark with the ultimate goal of getting them reduced” unless other countries retaliate.
Supporters rally in support of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison — 1:15 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The wife of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador joined dozens of supporters at a rally before a court hearing, where his lawyers will ask a federal judge to order the Trump administration to return him to the US.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a US citizen, hasn’t spoken to her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, since he was flown to his native El Salvador last month and imprisoned. She urged her supporters to keep fighting for her husband “and all the Kilmars out there whose stories are still waiting to be heard.”
“To all the wives, mothers, children who also face this cruel separation, I stand with you in this bond of pain,” she said during the rally at a community center in Hyattsville, Maryland. “It’s a journey that no one ever should ever have to suffer, a nightmare that feels endless.”
$510m funding cut for Brown University would have ‘a ripple effect,’ R.I. officials says — 1:03 p.m.
By Alexa Gagosz, Globe Staff
The Trump administration is expected to block $510 million in federal contracts and grants for Brown University as part of its push to hold elite universities accountable for persistent antisemitism on campus. But Jewish students at the Ivy League school say the move does not make them feel safer, and state leaders note that the cuts could have a harmful ripple effect throughout Rhode Island.
Brown received more than $254 million in total federal funding in fiscal year 2024 alone, according to spokesman Brian Clark. The school is one of Rhode Island’s largest employers and a key player in building out the state’s life sciences and medical industries. It is already facing a $46 millionbudget deficit and a hiring freeze, and has had find funding by dipping into its $7.2 billion endowment, which is one of the smallest among Ivy League schools.
Federal labor unions sue Trump over union-busting executive order — 12:35 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The federal lawsuit filed in Oakland, California on Thursday challenges his order to end collective bargaining in agencies with national security missions.
The unions say Trump’s March 27 order applies the national security exemption too broadly and seeks to punish them for speaking out against his agenda.
“AFGE is not going to be intimidated by a bully who is throwing a temper tantrum because our union is beating them in the court of law and in the court of public opinion,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
The National Treasury Employees Union is challenging the same order in Washington, D.C. federal court, and the Justice Department has a pending suit in the Western District of Texas on behalf of eight federal agencies that want to end their collective bargaining agreements.
Trump says he had a ‘very productive call’ with Vietnam’s leader — 12:21 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Vietnamese President To Lam “wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S.”
The sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs Trump said he’s imposing on countries around the world includes a 46% tariff on Vietnam, which is a major trading partner with America.
Since the two nations restored diplomatic relations in 1995, bilateral trade has grown to a record high of $138 billion in goods trading in 2022.
Trump hits the golf course as stock market continues to slide from his tariff plans — 12:04 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Two days after sending the global economy reeling by announcing tariffs on foreign imports, Trump insisted his trade policies will “NEVER CHANGE” as he remained ensconced in a bubble of wealth and power in Florida.
He woke up on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and headed to his nearby golf course a few miles away after writing on social media, in all-capital letters, that “this is a great time to get rich.”
Several supporters stood across the street as Trump, wearing his signature red campaign hat and white polo shirt, glided down a street lined with palm trees. They waved to him and he waved back, part of a ritual that plays out every weekend that he’s in town.
Federal Reserve chief says Trump tariffs likely to raise inflation and slow US economic growth — 11:50 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Trump administration’s expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, and the Federal Reserve will focus on keeping price increases temporary, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday.
Powell said in written remarks that the tariffs, and their impacts on the economy and inflation, are “significantly larger than expected.” He also said that the import taxes are “highly likely” to lead to “at least a temporary rise in inflation,” but added that “it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.”
“Our obligation is to ... make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem,” Powell said in remarks being delivered in Arlington, Virginia.
Bondi announces charges in MS-13 killing as the Trump administration highlights its gang crackdown — 11:39 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Three alleged MS-13 gang members have been federally charged in connection with a killing a decade ago in Florida, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday, seeking to highlight the Trump administration’s push to prosecute violent gangs.
Bondi joined law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale to promote the Justice Department’s efforts to go after the gang, which the Republican administration has designated a “foreign terrorist organization” and has seized on as the threat posed by illegal immigration.
“More arrests are coming,” Bondi said. “If you are a gang member living in this country, I’d self-deport right now because we’re coming after you.”
NEH funding cuts hit Mass. groups focused on history, culture — 11:21 a.m.
By Claire Thornton, Globe Staff
The Trump administration this week terminated a $1.3 million grant to the Massachusetts affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, one of several cultural agencies and organizations around the state that have seen their funding slashed.
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association lost $300,000 in grant funding. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum in Hadley: $40,000.
The funding cuts affecting cultural organizations across Massachusetts come after the Department of Government Efficiency instructed the NEH to launch deep cuts to staff and programs at the federal level, the New York Times reported.
Judge rebukes Wisconsin Democrat’s rapid response to Musk’s millions — 11:07 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The state’s Attorney General Josh Kaul had sued in a last-minute effort to stop Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters before the state’s Supreme Court election, which was ultimately won by Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.
Columbia County Circuit Judge Andrew Voigt’s order dismissed Kaul’s lawsuit as “woefully deficient” and said “it is this Court’s opinion that Wisconsin’s system of justice was abused by this case.”
The judge dismissed the case at Kaul’s request after the state Supreme Court rejected it without comment. Musk then gave out checks to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group after Kaul accused him of violating state law by inducing voters with money.
Kaul’s statement says he’s proud of his “rapid action” to “help protect the integrity of the recent election.”
Bondi announces charges in MS-13 killing as the Trump administration highlights its gang crackdown — 11:36 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Three alleged MS-13 gang members have been federally charged in connection with a killing a decade ago in Florida, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday, seeking to highlight the Trump administration’s push to prosecute violent gangs.
Bondi joined law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale to promote the Justice Department’s efforts to go after the gang, which the Republican administration has designated a “foreign terrorist organization” and has seized on as the threat posed by illegal immigration.
“More arrests are coming,” Bondi said. “If you are a gang member living in this country, I’d self-deport right now because we’re coming after you.”
College officials worry crackdown tactics will turn foreign students away — 10:36 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is requesting a meeting with the State Department, alarmed that the Trump administration’s widening crackdown will persuade sought-after foreign students to stay away from the United States.
College officials say the new, harsher tactics and vague justifications being used to push some students out of the country will have much broader consequences.
America’s universities have long been seen as a top destination for the world’s brightest minds — and they’ve brought important tuition revenue and research breakthroughs to US colleges. But international students also have other options, said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an association of international educators.
Markets worldwide are careening even lower after China matched Trump’s tariffs — 10:31 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Trump’s escalating trade war is roiling the markets.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% early Friday, coming off its worst day since COVID wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,000 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 3%.
Not even a better-than-expected report on the US job market was enough to stop the slide.
European stocks saw some of the day’s biggest losses, and the price of crude oil tumbled to its lowest level since 2021 on worries about how a trade war could cause a recession.
Trump says China ‘panicked’ by matching his tariffs with a 34% tariff on US imports — 9:58 a.m.
By the Associated Press
“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” he wrote in a social media post Friday morning.
Dow opens down more than 1,100 points and sell-off worsens for markets worldwide— 9:40 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Stock markets worldwide are careening even lower after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% early Friday, coming off its worst day since COVID wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,100 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 3%.
Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market was enough to stop the slide. European stocks saw some of the day’s biggest losses, and the price of crude oil tumbled to its lowest level since 2021 on worries about how a trade war could cause a recession.
Trump defends tariff moves on social media — 9:20 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Although experts have harshly criticized the president’s economic policies, he’s finding support on TikTok.
He shared a video on Friday morning that said “Trump is crashing the stock market” and “he’s doing it on purpose” as part of “secret game he’s playing, and it could make you rich.”
Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, for the weekend. In another all-caps post, Trump said he would stay the course despite fears about a potential recession.
“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” he wrote.
Wall Street appears on track for another day of crushing losses — 9:18 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Major US indexes plunged sharply before Friday’s opening bell, then doubled their losses after China matched Trump’s tariffs.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 3.6% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 3.4%, falling below the 40,000 mark. Nasdaq futures tumbled 4%.
That follows Thursday’s wipeout, Wall Street’s worst day in five years.
Markets in Europe were having an even rougher time — by midday Friday, Germany’s DAX had lost 5%, the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 4.2% and Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 3.8%.
Oil prices fell as much as 8%.
US tariffs calculations are ‘not standard economics,’ analyst says — 8:57 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A top trade analyst says the Trump tariffs calculations are “not standard economics” and in many cases impose rates far higher than what targeted countries apply to US goods.
Julia Spies, chief of trade and market intelligence at the International Trade Center, said how exactly the US Trade Representative’s office and other US officials came up with the tariffs remains uncertain.
She told a UN briefing in Geneva by video that the figures presented by Trump roughly match the US trade balance — or imbalance — with a specific country, divided by imports from that country, “and that, divided by two, gives us the reciprocal tariff” imposed by the US.
The US calculation also somehow included other regulations and policies — such as each country’s sanitary measures and technical barriers, and alleged currency manipulations, and “all of that led to this – what they call ‘tariffs’.”
Need a car repair? US consumers will pay much more, China car association says — 8:56 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers called on the US to “correct its wrong actions.” It said the tariffs “will further raise car prices, and impose additional burdens on consumers in various countries including Americans and have a negative impact on global economic recovery.”
China is one of the major exporters of car parts, many used in car repairs. For example, about 6 in every 10 auto replacement parts used in US auto shop repairs are imported from Mexico, Canada and China. The new taxes are also estimated to make cars imported into the US thousands of dollars more expensive.
Asian shares sliding, US dollar falling as the euro and yen rise — 8:47 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Asian traders are reacting to President Trump’s tariffs, with the scope of Friday’s selloff limited because markets in Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia are closed for holidays.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 4.3% to 33,263.58, while South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.8% to 2,441.86. The two US allies said they were focused on negotiating lower tariffs with Trump’s administration. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.2% to 7,684.30.
In other trading early Friday, the US dollar fell to 145.39 Japanese yen from 146.06. The yen is often used as a refuge in uncertain times, while Trump’s policies are meant in part to weaken the dollar to make goods made in the US more price competitive overseas. The euro gained to $1.1095 from $1.1055.
Chinese industry groups say new tariffs destroyed normal order of trade with US — 8:46 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Chinese industry groups on Friday sharply criticized the US tariffs as well as the closing of the de minimis loophole which had allowed low value goods to be imported tax-free.
“America’s action crudely destroyed the normal order of trade between the US and China, severely impacted cooperation between global industries, and greatly harmed the rights of consumers, including American citizens,” said a statement from the China Light Industry Association.
The tax exemption for packages valued at $800 or less helped China-founded e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu to thrive while cutting into the US retail market.
The China National Textile and Apparel Council expressed support Friday for “the Chinese government’s forceful measures.”
Vietnamese negotiators head to Washington as US consumers face a 46% tax on their products — 8:41 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Trump’s announced tariff on Vietnam “is not in line with the reality of mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,” foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said.
Vietnam’s tariffs are among the highest of any country, more than competitors like Thailand and Malaysia. At stake are electronics, textiles, footwear, seafood and other exports to the US that totaled nearly $120 billion last year, nearly a third of the country’s total.
Deputy Prime Minister and former finance minister Ho Duc Phoc is scheduled to visit the US and Cuba from April 6-14.
She said Vietnam has actively engaged with the US to address concerns, promote ties and work towards fair, mutually beneficial trade in the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership the two countries inked in 2023, evolving beyond what President Joe Biden called the “bitter past” of the Vietnam War.
Taiwan’s president will support impacted industries, says tariffs ‘unreasonable’ — 8:35 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said he will offer the “greatest support” to industries impacted by the new tariffs. Lai acknowledged that Taiwan had a trade surplus with the US, but that much of it came from Taiwanese industries trying to fulfill the US demand for Taiwan’s information technology products.
“We feel that this is unreasonable and are also worried about the subsequent impact these measures may have on the global economy,” Lai said in a statement on his Facebook page Thursday night.
Lai said he instructed Premier Cho Jung-tai to work closely with industries that are impacted and to communicate with the public about their plans to stabilize the economy.
Trump’s Friday schedule — 8:32 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The president does not have anything on his schedule during the day. At 7:30 p.m., he will attend a MAGA Inc. candlelit dinner at Mar-a-Lago, according to the White House.
Trump says things are ‘going very well’ after worst stock market drop in years over tariffs — 8:31 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Trump offered a rosy assessment after the stock market dropped sharply Thursday over his tariffs, saying, “I think it’s going very well.”
“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” he said when asked about the market as he left the White House to fly to one of his Florida golf clubs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,600 points on Thursday as US stocks led a worldwide selloff.
Trump talked about trillions of dollars in investment that is “coming into our country” from companies that want to make their products in the US to avoid tariffs.
“The rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal,” he said.
Later, speaking with the reporters on aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he’d be open to using tariffs to negotiate with other countries and that it would depend on whether they had something “phenomenal” to offer in return.
China imposes a 34% tariff on imports of all US products starting April 10 — 8:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The new tariff matches the rate of the US “reciprocal” tariff of 34% on Chinese exports that Trump ordered this week.
The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said in a notice that it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.
Additionally, the Chinese government said it has added 27 firms to lists of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls.
16 are subject to a ban on the export of “dual-use” goods. High Point Aerotechnologies, a defense tech company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded transportation and logistics company, were among those listed.
Beijing also announced it filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over the tariffs issue.
Trump’s tariff push is a race against time and potential voter backlash — 8:15 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump’s expansive new tariffs reverse a decades-long global trend of lower trade barriers and are likely, economists say, to raise prices for Americans by thousands of dollars each year while sharply slowing the US economy.
The White House is gambling that other countries will also suffer enough pain that they will open up their economies to more American exports, leading to negotiations that would reduce the tariffs imposed Wednesday.
Or, the White House hopes, companies will reverse their moves toward global supply chains and bring more production to the United States to avoid higher import taxes.
Markey, Warren, Healey, and Mass. delegation demand Trump administration reverse ‘claw back’ of $106 million in COVID relief funds for schools — 5:38 a.m.
By Nick Stoico, Globe Staff
Federal and state elected officials from Massachusetts are demanding the Trump administration reconsider its move to draw back more than $100 million in unspent COVID relief funds that local schools were expecting to have another year to spend.
In a letter to US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Thursday, members of the state’s congressional delegation said they were “alarmed at this abrupt termination of congressionally authorized” funding and “astonished at the callous disregard for the wellbeing of students, educators, and communities.”
The letter was signed by Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with members of congress from Massachusetts and Governor Maura Healey.
Amid immigration crackdowns, student newspapers grapple with how to cover campus without making targets of their peers — 5:15 a.m.
By Aidan Ryan, Globe Staff
The Trump administration’s crackdown on college protesters has presented student journalists with a dilemma that cuts against the very tenets of the profession they hope to join: can they capture this divisive moment without either censoring their work or endangering the people they cover?
Student journalists had a brush with this question in the early days of the war in Gaza, when campus protesters lost job offers and had their private information shared widely. But the arrest and attempted deportation of Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, who coauthored an op-ed in the student newspaper critical of Israel, has put the issue before them in the starkest possible terms.
‘Like an abusive relationship.’ For federal workers who have been fired and rehired, uncertainty reigns. — 5:03 a.m.
By Julian E.J. Sorapuru, Globe Staff
Amber Crist thought she had found the job she would retire from.
In September, she left her tax auditor position with the West Virginia state government to work as a revenue agent in the small business division of the Internal Revenue Service. As a single mother with three kids, the increased pay and better benefits that came with the federal government job were too good to pass up.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, she was one of the thousands of federal workers in their probationary period who were laid off.
For over a month, Crist had no income. Her unemployment insurance claim was denied because the IRS alleged she was fired due to poor performance. Crist, 42, had to rely on family and friends to help her buy groceries and pay bills. She spent her days applying to other jobs, trying to forget her fantasy of retiring as a decorated civil servant.
Trump officials have not funded Radio Free Europe, despite court order — 1:38 a.m.
By The New York Times
The Trump administration has failed to disburse congressionally approved funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the news network originally set up to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War, despite a judge’s order to keep it operating, according to court filings and officials at the news organization.
The news group, known as RFE/RL, has not received nearly $12 million for its April funding from the US Agency for Global Media, the federal entity overseeing it. The unusual delay in the disbursement has forced the news organization, which relies almost exclusively on congressional funding, to furlough some of its staff and cut parts of its programming.
Rally and court hearing set for Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison — 12:37 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Lawyers for a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador will ask a federal judge on Friday to order the Trump Administration to return him to the US.
The White House already has argued against the idea in legal briefs. They have cast Kilmar Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member and assert that US courts lack jurisdiction over the matter because the Salvadoran national is no longer in the US.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have countered there is no evidence he was in MS-13. The allegation is based on a confidential informant’s claim in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was a member of a chapter in New York, where he has never lived.
Colleges say the Trump administration is using new tactics to expel international students — 12:25 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A crackdown on foreign students is alarming colleges, who say the Trump administration is using new tactics and vague justifications to push some students out of the country.
College officials worry the new approach will keep foreigners from wanting to study in the US.
Students stripped of their entry visas are receiving orders from the Department of Homeland Security to leave the country immediately — a break from past practice that often permitted them to stay and complete their studies.