Here’s your evening news rundown—but first, a quick thank you. If you believe in this kind of journalism, please consider subscribing or becoming a supporter. Every bit helps keep this work going strong. We are going to do a paid subscriber live this weekend, so stay tuned!
Now, let’s get into the news.
The S&P 500 closed the week down 9.1%, marking its worst weekly drop since March 2020. The Dow Jones also sank more than 2,000 points—something that's only happened three other times in history. Fears over tariffs wiped out $5 trillion in value from the S&P 500. Since Trump took office, the U.S. stock market has lost over $9 trillion in total market value.
The White House was close to finalizing a deal over TikTok, but sources say China pulled back after Trump announced sweeping new tariffs. In response, Trump signed a 75-day extension for TikTok.
Trump chose not to attend the dignified transfer ceremony for four U.S. soldiers killed in Lithuania. Instead, he went to a LIV Golf event—an organization with connections to the Saudi government.
A U.S. judge has ordered the Trump administration to bring back a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, according to court proceedings reported by Reuters.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, lashed out on X at the Maryland judge who ordered the U.S. government to bring back a man wrongly deported to El Salvador. Miller called her a “Marxist judge” and claimed she “now thinks she’s president of El Salvador.”
The Supreme Court has given Trump a temporary win, allowing his administration to freeze millions in state grants meant to address teacher shortages. It’s the administration’s first victory at the high court since returning to power in January. The ruling was a narrow 5–4 decision, with Chief Justice Roberts and the Court’s three liberal justices in dissent.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ordered 65,000 voters to verify their eligibility in the state Supreme Court race, after Republican Jefferson Griffin contested the results—trailing by just 700 votes.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell says tariffs are likely to push inflation even higher—and the overall economic hit could be bigger than initially expected. Meanwhile, Trump is pressuring Powell to slash interest rates, accusing the Fed of “playing politics.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom is urging international trade partners to leave California-made goods out of their retaliatory tariffs. "California is not Washington, D.C.," Newsom said. "As the world’s fifth-largest economy, the Golden State will continue to be a stable, reliable partner—regardless of the chaos coming out of Washington."
According to a court filing reported by Reuters, 500 law firms have signed onto a legal brief backing Perkins Coie’s lawsuit against the Trump administration.
A conservative legal organization has filed what it claims is the first lawsuit challenging U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, arguing that Trump overstepped his legal authority.
JPMorgan has released a research note saying the chances of a global recession have jumped to 60%, citing Trump’s tariffs as the driving factor.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
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