https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/25/trump-50percent-tariffs-eu-july-9.html

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he agreed to an extension on the 50% tariff deadline on the European Union until July 9.

“I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the European Union,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so,” he added.

Trump’s post came after Von der Leyen said that she had a “good call” with Trump, but needed until July 9 to “reach a good deal.”

“The EU and US share the world’s most consequential and close trade relationship,” she wrote on X.

“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she continued.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/fema-denies-nc-appeal-for-helene-recovery-match/
FEMA will not reverse its decision to deny matching 100% of the State of North Carolina’s expenditures used for Hurricane Helene recovery.

In a letter to Governor Josh Stein (D) dated May 22nd, 2025, FEMA’s acting administrator, David Richardson, said:

“This is in response to your April 25, 2025, appeal of the denial of your request for an extension to the cost share waiver under major disaster FEMA-4827-DR that was declared on September 28, 2024, due to Tropical Storm Helene. You specifically requested an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days.

After a careful and thorough review of all the information available, including that contained in your initial request for a cost share adjustment and appeal, we have concluded that an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster declaration FEMA-4827-DR is not warranted.”

The letter did not offer an explanation as to why FEMA deemed the reimbursement is not warranted. The decision leaves it up to the state to figure out how to pay for at least $200 million in additional recovery expenses.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/business/trump-media-bitcoin.html

Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, said on Tuesday that it would raise $2.5 billion from institutional investors to invest in Bitcoin, continuing its transformation from a social media company into a financial services and crypto play.

Trump Media, whose largest shareholder is President Trump, said it would raise $1.5 billion from about 50 institutional investors by selling roughly 58 million shares. The company is planning to raise an additional $1 billion from the sale of bonds that can also be converted into shares at a later date.

The announcement came as the president and his family have become more involved in a number of crypto companies. Mr. Trump owns a little over 50 percent of Trump Media’s stock, making his roughly $2.7 billion stake one of his most valuable investments.

The sale of the new shares will potentially dilute the value of Trump Media’s stock, including the 115 million shares that Mr. Trump owns. The president’s shares are held in a trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Jr., who also is a Trump Media board member.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/shipments-from-china-fall-as-trumps-tariffs-loom-over-economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — American businesses are cancelling orders from China, postponing expansion plans and hunkering down to see what trade policy surprises President Donald Trump plans to spring on them next.

The president’s massive and unpredictable taxes on imports seem likely to mean emptier shelves and higher prices for American shoppers, perhaps within weeks.

And the higher costs and paralyzing uncertainty could exact an economic toll: U.S. consumers are in the biggest funk since COVID-19 hit five years ago, and economists say recession risks are climbing.

An early sign of the damage emerged on Wednesday when the Commerce Department released its first look at first-quarter economic growth.

The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, the first drop in three years. Gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — was down from 2.4% in the last three months of 2024. Imports shaved 5 percentage points off first-quarter growth. Consumer spending also slowed sharply.

Separately, a report from payroll provider ADP showed that companies added just 62,000 jobs in April, about half of what was expected, and down from 147,000 in March. It’s a potential signal that businesses may be taking a more cautious approach to hiring amid uncertainty over tariffs.

Asked how much of deterioration in the world’s biggest economy could be traced to Trump’s erratic policies, Boston College economist Brian Bethune said: “All of it.’’

New Harvard CAPS Harris poll report Americans are extremely optimistic about America (link: https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/HHP_May2025_KeyResults.pdf)
Highlights:
- for the first time since COVID, over 50% of Americans think the economy is strong
- 6pt swing upward in people's opinion about their personal finances
- GOP net approval +4%
- Democratic net approval -16%
- US military, police most well liked groups. Hamas, Russia, China the least
- economy and immigration are the most important issues
- plurality believe trump is not meeting expectations, but majority believe he's better than biden
https://www.masslive.com/politics/2025/05/new-poll-reveals-major-shift-on-trumps-economy.html
New poll reveals major shift on Trump’s economy

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings may be underwater, but a new poll shows the Republican president making an important gain.

For the first time since July 2021, a narrow majority of American voters believe the American economy is strong, according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.

Fifty-one percent of the poll’s 1,903 registered voter respondents offered that sentiment, compared to 49% who said it’s weak. That puts it right in the poll’s 2.2% margin of error.

That’s still an improvement over last month, when voter sentiment cratered amid the launch of Trump’s trade war and his tariff campaign. In April, 46% of those surveyed said the economy was strong, compared to 54% who said it was weak.

A plurality of respondents, 42%, said they believe the country is on the right track. But the poll also found sharp partisan divisions, with more Republicans (76%) than Democrats (17%) and independents (30%) who said the same thing.

China has confirmed that they have folded like a lawn chair under the pressure of Trump's tariffs.
The prime minister be announcing China's unconditional surrender on Monday
https://english.news.cn/20250512/dd1006fc3d2d4b6890e9b52d9253cf48/c.html
China, U.S. will on Monday issue joint statement reached during talks, says Chinese vice premier

ICE Arrests Mississippi Father at His Citizenship Hearing,

ICE transported Kasper to the Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

Kasper has never been charged with or convicted of any crime. He has not been accused of being a member of a gang. What led the government to rip Kasper out of the arms of his family was a single document. Form I-751, a “Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence,” was just one of the endless documents he needed on his decade-plus journey to American citizenship.

Kasper and his wife, Savannah (Nee)Hobart, never submitted that form, which was due all the way back in 2015. She had suffered a stillbirth, losing their 1st child, and in the days of grief that followed, the deadline slipped right past them. But Kasper’s naturalization continued unimpeded. He corresponded with immigration officials numerous times over the next 10 years, and says agents never warned him that a critical document was missing. He paid taxes each year, reliably contributing a portion of his labor to the nation he already felt a part of.

Together with Savannah, they had 4 more children. He became a foreman at his job, and as 2025 arrived, he prepared for the final meeting with immigration services to formalize his naturalization and become an American citizen after spending nearly half of his life building a family here.
10 years after his first arrival in the U.S., 4 years after their miscarriage, and 6 years before he was chained to a seat on a bus in Memphis.

More than a month has passed since Savannah last saw Kasper, as ICE took him away in Tennessee. She is 6 months pregnant with their 5th child.


https://www.mississippifreepress.org/ice-arrests-mississippi-father-at-his-citizenship-hearing-threatening-deportation/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2ekvnrkpno

>An Amazonian tribe has sued the New York Times (NYT) over a report about the community gaining access to high-speed internet, which it claims led to its members being labelled as porn addicts.

>The defamation lawsuit said the US newspaper's report portrayed the Marubo tribe as "unable to handle basic exposure to the internet" and highlighted "allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography".

>The lawsuit also named TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, and said their news stories "mocked their youth" and "misrepresented their traditions". The NYT said its report did not say any of the tribe's members were addicted to porn. TMZ and Yahoo have been contacted for comment.

>The Marubo, an Indigenous community of about 2,000 people, is seeking at least $180m (£133m) in damages. The NYT's story, written nine months after the Marubo gained access to Starlink, a satellite-internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, said the tribe was "already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years".

>This included "teenagers glued to phones", "violent video games" and "minors watching pornography", the report said. It stated that a community leader and vocal critic of the internet was "most unsettled by the pornography", and had been told of "more aggressive sexual behaviour" from young men.

>The report also noted the perceived benefits of the internet among the tribe, including the ability to alert authorities to health issues and environmental destruction and stay in touch with faraway family.

>The named plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazillian activist Flora Dutra, who helped to distribute the 20 $15,000 Starlink antennas to the tribe, said the NYT story helped fuel "a global media storm", according to the Courthouse News Service.

>This, they said, subjected them to "humiliation, harassment and irreparable harm to their reputations and safety".

A man in Norway woke on May 22, 2025, to find the 135-meter container ship NCL Salten ran aground near his fjord-side house in Byneset by Trondheim.
The ship went off course for unknown reasons while traveling southwest through Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger, with the cause of grounding under police investigation.
The NCL Salten, a Cypriot-flagged boxship owned by North Sea Container Line, had 16 crew and previously ran aground twice, including in 2023 at Hadsel.
Neighbor Jostein Jorgensen woke up to the sound of a ship speeding toward the shore and, after repeatedly ringing his friend’s doorbell with no answer, finally reached him by phone. Helberg remarked that although the massive vessel was an imposing presence for now, it wouldn’t be there much longer.
No injuries or oil spills occurred, the ship rested in shallow waters a few meters from the house causing only minor heating pipe damage, while salvage efforts led by the owner and Norwegian Coastal Administration continue.
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https://www.hna.de/welt/spektakulaerer-kuesten-crash-containerschiff-strandet-im-garten-93748161.html