Leaders in Europe and Canada have said they will not let Donald Trump's plans to hit their steel and aluminium exports with tariffs go unchallenged.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the move would trigger "firm and proportionate countermeasures" while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also pledged to "stand up for" Canadian workers and businesses.

The comments came after the US president ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US, ending previous exemptions for allies including Canada and the EU and marking a major expansion of trade barriers.

Trump said he was "simplifying" the rules and the measures would boost domestic production.

"This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again," Trump said, signing the proclamation, which said the measures would come into force on 12 March.

"Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands," he added.

The US is the world's largest importer of steel, counting Canada, Brazil and Mexico as its top three suppliers.

Canada alone accounted for more than 50% of aluminium imported into the US last year.

The tariffs will raise the cost of bringing the metals into the US, sparking concern among businesses in the US that rely on the imports and many world leaders because it will make it more expensive for companies to sell their products in the world's largest economy.

>https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c360dz384n5o

Communism 2.0 – A New Social Model

I am Patxi Ibáñez Lorente, and I have developed a system called **Communism 2.0**, a revolutionary proposal that eliminates money and the power of a few to ensure a fair distribution of resources through advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

This system replaces politicians with a **constant referendum app**, where citizens legislate directly. It also eliminates planned obsolescence, reducing the need to work long hours and allowing for a more balanced life.

If you want to learn all the details of this model, you can read it for free at the following link:

[https://lacurvadelprogreso.blogspot.com/2023/08/sistema-posiblemente-justo-manifiesto.html](https://lacurvadelprogreso.blogspot.com/2023/08/sistema-posiblemente-justo-manifiesto.html)

You can also purchase my book **"Communism 2.0"** on Amazon by searching for its title.

Together, we can build a fairer world.

California is so mismanaged they stopped paying out insurance claims for the wildfire. They are broke.
The state charges a special tax to all private insurers to fund a state operated home owners insurance provider named FAIR. FAIR has stopped paying out claims to homeowners because they have no money. Peak Democrat policy right here, another wasted useless tax.
https://abc7.com/post/californias-insurer-people-private-coverage-needs-1-billion-more-la-fires-claims/15895227/
California's insurer for people without private coverage needs $1 billion more for LA fires claims

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's plan that provides insurance to homeowners who can't get private coverage needs $1 billion more to pay out claims related to the Los Angeles wildfires, the state Insurance Department said Tuesday.

The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that all the major private insurers pay into, and the plan then issues policies to people who can't get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure. The plans provide high premiums and basic coverage. There were more than 452,000 policies on the Fair Plan in 2024, more than double the number in 2020.

The plan says it's expecting a loss of roughly $4 billion from the Eaton and Palisades Fires, which sparked Jan. 7, destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and killed at least 29 people. Roughly 4,700 claims have been filed as of this week, and the plan has already paid out more than $914 million.

All insurers doing business in California will have to bear half the cost and can pass on the rest to all policyholders in the form of a one-time fee as a percentage of premiums. Insurers can collect that cost in the next two years. The state Insurance Department must approve those costs.

The plan also expects to receive $1.45 billion in reinsurance to help pay out claims.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1890058741275660454?s=46

In a shocking turn of events, USAID's media funding in Ukraine has been exposed, revealing a sprawling propaganda network funded by American taxpayers. With Trump pulling the plug on this multi-million dollar operation, over 700 media outlets and 6,000 journalists worldwide face an uncertain future. Was this truly about "free media," or a strategic narrative control? Dive deep into the tangled web of disinformation, geopolitical agendas, and the unraveling of Ukraine’s media landscape.

Ukraine’s "independent media", a collection of small regional outlets, muckraking investigative websites and internet news platforms, have been reeling since the USAID announcement, with some organizations saying that they are just weeks away from slashing staff or closing down entirely.

“We risk losing the achievements of three decades of work and increasing threats to Ukraine’s statehood, democratic values, and pro-Western orientation,” Detector Media(fact checker of MI6), a journalism watchdog, said in a statement on its website last week.

Many of these organizations have struggled to make ends meet in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago, which caused a drastic drop in advertising revenue and forced them to turn to foreign assistance programs to stay afloat.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/independent-media-in-russia-ukraine-lose-their-funding-with-usaid-freeze/ar-AA1yBFzi

https://time.com/7221880/state-department-2025-procurement-forecast-tesla-armored-electric-vehicles-musk/
The State Department was planning to buy $400 million worth of “Armored Tesla” later this year, according to its 2025 procurement forecast, a document outlining projections of anticipated contracts, which was published in December. But after reports emerged on Wednesday of the potential for conflict of interest given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s prominent role in the Trump Administration, the document was updated, removing mention of Tesla and changing the line item to “Armored Electric Vehicles” instead.

As of late Wednesday, both versions of the 2025 procurement forecast remained available on different State Department webpages. The earlier version that mentions Tesla also lists the planned procurement under NAICS Code 311999, an industry code for miscellaneous food manufacturing, while the newer version, which says it was modified at 9:12 p.m., Feb. 12, lists the revised “Armored Electric Vehicles” procurement under NAICS Code 561613 for “Armored Car Services.” No other changes were made in the document, which contains 319 other line items.

The State Department website says it issues annual procurement forecasts pursuant to the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988, which “requires agencies to compile and make available projections of contracting opportunities small and small disadvantaged firms may be able to perform.” It is meant to give “small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses” opportunities to compete for direct contracts with the government or subcontracting opportunities.

Trump just created the US Sovereign Wealth Fund which will be used to fund things such as airports, highways, and entitlements by federal investment in US business.
Potentially it will be a major investor in TikTok, sharing in its massive profits.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/03/trump-signs-order-to-establish-a-sovereign-wealth-fund-that-he-says-could-buy-tiktok.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-orders-plan-for-a-united-states-sovereign-wealth-fund/
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that outlines plans for a government-run sovereign wealth fund to serve as an economic development tool and perhaps be used to buy TikTok.

Among the aims for the fund would be developing infrastructure such as airports and highways, and it could help the U.S. extend its influence in areas such as Panama and Greenland.

“We’re going to stand this thing up within the next 12 months. We’re going to monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a media parley. “There’ll be a combination of liquid assets, assets that we have in this country as we work to bring them out for the American people.”

There were no other details for a fund Trump said during his campaign could back “great national endeavors.” He has said tariffs could help provide funding. Other nations use taxes on natural resources, financial transactions and carbon use as funding mechanisms.

A discussed deal in which the U.S. would become a partner in social media platform TikTok would be one potential use, Trump said. Trump signed an order allowing it back for a 75-day period during which it likely will have to divest itself of Chinese interests.

Nations with the funds include China, Norway and Singapore. A U.S. fund could help it compete with those countries and might make the government less dependent on issuing Treasury debt to raise money.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/10/trump-gulf-of-america-name-change-effective/78128577007/
It's official: The Gulf of Mexico is no more (at least in the United States, anyway).

Workers at the federal Board on Geographic Names have formally changed the name to the Gulf of America per one of President Donald Trump's first executive orders. The change doesn't affect what other countries call it, and Mexico's president has promised to ignore it and asked others to do the same.

Trump on Sunday flew in Air Force 1 over the Gulf while attending the Super Bowl, and declared the day as the "first-ever Gulf of America Day." Traveling with the president, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shared on social media an official USGS map image showing the new name.

While some U.S agencies immediately began using the new name upon Trump's Jan. 20 order, it's now effective across all the federal government because it's been changed in the centralized Geographic Names Information System.

Google has also updated its maps. Apple ignored a request for comment for whether it would honor the change, and had not swapped in the new name by 5 p.m. on Monday.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo joked that she's going to start calling the United States "Mexican America" in retaliation. International practice is to use whatever place name is preferred by the country a specific geographic feature belongs to, but the gulf touches Mexico, the United States, Cuba and several other island nations.

There is precedent for different names for the same places: A contested chain off islands off the coast of South America is known by the British as the Falkland Islands, while Argentina, which also claims the islands, calls them the Islas Malvinas. Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, sparking a vicious two-month battle won by the British.