Latest news with #Branstetter
Axios
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Two 2025 Pulitzer winners trace roots to Fayetteville
Two winners of a prestigious prize for writers this year grew up in Fayetteville. One received Pulitzer recognition for her work on the first draft of history following the Dobbs decision, the other for a 1,000-year retrospective on Native Americans. Why it matters: Ziva Branstetter and Kathleen DuVal 's works highlight significant cultural and political issues in the U.S., bringing attention to people and events that might otherwise be lost to time. What they're saying:"Few, if any, school districts in the middle of America can lay claim to having two current Pulitzer Prize winners among their alumni," Fayetteville School District Superintendent John Mulford said in an email. "We are very proud of Dr. Duval and Ms. Branstetter, and we congratulate them on these prestigious honors." State of play: Though neither woman attended the University of Arkansas, it serves as a common denominator; both their fathers taught there and settled in Fayetteville. Branstetter, a senior investigative editor for ProPublica, worked with a team on " Life of the Mother," a series about how abortion bans have led to preventable deaths of women in Georgia and Texas. The series won for public service reporting. She graduated from Fayetteville High School (FHS) in 1982, then went to Oklahoma State University. Much of her career as an investigative reporter and editor was spent in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but she also did stints at Reveal and the Washington Post. "The reason we're doing this work is to point out to policy makers — and really the people who vote for them, the people who can apply pressure — that there are opportunities to save lives," she told Axios. Case in point:"Ziva had the vision that we should gather death records ourselves, reach out to families and ask experts to help us understand if and how abortion laws were impacting health care. ... Her passion, encouragement and support made it possible," ProPublica reporter Kavitha Surana told Axios. DuVal, a professor of history with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, won the prize in history for her book " Native Nations: A Millennium in North America." It chronicles U.S. history through the lens of Indigenous nations. She graduated from FHS in 1988, then earned her bachelor's degree in history at Stanford and her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the influence of different cultures on early America. "I think for a long time it was important to most Americans to kind of believe that the United States had a right to the whole continent and that maybe Native Americans hadn't," she said. But in recent years, DuVal said, the public has become more interested in Native American history and that the communities "have always been here and are still really an important part of the United States." Case in point: DuVal was editor of the FHS literary magazine, named "Best High School Literary Magazine" in 1988 by the Columbia University School of Journalism, her father, John DuVal, told Axios.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Want evidence Trump's tariffs are upending the global economy? Here it is
Ever since President Donald Trump introduced his first round of new tariffs, it's been a waiting game to see just how much they'll impact the global economy. This week, one of the earliest signs was revealed — and it wasn't pretty. South Korea's Customs Service reported that exports for the first 20 days of April declined by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. That singular data point is a 'key bellwether' for where trade is heading, Min Joo Kang, a senior economist at ING, said in a note on Monday. The decline in exports came after Trump enacted a 25% tariff on all aluminum, steel and auto imports. All other South Korean imports were also briefly subject to a 25% 'reciprocal' tariff before Trump delayed it until July. Instead, imports from there are subject to a nearly universal 10% tariff. That was evident in the data, which showed that car and steel shipments fell 6.5% and 8.7%, respectively, year over year for the first 20 days of April. Overall exports from South Korea to the US declined by 14.3% from last year. The bright spot was semiconductor exports, which rose 10.2% compared to last April. Semiconductors remain exempt from US tariffs, but Trump has said he aims to implement tariffs as high as 25% on the product. For now, the South Korean data suggests that 'US tariffs are complicating global trade dynamics,' Kang said. But things can often change on a month-to-month basis, so it might be too early to jump to any conclusions, cautioned Lee Branstetter, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. It is, however, 'reasonable to attribute part of the export decline to the Trump-related disruptions in trade,' he told CNN. Branstetter, who previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment on former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said he expects forthcoming trade data from other American trade partners to paint a similar picture. But those changes might not show up as fast because it can take a while for new tariffs to manifest in trade data, he added. The chaos that's ensued from Trump's on-and-off tariffs makes it increasingly hard to draw firm conclusions from forthcoming trade data. For starters, it's possible that some countries' data will show exports to the US increased this month as businesses sought to take advantage of the 'reciprocal' tariff pause. Another major factor at play is the overarching uncertainty from Trump's trade policies. For instance, the president recently claimed he's negotiating deals with other nations, which he said could be finalized in a matter of weeks. At the same time, he's also threatened new tariffs. That uncertainty could be causing businesses to pause international orders altogether. That means some countries' exports could decline, said Branstetter. For instance, one toy company CNN spoke with earlier this month said it stopped ordering goods from China over fears tariffs will continue to rise. The trade picture for South Korea and the US could change, however, if talks between the two nations are sucessful. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun are set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday. The Trump administration has said it wants to prioritize trade deals with allies like South Korea. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
22-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
Want evidence Trump's tariffs are upending the global economy? Here it is
Ever since President Donald Trump introduced his first round of new tariffs, it's been a waiting game to see just how much they'll impact the global economy. This week, one of the earliest signs was revealed — and it wasn't pretty. South Korea's Customs Service reported that exports for the first 20 days of April declined by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. That singular data point is a 'key bellwether' for where trade is heading, Min Joo Kang, a senior economist at ING, said in a note on Monday. The decline in exports came after Trump enacted a 25% tariff on all aluminum, steel and auto imports. All other South Korean imports were also briefly subject to a 25% 'reciprocal' tariff before Trump delayed it until July. Instead, imports from there are subject to a nearly universal 10% tariff. That was evident in the data, which showed that car and steel shipments fell 6.5% and 8.7%, respectively, year over year for the first 20 days of April. Overall exports from South Korea to the US declined by 14.3% from last year. The bright spot was semiconductor exports, which rose 10.2% compared to last April. Semiconductors remain exempt from US tariffs, but Trump has said he aims to implement tariffs as high as 25% on the product. For now, the South Korean data suggests that 'US tariffs are complicating global trade dynamics,' Kang said. But things can often change on a month-to-month basis, so it might be too early to jump to any conclusions, cautioned Lee Branstetter, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. It is, however, 'reasonable to attribute part of the export decline to the Trump-related disruptions in trade,' he told CNN. Branstetter, who previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment on former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said he expects forthcoming trade data from other American trade partners to paint a similar picture. But those changes might not show up as fast because it can take a while for new tariffs to manifest in trade data, he added. The chaos that's ensued from Trump's on-and-off tariffs makes it increasingly hard to draw firm conclusions from forthcoming trade data. For starters, it's possible that some countries' data will show exports to the US increased this month as businesses sought to take advantage of the 'reciprocal' tariff pause. Another major factor at play is the overarching uncertainty from Trump's trade policies. For instance, the president recently claimed he's negotiating deals with other nations, which he said could be finalized in a matter of weeks. At the same time, he's also threatened new tariffs. That uncertainty could be causing businesses to pause international orders altogether. That means some countries' exports could decline, said Branstetter. For instance, one toy company CNN spoke with earlier this month said it stopped ordering goods from China over fears tariffs will continue to rise. The trade picture for South Korea and the US could change, however, if talks between the two nations are sucessful. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun are set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday. The Trump administration has said it wants to prioritize trade deals with allies like South Korea.
CNN
22-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
Want evidence Trump's tariffs are upending the global economy? Here it is
Ever since President Donald Trump introduced his first round of new tariffs, it's been a waiting game to see just how much they'll impact the global economy. This week, one of the earliest signs was revealed — and it wasn't pretty. South Korea's Customs Service reported that exports for the first 20 days of April declined by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. That singular data point is a 'key bellwether' for where trade is heading, Min Joo Kang, a senior economist at ING, said in a note on Monday. The decline in exports came after Trump enacted a 25% tariff on all aluminum, steel and auto imports. All other South Korean imports were also briefly subject to a 25% 'reciprocal' tariff before Trump delayed it until July. Instead, imports from there are subject to a nearly universal 10% tariff. That was evident in the data, which showed that car and steel shipments fell 6.5% and 8.7%, respectively, year over year for the first 20 days of April. Overall exports from South Korea to the US declined by 14.3% from last year. The bright spot was semiconductor exports, which rose 10.2% compared to last April. Semiconductors remain exempt from US tariffs, but Trump has said he aims to implement tariffs as high as 25% on the product. For now, the South Korean data suggests that 'US tariffs are complicating global trade dynamics,' Kang said. But things can often change on a month-to-month basis, so it might be too early to jump to any conclusions, cautioned Lee Branstetter, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. It is, however, 'reasonable to attribute part of the export decline to the Trump-related disruptions in trade,' he told CNN. Branstetter, who previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment on former President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said he expects forthcoming trade data from other American trade partners to paint a similar picture. But those changes might not show up as fast because it can take a while for new tariffs to manifest in trade data, he added. The chaos that's ensued from Trump's on-and-off tariffs makes it increasingly hard to draw firm conclusions from forthcoming trade data. For starters, it's possible that some countries' data will show exports to the US increased this month as businesses sought to take advantage of the 'reciprocal' tariff pause. Another major factor at play is the overarching uncertainty from Trump's trade policies. For instance, the president recently claimed he's negotiating deals with other nations, which he said could be finalized in a matter of weeks. At the same time, he's also threatened new tariffs. That uncertainty could be causing businesses to pause international orders altogether. That means some countries' exports could decline, said Branstetter. For instance, one toy company CNN spoke with earlier this month said it stopped ordering goods from China over fears tariffs will continue to rise. The trade picture for South Korea and the US could change, however, if talks between the two nations are sucessful. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun are set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday. The Trump administration has said it wants to prioritize trade deals with allies like South Korea.
CNN
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Trans and nonbinary Americans embrace joy as resistance in new ‘Freedom to Be' quilt
Who would you be if you had the freedom to live into the fullness of who you are? That's the question a new art installation put to transgender and nonbinary Americans across the country, asking them to weave all their joys, frustrations and hopes into more than 250 panels that will form a massive quilt. The 'Freedom to Be' project, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, will be unveiled in Washington, DC, later this spring in conjunction with WorldPride celebrations. It comes at a time of escalating attacks on the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans, and a looming Supreme Court decision that could determine the future of their access to gender-affirming care. But that's precisely why the quilt is necessary, said Gillian Branstetter, a communications strategist with the ACLU who helped conceive the project. The quilt, she said, allows trans people — especially children — to reclaim their story and imagine a life of freedom where they can embrace and celebrate who they are without fear of repercussion. In honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility, CNN spoke to trans activists and advocates involved with the project about the importance of channeling joy as a form of resistance. 'Trans people are so often the topic, but we're rarely the voice,' Branstetter said. 'A big goal was synthesizing the full scope of that diversity into one loud display of not just what we're fighting against, but what we're fighting for.'
