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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump changes his tune on speedy trade deals: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today's edition, Jonathan Allen digs into how Team Trump is shifting its message on trade deals as they've been slow to come to fruition. Plus, Andrea Mitchell examines a potential crossroads in the relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. — Adam Wollner The start of the deal: Why Trump stopped emphasizing speed on trade deals By Jonathan Allen Just a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump and White House aides were boasting that his tariffs would force a legion of foreign nations to rush into new trade deals — and that Trump's prowess would yield more favorable terms for the United States. 'I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my a--,' Trump said last month before his reciprocal tariffs were due to go into effect. 'They are dying to make a deal. 'Please, please, sir, make a deal. I'll do anything. I'll do anything, sir!'' After Trump paused some of his tariffs and declared a three-month negotiating window, his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said a few days later on NBC News' 'Meet the Press,' 'We've got 90 deals in 90 days possibly pending here.' But Trump has changed his tone and his tune in recent days, as it has become clear that trade agreements don't materialize as quickly as he would like and that there aren't dozens in the queue. His shift also comes amid heavy criticism that his tariffs will hike prices for consumers and harm an American economy that had its first negative growth in years in the first quarter. 'You keep writing about deals, deals. When are we going to sign one? It's very simple. We're going to say, in some cases, we want you to open up your country. In some cases we want you to drop your tariffs,' an obviously frustrated Trump told reporters Tuesday. 'So I wish they'd keep, you know, stop asking, 'How many deals are you signing this week?' Because one day we'll come and we'll give you 100 deals. And they don't have to sign.' Beyond the ambitious sweep of trying to haggle with scores of nations at once, the United States has yet to open discussions with its largest trading partner — China — since Trump applied a 145% across-the-board tariff on its products. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers Wednesday that his planned meeting with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend amounts to an early phase of negotiations that is not as far along as talks with less crucial nations. Read more → Holding steady: The Federal Reserve said it was leaving interest rates unchanged as it warned that the chances of both higher unemployment and higher inflation had climbed in the wake of Trump's tariff plan. The first signs of a Trump-Netanyahu divide? By Andrea Mitchell When President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Yemeni Houthis had agreed to stop firing on U.S ships in the Red Sea and that the United States had halted its airstrikes against the Iran-backed militia, America's closest ally in the Middle East was caught unaware. Israel didn't even know a ceasefire was in the works, and its vessels aren't covered by the truce. In fact, the same day, Israel had hammered the airport in Yemen's capital, retaliating for a Houthi strike almost hit Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. The Houthis haven't said whether they are also extending safe passage to other international shipping so they could resume sailing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, a much cheaper route than the lengthier voyage around the Horn of Africa. The first public hint of a possible breach between U.S. and Israeli leadership came when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House last month, hoping the United Stateswould provide air support for a possible Israeli operation against Iran's nuclear facilities. Instead, Trump announced he would agree to direct talks with Iran. And now, the administration is pressuring Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release within days. That's because Trump wants to announce an agreement before he leaves next week for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for the first foreign trip of his second term. His impatience is rooted in his hope of making progress toward completing the Abraham Accords, which he initiated in his first term, by getting Saudi Arabia to take the first steps toward recognizing Israel. The effort continued under President Joe Biden, but it collapsed when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the war in Gaza. And the Saudis won't consider it while the war continues. But Hamas is entrenched, Israel has reoccupied two-thirds of Gaza, and Netanyahu's Cabinet has called up the reserves to expand the fighting. This week, special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff keynoted Israel's Independence Day celebration in Washington, D.C., by gently chiding Israelis to overcome their political divisions. On Wednesday, Netanyahu's closest political adviser, Ron Dermer, the former ambassador to the United States, arrived in Washington for ceasefire talks with Secretary of State/national security adviser Marco Rubio and Witkoff. The question is: Will Netanyahu reverse course in Gaza to achieve an even more important shared goal with the United States — an economic and security agreement with Saudi Arabia, completing his dream of peace and prosperity with the Arab world? Today's top stories That's all From the Politics Desk for now. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@ And if you're a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Columbia University library
By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters stood on tables, beat drums and unfurled pro-Palestinian banners in the main reading room of a Columbia University library on Wednesday in one of the biggest demonstrations at the school since its New York City campus was roiled by a student protest movement last year. Videos and photographs on social media showed the protesters, most wearing masks, with banners saying "Strike For Gaza" and "Liberated Zone" beneath the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room's chandeliers in the Butler Library. Columbia's public affairs office said in a statement that its public safety staff were asking protesters to show identification, and that if protesters do not comply with orders to disperse, they will be disciplined for breaking school rules and face "possible arrest." At one point, more people were seen trying to enter the library, according to a Reuters witness. Public safety staff locked a door and shoving and pushing ensued. The protest comes as Columbia's board of trustees continues its negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which announced in March it had canceled hundreds of millions of dollars of grants to the university for scientific research. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview with the NBC 4 news channel that Columbia officials had asked for help and that the New York Police Department was sending officers to the campus. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a collection of student groups, recirculated on social media on Wednesday their long-standing demand that the university end investments of its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and other companies that support Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories. Trump, a Republican, has called the pro-Palestinian student protests across college campuses last year antisemitic and anti-American. Student protesters at Columbia, Jewish organizers among them, say the government is unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism. Trump is also trying to deport some pro-Palestinian international students at U.S. schools, saying their presence could harm U.S. foreign policy interests. The protesters in the library also demanded the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student who remains in a Louisiana immigrants jail after he was among the first to be arrested. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ryan Murphy; Editing by Sonali Paul)
Washington Post
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
What we learned about the Commanders from their 2025 draft class
The Washington Commanders finished the 2025 draft holding the same five selections they started with, using them to fill some key spots on the roster while creating competition at others. The five-player class — offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. (first round, 29th overall), cornerback Trey Amos (second, 61st), wide receiver/returner Jaylin Lane (fourth, 128th), linebacker Kain Medrano (sixth, 205th) and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (seventh, 245th) — is Washington's smallest since 2007, but it could yield at least a few immediate starters, and there are openings for other players to earn significant roles. Here's what we learned about the newest Commanders and what their additions say about the team: No NFL team is complete in April. There will be undrafted free agent signings, possibly rookie camp tryouts, more veteran free agent signings and, after roster cuts, waiver claims. But the Commanders' draft class is notable as much for what it adds to the roster as it is for what's still missing. The Commanders did not add a pass rusher despite letting Dante Fowler Jr. and Jonathan Allen go in free agency. It previously signed veteran Deatrich Wise Jr., who joins Clelin Ferrell and Dorance Armstrong at defensive end, and beefed up the interior of the line by adding tackles Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman. Assistant general manager Lance Newmark said after the draft that the Commanders factor in their ability to add veterans to their draft board and insinuated they could bring in more help soon. 'I think the last couple of weeks we've really studied that hard ... and had some conversations with some potential adds,' he said without referencing a specific position or player. 'So it definitely is something you think about — 'Hey, we might be able to add this player in May or so.' You certainly are always watching that board.' No NFL team is complete in April. There will be undrafted free agent signings, possibly rookie camp tryouts, more veteran free agent signings and, after roster cuts, waiver claims. But the Commanders' draft class is notable as much for what it adds to the roster as it is for what's still missing. The Commanders did not add a pass rusher despite letting Dante Fowler Jr. and Jonathan Allen go in free agency. It previously signed veteran Deatrich Wise Jr., who joins Clelin Ferrell and Dorance Armstrong at defensive end, and beefed up the interior of the line by adding tackles Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman. Assistant general manager Lance Newmark said after the draft that the Commanders factor in their ability to add veterans to their draft board and insinuated they could bring in more help soon. 'I think the last couple of weeks we've really studied that hard ... and had some conversations with some potential adds,' he said without referencing a specific position or player. 'So it definitely is something you think about — 'Hey, we might be able to add this player in May or so.' You certainly are always watching that board.' Just as Washington sought to add size to its defensive line in free agency to improve its play against the run, it wanted to add speed and quickness across the board. Conerly had the fastest 10-yard split (1.71 seconds) in the 40-yard dash among offensive linemen at the NFL combine. Amos's 40 time of 4.43 seconds tied for 10th among cornerbacks at the combine, and Lane's 4.34-second 40 was the tied for the seventh fastest among all players. Medrano led all linebackers at the combine with a 4.46-second 40 and was one of the fastest players at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He hit a top speed of 20.53 mph, according to Zebra Sports, tied for the second fastest among all players in the game. And then there's Croskey-Merritt, whose 4.45-second 40 at the Big 12′s pro day improved his draft stock after he played just one game in his final season at Arizona. Maybe more significant: According to Zebra Sports, he recorded the second-fastest deceleration time (minus-7.29 yards/second²) in the East-West Shrine Bowl, showing his ability to stop on a dime. Just as Washington sought to add size to its defensive line in free agency to improve its play against the run, it wanted to add speed and quickness across the board. Conerly had the fastest 10-yard split (1.71 seconds) in the 40-yard dash among offensive linemen at the NFL combine. Amos's 40 time of 4.43 seconds tied for 10th among cornerbacks at the combine, and Lane's 4.34-second 40 was the tied for the seventh fastest among all players. Medrano led all linebackers at the combine with a 4.46-second 40 and was one of the fastest players at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He hit a top speed of 20.53 mph, according to Zebra Sports, tied for the second fastest among all players in the game. And then there's Croskey-Merritt, whose 4.45-second 40 at the Big 12′s pro day improved his draft stock after he played just one game in his final season at Arizona. Maybe more significant: According to Zebra Sports, he recorded the second-fastest deceleration time (minus-7.29 yards/second²) in the East-West Shrine Bowl, showing his ability to stop on a dime. The significance of the Commanders' investment in their offensive line over the past year can't be overstated. They gave right guard Sam Cosmi a four-year, $74 million extension before last season, then traded for Laremy Tunsil, one of the top left tackles in the league, in March. And then Washington used its first-round pick on another tackle, selecting Conerly at No. 29. Although General Manager Adam Peters declined to say Conerly will be the right tackle, Peters previously said he believes first-round selections should be able to start. Conerly will compete with Brandon Coleman and Andrew Wylie at training camp, but to shift a tackle inside when he has little experience at guard would run counter to Coach Dan Quinn's (and Peters's) efforts to put players in position to do what they do best. Plus, Coleman has the flexibility to move inside and could be better suited there. The significance of the Commanders' investment in their offensive line over the past year can't be overstated. They gave right guard Sam Cosmi a four-year, $74 million extension before last season, then traded for Laremy Tunsil, one of the top left tackles in the league, in March. And then Washington used its first-round pick on another tackle, selecting Conerly at No. 29. Although General Manager Adam Peters declined to say Conerly will be the right tackle, Peters previously said he believes first-round selections should be able to start. Conerly will compete with Brandon Coleman and Andrew Wylie at training camp, but to shift a tackle inside when he has little experience at guard would run counter to Coach Dan Quinn's (and Peters's) efforts to put players in position to do what they do best. Plus, Coleman has the flexibility to move inside and could be better suited there. The special teams coordinator sure seemed to be Saturday when he fist-bumped Peters after the Commanders selected Lane. The speedy slot receiver will have a chance to earn a role on offense, but his biggest contributions (at least initially) could come on special teams. In college, Lane averaged 10.9 yards per punt return with two touchdowns. One of those scores was a 58-yard beauty in Virginia Tech's win against Marshall last season. The special teams coordinator sure seemed to be Saturday when he fist-bumped Peters after the Commanders selected Lane. The speedy slot receiver will have a chance to earn a role on offense, but his biggest contributions (at least initially) could come on special teams. In college, Lane averaged 10.9 yards per punt return with two touchdowns. One of those scores was a 58-yard beauty in Virginia Tech's win against Marshall last season. This is Peters and Quinn's second offseason in Washington, and their preferences are becoming clear. Among their drafted rookies in the past two years, they targeted players who showed improvement during their careers or overcame some form of adversity — or sometimes both. Why? Quinn preaches competition, believing it will bring out the best of starters and reserves, rookies and veterans. It's also a clear way to determine which players are invested in becoming a top pro. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is a prime example, given his drastic improvement from his time at Arizona State to becoming a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU. The Commanders laud not only his play on the field but his work ethic off it. Amos is another example. He played at three schools, jumping from Louisiana in the Sun Belt to Alabama atop the SEC and then to Mississippi. Statistically and otherwise, he got better at each stop. 'He has got a real toughness, a real resiliency, a real resolve to him,' Peters said. 'You can see that on the field. You can feel that when you meet with him.' Croskey-Merritt was limited in what he could show last season at Arizona because of eligibility issues, but he starred in the East-West Shrine Bowl (11 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns) to earn offensive MVP honors. He also impressed with his 4.45-second 40 time and 41.5-inch vertical jump at the Big 12 pro day. Both marks led all running backs. 'He turned a situation that was unfortunate into a real positive,' Newmark said Saturday. 'You talk to the people at Arizona and you talk to him when he was here, and they have so much respect for how he stayed engaged the whole way through the season — [he] was a great teammate, was a great practice player, was in meetings. It was like he knew he wasn't going to play on Saturday, but you would never know it by the way he acted and prepared.' This is Peters and Quinn's second offseason in Washington, and their preferences are becoming clear. Among their drafted rookies in the past two years, they targeted players who showed improvement during their careers or overcame some form of adversity — or sometimes both. Why? Quinn preaches competition, believing it will bring out the best of starters and reserves, rookies and veterans. It's also a clear way to determine which players are invested in becoming a top pro. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is a prime example, given his drastic improvement from his time at Arizona State to becoming a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU. The Commanders laud not only his play on the field but his work ethic off it. Amos is another example. He played at three schools, jumping from Louisiana in the Sun Belt to Alabama atop the SEC and then to Mississippi. Statistically and otherwise, he got better at each stop. 'He has got a real toughness, a real resiliency, a real resolve to him,' Peters said. 'You can see that on the field. You can feel that when you meet with him.' Croskey-Merritt was limited in what he could show last season at Arizona because of eligibility issues, but he starred in the East-West Shrine Bowl (11 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns) to earn offensive MVP honors. He also impressed with his 4.45-second 40 time and 41.5-inch vertical jump at the Big 12 pro day. Both marks led all running backs. 'He turned a situation that was unfortunate into a real positive,' Newmark said Saturday. 'You talk to the people at Arizona and you talk to him when he was here, and they have so much respect for how he stayed engaged the whole way through the season — [he] was a great teammate, was a great practice player, was in meetings. It was like he knew he wasn't going to play on Saturday, but you would never know it by the way he acted and prepared.'
Fox News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Biden team, Democrats need to admit they were gaslighting about president's fitness: Book authors
Journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, authors of a new book about the 2024 presidential election, accused top officials in the Democratic Party of misleading the country about former President Biden's mental acuity. "There is certainly a lot of anger brewing" among Democrats, Parnes said on The Remnant podcast of the fallout after reports about Biden's declining mental sharpness in the final months of his presidency. "There needs to be some kind of admission on the part of Democrats and maybe Biden's inner circle about what was happening." Multiple prominent Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have been pressed by reporters to defend their previous statements praising Biden for his quick mind. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other outlets have revealed that some members of Biden's inner circle were deeply concerned about Biden's mental abilities during his presidency, especially following his debate with then-candidate Donald Trump last June. "There needs to be some kind of reckoning by the Biden folks especially, and I think that's where the rebuilding effort starts, actually," she said. "The people in the White House and at the top of the Biden campaign were gaslighting the country for four years about his condition," Allen said. "They're gaslighting their own party about how Biden is standing up against Trump," he continued. "The Democratic Party leadership either has to get out or has to find a way to level with people again before they're going to be trusted to run anything," he said. "There's a real honesty problem that they had in the Biden era," adding that Democrats "got away with it in 2020." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the Biden administration of staging a "cover-up" over Biden's health in a press conference on April 11. Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of former President Joe Biden for comment.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump has paved the way for new GOP policy fights: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today's edition, Jonathan Allen explores how the major policy fights in Washington are happening within the Republican Party. Plus, after we noted yesterday that outspoken progressives are seeing an influx of campaign cash, Natasha Korecki and Bridget Bowman dive further into how the anti-Trump 2.0 resistance is starting to find its footing. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. — Adam Wollner As they stare into the abyss of rising national debt, Republicans are starting to talk about the possibility of raising taxes on the wealthy. Yes, you read that right, and NBC News' Sahil Kapur and Peter Nicholas have the reporting to back it up. Since the days of George H.W. Bush's breaking his 'read my lips' promise, Republicans have run for the hills any time a tax hike is mentioned. Now, that option is part of a sprawling, animated and consequential set of policy fights between the ascendent populist wing of the GOP and the grasping-for-relevance old guard conservatives. What happened? President Donald Trump. His eagerness to take both sides on certain issues — sometimes in a single sentence — allows him to maintain the dominant voice on public policy and makes it harder for his adversaries to pin him down. In his second term, fellow Republicans are starting to adjust. As long as they support him in the end, they are freer to take positions against one another — and party orthodoxy — before he makes a final call. It's not just on domestic taxes. Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs may be a threat to the economy and his long-term political success. But in the interim, they have upset traditional Washington partisan paradigms and blocked out coverage of other issues. While progressives Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hold rallies across the country, bringing tens of thousands of people to rallies that accuse Trump of selling out the working class to line the pockets of the wealthiest people in the country, the MAGA wing of the GOP is rhetorically — and in some cases on a policy level — arguing for a stick-it-to-the-rich agenda. The dynamic is still nascent, but it's somewhat reminiscent of the mid-20th century era of Democratic dominance in Congress — when a party that was on both sides of civil rights, both sides of foreign policy and both sides of the distribution of benefits held all the power and had all the energy in policymaking. The cart, of course, should not be put before the horse. There are plenty of reasons to think that the GOP won't actually increase the tax burden on the wealthiest. After all, Trump is in the process of gutting the IRS, which already under-collects hundreds of billions of dollars in owed taxes, mostly from the rich. But for now, at least, the Trump model of triangulating against himself — and of fellow Republicans' following suit — is making it even harder for the Democratic minority to lock on a target and define its own agenda. In the red state of Montana on Wednesday, a crowd swelled for two political stars of the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who vowed to 'fight oligarchy' in President Donald Trump's administration. That night, Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., had her largest-ever town hall crowd, with many people wanting to know how Democrats were pushing back. And hours later, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., traveled to El Salvador to bring attention to a case at the center of the party's arguments that Trump's immigration policies have gone beyond existing law and court orders. Those events of the last 24 hours point to a similar phenomenon: In ways big and small, the second-term resistance to Trump is growing stronger and bolder. The pushback is from not just politicians but also some of the powerful institutions that have come under attack by the administration. They include Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton, all of which refused to yield to a list of Trump demands that would overhaul hiring, disciplinary and other practices in the face of billions of dollars in federal funding freezes. While it is far from a full-fledged revolt, more of those being targeted by Trump's policies are putting up a fight now, compared with the universities, law firms and even Democratic politicians who bent his way in the first weeks and months of his term. Yet amid the bursts of resistance is a steady flow of appeasement by some of the country's most powerful institutions, such as major law firms that have struck deals with the White House — including five more last week — to collectively provide hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal work. Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to harness anti-Trump energy as the party regroups from 2024 and refocuses on next year's midterm elections. But that could get complicated, as some of that anxiety is aimed at Democratic leaders. Read more from Natasha and Bridget →🗣️ Fed up: Trump said on Truth Social that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's 'termination cannot come fast enough' after Powell said Wednesday that tariffs were 'likely to move us further away from our goals.' Trump said later in the Oval Office: "I'm not happy with him. I let him know it, and if I want him out, he'll be out of there real fast, believe me." Read more → ⚖️ SCOTUS watch : The Supreme Court said it will hear oral arguments next month on whether the Trump administration can take steps to enforce its contentious proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship while litigation continues. Read more → 🤝 Keep your friends close: Trump met at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who faces with a tricky balancing act as she tries to foster goodwill between her political family in the European Union and her ideological friend in the White House. Read more → 📂 Immigration files: The Trump administration released documents revealing new details in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man deported to El Salvador a month ago in what a government lawyer called an 'administrative error.' Read more → ➡️ Iron Dome dreams: Defense Department officials will soon brief Trump on a variety of options for him to fulfill his pledge to protect the United States with something modeled on Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense. Read more → 🗳️ 2026 watch: Former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed became the second Democrat to enter the open Michigan Senate race. El-Sayed, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, got an endorsement from Bernie Sanders. Read more → That's all From the Politics Desk for now. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at And if you're a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up . This article was originally published on
