Commerce secretary says president would determine whether to stick with the planned level in first indication it could change
Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, called the Peterson Institute’s warning that Donald Trump’s tariff plan would amount to a major tax hike on Americans as “alarmist”.
“I respect my friends at the Peterson Institute, I think they’re a bit alarmist,” Bessent told CBS News on Sunday.
This past weekend, President Donald Trump announced the largest tax increase in at least a generation (since 1993 or before), with the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico (aside from Canadian energy, which faces a 10 percent tariff), alongside a 10 percent increase in tariffs on goods from China. The direct cost of these actions to the typical, or median, US household would be a tax increase of more than $1,200 a year.
These announcements mark the first wave of tariffs expected to come from the new Trump administration. Trump has threatened the entire world with tariffs. Further, governments abroad will retaliate; both Canada and Mexico have already announced retaliatory measures. Future waves of US tariffs and retaliation will increase these substantial consumer costs alongside the other economic harms of tariffs: reduced economic growth, a shrinking export sector, and supply chain disruption. …
The pop star was noticeably absent from the Oscars on Sunday, and she and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, did not show up for the Vanity Fair afterparty either.
Amid claims that deportees may face torture, family of one man say he was forcibly repatriated and will never see his children again
The family of one of dozens of Uyghurs feared to have been forcibly deported from Thailand to China have condemned the decision as “shameful”. The deportations came despite a UN statement saying those being sent to China faced a “real risk of torture” on their return.
Thailand ignored protests by the UN refugee agency, EU and US in deporting 40 Uyghurs who had been detained in the country for a decade, claiming they had returned voluntarily “to their normal lives” with their families.
The artist was found dead at his apartment in Nice in southern France on Saturday, his publicist says
The self-taught Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, who became hugely popular despite being shunned by critics, has been found dead at his apartment in Nice in the south of France, his publicist has said.
Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on 17 November 1951 in Methil, Fife, was found on Saturday, the publicist said.
“Those are all great artists. Vettriano is not even an artist. He just happens to be popular, with “ordinary people” who buy reproductions of his pseudo-1930s scenes of high-heeled women and monkey-suited men, and celebrities who fork out for the originals of these toneless, textureless, brainless slick corpses of paintings. I urge you to visit the National Gallery. Look at great paintings for a few hours. Now take a look at Vettriano. I’m not arguing with you; I’m telling you. I look at art every day and I know what I don’t like.”
Council of Europe’s Michael O’Flaherty urged leaders not to give in to populist rhetoric over migration
Europe’s most senior human rights official has said there is evidence of asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, as he urged mainstream politicians not to concede to populists on migration.
The commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, told the Guardian he was concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers at the EU’s external borders in Poland and Greece, as he warned against a “securitisation response” that goes too far.
Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said on Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) could possibly cause an economic downturn.
“You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.”
One person was killed and four others wounded after a terrorist went on a stabbing frenzy at a bus station in the Israeli city of Haifa on Monday, authorities said. The assailant, identified by police as an Arab Israeli citizen, was shot and killed by security guards soon after knifing the victims at the Lev...
The police in Mannheim, in the country’s southwest, said that the driver had been arrested, adding that they were investigating if other perpetrators had been involved.
The clash between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy has led analysts to recall the treatment meted out by the Obama and Biden administrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Partnership to continue at US tournaments this month
Pair worked together at Australian Open in January
Novak Djokovic’s partnership with coach Andy Murray will continue at Indian Wells this week and at the Miami Open this month, the PA news agency understands.
Murray is heading out to Indian Wells, California, on Monday for the BNP Paribas Open, which starts on Wednesday, with the Miami Open following on 19 March.
Thanks to a goalkeeper they own, Bayern’s anniversary celebrations were able to be marked by a victory
Last Thursday FC Bayern celebrated 125 years of existence. When the team travelled to Stuttgart for the opening game of the Bundesliga the following night their travelling fans unfurled a glittering red tifo, composed of “27. Februar 1900” – the club’s birthdate – and the original club badge.
Despite the sense of ceremony, which will continue with a series of commemorative events in the weeks to come, and the plethora of connections they share with Stuttgart, Bayern could not have expected quite the number of presents that came their way from the hosts. Stuttgart had been “clearly the better team in the first half-hour,” as Vincent Kompany put it. It was their best performance in weeks and yet it counted for nothing as they took a pistol to their collective foot in the second half. Less than a month ago, Sebastian Hoeness – just to remind, nephew of Uli and son of Dieter - and his side were just a solitary point from fourth place and six ahead of Borussia Dortmund after winning at Signal Iduna Park. Today, they are five adrift of the Champions League places and just a point ahead of Dortmund, everybody’s favourite Bundesliga crisis club.
As women get older or go through childbirth or menopause, their labia majora can thin and lose volume. Plastic surgeons who do "labia puff" procedures spoke to The Post.
Topps’ debut patch cards, which are autographed and contain a patch from the player’s jersey for his debut, have become popular with major leaguers and longtime collectors
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