Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, has launched a criminal investigation into British-American influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who flew to the state last week from Romania, where they faced rape and human-trafficking charges.
James Uthmeier said investigators have issued search warrants and subpoenas as part of a “now-active” inquiry.
In the US, the Tate brothers also face a civil suit from a woman alleging they coerced her into s** work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities. They strongly deny all the allegations against them.
A former kickboxer and self-described misogynist who appeared on UK TV show Big Brother, Andrew Tate, 38, has millions of followers online.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, 36, face separate charges in the UK of rape and human trafficking. They deny those allegations too.
James Uthmeier, a Republican, said in a statement: “Last week, I directed my office to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate.
“Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers.”
The Tate brothers’ lawyer Joseph McBride released a statement on march 4 on the investigation.
“Today, Attorney General James Uthmeier threw ethics law out of the window when he publicly took a side in an ongoing Florida lawsuit where Andrew and Tristan Tate are suing a Florida woman for orchestrating a sophisticated plot to use s** as a weapon to ruin their lives,” the statement read in part.
Joseph McBride called the attorney general’s comments “inflammatory” and “biased”.
The Tates were first arrested in Romania in December 2022, with Andrew accused of rape and human trafficking and Tristan suspected of human trafficking. They moved to Romania from the UK several years ago.
They both denied the charges and spent several months under house arrest. A year later, in August 2024, they faced new allegations including s** with a minor and trafficking underage persons, all of which they deny.
The Tate brothers are understood to be required to return to Bucharest at the end of March to satisfy prosecutors’ terms; however, it is too early to say whether they will comply.
Police in the English county of Bedfordshire are still seeking Andrew’s extradition on separate and unrelated allegations of rape and human trafficking, as well as tax evasion.
In the UK, four British women have filed a civil case against Andrew Tate in the country’s High Court, alleging he raped and coercively controlled them, charges they also deny.
Those plaintiffs said it was clear he would not face criminal prosecution in Romania and appealed to UK authorities to take action.
President Donald Trump addressed a raucous joint session of the US Congress for the first time since he returned to power.
In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, President Trump outlined his vision for his second term, as Republicans applauded a high-octane six weeks that has reshaped domestic and foreign policy.
Donald Trump was heckled by Democrats and he goaded them in turn during the rowdy primetime address.
The Republican president has moved to slash the federal workforce and crack down on immigration, while imposing tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners and shaking up the transatlantic alliance over the war in Ukraine.
Following a second day of market turbulence, President Trump played down the potential economic fallout from a trade war he ignited this week, including 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports.
But in contrast with the ovations that greeted his other policy objectives, many Republicans remained seated, a sign of how Trump’s import taxes have divided his party.
Image source: rawpixel.com
„Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” he said.
„And it’s happening. And it will happen rather quickly. There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”
President Trump added that reciprocal tariffs tailored to US trading partners would “kick in” on April 2.
Earlier in the day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business that Donald Trump could announce a trade deal with Mexico and Canada as soon as March 5.
Donald Trump also said he had received an “important letter” from Ukraine’s leader earlier in the day, which appeared to match what Volodymyr Zelensky posted publicly on social media.
Ukraine’s president had said he was now ready to work under Trump’s “strong leadership” to end the war and “come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer”.
“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” President Trump told lawmakers.
It followed an acrimonious Oval Office meeting last week when the two leaders argued in front of TV cameras, before cancelling plans to sign a minerals deal that would allow the US to profit from an economic partnership involving Ukraine’s resources.
Donald Trump was reportedly hoping to announce during his speech to Congress that the deal had finally been sealed. But it did not materialize.
President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico in a move that threatens to spark a trade war between America and its neighbours.
Goods entering the US from Canada and Mexico will now be slapped with a 25% charge. Canada has announced tariffs of its own in response and Mexico has said it will also retaliate to the measures.
Donald Trump says he wants to protect American industry, but many economists warn such tariffs could lead to prices rising for consumers in the US.
So what could get more expensive?
Image source: rawpixel.com
Cars
Cars will probably go up in price – by about $3,000 according to TD Economics.
That’s because parts cross the US, Canadian and Mexican borders multiple times before a vehicle is assembled.
Many well-known car brands, including Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors and Honda trade parts and vehicles across the three countries.
Beer, whisky and tequila
Popular Mexican beers Modelo and Corona could get more expensive for US customers if the American companies importing them pass on the increased import taxes.
However, it’s also possible that rather than passing on the cost increase, firms could just import less.
Modelo became the number one beer brand in the US in 2023, and remains in the top spot, for now.
It’s more complex when it comes to spirits. The sector has been largely free of tariffs since the 1990s. Industry bodies from the US, Canada and Mexico issued a joint statement in advance of the tariffs being announced saying they were “deeply concerned”.
Houses
The US imports about a third of its softwood lumber from Canada each year, and that key building material would be hit by Trump’s suggested tariffs. Trump has said the US has “more lumber than we ever use”.
However, the National Association of Home Builders has urged the president to exempt building materials from the proposed tariffs “because of their harmful effect on housing affordability”.
Maple syrup
Canada’s billion-dollar maple syrup industry accounts for 75% of the world’s entire maple syrup production.
The majority of the sweet staple – around 90% – is produced in the province of Quebec, where the world’s sole strategic reserve of maple syrup was set up 24 years ago.
Fuel prices
Canada is America’s largest foreign supplier of crude oil. According to the most recent official trade figures, 61% of oil imported into the US between January and November last year came from Canada.
While 25% has been slapped on Canadian goods imported to the US, its energy faces a lower 10% tariff.
Avocados
One food import that American consumers could see a significant price increase in is avocados.
Grown primarily in Mexico due to its warm, humid climate, Mexican avocados make up nearly 90% of the US avocado market each year.
However, if tariffs come into force, the US Agriculture Department has warned that the cost of avocados – along with popular avocado-based dishes like guacamole – could surge.
US stock market falls have deepened as concerns grow that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will “disrupt global trade”.
President Trump has followed through on a threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports into the US from Canada and Mexico, and a 20% levy against goods arriving from China.
Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that “this is a very dumb thing to do”.
Leading stock indexes in the US were trading sharply lower on March 4, marking a second day of declines, while markets in the UK, Germany and France all closed down.
Canada and China have already announced retaliatory import taxes on US goods following Trump’s tariffs coming into force.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country would announce a response on Sunday that would include “tariff and non-tariff measures”.
Olof Gill, trade spokesperson for the European Union (EU), said: “These tariffs threaten deeply integrated supply chains, investment flows and economic stability across the Atlantic.”
Donald Trump has also threatened to impose 25% tariffs on the EU, recently claiming that the bloc was “formed to screw the United States”. Europe has pledged to hit back, but no tariffs have been implemented yet.
After the US confirmed on March 3 that the tariffs against its neighbouring nations and China would go ahead, the country’s three main stock indexes dropped.
Sharp falls continued on March 4 while in London, the FTSE 100 index of the UK’s biggest publicly-listed companies plunged, ending the day down 1.2%.
Donald Trump is hoping that imposing tariffs on the goods that the US buys will force foreign companies to invest in America, boost tax revenues and grow the economy.
He has argued the tariffs, which are a tax paid by the business importing the product, will boost US manufacturing and protect jobs as foreign companies switch to productionin America.
But tariffs also tend to trigger retaliation from targeted countries, disadvantaging domestic businesses looking to export goods, meaning the measures can ultimately hold back trade.
Analysts have warned that tariffs could lead to economic recessions in Mexico and Canada,push up prices for US households and could also have a knock-on effect on consumers across the world, including in the UK.
A number of US retailers have already warned that prices will rise. Target’s boss Brian Cornell warned consumers were likely to see increases over the next couple of days for foods such as avocados, bananas and strawberries.
Mexican avocados make up nearly 90% of the US market each year.
Meanwhile, a BestBuy executive warned that prices could soon head higher.
Ford chief executive Jim Farley warned last month the business “could handle two weeks of tariffs”.
The 97th Academy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles, with Anora scooping the most honours, while Conclave, The Brutalist, Wicked and Emilia Pérez also took prizes.
Here is the full list of winners.
Best picture
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best actress
WINNER: Mikey Madison – Anora
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Demi Moore – The Substance
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Best actor
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Best supporting actor
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Yura Borisov – Anora
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Best director
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Best international feature
WINNER: I’m Still Here – Brazil
The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
Emilia Pérez – France
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany
Flow – Latvia
Best animated feature
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best original screenplay
WINNER: Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 – Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
British PM Keir Starmer has announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and to defend the country from Russia.
The UK, France and other countries will step up their efforts in a “coalition of the willing” and seek to involve the US in their support for Ukraine, he said.
It comes two days after a fiery exchange between the Ukrainian leader and President Donald Trump in the White House.
“We are all working together in Europe in order to find a basis for cooperation with America for a true peace and guaranteed security,” Volodymyr Zelensky said after the summit.
Speaking at a news conference shortly after the meeting of leaders, PM Starmer said four points had been agreed:
to keep military aid flowing into Ukraine, and to keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia
that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be present at any peace talks
in the event of a peace deal, to boost Ukraine’s defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion
to develop a “coalition of the willing” to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee peace afterwards
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Keir Starmer also announced an additional £1.6bn ($2bn) of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles. This comes on top of a £2.2bn loan to provide more military aid to Ukraine backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
“We have to learn from the mistakes of the past, we cannot accept a weak deal which Russia can breach with ease, instead any deal must be backed by strength,” he said.
The prime minister did not state which countries had agreed to join this coalition of the willing, but said that those who had committed would intensify planning with real urgency.
The UK, he said, would back its commitment with “boots on the ground, and planes in the air”.
“Europe must do the heavy lifting,” he said, before adding that the agreement would need US backing and had to include Russia, but that Moscow could not be allowed to dictate terms.
“Let me clear, we agree with Trump on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together,” he said.
When asked if the US under President Trump was an unreliable ally, Keir Starmer said: “Nobody wanted to see what happened last Friday, but I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally.”
Countries at the summit included France, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Norway, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Italy, Spain and Canada.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that there was now an urgent need to “re-arm Europe”.
These sentiments were echoed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said the meeting had seen European countries “stepping up” to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to “stay in the fight as long as it has to continue”.
Many of the European and World leaders have rallied behind Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky after the furious exchange with President Donald Trump in the White House.
The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were among those who posted social media messages backing Ukraine – with Volodymyr Zelensky responding directly to each one to thank them for their support.
The Ukrainian president has arrived in London to attend a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who “retains unwavering support for Ukraine”, Downing Street said.
It comes after extraordinary scenes in the Oval Office on February 28 as President Trump clashed with Zelensky, telling him to make a deal with Russia “or we are out”.
At one point, President Trump told Volodymyr Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support during Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and that he was “gambling with World War Three”.
As a flurry of supportive messages for Ukraine were posted by European leaders following the row – along with posts from the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand – Zelensky replied to each one: “Thank you for your support.”
French President Emmanuel Macron posted: “There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago – and to keep doing so.”
Dutch PM Dick Schoof said the Netherlands supports Ukraine “now more than ever”, adding: “We want a lasting peace and an end to the war of aggression started by Russia. For Ukraine and its people, and for Europe.”
Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that “no one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine”, with his replacement-in-waiting Friedrich Merz adding that “we stand with Ukraine” and “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war”.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you,” while his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk wrote: “Dear [Zelensky], dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.”
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said Canada “will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace”.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese posted that his country had “proudly supported the brave people of Ukraine in their struggle to defend their sovereignty against the brutality of Russian aggression and in support of international law”.
European Union chiefs Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen assured Zelensky in a joint statement that he was “never alone”.
“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace,” they said.
There were also supportive messages for Ukraine from political leaders in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Romania, Sweden and Slovenia.
However, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban voiced his support for Trump, writing: “Strong men make peace, weak men make war. Today President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr President!”
R&B hitmaker Angie Stone has died after a car crash, aged 63, her daughter announced.
“My mommy is gone,” her daughter, Diamond Stone, wrote in a Facebook post.
Angie Stone was fatally injured when a van she was travelling in overturned in Alabama on March 1st following a performance, according to media reports.
The artist, who was behind songs like No More Rain (In This Cloud) and Wish I Didn’t Miss You, was nominated for three Grammys over her career. She started out in the 1970s as a member of the female hip-hop trio The Sequence.
The group’s most popular song, Funk You Up, peaked at 15 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles.
Her daughter, who is also a musician and goes by the nickname Ladi Diamond, said on Facebook that she was “numb”. Hours earlier, she had asked for prayers for her family and said she was on the road.
Guy Todd Williams, known as Rahiem in the hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, said about nine other passengers were in a van with Angie Stone at the time of the crash.
“She left her indelible mark on the music industry initially as a member of the legendary rap group Sequence,” he said.
He said she was the sole fatality in the crash.
Along with her music career, Angie Stone also had some success in film.
She made her movie debut with a role in The Hot Chick, a 2002 hit starring Rob Schneider, Rachel McAdams and Anna Faris.
Angie Stone also starred in The Fighting Temptations in 2003 with Cuba Gooding Jr and Beyonce.
This year’s Academy Awards will take place on March 2nd in Los Angeles. It’s been an unpredictable one with films Conclave, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist sweeping up big prizes at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and the SAG Awards. They’ll face blockbuster hits Dune: Part Two and Wicked in the Best Film category at the Oscars.
Here are the 97th Academy Awards nominations in full:
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody
The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet
A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo
Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes
Conclave
Sebastian Stan
The Apprentice
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov
Anora
Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain
Edward Norton
A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce
The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong
The Apprentice
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo
Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón
Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison
Anora
Demi Moore
The Substance
Fernanda Torres
I’m Still Here
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro
A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande
Wicked
Felicity Jones
The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini
Conclave
Zoe Saldaña
Emilia Pérez
Animated Feature Film
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman
Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
Memoir of a Snail
Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham and Richard Beek
The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi
Magic Candies
Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio
Wander to Wonder
Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper
Yuck!
Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet
Cinematography
The Brutalist
Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two
Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez
Paul Guilhaume
Maria
Ed Lachman
Nosferatu
Jarin Blaschke
Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Arianne Phillips
Conclave
Lisy Christl
Gladiator II
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu
Linda Muir
Wicked
Paul Tazewell
Directing
Anora
Sean Baker
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet
A Complete Unknown
James Mangold
Emilia Pérez
Jacques Audiard
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin
No Other Land
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
Porcelain War
Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety
Sugarcane
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard
I Am Ready, Warden
Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp
Incident
Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven
Instruments of a Beating Heart
Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington
Film Editing
Anora
Sean Baker
The Brutalist
David Jancso
Conclave
Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez
Juliette Welfling
Wicked
Myron Kerstein
International Feature Film
Brazil
I’m Still Here
Denmark
The Girl with the Needle
France
Emilia Pérez
Germany
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Latvia
Flow
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado
Emilia Pérez
Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
Nosferatu
David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
The Substance
Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
Wicked
Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth
Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Daniel Blumberg
Conclave
Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez
Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked
John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot
Kris Bowers
Music (Original Song)
El Mal
from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
The Journey
from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
Like A Bird
from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
Mi Camino
from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
Never Too Late
from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin
Best Picture
Anora
Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers
The Brutalist
Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, D.J. Gugenheim and Brady Corbet, Producers
A Complete Unknown
Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers
Conclave
Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers
Dune: Part Two
Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers
Emilia Pérez
Pascal Caucheteux and Jacques Audiard, Producers
I’m Still Here
Maria Carlota Bruno and Rodrigo Teixeira, Producers
Nickel Boys
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Joslyn Barnes, Producers
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat and Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Producers
Wicked
Marc Platt, Producer
Production Design
The Brutalist
Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
Conclave
Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
Dune: Part Two
Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
Nosferatu
Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
Wicked
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Live Action Short Film
A Lien
Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz
Anuja
Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai
I’m Not a Robot
Victoria Warmerdam and Trent
The Last Ranger
Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek
Sound
A Complete Unknown
Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
Dune: Part Two
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump’s meeting at the White House on February 28 descended into an extraordinary ten-minute shouting match in front of the world’s media.
Volodymyr Zelensky was told to leave the White House before the pair could even take the stage for a scheduled news conference.
The minerals deal, which had been trailed and praised by both sides this week, was left unsigned. “Come back when you’re ready for peace,” Donald Trump wrote on social media shortly before Zelensky’s car pulled away hours ahead of schedule.
The angry exchanges, which saw President Zelensky clash with President Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance, featured several major flashpoints. Here are four of the most fiery – and the politics and feeling that lies behind them.
While there was half an hour of cordial talks and formalities at the start, tensions began to boil over in the Oval Office when JD Vance said the “path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy”.
Volodymyr Zelensky interjected, referencing Russia’s aggression in the years before its full-scale invasion three years ago including a failed ceasefire in 2019.
“Nobody stopped him,” he said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking about? What do you mean?” he said.
The exchange then became visibly tense, with JD Vance replying: “the kind that will end the destruction of your country.”
JD Vance then accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being disrespectful and “litigating” the situation in front of the American media.
After Vance challenged the Ukrainian president over problems he’s had with the military and conscription, Zelensky replied: “During the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have a nice ocean and don’t feel [it] now, but you will feel it in the future.”
That comment rankled President Trump and drew him into the clash that up until this point had been limited to Zelensky and the vice-president.
Here was the Ukrainian leader suggesting President Trump had failed to grasp the moral hazard of dealing with the war’s aggressor.
“You don’t have the cards right now,” he told him.
“You’re gambling with millions of lives.”
At one point later in the conversation, Zelensky said: “From the very beginning of the war, we have been alone and we are thankful.”
This angered Donald Trump, who has repeatedly framed the war as a drain on American taxpayers.
“You haven’t been alone,” he said.
“You haven’t been alone. We gave you – through this stupid president – $350bn,” President Trump said, a reference to Joe Biden.
JD Vance then asked whether Zelensky had thanked the US during the meeting and accused him of campaigning “for the opposition” – the Democrats – during the US election last year.
The comment was a reference to a visit Volodymyr Zelensky made to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania – Joe Biden’s hometown – just weeks before Americans headed to the polls in the November election.
Republicans were outraged at the visit, accusing Zelensky of turning the tour into a partisan campaign event on Kamala Harris’s behalf in a battleground state.
Donald Trump and JD Vance reprimanded Volodymyr Zelensky, appearing most angered by what they perceived as his “attitude”.
President Donald Trump has announced that he is planning to hit goods from China with a new 10% tariff.
Imports from China already face taxes at the border of at least 10%, after a Trump tariff order that went into effect earlier this month.
President Trump also said on February 27 he intended to move forward with threatened 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are set to come into effect on March 4.
His comments came as officials from Mexico and Canada were in Washington for discussions aimed at heading off that plan.
Donald Trump had announced the plans for 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for February 4 unless the two nations increased border security.
He paused the measures for a month at the last minute after the two countries agreed to increase border funding and talk more about how to combat drug trafficking.
Image source: rawpixel.com
On social media, President Trump wrote that he did not think enough action had been taken to address the flow of fentanyl to the US.
“Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels,” he wrote, adding that “a large percentage” of the drugs were made in China.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, at a press conference from the country’s National Palace, said in response: “As we know, [Trump] has his way of communicating.”
She added: “I hope we can reach an agreement and on March 4 we can announce something else.”
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau also said his country was working hard to reach a deal, warning tariffs from the US would prompt an “immediate and extremely strong response”.
Donald Trump’s threats against Mexico and Canada have raised widespread alarm, as the North American economy is closely connected after decades of operating under a free trade agreement.
Leaders of the two countries have previously said they would impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if the White House went ahead with its plans.
Tariffs are a tax collected by the government and paid for by the business bringing the goods into the country.
China, Mexico and Canada are America’s top three trade partners, together accounting for more than 40% of imports into the US last year.
Economists have warned tariffs on goods from the three countries could lead to higher prices in the US on everything from iPhones to avocados.
Donald Trump’s call for an additional 10% levy on goods from China – which he said would also go into effect on Tuesday – had not been previously announced, though during his presidential campaign he backed border taxes on Chinese products of as much as 60%.
On February 27, as tariff talks intensified, two imprisoned alleged leaders of the violent Zetas cartel long sought by the US – Miguel Angel Trevino Morales and his brother Oscar – were extradited.
Mexican media said they were part of a larger group of drug lords sent from Mexico to the US – a major step in terms of US-Mexico security relations.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa appeared to have been dead for “quite a while” when the couple and their dog were found dead on February 26 at their home in New Mexico, police say.
The 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor was discovered in a side room near the kitchen of the house in Santa Fe, while his wife Betsy Arakawa, a 65-year-old classical pianist, was found in a bathroom.
Authorities reported no signs of injury but deemed the deaths “suspicious enough” to investigate and have not ruled out foul play. No cause of death was given.
In a wide-ranging career, Gene Hackman won two Academy Awards for The French Connection and Unforgiven.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office confirmed the deaths.
“On 26 February, 2025, at approximately 1:45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and a dog were found deceased,” the office said.
In a news conference on February 27, Sheriff Adan Mendoza said: “It sounds like they had been deceased for quite a while, and I don’t want to guess in reference to how long that was.”
He added: “There was no immediate sign of foul play. Haven’t ruled that out yet.
“This is an investigation, so we’re keeping everything on the table.”
A sheriff’s detective who responded to the scene said that they believed the couple had been dead for some time because of Betsy Arakawa’s “decomposition” and “mummification” in the hands and feet.
“The male decedent also showed obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent,” said the search warrant.
Near Betsy Arakawa’s head was a portable heater, which the detective determined could have been brought down in the event that she abruptly fell to the ground.
Authorities say they have requested carbon monoxide and toxicology tests for both Gene Hackman and his wife, and that a cause of death has not yet been determined as they await the results of the autopsy.
A prescription bottle and scattered pills were on the bathroom countertop close to her body. The couple’s German Shepherd dog was found dead in a bathroom closet near to Betsy Arakawa.
Gene Hackman was discovered wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a blue long-sleeve T-shirt and brown slippers. Sunglasses and a walking cane were next to the body.
The detective suspected that the actor had fallen suddenly.
The circumstances of their death were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”, said the search warrant, because the person who called emergency services found the front door of the property open.
However, the detective observed no sign of forced entry into the home. Nothing appeared out of place inside. Neither was there any indication that belongings had been rummaged through, or that any items had been removed.
Two other, healthy dogs were discovered roaming the property – one inside and one outside.
Gene Hackman’s last big-screen appearance came as Monroe Cole in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, after which he stepped back from Hollywood for a quieter life in New Mexico.
German voters are going to the polls after an intense election campaign dominated by the country’s faltering economy and a succession of deadly attacks that have made migration and security a focal issue.
Friedrich Merz, the 69-year-old conservative leader, is in pole position to become Germany’s next chancellor in a vote closely watched in Europe and the US.
He promises to fix most problems in four years – a tall order for Europe’s biggest economy and a creaking infrastructure.
If Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) win, he will need to forge an alliance with at least one other party, most likely Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, whose government collapsed late last year.
On the eve of the vote, he was adamant there would be no deal with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is poised to become the second biggest political force, ahead of Olaf Scholz’s center-left party.
Some 59.2 million Germans are eligible to vote, and while millions already have by post, polls indicate as many 20% were undecided ahead of election day.
The polls close at 18:00 local time with a clear idea of a result likely to emerge during the evening.
Friedrich Merz promises strong leadership in Europe, but Berlin is also under pressure to loosen the budget strings for its military.
As Ukraine’s second-biggest provider of military aid, Germany’s next government will face a US president who has condemned President Volodymyr Zelensky as a dictator and fractured the West’s united front against Russia.
German political leaders have also been shocked by US Vice-President JD Vance, who has met the AfD’s candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, and called for an end to the long-standing taboo of talking to the far-right.
In Germany, that taboo is known as a firewall or brandmauer.
Friedrich Merz was accused of breaking it last month when he used their support in parliament. There were protests against the far-right in several German cities on February 22.
The AfD is already popular in several eastern states, but is rapidly growing in the west too, attracting support among younger Germans via TikTok.
One Weidel campaign video has had four million views.
Her message is simple: Vote AfD, break the firewall and change German politics.
The AfD wants a vote on leaving the EU if it can’t reform it, to scrap climate change measures, build nuclear power plants, and repair gas lines and relations with Russia.
The AfD has embraced a highly controversial policy called “remigration”, which it defines as deporting migrants who have committed crimes. But the term can also refer to the mass deportation of migrants and their descendants.
If fewer parties make it into the 630-seat Bundestag, it will be more straightforward to form a coalition with a majority.
The economic liberals, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), were in the outgoing government but risk oblivion on the day of the vote along with left-wing populist party BSW.
The Left party, however, has seen a resurgence in recent days and pollsters suggest it will become the fifth largest party after the Greens.
President Donald Trump asked Maine Governor Janet Mills if her state would comply with the executive order he signed banning transgender athletes from women’s sports. He didn’t like her answer.
The president was addressing Democratic and Republican governors at the White House, when the confrontation occurred.
He was about an hour into the meeting with a bipartisan group of governors when he suddenly remembered that the leaders of Maine had been resisting an executive order he signed banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.
Image source: rawpixel.com
“Is Maine here?” he wondered aloud. “The governor of Maine?”
“Yeah,” Gov. Janet Mills answered from across the room. “I’m here.”
Referring to the executive order, President Trump asked: “Are you not going to comply with that?”
“I’m complying with the state and federal laws,” the governor said, rather pointedly.
During the exchange, President Trump told Governor Mills: “You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding.”
“See you in court,” the governor shot back.
“Good,” he said, sounding surly.
“I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.” He paused and then added, “and enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Governor Mills responded in a statement on February 21, saying her state “will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
On February 6, President Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing transgender women from competing in female sports categories.
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis is being treated for a “complex clinical situation” and will remain in hospital for as long as necessary.
The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 to undergo treatment and tests for bronchitis.
On February 17, the Vatican said Pope Francis has a “polymicrobial infection” of his respiratory tract, which has required a change in his treatment.
A later update added that the Pope was “proceeding with the prescribed treatment” in a stable condition and did not have a fever. He also undertook some work and reading while in hospital on February 17.
“Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness that he has been receiving in recent hours,” a statement added.
“He especially wants to extend his thanks to those who are hospitalized at this time, for the affection and love they have expressed through drawings and messages of good wishes; he prays for them and asks that they pray for him.”
Before his admission last week, Pope Francis had bronchitis symptoms for several days and had delegated officials to read prepared speeches at events.
Image source Wikimedia
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also told reporters on February 17 that the pontiff was in good spirits.
A short statement on his condition said: “All tests carried out to date are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require appropriate hospitalization.”
The pontiff’s weekly general audience, which is usually held each Wednesday, has been cancelled for this week, the statement added.
Over the weekend, the Vatican said the Pope was stable and that he’d been told to have “complete rest” to aid his recovery.
Over the weekend he held a video call with the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, led by Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Pope Francis has been hospitalized several times during his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church and has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.
If you’ve been anywhere near social media over the past two weeks, you’ll know the raw drama setting the internet ablaze this award season hasn’t come from Hollywood, but the love tragedy played out in clips posted from Spanish version of the reality TV show Temptation Island.
The quote has resulted in memes and videos popping up everywhere and is a clip from the eighth season of Spanish reality show.
In the reality show La Isla de las Tentaciones (Temptation Island), a contestant named José Carlos Montoya watched live footage of his girlfriend cheating on him. His shocked reaction, including the now-viral phrase “Montoya, por favor,” has taken social media by storm, making the clip an international sensation.
It’s from the third episode where contestant José Carlos Montoya is shown that his girlfriend Anita Williams getting up close and personal with a new addition to the Villa.
Jose Carlos Montoya’s spiralling meltdown at watching his girlfriend Anita cheat with another man is like an uncensored Love Island on steroids.
Image source: Telecinco
In Temptation Island, couples are taken to a tropical island, separated and sent to separate villas filled with attractive singles ready to test their loyalty.
Naturally, there are cameras rolling so that the participants can have the chance to check up on what (or who) their other half is doing. In a final twist, every move made is recorded for the other half to see. Why sign up for this? The couples that participate are usually at a critical juncture in their relationship, and believe that proving their loyalty could help them.
Forced to watch a real-time stream of the betrayal, Montoya’s emotions swell until he snaps, breaking all the show’s rules.
Blind to the now infamous pleas of host Sandra Barneda (“Montoya, por favor!”), he rampages down the beach to confront the pair, tugging at his shorts in anguish as lightning streaks across the sky.
A second clip shows the resulting confrontation: Anita flips the script, calling out Montoya’s own indiscretions before collapsing in tears, begging for forgiveness.
The clip began going viral on X, formerly Twitter, when it was posted by user @ProjectLabX who wrote: “La Isla de las tentaciones esta siendo CINE y Montoya es el goat,” which translates to “The island of temptations is cinema and Montoya is the Goat,” and it received 93.6m views and 122,000 likes.
It continued to go viral on the platform when it was posted on the same day (February 4) by @PopCulture2000s who captioned the clip: “this is CINEMA…Montoya..the tension… you don’t need to speak Spanish to understand, this is insane,” and it got 101.8m views, and 278,000.
EU and British leaders are set to gather next week for an emergency summit on the war in Ukraine in response to concerns the US is moving ahead with Russia on peace talks that will lock out the continent.
It comes after President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine said European leaders would be consulted but not take part in any talks between US and Russia over ending the war.
The meeting will take place on February 17, according to two EU officials.
Senior White House figures are also due to meet Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, US officials say.
In remarks likely to raise concern in Ukraine and among European allies, special envoy Keith Kellogg said previous negotiations had failed because too many parties had been involved.
“It may be like chalk on the blackboard, it may grate a little bit, but I am telling you something that is really quite honest,” he said on February 15.
UK PM Keir Starmer will discuss the views of European leaders when he visits President Trump at the White House at the end of this month.
A further meeting of European leaders together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected after Keir Starmer returns from Washington.
Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said France’s President Emmanuel Macron had called the summit of European leaders, which has not yet been announced by the French president.
Radoslaw Sikorski said: “President Trump has a method of operating, which the Russians call reconnaissance through battle. You push and you see what happens, and then you change your position, legitimate tactics. And we need to respond.”
A German court has given a jail sentence to a man who tried to blackmail the family of ex-Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher. Two others were given suspended sentences for their role in the affair.
Yilmaz T, 53, was jailed for three years for threatening to upload 900 personal photos, almost 600 videos and confidential medical records to the dark web unless the Schumacher family paid 15 million euros.
His 30-year-old son was given a six-month suspended sentence for aiding and abetting extortion. A former security guard at Michael Schumacher’s home, who denied any involvement, received a two-year suspended sentence.
Michael Schumacher has not been seen in public since a 2013 ski accident which resulted in serious brain injuries. His family have kept his medical condition private.
The father and son had admitted most of the charges and Yilmaz T, a nightclub bouncer in Constance in southern Germany, told the court that what he had done was “very, very disgusting”.
In his confession he said he had received two hard drives from the security guard, Markus F, who was accused of passing the sensitive files for a “five figure sum”.
One hard drive is believed never to have been recovered.
The judge blamed the security guard for allowing the blackmail attempt to start. The Schumacher family’s lawyer said they would challenge his suspended sentence.
Markus F had been working for the family 18 months before Schumacher’s ski accident.
According to the defence, Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna had asked him to digitise the family’s private photos. They argued that the material went missing after his contract was terminated.
The court heard that the father and son had emailed the Schumacher family samples of the stolen files.
Recordings of phone calls made to the Schumacher family were also played in court.
In one of these conversations, Yilmaz T told the family that rather than trying to blackmail them, he was offering to act as a broker in returning the files and identifying their source in what he called a “clean deal”.
The family alerted local authorities in Switzerland who tracked the source of the threat to Germany and the three men were arrested in June 2024.
The Schumachers’ lawyer, Thilo Damm, said the sentences were too lenient for what was the “ultimate betrayal” and they planned to appeal.
“We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal,” he said.
He also voiced concern that a hard drive remained missing despite multiple searches of the defendants’ properties.
At least 28 people have been injured after a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a crowd of people in the German city of Munich, Germany, on February 13, police have said.
Officers said they were treating the incident as a suspected attack and the suspect, who has been arrested, was known to police for theft and drug offences.
Munich police said the car, a Mini Cooper, accelerated and ploughed into the back of a rally by the Verdi trade union at about 10:30 local time during a strike by public sector workers.
Employees of day-care centers, hospitals, sanitation facilities and public swimming pools had joined the strike, calling for higher pay and longer holidays.
More than 1,000 people were reportedly at the scene.
A major response operation was launched in the Dachauer Strasse area and one shot was fired at the vehicle by police before the driver was detained at the scene.
A police spokesman told local broadcaster BR that police are checking whether there was a link between the demonstration and the incident.
The crash happened hours before VP JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski were due to arrive in the city for the Munich Security Conference – but police say they don’t believe it’s related.
Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter said children were among those injured.
According to local outlet BR24, injured people are being treated at multiple hospitals around Munich, including a children’s hospital and the Munich Red Cross Clinic.
Some of the injured include employees of the Munich city administration, Munich’s deputy mayor Dominik Krause told the outlet.
Several participants at the trade union rally had brought their children with them, “which makes the act even more heinous”, Krause said.
The suspect is a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan, German police said, adding that his motive was unclear.
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspect had been known to police for drug and shoplifting offences.
According to the the German Press Agency, the suspect came to Germany in 2016 as a minor but had his asylum application rejected in 2017 and has been required to leave the country since autumn 2020.
Colonel Dmytro Kozyura, a senior figure in Ukraine’s intelligence service (SBU), has been arrested on suspicion of working as a Russian agent.
The service did not name the man, who it said was chief of staff of its anti-terrorism center, but Ukrainian media quoting sources in the SBU say he is Col. Kozyura.
Local media showed Dmytro Kozyura handcuffed while being arrested by SBU head Vasyl Malyuk.
A statement said there were at least 14 instances in which the suspect, who it described as a “rat”, had collected and transmitted information to Russia. The SBU said the investigation involved audio and video monitoring, as well as gaining access to mobile phones and computers.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has announced numerous operations to expose Russian agents on its soil.
Ukraine flag map sticker, geography illustration vector. Free public domain CC0 image.
The SBU head had been personally involved in the investigation into the suspect and headed the operation to arrest him, the SBU statement said, adding that he reported directly on its progress to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
It said Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) recruited him in Vienna in 2018. He was “mothballed” for several years and his handlers only resumed contact with him last December.
“Thanks to encrypted programme bookmarks, we got into the traitor’s gadgets – mobile terminals, computers,” Vasyl Malyuk said in a video statement posted on the SBU website.
“We basically lived with him, conducted audio and video monitoring. In the process of all this, we managed to efficiently document the collection and transmission of relevant information by the traitor to the enemy.”
Vasyl Malyuk added the SBU had been feeding Moscow disinformation during the course of the investigation.
“The self-cleansing of the SBU continues. No matter how the enemy tries to penetrate our ranks… he will not be able to do it successfully. Because we detect them in a timely manner, document them and detain them.”
US inflation increased by more than expected in January 2025,as higher egg and energy prices helped to push up the cost of living for Americans.
Inflation rose to 3%, its highest rate for six months, and above the 2.9% expected by economists.
The rise comes weeks after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates, saying there was significant uncertainty about where the economy might be headed.
It poses a challenge to President Donald Trump, who made tackling inflation a centerpiece of his election campaign last year, but has put forward policies, such as higher tariffs on imports, that economists say risk pushing up prices.
The uptick in prices last month was wide-ranging, affecting car insurance, airfare, medicine and other basics.
Grocery prices climbed 0.5% over the month, compared with 0.3% in December, as egg prices surged more than 15% amid shortages caused by outbreak of avian flu.
That marked the biggest monthly increase in nearly a decade, the Labor Department said.
Prices for clothing, by contrast, declined, while rents and other housing related costs increased 4.4% over the last year, marking the smallest 12-month increase since January 2022.
Core inflation, which strips out food and energy and is seen by analysts as a better measure of underlying trends, was 0.4% over the month, the fastest pace since March.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates sharply starting in 2022, hoping higher borrowing costs would cool the economy and ease pressures that were pushing up prices.
It had started cutting rates in September, saying it wanted to avoid any further cooling.
But signs of persistent inflation above the bank’s 2% target in recent months prompted it to keep interest rates unchanged in January.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on February 11 that the bank was in little hurry to cut rates further.
He noted that it remained unclear how Trump’s tariff plans would shape the Fed’s policies, since the measures could prompt a slowdown in the economy, alongside a rise in prices.
On February 12, President Trump called on the Fed to lower interest rates to go “hand-in-hand” with tariffs.
However, some analysts said after the report that they were no longer expecting any rate cuts this year.
In morning trade, the major stock indexes in the US opened lower, while interest rates charged on US government debt climbed as investors bet that borrowing costs would remain higher for longer.
In an announcement on his Truth Social media account, President Donald Trump told US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been told to stop minting one-cent coins, or pennies as they are widely called.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” the president’s post said, describing the move as a cost-cutting measure.
It comes after Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drew attention to the cost of minting pennies in a post on X last month.
The debate over the cost and usefulness of pennies has been a long-running one in the US.
“This is so wasteful,” President Trump said.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
According the US Mint’s 2024 annual report, making and distributing a one cent coin costs 3.69 cents.
US government officials and members of Congress have in the past proposed discontinuing the penny without success.
While its detractors have argued that the zinc and copper coin is a waste of money and resources, those who support it say that the coin keeps prices lower and boosts fund-raising for charities.
Other countries have discontinued similar coins. Canada ditched its one-cent coin in 2012 citing the cost of minting it and its falling purchasing power due to higher prices.
China’s tit-for-tat import taxes on some American goods came into effect on February 10, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies escalates and President Donald Trump threatens to hit more countries with tariffs.
China announced the plan on February 4, minutes after new US levies of 10% on all Chinese products came into effect.
On February 9, President Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the US.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl, the president also said he was planning reciprocal tariffs on other nations – but did not specify which ones would be targeted.
China’s latest tariffs on US goods include a 15% border tax on imports of US coal and liquefied natural gas products. There is also a 10% tariff on American crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.
Last week, Chinese authorities launched an anti-monopoly probe into technology giant Google, while PVH, the US owner of designer brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, was added to Beijing’s so-called “unreliable entity” list.
China has also imposed export controls on 25 rare metals, some of which are key components for many electrical products and military equipment.
Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend of plans to impose a 25% tax on the US’s steel and aluminium imports comes days after he reached deals with Canada and Mexico to avoid 25% tariffs that he had threatened on all goods from the countries.
He introduced similar measures during his first term as president, imposing 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium, but later granted several trading partners duty-free quotas – including Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
The European Union (EU) import taxes were not resolved until the Biden administration took over the White House.
There was no mention of which countries, if any, would be granted similar exemptions if these new tariffs are implemented in the following days.
Donald Trump’s intention to implement reciprocal tariffs would fulfil an election campaign pledge to levy tariffs at the same rates that are imposed on US goods.
He also said import taxes for vehicles remained on the table after reports he was considering exemptions to universal tariffs.
President Trump has repeatedly complained that EU tariffs on imports of American cars are much higher than US levies.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been blocked from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records, according to court documents.
District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction on February 8 to prohibit access, ordering Elon Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.
The move comes after 19 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after DOGE, a cost-cutting initiative led by Elon Musk, was given access to the records.
They argued access for Elon Musk, a “special government employee”, and DOGE, which is not an official government department, violated federal law.
In a post on X, Elon Musk called the ruling “absolutely insane”.
“How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?” he wrote.
Image source Flickr
The Democratic state attorneys general sued Donald Trump, the Treasury Department and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on February 7.
Judge Engelmayer’s order, issued early on February 8, said the states would “face irreparable” harm without immediate relief.
“That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” the order read.
The order restrains the defendants from granting access to Treasury Department records containing personally identifiable or confidential information to special government employees, political appointees, and other employees from outside the department.
The injunction restricts anyone else from accessing those records other than civil servants who need to do so for their work at the Bureau of Fiscal Services and have passed background checks.
The judge further ordered any person among those restricted to immediately destroy copies of records.
The conditions will remain in place until the next court hearing on February 14.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was among the coalition of attorneys general who brought the lawsuit, said the Trump administration had given Musk and DOGE “unprecedented access” to personal data.
“Over the past week, my office has heard from more than a thousand New Yorkers who were afraid they would lose their privacy and the critical funding their communities count on because of Musk and DOGE’s interference,” she said.
Elon Musk has been heavily involved in upheaval during Donald Trump’s second term, with DOGE leading major cuts at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which distributes billions of dollars of aid globally.
Moving into a new home can be an exciting milestone, but it’s no secret that the process can also be stressful. From packing up your belongings to scheduling logistics, the to-do list can feel overwhelming. The good news? With careful planning and organization, you can make your move smooth and hassle-free.
Here are 10 essential tips to help you transition effortlessly into your new home.
1. Start Planning Early
The earlier you start, the better. Create a moving timeline at least 6-8 weeks before moving day. Outline key tasks like booking a moving company, decluttering, and notifying utility companies of your new address. This preparation reduces last-minute scrambles and keeps you on track.
2. Declutter Before You Pack
Before you start boxing up your items, take an honest inventory of what you need versus what you can live without. Donate, recycle, or sell any items you no longer use. A lighter load will save both time and money on moving expenses.
3. Label Everything Clearly
Labeling is key to staying organized. Use markers to note the contents of each box as well as the room it belongs to in your new home. Include keywords like “fragile” for breakable items. Consider color-coding different boxes for efficiency.
4. Pack a “First Night” Essentials Box
Pack a separate box or bag with items you’ll need on your first night in the new home. Include toiletries, medications, a change of clothes, chargers, important documents, and basic kitchen essentials. This ensures comfort and convenience right after the move.
5. Hire a Professional Moving Company
While handling the move yourself might seem cost-effective, professional movers can significantly reduce stress. Experts like Mike Hammer Moving provide a seamless moving experience, from packing services to secure transport of your cherished belongings.
6. Protect Your Valuables with Care
For items of high value, such as jewelry, electronics, and important documents, pack them separately and transport them yourself. This provides peace of mind and ensures they’re handled with the utmost care.
7. Take Advantage of Technology
Modern tools can simplify your move. Use apps like Sortly for inventorying your items or Moving Checklist Pro to manage your timeline. Technology is a great aid in staying organized every step of the way.
8. Notify Utilities and Update Addresses
Make a list of utility providers (electricity, water, internet) and notify them about your move well in advance. Don’t forget to update your address for banks, subscriptions, and insurance. The last thing you want is delayed bills or correspondence.
9. Check Your New Home Before Moving
Ensure your new home is ready before you start moving in. Conduct a walkthrough to check for repairs, cleanliness, and utility setup. Address any outstanding tasks before unloading your items to make the transition smoother.
10. Take Time to Celebrate Your New Space
Once the moving chaos settles, take time to relax and appreciate your new home. Unpack gradually while setting up your space in a way that feels comfortable and personal. Moving marks the start of a new chapter, so enjoy the process.
Final Thoughts
Moving doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. By following these 10 tips, you can tackle your relocation with confidence and ease. Whether it’s a downsize, an upgrade, or simply a change of scenery, proper planning and professional support will make all the difference.
For a stress-free and efficient move, consider professional help. Your new home is just a well-organized move away.
