Plus, how to win the lottery.On Today’s Episode:Trump Whipsaws on Tariffs, Giving Mexico and Canada Reprieve, by Ana Swanson and Alan RappeportTrump’s Policies Have Shaken a Once-Solid Economic Outlook, by Ben Casselman and Colby SmithHow Trump’s ‘51st State’ Canada Talk Came to Be Seen as Deadly Serious, by Matina Stevis-GridneffTrump Administration Prepares to Revive and Expand Travel Bans, by Charlie Savage and Edward WongU.S. and Ukrainian Officials to Meet Next Week About Path to End War, by Luke Broadwater and Marc SantoraNational Parks Had a Record Year. Trump Officials Appear to Want It Kept Quiet, by Lisa FriedmanBreakup of SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports, by Kenneth Chang2 Texas Lottery Wins Prompt Investigations and Stir Public Outrage, by Michael LevensonTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [email protected].
Chapter 1: What are the latest developments in Trump's tariff policies?
From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Traci Mumford. Today's Friday, March 7th. Here's what we're covering. President Trump has made a whiplash reversal on tariffs against Canada and Mexico. They're now off again, at least kind of. He suspended many of the 25 percent surcharges just two days after they kicked in.
This decision came after pushback from business leaders and Canadian and Mexican officials. According to orders the White House released last night, some of the tariffs are permanently suspended. Others are merely paused. Most everyone involved is unsure of what could come next. For the stock market, that head spinning back and forth is weighing on investors.
The S&P 500 is on course for its worst week since two years ago when there was a banking crisis.
The economy is in this really sort of strange, uncertain moment.
My colleague Ben Castleman says coming into the year, the economy looked quite strong by a number of measures.
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Chapter 2: How is the economy reacting to the new administration's policies?
We had hiring going up, incomes going up, profits going up, unemployment low. But now, all of a sudden, there's a lot of sort of storm clouds on the horizon right Consumer confidence has really taken a hit, business confidence too. And really, practically all of this is tied to the new administration.
You know, right now it's very hard for a business to decide whether to invest or to hire if they don't know what the tariff situation is going to be, what the tax situation is going to be, what the labor situation is going to be. And that kind of ripples through the economy.
As the tariff drama has played out, the U.S. and Canada have increasingly found themselves at odds. They used to be the closest of allies, but their relationship has taken a hit, not just because of the tariffs, but also because Trump has been calling Canada's sovereignty into question.
Chapter 3: Why is Canada's relationship with the U.S. under strain?
So I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state.
Trump has repeatedly talked about Canada becoming a state and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a governor. And while the remarks could all be bluster or a negotiating tactic, it's increasingly clear that Canada is taking them seriously.
What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that'll make it easier to annex us.
The Times has learned that Canada's on guard because of several recent phone calls between American and Canadian officials. According to people with firsthand knowledge of the calls, Trump told Trudeau that he did not believe the treaty that demarcates the border between the U.S. and Canada is valid and that he wants to revise the boundary. He didn't elaborate.
In another call, Trump's commerce secretary told Canada's finance minister basically the same thing, that Trump is interested in potentially abandoning the agreements and treaties that govern the U.S. relationship with Canada. When asked about the phone calls and the U.S. 's stance towards Canada, the White House did not respond. And now three other updates on the Trump administration.
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Chapter 4: What is the U.S. planning to do about travel bans?
The State Department is finalizing a plan to bring back the controversial travel bans Trump put in place during his first term in office. Those bans initially blocked travel for people from several Muslim-majority countries and were later expanded to include other low-income or non-white countries. The new ban is expected to expand that list.
Also, the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks next week about a plan to end the war in Ukraine. In the past few days, the White House has cut off military assistance and intelligence sharing to the country as a way to pressure it into negotiating. But for the moment, there are few details about what a viable peace plan could look like.
And Russia has not said publicly that it would accept any kind of agreement to end the war. And the National Park Service is telling its employees to keep quiet about a remarkable milestone. A record number of Americans visited the country's national parks last year. But an internal memo sent to staff this week told them not to publicize the news.
The agency seems to be trying not to draw attention to the high visitor numbers amid recent staff cuts. Under the Trump administration, the park service has lost more than 1,700 employees, raising fears that there will be a breakdown in services and safety at the parks right as visitor numbers are peaking. Four, three, two, one.
Last night, SpaceX launched a test of its massive rocket, Starship, the most powerful spacecraft ever built. The 400-foot-tall rocket system lifted off successfully from South Texas. But less than 10 minutes into the flight... I just saw that Starship blew up.
Holy s***.
The unmanned craft spun out of control and exploded, sending flaming debris streaking through the sky.
Whoa, look at that.
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