Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices for American consumers on everything from gas to automobiles to agricultural products. The U.S. is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
Trump made the threats in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site in which he railed against an influx of illegal migrants, even though southern border apprehensions have been hovering near four-year lows.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders," he wrote, complaining that "thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” even though violent crime is down from pandemic highs.
He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!"
___
Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning.
The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets the stage for a potential showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken opponent of the weight-loss drugs who, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, could try to block the measure.
While the rule would give millions of people access to weekly injectables that have helped people shed pounds so quickly that some have labeled them miracle drugs, it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade.
“It's a good day for anyone who suffers from obesity,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told The Associated Press in an interview. “It's a game changer for Americans who can't afford these drugs otherwise.”
A bipartisan coalition of congressional members have lobbied for the drugs to be covered by Medicare, saying it could save the government from spending billions of dollars on treating chronic ailments that stem from obesity. While it's unclear where Trump himself stands on coverage of the weight-loss drugs, his allies and Cabinet picks who have vowed to cut government spending could balk at the upfront price tag.
___
Middle East latest: EU urges Israel to accept ceasefire deal with Hezbollah
The European Union’s top diplomat said Tuesday there were “no excuses” for Israel to refuse to implement a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying all its security concerns had been addressed in the U.S.-French-brokered deal.
Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief, called for increased pressure on Israel to blunt extremists in the government who are refusing to accept the deal. Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Italy, Borrell warned that if a ceasefire is not implemented, “Lebanon will fall apart.”
Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet was set to convene Tuesday to discuss a proposed ceasefire. Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal.
Borrell said the U.S. would chair a ceasefire implementation committee, but France would participate at the request of Lebanon.
“On the proposal agreement brokered by the U.S. and France, Israel has all security concerns (addressed),” Borrell told reporters in Fiuggi, Italy. “There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart.”
___
What's blocking a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah?
BEIRUT (AP) — Diplomats and other officials say there have been several sticking points in ceasefire talks to end the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, even as conditions for an agreement appear to be ripe.
Israel’s military has killed nearly all of the militant group’s top leaders, but it continues to fire missiles into Israel. Tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from the border months ago are pressuring their government to help them go home. And the world wants to stop regional conflict from spreading after more than a year of fighting.
Following the latest visit to the region by a U.S. mediator, Israel hit central Beirut over the weekend, and Hezbollah responded with its biggest barrage in weeks as each applied pressure to reach a deal.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since the day after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the war in Gaza.
Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago, then a ground invasion. More than 3,500 people in Lebanon have been killed, many of them civilians.
___
Ukraine says Russian attack sets a new record for the number of drones used
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched 188 drones against most regions of Ukraine in a nighttime blitz, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday, describing it as a record number of drones deployed in a single attack.
Most of the drones were intercepted, according to the air force, but apartment buildings and critical infrastructure such as the national power grid were damaged. No casualties were immediately reported in the 17 targeted regions.
Russia has been hammering civilian areas of Ukraine with increasingly heavy drone, missile and glide bomb attacks since the middle of the year.
At the same time, Russia’s army has largely held the battlefield initiative for the past year and has been pushing hard in the eastern Donetsk region where it is making significant tactical advances, according to Western military analysts.
Ukraine faces a difficult winter, with worries about the reliability of the electricity supply amid Russia’s attacks and how much U.S. support it can count on next year after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
___
Imran Khan supporters breach lockdown in Pakistani capital, at least 6 people killed in violence
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Supporters seeking the release of imprisoned Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday broke through a ring of shipping containers locking down the capital, Islamabad, while at least six people have died in protest-related violence. Protesters battled security forces and ignored a government threat to respond with gunfire.
The dead included four members of the security services and one civilian who were killed when a vehicle rammed them on a street. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack on Tuesday, saying an “anarchist group” was deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel. There was no claim of responsibility for the ramming. A police officer died in a separate incident.
Thousands of security forces have poured into central Islamabad. Pakistan's army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in downtown Islamabad’s Red Zone, which is an area that houses key government buildings and is the destination of the protesters. Paramilitary rangers formed the next layer of deterrence at the site and police made up a third. Rangers urged everyone to leave the area, including journalists, and fired warning shots into the air.
Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, headed toward D-Chowk in a heavily guarded convoy which included a large truck crammed with supporters. The convoy, comprising scores of vehicles, passed slowly along Jinnah Avenue and was surrounded by well-wishers.
“We have now allowed police to take any decision according to the situation,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said while visiting the square.
___
Philippine investigators summon VP Duterte over her public threats against President Marcos
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities handed a subpoena to Vice President Sara Duterte’s office Tuesday, inviting her to answer investigators' questions after she publicly threatened to have the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker assassinated if she were killed in an unspecified plot herself.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday described her threat as a criminal plot and vowed to fight it and uphold the rule of law in the country in a looming showdown between the country’s two top leaders.
The national police and the military expressed alarm and immediately boosted Marcos’s security. National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the threats were a national security concern.
Duterte, a 46-year-old lawyer, said her remarks were not an actual threat but an expression of concern over her own safety due to unspecified danger to her life. The Marcos administration’s statements against her were “a farce” and part of efforts to persecute critics like her, Duterte said.
The subpoena ordered Duterte to appear before the National Bureau of Investigation on Friday to “shed light on the investigation for alleged grave threats.”
___
Proposals to repeal no-fault divorce cause concern even as efforts stall
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Married couples across the U.S. have had access to no-fault divorce for more than 50 years, an option many call crucial to supporting domestic abuse victims and key to preventing already crowded family courts from drowning in complicated divorce proceedings.
But some advocates for women worried as old comments from now Vice President-elect JD Vance circulated during the presidential campaign opposing no-fault divorce. And after President-elect Donald Trump and Vance won the election, warnings began popping up on social media urging women who might be considering divorce to “pull the trigger” while they still could. Some attorneys posted saying they were seeing a spike in calls from women seeking divorce consultations.
Trump — who is twice-divorced — hasn’t championed overhauling the country’s divorce laws, but in 2021 Vance lamented that divorce is too easily accessible, as have conservative podcasters and others.
“We’ve run this experiment in real time and what we have is a lot of very, very real family dysfunction that’s making our kids unhappy,” Vance said during a speech at a Christian high school in California, where he criticized people being able to “shift spouses like they change their underwear.”
Despite concerns, even those who want to make divorces harder to get say they don’t expect big, swift changes. There is not a national coordinated effort underway. And states determine their own divorce laws, so national leaders can’t change policy.
___
Auto industry's shift toward EVs is expected to go on despite Trump threat to kill tax credits
DETROIT (AP) — If President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his threat to kill federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, it's likely that fewer buyers will choose EVs.
Yet tax credits or not, auto companies show no intention of retreating from a steady transition away from gas-burning cars and trucks, especially given the enormous investment they have already made: Since 2021, the industry has spent at least $160 billion on planning, designing and building electric vehicles, according to the Center for Auto Research.
In campaigning for the presidency, Trump condemned the federal tax for EV buyers — up to $7,500 per vehicle — as part of a “green new scam” that would devastate the auto industry. His transition team is reportedly working on plans to abolish the tax credits and to roll back the more stringent fuel-economy rules that were pushed through by the Biden administration. It is far from clear, though, that the Trump administration could actually rescind the credits.
Trump's argument — one that most economists dispute — is that a rapid U.S. shift toward electric vehicles would lead to most EVs being made in China and would swell prices for America’s auto buyers. He has said he would redirect federal revenue recaptured from a canceled tax credit to build roads, bridges and dams.
Ending the credits, which were a key provision of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, almost certainly would reduce EV sales, which have been growing in the United States this year, though not nearly as fast as automakers had expected. The slowing growth has forced nearly all auto companies to scale back EV production and delay construction of battery factories that are no longer needed to handle a more gradual transition.
___
Stock market today: Global shares mostly fall on worries about Trump's tariffs
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares retreated on Tuesday as worries spread over President-elect Donald Trump's comment that he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office.
France's CAC 40 declined 0.9% in early trading to 7,195.07, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.6% to 19,288.75. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.5% to 8,253.24. The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were nearly flat.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9% to finish at 38,442.00. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7% to 8,359.40. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.6% to 2,520.36.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 19,159.20. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% to 3,259.76.
On Monday, stocks rose on Wall Street, led by shares likely to benefit from lower interest rates. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3%. The Dow jumped 1% to a new record. The Nasdaq gained 0.3%.
The Associated Press
