US Tariff Countdown Has Nations Racing to Turn Talks Into Deals

Halfway through President Donald Trump's 90-day freeze on his so-called reciprocal tariffs, a persistent gripe from businesses, consumers and governments facing them is severe uncertainty. The next 45 days may not provide much relief from the fog.
Trump himself has indicated that talks won't lead to agreements for every nation before the July deadline, saying that 150 countries 'want to make a deal' but that many will be assigned their tariff level. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 'if they're not negotiating in good faith, they are going to get a letter saying 'here is the rate.''

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Newsweek

13 minutes ago

• Newsweek

Russian Newspaper Gives Donald Trump New Nickname

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Russian newspaper branded Donald Trump the "President of War" following a U.S. military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. U.S. bombers deployed 30,000-pound "bunker busters" on Iran's underground nuclear facilities, ending days of speculation over whether Trump would authorize direct military intervention for his objective to put "a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror." The developments were published by several state-owned and independent Russian newspapers, including Rossiskaya Gazeta, Komsomolskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moskovsky Komsomolets and Kommersant, according to BBC's Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) looks at U.S. President Donald Trump during the welcoming ceremony prior to the G20 Summit's Plenary Meeting on November 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) looks at U.S. President Donald Trump during the welcoming ceremony prior to the G20 Summit's Plenary Meeting on November 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, It Matters The U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure has far-reaching impact for American security interests, global energy markets and the volatile Middle East region. Israel and Iran are waging direct hostilities, with hundreds killed as both sides launch missiles. The intervention by Washington could define regional stability for years, test U.S. alliances in Europe and the Gulf, and set dangerous precedents over nuclear nonproliferation enforcement. Congressional leaders and protesters nationwide have warned of the risk of a third U.S. war in the Middle East this century. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the strikes as "unprovoked aggression," and coverage in major Russian outlets questioned the long-term fallout for global stability and Russia's regional interests. What To Know Over the weekend, the U.S. launched strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan—using "bunker-buster" bombs weighing up to 30,000 pounds. The attack, dubbed Iran Operation Midnight Hammer, involved more than 125 U.S. military aircraft. Putin on Monday condemned the U.S. strikes as "an absolutely unprovoked act of aggression against Iran." "It has no basis or justification," Putin said, according to Kremlin newswire Tass. Putin made the comments during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, adding that Russia was "making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people." Nezavisimaya Gazeta ran a front-page headline that read: "Trump has become the president of war" and said the strikes marked a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy. Trump "violated his election promise to be the president of peace, not war," the newspaper said. "For the Russian Federation, such a transformation in the White House policy does not bode well. It may mark the end of Trump's peacekeeping efforts in the Russian-Ukrainian [war]," the newspaper added. Rossiskaya Gazeta, a state-run publication, mocked Trump's campaign slogan with the headline: "Trump Makes America Wage War Again." Komsomolskaya Pravda questioned what the attack meant for Russia, quoting a Middle East expert who said: "If this [Iranian regime change] happens, we [Russia] would lose a partner, the Islamic Republic, and be left with a new center of instability affecting not only the Middle East, but also Central Asia and the South Caucasus, regions which are very sensitive for us." Trump floated the possibility of "regime change" in Iran in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, writing: "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Moskovsky Komsomolets warned of possible economic repercussions, asking: "The Americans committed aggression against Iran after war raise the price of oil to $200 a barrel?" That's possible because Iran has warned that it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, in retaliation for U.S. involvement in its conflict with Israel. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea which handles around 26 percent of global oil trade, making it one of the most strategically important maritime passages in the world. The International Energy Agency notes that any disruption to flows through the strait would have significant consequences for world oil markets. Meanwhile, Kommersant ran a headline with a hint of skepticism: "The U.S. carried out a strike on Iran in order to 'end this war...'." What People Are Saying Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, on Monday on the situation in the Middle East possibly interfering with dialogue between Russia and the United States: "These are different areas. We have our partnership relations, a strategic partnership with Iran, but we are also working on restoring our relations with the United States. Both are very important areas. "And our dialogue with the Americans also depends, so to speak, on the possibility of reaching a settlement in many other areas. Therefore, it is unlikely that anything will interfere, one will interfere with the other." What Happens Next Iran has repeatedly threatened retaliation for the U.S. strikes. The full extent of the attacks is not yet clear, but Trump claimed Sunday that "the hits were hard and accurate" and "obliterated" Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Chicago Tribune

17 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns

WASHINGTON — The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill. The guns provision was first requested in the House by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican gun store owner who had initially opposed the larger tax package. The House bill would remove silencers — called 'suppressors' by the gun industry — from a 1930s law that regulates firearms that are considered the most dangerous, eliminating a $200 tax while removing a layer of background checks. The Senate kept the provision on silencers in its version of the bill and expanded upon it, adding short-barreled, or sawed-off, rifles and shotguns. Republicans who have long supported the changes, along with the gun industry, say the tax infringes on Second Amendment rights. They say silencers are mostly used by hunters and target shooters for sport. 'Burdensome regulations and unconstitutional taxes shouldn't stand in the way of protecting American gun owners' hearing,' said Clyde, who owns two gun stores in Georgia and often wears a pin shaped like an assault rifle on his suit lapel. Democrats are fighting to stop the provision, which was unveiled days after two Minnesota state legislators were shot in their homes, as the bill speeds through the Senate. They argue that loosening regulations on silencers could make it easier for criminals and active shooters to conceal their weapons. 'Parents don't want silencers on their streets, police don't want silencers on their streets,' said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The gun language has broad support among Republicans and has received little attention as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., work to settle differences within the party on cuts to Medicaid and energy tax credits, among other issues. But it is just one of hundreds of policy and spending items included to entice members to vote for the legislation that could have broad implications if the bill is enacted within weeks, as Trump wants. Inclusion of the provision is also a sharp turn from the climate in Washington just three years ago when Democrats, like Republicans now, controlled Congress and the White House and pushed through bipartisan gun legislation. The bill increased background checks for some buyers under the age of 21, made it easier to take firearms from potentially dangerous people and sent millions of dollars to mental health services in schools. Passed in the summer of 2022, just weeks after the shooting of 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas, it was the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. Three years later, as they try to take advantage of their consolidated power in Washington, Republicans are packing as many of their longtime priorities as possible, including the gun legislation, into the massive, wide-ranging bill that Trump has called 'beautiful.' 'I'm glad the Senate is joining the House to stand up for the Second Amendment and our Constitution, and I will continue to fight for these priorities as the Senate works to pass President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill,' said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who was one of the lead negotiators on the bipartisan gun bill in 2022 but is now facing a primary challenge from the right in his bid for reelection next year. If the gun provisions remain in the larger legislation and it is passed, silencers and the short-barrel rifles and shotguns would lose an extra layer of regulation that they are subject to under the National Firearms Act, passed in the 1930s in response to concerns about mafia violence. They would still be subject to the same regulations that apply to most other guns — and that includes possible loopholes that allow some gun buyers to avoid background checks when guns are sold privately or online. Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who supports the legislation, says changes are aimed at helping target shooters and hunters protect their hearing. He argues that the use of silencers in violent crimes is rare. 'All it's ever intended to do is to reduce the report of the firearm to hearing safe levels,' Keane says. Speaking on the floor before the bill passed the House, Rep. Clyde said the bill restores Second Amendment rights from 'over 90 years of draconian taxes.' Clyde said Johnson included his legislation in the larger bill 'with the purest of motive.' 'Who asked for it? I asked,' said Clyde, who ultimately voted for the bill after the gun silencer provision was added. Clyde was responding to Rep. Maxwell Frost, a 28-year-old Florida Democrat, who went to the floor and demanded to know who was responsible for the gun provision. Frost, who was a gun-control activist before being elected to Congress, called himself a member of the 'mass shooting generation' and said the bill would help 'gun manufacturers make more money off the death of children and our people.' Among other concerns, control advocates say less regulation for silencers could make it harder for law enforcement to stop an active shooter. 'There's a reason silencers have been regulated for nearly a century: They make it much harder for law enforcement and bystanders to react quickly to gunshots,' said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. Schumer and other Democrats are trying to convince the Senate parliamentarian to drop the language as she reviews the bill for policy provisions that aren't budget-related. 'Senate Democrats will fight this provision at the parliamentary level and every other level with everything we've got,' Schumer said earlier this month.

Washington Post

17 minutes ago

• Washington Post

Supreme Court takes case of Rastafarian whose head was shaved by prison guards

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will take up the case of a devout Rastafarian whose head was forcibly shaved by Louisiana prison guards despite the man's religious vow not to cut his dreadlocks. Louisiana's attorney general, who is defending the state prison officials, and the lower court judges who ruled against Damon Landor all strongly condemn what happened to him in prison.