Daily Briefing: Things may still be expensive
Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Can't wait for more Deborah Vance in "Hacks" Season 4.
Here is a look at Thursday's news:
- President Donald Trump reversed course on tariffs after days of turmoil.
- Some Kentuckians have watched their homes be swallowed by rains.
- Masters Round 1 tees off.
Trump pauses tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days
U.S. stock futures point to a lower open on Thursday, a day after a historic surge following President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on some of his most aggressive tariffs.
Tariff fears are calmed for now. But the market's next test is March’s consumer price index and weekly jobless claims, both due Thursday before the opening bell.
- Things were getting too spooky: Trump said he paused the tariffs because some folks were "getting a little bit yippy" – without specifying who.
- No pause for China: Trump raised the levy to goods from China to 125, escalating the back and forth between Beijing and Washington.
- Not completely out of the tariff woods: Universal 10% tariffs remain in place, which may still raise prices for American businesses and everyday goods — and Americans have whiplash after nervously watching their stock portfolios and 401(k) accounts yo-yo.
Russian-American prisoner freed
Dual Russian-U.S. citizen Ksenia Karelina left Thursday morning for the U.S. on a plane from Abu Dhabi after she was released from Russia, her lawyer said. Karelina was jailed for donating to a charity providing aid to Ukraine, her lawyer said, and then freed in what the Wall Street Journal described as a swap for a Russian-German national jailed in the United States. Read more
More news to know now
- Trump lauded Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a "very good person."
- A Florida high school teacher lost her job after using student's preferred name.
- National Weather Service alerts will no longer be translated for non-English speakers.
- House GOP holdouts forced a delay on a vote to advance Trump's legislative agenda.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Disgraced former Milwaukee cop and one migrant's deportation
Charles Cross Jr. has a history of misconduct that cost him his job as a Milwaukee police officer in 2012. Today, Cross is one of the private prison contractors helping to identify Venezuelan migrants as members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang– and landing them in a Salvadoran prison without due process. Entrusting private contractors like Cross – and not federal agents – to determine whether migrants are members of a criminal gang adds a new level of apprehension, migrant advocates and a former ICE official say. And Cross most recently helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist, who was sent to El Salvador's notorious prison, according to documents reviewed by Paste BN. Court filings show the artist has denied any connection to the gang.
Grappling with ruthless floods
"I'm just watching the water slowly eat my house, slowly watching less of a chance to be able to leave. That was what drove me crazy."
Dylan Patterson at his West Point, Kentucky, home as floodwaters — waist-high in some places — only got higher. Patterson and his neighbors chose to stay and brave whatever happened overnight. Without power, Patterson cooked canned food with a candle flame and watched the water rise.
Today's talkers
- "Black Mirror" is so back.
- We hope these songs make Lady Gaga's Coachella setlist.
- Time for some new summer hiking boots.
- Afraid to look at your 529 account?
- Michelle Obama dismissed divorce rumors.
Is it a good idea to bring back extinct animals?
It's not the plot of a science fiction movie: A company owned by a wealthy businessman re-created an extinct apex predator and lets it roam on a private ecological preserve. Despite parallels between "Jurassic Park" and the work of Colossal Biosciences, scientists and ethicists say a world where prehistoric animals are roaming city streets and gobbling up humans isn't likely to become a reality anytime soon. But some conservationists are concerned about unintended consequences as researchers continue to try to resurrect versions of extinct animals.
Photo of the day: Some of the cutest golfers
The 2025 Masters got its unofficial start Wednesday with the annual Par 3 Contest. This family-friendly event has become a rite of passage at golf’s first major and a big part of the charm at Augusta National Golf Club. Wives and children of the world’s best golfers stepped in as caddies.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.