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US stocks climb in shaky trading but the US dollar and government bonds sink as trade-war fears rise

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. are climbing in shaky trading Friday as ‘s  war with  escalates further and U.S. households get more worried about it. Gold’s price is rising, the U.S. dollar’s value is falling and other financial markets are also swinging in indications of fear about where the U.S. economy will ultimately fit in the world’s.

The S&P 500 was up 1.4% in afternoon trading, but only after veering repeatedly between earlier gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 456 points, or 1.2%, as of 12:57 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6% higher. Both also swung earlier, with the Dow going from a loss of nearly 340 points to a gain of nearly 500 points.

The shaky trading came after China announced Friday that it was boosting its on U.S. products to 125% in the latest tit-for-tat increase following Trump’s escalations on imports from China.

The repeated U.S. tariff increases “on China has become a numbers game, which has no practical economic significance, and will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” a Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement announcing the new tariffs. “However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end.”

Rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies could cause widespread damage and a possible global recession, even after Trump recently announced a 90-day pause on some of his tariffs for other countries, except for China.

All the uncertainty caused by the is eroding confidence among U.S. shoppers, which could affect their spending and translate into real damage for the economy, which came into this year running at a solid rate.

A preliminary survey by the University of Michigan suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is falling even more sharply than economists expected. “This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region, and political affiliation,” according to the survey’s director, Joanne Hsu.

“We remain in the early innings of this global trade regime change, and while the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs temporarily reversed the market selloff, it does prolong uncertainty,” according to Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The price of gold rose more than 2% following China’s latest escalation. It’s one of the areas of the market that investors have instinctually herded to when fear is high.

Other areas historically seen as safe havens aren’t seeing the same wave, though. The value of the U.S. dollar fell again against everything from the euro to the Japanese yen to the Canadian dollar.

Prices for longer-term Treasury bonds, which are essentially IOUs from the U.S. government, also fell. That’s counter to their history. Treasurys have long been seen as one of the safest possible investments in the world.

The drop in prices for Treasurys in turn sent their yields higher, because investors are essentially demanding to get paid more for the risk of holding them. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped as high as 4.58% earlier in the day, but has moderated to 4.47%. It stood at 4.40% late Thursday and just 4.01% at the end of last week. That’s a major move for the bond market.

Several reasons could be behind this week’s jump in U.S. Treasury yields. Investors outside the United States could be selling their U.S. bonds because of the trade war, and hedge funds could be selling whatever’s available in order to raise cash to cover other losses.

More worryingly, doubts may be rising about the United States’ reputation as the world’s safest place to keep cash. The jump in yields could also be an indication of stress in the financial system’s plumbing.

Regardless of the reasons for their rise, higher yields crank up pressure on the market and raise rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.

The market’s swings came after a set of stronger-than-expected profit reports Friday from some of the biggest U.S. banks, which traditionally help kick off each earnings reporting season.

, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all reported stronger profit for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. JPMorgan Chase rose 3.2%, Morgan Stanley rose 0.2% and Wells Fargo lost 2.1%.

Another report on inflation also came in better than expected. That could give the Federal Reserve more leeway to cut interest rates if it feels the need to support the economy. Lower rates would help make mortgages and other loans cheaper to get.

But Friday’s report on inflation at the wholesale level was backward looking, measuring March’s price levels. The worry is that inflation will rise in coming months as Trump’s tariffs make their way through the economy. And that could tie the Fed’s hands.

The University of Michigan’s survey suggested U.S. consumers are bracing for inflation of 6.7% in the year ahead, up from last month’s forecast of 5.0%. That’s the highest since 1981, and such expectations can create a feedback loop that only pushes inflation higher.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were scattershot around the world. Germany’s DAX lost 0.9%, but the FTSE 100 in London added 0.6% as the government reported the economy, the world’s sixth largest, enjoyed a growth spurt in February. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.1%.

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AP writers Jiang Junzhe and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Virginia’s Gateway Region adds three localities to footprint

Virginia’s Gateway Region Organization announced Thursday that its board of directors voted three additional Virginia localities — the city of , along with and counties — into its geographic footprint.

Based in , the VGR is a private nonprofit economic development organization that works closely with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to market the localities it represents and advocate for business growth.

According to the nonprofit, the three new localities will be represented by VGR for all economic development and related activities, starting July 1.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Emporia, Greensville and Brunswick into our regional marketing footprint,” Rex Davis, board chairman for VGR, said in a statement. “Their addition strengthens our collective voice, expands our reach and enhances our ability to attract investment and opportunity to the region. This is a powerful step forward in building a more vibrant, connected and competitive regional economy.”

VGR currently represents the independent localities within the tri-cities of Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights, in addition to the surrounding counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George and Sussex, as well as the incorporated towns within them.

Surry County recently transitioned out of the VGR marketing footprint, said the organization. The VGR’s goal is to unite the region for economic prosperity, and it heavily focuses on new and existing business investment and job creation. Since 2020, the organization and its partner localities have announced more than 1,700 jobs and $780 million in capital investment for the region.

“The addition of these three new communities along the vital I-85 and I-95 corridors significantly enhances our position as a premier location where we make things and move things,” VGR President and Keith Boswell said in a statement. “Their geographic location, workforce assets and commitment to growth align perfectly with our region’s vision for advanced manufacturing and logistics excellence. This expansion enhances our ability to compete globally and deliver more opportunities to the communities we serve.”

Averett president steps down after 3 months, citing wife’s illness

David Joyce stepped down Friday as the 15th president of due to a family medical matter, according to the private school.

A man wearing a blue tie and glasses.
David Joyce. Photo courtesy Averett University

“It is with a heavy heart I share that my wife, Lynne, has experienced a serious medical diagnosis that will require our fulltime attention,” Joyce said in a statement. “Lynne and I regret we will be unable to walk alongside Averett students as they succeed inside and outside of the classroom and will greatly miss the many dear colleagues, community members and friends we’ve made here, but will continue to support and cheer for this great institution as it moves forward.”

Venita Mitchell, currently Averett’s vice president for student engagement, will serve as acting president as the university’s board “continues an expedited search for the university’s next president,” according to a news statement.

The announcement came a day after news broke that Averett filed a federal lawsuit March 26 alleging its former chief finance officer worked with an investment firm to conceal illicit draws from its endowment that were used to cover budget deficits.

In a complaint, Averett states that Donald Aungst, who was hired by the university in 2020, colluded with Arizona-based Global Strategic Investment Services to “surreptitiously” drain close to $20 million from the university’s endowment. GSIS rebukes the allegations.

“Averett University repeatedly accessed its own endowment fund to meet payroll, invest in technology, pay down debt and cover other operational expenses due to liquidity challenges at the university,” the company said in a statement. “It is truly unfortunate that Averett — through this spurious federal lawsuit — is now seeking to scapegoat our firm … for the decisions, actions and inactions of its own officers and directors during this unfortunate period.”

In July 2024, Averett revealed publicly that it was responding to a temporary funding shortage due to mismanagement of the school’s finances, instituting salary reductions for top leaders and furlough days for staffers.

The cost cutting has been extensive with the university going on to cut positions and eliminating several majors. In March, the school listed its equestrian center for sale for $1.6 million.

Averett announced in December 2024 that Tiffany Franks, who served nearly 17 years as president of the university, would retire Jan. 5.

Selected by the board with assistance from Academic Search, a Washington, D.C. higher-education executive search firm, Joyce has nearly 30 years of experience as a college president. For eight years he led Union College in Kentucky. He spent another 10 years as president of Ripon College in Wisconsin and most recently worked for nine years as president of Brevard College in North Carolina.

Mitchell joined Averett in July 2021 with more than three decades of experience in higher education administration. Previously, she served as vice president and dean of student life for 18 years at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. She has a doctorate in educational and policy analysis from the University of Missouri.

A woman wearing gold hoop earrings.
Venita Mitchell will be acting president at Averett University. Photo courtesy Averett

“We are grateful for Dr. Mitchell’s willingness to briefly serve in this acting capacity at such a busy time of the academic year,” Rev. Daniel Carlton, chair of the Averett Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “A natural leader and collaborative problem-solver, Dr. Mitchell has been a true asset to Averett for nearly four years, making great impacts on Averett students, faculty and staff.”

Averett’s board has again hired Academic Search to secure a permanent leader and the board is currently interviewing candidates, according to the announcement.

Also Friday, Averett University announced Deborah Hall is the school’s interim chief financial officer. Hall, who was brought to Averett by Joyce, according to the statement, has 30 years of leadership experience in financial and operational management in higher education. She was previously vice president for finance and operations at LaGrange College in Georgia.

A spokesperson for Averett said Hall began work at the university Jan. 17, replacing Donald Merricks, a retired bank president, former state delegate and two-time alumnus, who was named Averett’s interim CFO in September 2024.

“Deb is an incredible financial leader, and we are most appreciative she will remain in her interim post during this time of transition,” Carlton said in a statement.

U.Va. med school faculty, clinical leaders defend those who backed CEO’s resignation

More than a month after Dr. K. Craig Kent resigned as Health’s following an independent investigation and an emergency meeting of the Board of Visitors, drama is still roiling at the university.

A group of 21 doctors — U.Va. School of Medicine faculty senators and senators-elect, as well as the president and vice president of the U.Va. Medical Center’s clinical staff — released a letter this week titled, “Statement in Defense of U.Va. School of Medicine Faculty & Colleagues.”

The letter alleges that other public letters by three former U.Va. rectors, a current member of the health system’s board and another member who resigned recently, as well as a prominent U.Va. neurosurgeon, “advanced a false narrative” that 128 physicians who called for Kent’s last year were “motivated by greed.”

“We write to set the record straight and lay that narrative to rest,” the faculty letter says. “It would be a disservice to the community not to defend our faculty against a campaign of falsehoods accusing physicians of placing personal profit above the interests of patients.”

War of words

The issue goes back to September 2024, when 128 faculty members employed by the U.Va. Physicians Group signed a letter of “no confidence” that alleged Kent and Dr. Melina Kibbe, dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine, had created a “culture of fear and retaliation” that “compromised patient safety.” The letter, whose signatures were not made public and were revealed only to a few board of visitors members, also alleged that the leaders had spent too much on C-suite executives and failed to “be forthcoming on significant financial matters.”

Although U.Va. President Jim Ryan wrote in a September 2024 email to 1,400 medical personnel that “there are many accusations [but] few details” in the letter of no confidence, and U.Va. Health System Board member Bill Crutchfield defended Kent and Kibbe publicly at the time, the board of visitors hired a law firm, Williams & Connolly, to conduct a third-party investigation into the physicians’ allegations. At the end of the probe, on Feb. 26, Kent resigned. Kibbe is still employed as the medical school’s dean.

In the weeks after Kent’s resignation, former U.Va. neurosurgery co-chair Dr. Neal Kassell, who now chairs the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, wrote a letter published in The Daily Progress saying that Kent and Kibbe were “the most visionary and transformative leaders” the health system had “since I joined the university in 1984.”

Kassell added that “a segment of U.Va.’s medical faculty has long resisted reform and accountability, entrenched in a culture that privileges over innovation. Such cultural habits and lingering bitterness from individuals overlooked for roles have fueled dissent. The resulting campaign of anonymous accusations, media leaks and smears threatens to destabilize the health system and tarnish the university’s reputation.”

Tom Scully, a nonvoting member of the UVA Health System board and a prominent attorney, resigned from the board a week after Kent’s resignation and wrote a letter accusing the 128 physicians who signed the letter of no confidence as “a bunch of angry docs who wanted no change or reform.” He added that he thought an unnamed BOV member who sought to become the next rector “wanted to ‘make a new mark on U.Va.,’ and that included cleaning up UVA Health and getting rid of Dr. Kent.”

Scully alleged that the Williams & Connolly investigation was “guided, coached and directed to a preconceived result.” Reached this week by phone, Scully said he didn’t have much to add to his letter but said Kent “is a very decent guy who got treated very shabbily.”

On March 7, three former U.Va. rectors — Frank M. Conner III, James B. Murray Jr., and Whittington W. Clement — sent a letter to attorney Gladstone Jones, who represents a group of UVA Health physicians, and Paul Manning, chair of the UVA Health board and a board of visitors member.

This letter asserts that Kent was not the only UVA Health leader who experienced pushback for financial reforms in the health system. Dr. Rick Shannon, Kent’s predecessor, “learned that a separate, self-governing physician’s cooperative, the University Physicians Group, employed every doctor, an arrangement that since 1979 had masked the physicians’ salaries from public accountability” and “metastasized into a large enterprise that managed hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, with millions more held in capital reserves.”

Shannon worked to change the status quo after joining the health system in 2013, including instituting safety protocols and calling for greater accountability regarding spending and billing. However, according to the former rectors, a “letter-writing campaign” organized by “a small group of vocal and politically well-connected physicians” aimed to have Shannon removed by then-new President Ryan, and Shannon soon left to work at Duke University.

In 2020, Kent was hired, just before the pandemic started, and after the early months of financial decline had ended, Kent started a strategic planning process and resumed Shannon’s reforms, according to the rectors’ letter. Once again, the “unwieldy, duplicative and expensive employment structure” for physicians caused a problem, the former rectors wrote. “After four years, Dr. Kent finally prevailed against stubborn resistance … and finally put the health system back in charge of managing the cash and paying its own physicians.”

“The blowback from all these changes was predictable,” the letter adds. “Letters of protest were sent to Dr. Kent’s superior, President Jim Ryan,” and in September 2024, the letter signed by 128 physicians was released.

The April 7 letter from the U.Va. School of Medicine faculty senators says that the letters from Conner, Murray, Clement, Scully, Crutchfield and Kassell “collectively take untenable positions against a broad swath of U.Va. clinicians; the Faculty Senate; the chair of the [BOV] Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee; the president of the university; the current Board of Visitors; and two nationally respected law firms.”

The letter adds, “After four years of dismissive responses and even retaliation, concerns were escalated to the Board of Visitors, who retained a law firm to investigate the allegations. The investigation led to Craig Kent’s immediate resignation, demonstrating that these longstanding concerns were indeed significant and actionable. Further, President Ryan subsequently offered a public apology for his initial response.”

According to a Daily Progress report, Ryan wrote a letter March 1 that although he “disagreed with the approach” taken by the group of 128 letter signers, his September 2024 response was “intemperate and disrespectful.”

Conner, Crutchfield and Kassell did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment on the April 7 letter.

Murray, one of the former U.Va. rectors, said in an interview Thursday that “speaking for myself, I think we stand by the original letter.” He added that his primary issue with the 21 faculty members’ April letter defending their colleagues is that they are “publicizing … what is essentially a personnel .”

Clement added in an interview Friday that the rectors’ letter “was not about the motivations that inspired the doctors to oppose Craig Kent. The letter was not about defending his aggressive management style,” but rather, “we were concerned that the publicity had tarnished the institutions.”

Asked whether the public battle could impact the university’s search for a new permanent leader of UVA Health, Clement said, “I don’t know. It’s not helpful.”

JPMorgan logs Q1 profit of $14.6 billion as CEO warns of uncertainty over global trade, other events

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan’s net income rose 9% to $14.6 billion in the first quarter and the New York bank beat ‘s profit and revenue targets, but it’s chief executive warned of global economic uncertainties ahead due to ‘s ongoing  and other geopolitical tensions.

Jamie Dimon said a strong performance by the bank’s markets division helped lift it to another strong quarter, but added tensions to his list of potential negatives facing the bank and broader economy.

JPMorgan’s earnings per share rose to $5.07 per share from $4.44 a year ago. The result beat Wall Street profit projections of $4.63 a share, according to the data firm FactSet. Total managed revenue hit $46 billion, up from the $41.9 billion a year ago. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $44 billion.

Trump’s herky-jerky tariff increases — currently bumped up by 10% for most U.S. trading partners and 145% for — have sent financial markets into dizzying fluctuations for weeks and created an enormous amount of uncertainty about where the global economy is headed. That’s bad for banks, which thrive on stability and healthy consumers and businesses borrowing money.

JPMorgan’s trading desk thrived in the first three months of 2025, helped by the market’s volatility, even before Trump rolled out his massive “Liberation Day” on April 2.

The bank’s markets revenue rose 21% in the period, with equities revenue up 48% from a year ago.

With regard to China, which further escalated its tariffs on imports from the U.S. to 125%, JPMorgan executives said it was too early to make any long-term projections or statements about the impact of the ongoing trade war on its business there.

“We really have to see how things play out,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum. ”In the near term, that business is performing fine and we are not seeing any effect.”

JPMorgan set aside $3.3 billion to cover bad loans, up from $1.9 billion a year ago, while repurchasing $7 billion of common and boosting its dividend 12%.

JPMorgan shares rose 2.4% in premarket trading.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley also beat Wall Street’s first-quarter projections. The New York bank also cited a strong performance from its equities trading division, helping boost its net income to $4.3 billion and revenue to a record $17.7 billion. Its shares were up a little more than 1% before the bell.

Wells Fargo also reported early Friday, with the San Francisco bank posting first-quarter net income of $4.89 billion, or $1.39 per share. That topped analysts’ forecast for earnings of $1.23 per share.

In a statement, CEO Charles Scharf said: ”We support the administration’s willingness to look at barriers to fair trade for the United States, though there are certainly risks associated with such significant actions,” adding that the bank is “prepared for a slower economic environment in 2025.”

Wells shares rose 1.7% in premarket trading.

The Latest: Global tariff battle escalates as China retaliates with 125% tariffs on US goods

China announced Friday that it will raise on U.S. goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating between the world’s two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While U.S.  paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying” and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin on Saturday.

Here’s the latest:

White House says to ‘trust’ Trump as tariffs plan plays out

“As he said, this is going to be a period of transition,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Friday’s news briefing. “He wants consumers to trust in him, and they should trust in him.”

The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment plunged 11% to an April reading of 50.8, the second lowest level in the survey’s history.

Leavitt didn’t address the index numbers that were released on Friday, but she said: “There’s great optimism in this economy.”

Immigration officers can continue enforcement actions in sensitive locations

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., denied a request for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the enforcement policy, filed by more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.

Under previous administrations in both parties, immigration enforcement could only take place in sensitive locations like houses of worship under exceptional circumstances, such as a threat to public safety.

The religious groups sued over the Trump administration’s new policy, announced in January, which authorizes enforcement in such settings under a broader set of reasons. The religious groups said this has had a chilling effect, driving down attendance by people who fear being arrested.

Despite some isolated examples, Friedrich said there isn’t evidence “that places of worship are being singled out as special targets.”

The new policy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security reflects only a “modest change” and doesn’t require enforcement activities in houses of worship, Friedrich added.

White House gives no details about facilitating return of Maryland man

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not offer any details about what steps the administration will take to comply with a Supreme Court order to bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to prison in El Salvador.

Leavitt said the court’s ruling made it “very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return” of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Leavitt did not offer any details and referred reporters to court filings made by the Justice Department.

Leavitt was asked if Trump wanted El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to bring Abrego Garcia with him to the U.S. when he visits Washington on Monday, but she said Bukele will be visiting to speak about the cooperation between the two countries “that is at an all-time high.”

US says it needs more time to provide information on mistakenly deported Maryland man

Lawyers for the Trump administration on Friday said they’re unable to provide information on the location and status of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The attorneys said they haven’t had enough time to review the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday that directed the administration to return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S.

A federal judge in Maryland directed the Trump administration to “take all available steps to facilitate the return” of Abrego Garcia following Thursday’s high court order.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had also set a Friday morning deadline for a declaration from the administration addressing Abrego Garcia’s location and custodial status and what steps the administration has taken and will take to facilitate his return. An in-person status conference was set for Friday afternoon.

Federal judge refuses to block immigration enforcement operations in houses of worship

A federal judge refused on Friday to block immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations at houses of worship in a lawsuit filed by religious groups over a new policy adopted by the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., handed down the ruling in a lawsuit filed by more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.

She found that there have been few such enforcement actions and the faiths had not shown they had suffered legal harm.

White House promises ‘readout’ on Trump’s health after his physical

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump is undergoing his “routine and long scheduled physical” and promised a “readout from the White House physician.”

As Leavitt spoke to reporters during a briefing on Friday, Trump was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trump’s medical records carry the same privacy protections as all citizens, so how much information he authorizes the White House to release once his physical is completed remains to be seen.

Through the years, Trump has long been reticent to release even basic information about his health.

Trump announces deals with 4 more law firms

The deals require them to together provide hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal services to causes championed by the administration.

The resolutions reflect Trump’s continued success in bending prominent law firms to his will as they seek to cut deals with the administration to avoid being targeted by executive orders carrying punishing sanctions.

The latest firms to reach agreements with the White House include:

1. Kirkland & Ellis

2. Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US

3. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

4. Latham & Watkins

The White House announced a deal with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft earlier today.

The spate of executive orders directed at the legal community and top law firms over the past two months has been part of a broader effort by Trump to reshape civil society and to extract concessions from entities whose work he opposes.

White House announces new deal with law firm

The deal with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft requires it to provide at least $100 million in free legal services to causes supported by the Trump administration.

As in other agreements, the law firm has agreed to disavow any “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in its hiring and employment practices.

Cadwalader is the former firm of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who resigned to take on President Donald Trump as a client.

The spate of executive orders directed at the legal community and top law firms over the past two months is part of a broader effort by Trump to reshape civil society and extract concessions from entities whose work he opposes.

The orders have threatened to upend the day-to-day business of the firms by stripping their lawyers’ security clearances, barring their employees from access to federal buildings and terminating federal contracts held by the firms or their clients.

Several major firms — including WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block — have won court rulings that have temporarily halted enforcement of most provisions of those orders.

Other firms, including Cadwalader, have sought to avert punishment by striking a deal with the White House.

Audits find lack of tracking of DEI spending at Wisconsin university system, state agencies

Republican-ordered audits released on Friday found that Wisconsin state agencies and the University of Wisconsin system failed to track the millions of dollars they spent on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, making it difficult to fully assess the initiatives.

The highly anticipated reports come amid a push by Trump to end federal government support for DEI programs. There have been similar efforts in Wisconsin by Republicans who control the Legislature. The reports’ findings are likely to further increase pressure from Republicans to do away with anything related to DEI.

DEI practices at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in particular have come under scrutiny.

The school is one of 50 universities across the country that Trump said are under investigation for alleged racial discrimination related to DEI programs.

UW-Madison also is one of 60 schools federal education officials are investigating because of accusations that they failed to protect Jewish students during campus protests last year over the war in Gaza.

Judge refuses to dismiss Central Park Five’s defamation case against Trump

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia denied Trump’s motion to dismiss in a brief Thursday night order.

The five men, formerly known as the Central Park Five, sued Trump during last fall’s presidential election campaign, accusing him of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during the Sept. 10 debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump misstated key facts of the case when Harris brought up the matter, saying, “They admitted, they said, they pled guilty. And I said, ‘well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty,’” Trump said.

The men were exonerated after spending more than a decade in prison for the 1989 rape and beating of a woman who was jogging.

Trump once again wants to stop the semiannual changing of clocks

The president posted on social media on Friday a call for Congress to “push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day.”

Trump said it would be “Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”

The Republican’s position calling for more daylight would push the schedule forward, keeping the country on daylight saving time.

Trump in the past has called for the Republican Party to eliminate daylight saving time, but last month backed off the threat in a post on his social media network, calling it a “50-50 issue” and saying “it’s hard to get excited about it.”

Trump’s Friday schedule

At 11 a.m. ET, Trump will have his annual physical appointment at Walter Reed Medical Center.

At 4 p.m., he will head to Joint Base Andrews where he will then fly to Mar-a-Lago to spend the weekend, according to the White House.

At 1 p.m., White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will deliver a press briefing.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene bought hit hard by tariffs during market meltdown

As stocks tanked on tariff fears, Marjorie Taylor Greene showed her faith in the president not just with words but with dollar bills.

The Republican congresswoman, an avid supporter of the Trump administration’s policies, not only bought stocks last week as others dumped them in a panic — she scooped up some of the biggest losers.

Lululemon, Dell Computer, Amazon, the parent of Restoration Hardware and a few others hit hard by Trump’s tariff threats were down 40% on average late last week when she pounced.

Data from a required three-page financial holdings document doesn’t disclose exactly how much she paid for the stocks, only ranges and dates.

China says it is standing up against the US for global interests

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China stands firm against Trump’s tariffs not only to defend its own rights and interests but also to “safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.”

Wang made the remarks on Friday when he met with Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Beijing.

Wang said China will “work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world.”

Consumers’ economic outlook worsens for fourth month as trade war fuels worries

The University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index fell 11% to 50.8, the lowest since the depths of the pandemic.

The decline was “pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region and political affiliation,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the survey.

The share of respondents expecting unemployment to rise in the coming months increased for the fifth straight month and is now the highest since 2009, during the Great Recession.

Americans also now expect long-term inflation to reach 4.4%, up from 4.1% last month, a move that may be of particular concern for the Federal Reserve.

The Fed pays close attention to inflation expectations because they can become self-fulfilling.

If people expect prices to rise, they often take steps that can push up prices, such as accelerating purchases or seeking higher wages.

Falling sentiment suggests Americans will cut back on spending, though in recent years, consumers have at times kept spending despite the gloom. Whether they will do so again remains to be seen.

Trump tells Russia to ‘get moving’ with ending the war

“Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war — A war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!” Trump wrote on social media on Friday.

His post came as his special envoy Steve Witkoff was in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

opens lower as Trump’s trade war with China escalates

U.S. stocks are shaky as Wall Street’s monstrous week heads toward its close.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% in early trading Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 306 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.4%.

The drops erased more of the huge gains stocks made in the middle of the week after Trump paused tariffs on many countries outside of China. The rising price of gold, falling value of the U.S. dollar and moves in other financial markets indicate more fear after China’s latest escalation in the trade war.

Senate confirms Trump nominee Caine for chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in overnight vote

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine was confirmed on Friday, almost two months after Trump fired Caine’s predecessor.

Trump nominated Caine to become the top U.S. military officer in February after abruptly firing Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the second Black general to serve as chairman, as part of his Republican administration’s campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks.

The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25 in an overnight vote before heading home for a two-week recess.

Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in in multiple special operations commands, in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs, and in the CIA.

But he does not meet prerequisites for the job set out in a 1986 law, such as being a combatant commander or service chief.

Trump administration to refer Maine to DOJ over transgender participation in sports

The deadline arrived Friday for Maine officials to reach a resolution with the U.S. Education Department over a finding that the state violated antidiscrimination laws by allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports.

The Education Department said in March that an investigation concluded the Maine Department of Education violated the federal Title IX law by allowing transgender girls to participate on girls’ teams. The investigation followed a public disagreement between Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Trump at a February meeting of governors.

The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a final warning on March 31 telling the state it needed to comply with the law within 10 business days or face enforcement from the U.S. Justice Department. That deadline arrived Friday.

Maine officials have not responded to requests for comment on the investigation.

US wholesale inflation fell last month as price pressures eased, but trade war clouds outlook

The Labor Department said on Friday that its producer price index, which tracks inflation before it hits consumers, fell 0.4% from February.

Compared with a year earlier, producer prices rose 2.7% — down from a 3.2% year-over-year gain in February and much lower than the 3.3% economists had forecast.

The report comes a day after the Labor Department delivered good news on inflation at the consumer level.

Its consumer price index rose just 2.4% last month from March 2024, the smallest year-over-year gain since September. Core consumer prices posted the smallest year-over-year increase in nearly four years.

The inflation outlook is muddied by Trump’s . He’s imposing a 145% tax — a tariff — on Chinese imports and is hitting most of the rest of the world’s imports with a 10% levy that might increase after 90 days.

The trade barriers are widely expected to raise prices as importers attempt to pass along their higher costs.

Space Force Base commander in Greenland fired after Vance visit

In a statement late Thursday, the U.S. Space Force said Col. Susan Meyers, who served as commander of Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, was removed due to “loss of confidence in her ability to lead.”

In a rare follow-up statement, the Space Force said, “Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties.”

Military.com reported that Meyers sent a base-wide email following Vice President JD Vance’s March visit, defending the base’s relationship with Denmark and Greenland. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the contents of that email.

“Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a separate statement posted to the social platform X.

States sue over Trump administration’s sudden halt of pandemic relief aid for schools

Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Thursday to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools, saying the Education Department’s abrupt halt of hundreds of millions of dollars of promised funding will force cuts to vital services.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James, plus Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat. It claims the administration’s refusal to release the aid violates federal law because it reversed a prior decision to allow states to access the money through March 2026.

States were notified late last month that the Education Department would not honor deadline extensions granted by the Biden administration to spend the remainder of COVID relief aid approved by Congress to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Schools were supposed to spend the last of the relief by January but many sought, and were granted, more time.

Trump will undergo his annual physical Friday after years of reluctance

Trump is undergoing his annual physical on Friday, potentially giving the public its first details in years about the health of a man who in January became the oldest in U.S. history to be sworn in as president.

Despite long questioning predecessor Joe Biden’s physical and mental capacity, Trump has routinely kept basic facts about his own health shrouded in secrecy — shying away from traditional presidential transparency on medical issues.

If history is any indication, his latest physical is likely to produce a flattering report that’s scarce on details. It will be conducted at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will be the first public information on Trump’s health since an assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

Rather than release medical records at that time, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson — a staunch supporter who served as his White House physician and once joked in the White House briefing room that Trump could live to be 200 if he had a healthier diet — wrote a memo describing a gunshot wound to Trump’s right ear.

Where things stand for Trump in global tariff battle

In the aftermath of this week’s tariff whiplash, Trump is deciding exactly what he wants out of trade talks with as many as 75 nations in the coming weeks.

Trump is also figuring out next steps with China. He upped his tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% after China placed retaliatory taxes of 84% on imports from the U.S. While his 90-day pause on other tariffs caused the market to rally on Wednesday, countries still face a baseline 10% import tax instead of the higher rates announced on April 2.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Thursday that the administration already has “offers on the table from more than 15 countries.”

Hassett said the next step will be determining exactly what Trump wants out of the negotiations.

China hits back at US and will raise tariffs on American goods from 84% to 125%

China announced on Friday that it will raise tariffs on U.S. goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying” and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

China’s Commerce Ministry said it would file another lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the U.S. tariffs.

Trump’s on-again, off-again measures have caused alarm in stock and bond markets and led some to warn that the U.S. could be headed for a recession. There was some relief when Trump paused the tariffs for most countries, but concerns remain since the U.S. and China are the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies, respectively.

 

Notes: Eds: UPDATES: With new items..

 

Plane’s wing tip hits another aircraft at Reagan National airport

ARLINGTON (AP) — The wing tip of an American Airlines plane struck another plane from the same airline on a taxiway of the Ronald Reagan Washington National in County on Thursday, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

The wing tip of an aircraft heading to Charleston, South Carolina, struck a plane en route to New York City about shortly before 1 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating.

The plane to New York wasn’t moving at the time, passenger and U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, R-New York, said on X.

LaLota noted that U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York, was also aboard the flight.

“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota’s post said. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”

Roughly 80 people were on the plane to Charleston, and 71 for the flight to New York, according to American Airlines. The company said in a statement that damage was limited to a winglet on each aircraft. It said both planes would be taken out of service for inspection and that replacement aircraft would take passengers to their destinations.

“Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” the airline’s statement said.

Greg Gilligan, a passenger on the flight to New York, said he was able to board a new aircraft about 3:30 p.m. He said the experience had stunned him.

“I saw the plane zipping by thinking it was going fast, when it struck the wing of our plane,” Gilligan said in a text message. “It was a crazy unbelievable experience.”

was the site of a Jan. 29 midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter that claimed 67 lives and was the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, in 2023, voiced opposition to the addition of more at DCA, saying the airport and its surrounding airspace near the nation’s capital and the Pentagon was too congested for more flights.

In the wake of the Jan. 29 crash, they and other elected officials from Maryland and Northern Virginia signed a letter voicing concerns about the prospect of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, preparing to cut jobs that impact aviation safety. In late January, the FAA restricted helicopter flights near the airport.

According to a March report by the National Transportation Safety Board, there were 85 near misses between aircrafts during recent years at Reagan, and airplane pilots were told to take evasive action to avoid hitting helicopters at least once a month from 2011 through 2024.

Wayfair to vendors: Hold off on tariff increases

BOSTON — In a letter to vendors, Niraj Shah, and co-founder of digitally native home furnishings retailer Wayfair, urged patience and timing as it relates to any tariff-related price increases.

The letter, sent on April 8 and obtained by Furniture Today, highlighted Shah’s thoughts on how to navigate the landscape, impacted by the Trump administration’s tariff announcements this month.

On April 9, President Trump announced a 90-day pause and a reciprocal tariff rate reduction to 10% for more than 75 countries, but a 125% immediate tariff rate on , which means many of the strategies outlined by Shah still likely apply to goods imported from China.

“I know many of you will be affected by these , but by working in close partnership, we are confident that we can all stay resilient and keep strengthening our businesses,” Shah wrote.

Shah asked vendors who are considering price increases to hold off for now, noting that early movers might see sharp drops in demand that aren’t offset by higher market prices.

“Taking a wait-and-see approach will help you stay aligned with peers and protect your momentum,” he wrote. “Given the inventory that is already on hand at the lower cost basis, this move will not hurt your economics and will position you to maximize your gain.”

Should increases need to be implemented, Shah had two requests. The first was to pass through only what’s essential. “Tariffs apply to the value of goods declared at customs, not your wholesale cost to us. Remember that any price increases will be passed on to customers,” he wrote.

The second request was to time any pricing changes carefully.

“Because Wayfair pricing updates immediately, we recommend increasing prices on other platforms first. This helps ensure customers see a consistent price across retailers,” he wrote. “Our primary focus is not on your specific wholesale cost to us, but rather on our ability to be competitive with other retailers, and your ability to be competitive with other suppliers. Being patient and using the data we will share on what we are seeing will let you react with precision.”

Other points included maintaining strong in- levels to sustain sales momentum and leaning into advertising in anticipation of Way Day.

In a statement to Furniture Today, Wayfair said sending a letter such as this to its vendors isn’t out of the ordinary.

“For over 20 years, we’ve partnered closely with our supplier network to deliver the best combination of value and assortment to our customers. As we navigate this period of disruption, we shared suggested actions with our suppliers — just as we have in past market cycles. Our goal is mutual success and continuing to provide customers with the best value in the category,” the statement said.

 

University of Virginia Foundation promotes new CEO

The Foundation has named Deborah van Eersel as its next , effective July 1.

Currently the foundation’s chief administrative officer, she will succeed Tim Rose, who is retiring after 33 years at its helm, U.Va. announced in late January. The foundation’s directors formally approved the decision to promote van Eersel at a February meeting, according to the announcement.

Van Eersel brings 35 years of real estate, nonprofit and experience to the role. She joined the foundation in 2001 and assumed her current post in 2013. Since then, the foundation says she’s played crucial roles in expanding the university’s research parks and strengthening the university’s partnerships with the private sector and government.

The foundation says that by next year, it will manage more than $1 billion in assets, with annual revenues exceeding $100 million, including approximately 5,000 acres of land and 2 million square feet of buildings.

“Deborah’s appointment as CEO reflects the confidence of the board and staff in her exceptional abilities and deep understanding of the foundation’s mission,” Daniel Abramson, chair of the Foundation board, said in a statement. “Her track record of innovation and strategic growth, combined with her commitment to our community, makes her the ideal leader to build upon ‘s remarkable legacy.”

Van Eersel negotiated 1.75 million square feet of Class A office and laboratory leases since 2010 and played a significant role in the development of North Fork, where the foundation said her leadership helped efforts to establish a new biotech accelerator program. Before joining the foundation, she was CEO of the Area Association of Realtors.

“I am honored to lead this extraordinary organization and build upon its strong foundation,” van Eersel said in a statement. “My focus will be on maintaining our people-first culture while advancing U.Va.’s mission through strategic real estate initiatives. We have a unique opportunity to contribute to both the university’s mission and our region’s economic vitality.”

Based in Charlottesville and established in 1986, the foundation provides real estate, financial and administrative services to support U.Va.

Apple has few incentives to start making iPhones in U.S., despite Trump’s trade war with China

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — ‘s administration has been predicting its barrage of targeting will push into manufacturing the in the United States for the first time.

But that’s an unlikely scenario even with U.S tariffs now standing at 145% on products made in China — the country where Apple has manufactured most of its iPhones since the first model hit the market 18 years ago.

The disincentives for Apple shifting its production domestically include a complex supply chain that it began building in China during the 1990s. It would take several years and cost billions of dollars to build new plants in the U.S., and then confront Apple with economic forces that could triple the price of an iPhone, threatening to torpedo sales of its marquee product.

“The concept of making iPhones in the U.S. is a non-starter,” asserted Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, reflecting a widely held view in the investment community that tracks Apple’s every move. He estimated that the current $1,000 price tag for an iPhone made in China, or , would soar to more than $3,000 if production shifted to the U.S. And he believes that moving production domestically likely couldn’t be done until, at the earliest, 2028. “Price points would move so dramatically, it’s hard to comprehend.”

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The Cupertino, California, company has yet to publicly discuss its response to Trump’s tariffs on China, but the topic may come up on May 1 when Apple Tim Cook is scheduled to field questions from analysts during a quarterly conference call to discuss the company’s financial results and strategy.

And there is no doubt the China tariffs will be a hot-button issue given Apple’s price has dropped by nearly 20% and lowered the company’s market value by $600 billion since Trump began increasing them on April 2.

If the tariffs hold, Apple is widely expected to eventually raise the prices on iPhones and other popular products because the Silicon Valley’s supply chain is so heavily concentrated in China, India and other overseas markets caught in the crossfire of the escalating war.

The big question is how long Apple might be willing to hold the line on its current prices before the tariffs’ toll on the company’s profit margins become too much to bear and consumers are asked to shoulder some of the burden.

One of the main reasons that Apple has wiggle room to hold the line on its current iPhone pricing while the China tariffs remain in place is because the company continues to reap huge profit margins from the revenue generated by the subscriptions and other services tied to its product, said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee. That division, which collected $96 billion in revenue during Apple’s last fiscal year, remains untouched by Trump’s tariffs.

“Apple can absorb some of the tariff-induced cost increases without significant financial impact, at least in the short term,” Chatterjee said.

Apple tried to appease Trump in February by announcing plans to spend $500 billion and hire 20,000 people in the U.S. through 2028, but none of it was tied to making an iPhone domestically. Instead, Apple pledged to fund a Houston data center for computer servers powering artificial intelligence — a technology the company is expanding into as part of an industrywide craze.

When asked this week about whether Trump believes Apple intends to build iPhones in the U.S., White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt pointed to Apple’s investment promise as evidence that the company thinks it could be done. “If Apple didn’t think the United States could do it, they probably wouldn’t have put up that big chunk of change,” Leavitt said.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also predicted tariffs would force a manufacturing shift during an April 6 appearance on a CBS news program. “The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America,” Lutnick said.

But during a 2017 appearance at a conference in China, Cook expressed doubt about whether the U.S. labor pool had enough workers with the vocational skills required to do the painstaking and tedious work that Lutnick was discussing.

“In the U.S. you could have a meeting of tooling engineers and I’m not sure we could fill the room,” Cook said. “In China, you could fill multiple football fields.”

Trump also tried to pressure Apple, to no avail, into shifting iPhone production to the U.S. during his first term as president. But the administration ultimately exempted the iPhone from the tariffs he imposed on China back then — a period when Apple had announced a commitment to invest $350 billion in the U.S. Trump’s first-term tariffs on China also prompted Apple to begin a process that led to some of its current iPhones being made in India and some of its other products being manufactured in Vietnam.

Cook also took the president on a 2019 tour of a Texas plant where Apple had been assembling some of its Mac computers since 2013. Shortly after finishing that our, Trump took credit for the plant that Apple had opened while Barack Obama was president. “Today I opened a major Apple Manufacturing plant in Texas that will bring high paying jobs back to America,” Trump posted on Nov. 19, 2019.