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Donald Trump imposes high tariff rates as he tries to reshape the global economy. The family of Virginia Giuffre speaks out about the Epstein case files. And an ICE recruitment email has some local law enforcement officials seething.
Here’s what to know today.
Global markets dip as Trump formalizes new tariffs
President Donald Trump on Thursday formalized a slew of high tariff rates and recent trade deals, an escalation that came just hours before a self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline.
In a sweeping executive order, Trump made his deals with prominent trading partners official, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the Philippines.
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He also unilaterally sets rates for partners that did not reach agreements by the Friday deadline, like Israel, Switzerland and Taiwan. Switzerland’s rate will be set higher than previously threatened, at 39%, while Taiwan’s will be set lower, at 20%.
According to the order, the new duties will not take effect until Aug. 7. Goods shipped by vessel, which account for more than half of U.S. imports, will not be affected by the new tariff rates until Oct. 5.
The moves effectively reset the world’s trade relations, ostensibly to benefit the U.S. with expensive tariff rates not seen in nearly a century. Stock markets across the world dropped early Friday in response to the upheaval, from modest dips in the United Kingdom and Germany to larger falls in Japan and the most dramatic, South Korea, down almost 4% since opening.
Meanwhile Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “disappointed” that Trump had decided to hike tariffs from 25% to 35% on all goods not covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
Trump told NBC News in an exclusive interview that it is “too late” for other countries to avoid the rates going in place next week. However, he also said his door will always be open to compelling offers: “It doesn’t mean that somebody doesn’t come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal.”
Earlier Thursday, Trump agreed to a 90-day extension on talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Mexico is the United States’ largest single trading partner.
Amid all the changes, uncertainty is likely to linger for consumers and businesses. The economy will be on edge until the tariffs truly set in.
More politics news:
- Special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee traveled to Gaza on Friday to inspect aid distribution sites. Trump addressed their visit Thursday night, telling NBC News’ Garrett Haake, “We want to make sure people get fed.” The president said he was looking forward to hearing their report on the situation.
- Trump shared his renovation plans for the White House, including a new Lincoln bathroom and a “beautiful” ballroom.
- Elon Musk isn’t done influencing Republican politics — he’s donating millions to super PACs ahead of the midterms.
- Start stretching: The Presidential Fitness Test is coming back.
- Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended the court’s handling of emergency Trump cases, pushing back against the criticism that the justices are failing to explain themselves.
Virginia Giuffre wanted Epstein files released, family says
The family of Virginia Giuffre, who faced years of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and died by suicide earlier this year, wanted the files related to him released, her family said.
“She had a little bit of hope in her because it was said that the files were going to be released,” Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s sister-in-law, said in an interview with NBC News’ Hallie Jackson.
Giuffre “wanted the public to know the crimes that they had committed,” Roberts added, and had been fighting for this “right up until the very end.”
The family spoke out earlier this week, urging Trump not to pardon Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell after he made comments that Giuffre was “stolen” from the spa at Mar-a-Lago. Trump “invoked” their sister’s name, the family said, and they made a statement to represent her wishes.
“She’s not an object; she’s a person,” Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, said through tears. “She’s a mom. She’s a sister. And she was recruited by Maxwell. She wasn’t stolen.”
A pardon would “unwind everything that my sister and all the survivors fought for,” he said.
ICE recruitment moves alienate some local law enforcement leaders
A new ICE tactic to aggressively recruit agents from local law enforcement is angering some leaders, including sheriffs who support the Trump administration.
ICE sent a recruitment email to agencies involved in their 287(g) program, under which local agencies partner to help with immigration enforcement. The email tries to enlist personnel for mass deportation efforts and includes a potential $50,000 signing bonus as an incentive for joining ICE.
“ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership,” the Pinellas County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association, also addressed the situation in an interview with NBC News. “It was bad judgment that will cause an erosion of a relationship that has been improving of late,” he said.
Thompson said the association has heard from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies about the recruitment emails. He also said that the group has not heard from DHS since the emails were flagged.
“This is inappropriate behavior of a partner organization,” Thompson said. “We’re all on the same boat. And you just don’t treat friends or partners like this.”
Here’s what else they had to say.
Read All About It
- Kerr County’s emergency coordinator said he was sick and asleep when floods hit Texas.
- A lightning bolt stretched 515 miles and across three states — a shocking world record.
- New details emerged in the murder of an Arkansas couple, including the suspect admitting that he killed the hikers.
- Justin Timberlake revealed he has been battling Lyme disease.
- The percentage of kids who didn’t get their recommended childhood vaccines rose again last school year, CDC data shows.
Staff Pick: Family caregivers worry over planned Medicaid cuts’ impact
Family-oriented societies emphasize the tradition of helping our elders — parents, grandparents, even older siblings if they need. For some, that includes becoming a caretaker for a loved one. As reporter Marina E. Franco writes, this is often a mentally and financially taxing job — and with incoming cuts to Medicaid, it could get worse.
Franco’s recent article paints a detailed and sobering picture of the work and money that goes into being a caregiver, as well as the demographics of caregivers in the United States who rely on Medicaid to support their families financially. I invite you to read about Alma Valencia, what she needs to support her mother, and how it could all go away as the cuts arrive.
– Jennifer Nehrer, platforms intern
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Talking Shop is an NBC Select series in which the team interviews interesting people about their most interesting buys. We recently spoke with supermodel Miranda Kerr about her favorite mascara, the Oura ring, sleep masks and much more. Plus, NBC Select senior photo editor Rebecca Delman, a mom of two (soon to be three), tested 10 compact strollers. Here are her favorites.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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