Tuesday, May 14, 2024

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1/ Biden announced new tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, steel and aluminum products, and medical products. Notably, levies on imported Chinese electric vehicles will quadruple, from 25% to 100%, while tariffs on solar cells and semiconductors will double from 25% to 50%, and certain medical equipment (including PPE, surgical gloves and respirators) will be subject to a 25% tariff. “American workers can outwork and outcompete anyone as long as the competition is fair,” Biden said. “But for too long, it hasn’t been fair. For years, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese companies […] it’s not competition, it’s cheating.” Biden will also keep in place Trump’s $300 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. (Associated Press / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg)

2/ Democrats on the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the meeting where Trump promised oil executives he’d repeal regulations intended to lower climate emissions if they contributed $1 billion to his 2024 campaign. At a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner, Trump reportedly told nine oil executives that giving him $1 billion would be a “deal” because of the taxes and regulations they’d avoid. (Washington Post / The Guardian)

3/ Michael Cohen resumed testifying against Trump in the election interference trial involving falsified business records. During cross-examination, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche attempted to discredit Cohen’s earlier testimony by pressing him on attempts to monetize his connection to Trump, his own criminal history, and whether he cooperated with prosecutors for a sentence reduction. Then, in an effort to establish Cohen’s bias against Trump and a motive to lie, Blanche confronted Cohen about his past statements about Trump, asking if he ever called Trump a “boorish cartoon misogynist.” Cohen responded: “Sounds like something I would say.” Blanche then asked if he called Trump a “Cheeto dusted cartoon villain.” Cohen responded: “That also sounds like something I would say.” And finally, Blanche asked if he made the statement: “I truly fucking hope this man ends up in prison” Cohen responded that it sounded like something he said on his podcast. (NPR / Axios / Washington Post /

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