This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday ordered his team to research and investigate new tariffs.
"Whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them," the president declared.
The newly assigned task force will take into account the taxes other nations charge on imports, and myriad factors that the president claims are not fair toward the United States.
Trump's directive to his advisers formally begins an investigation into what tariffs will be the most fair to the United States on a by-country basis. This process, expected to last until April, will ignite global negotiations as foreign nations seek to avoid unfavorable trade terms. The president signaled he's open to using these reciprocal tariffs as a starting point toward trade negotiations.
One such tariff negotiation has already proven effective. Reports over the last few days indicate that the European Union will lower taxes on U.S. auto imports to be even with its charges on exports.
"They were approximately five times higher, and they lowered them down to what we're paying," said Trump.
The White House estimated the tariffs could produce about $1 trillion in new revenue each year.
As dealmaker-in-chief, Trump is delivering on a campaign promise to correct areas where he says foreign nations have taken advantage of the U.S. economy. In the process, the president hopes that high tariffs will encourage companies to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States. One of the manufacturing industries that the administration aims to bring back with these tariffs is the making of semiconductor chips, a key component in automobiles.
"Taiwan took our chip business away. And we want that business back," Trump said. "[Reciprocal tariffs are] going to bring chips back to our country."
One area where the president will likely need to negotiate is China. With the U.S. eyeing a purchase of TikTok, China may use economic leverage to get a favorable deal for the ByteDance-owned app and its proprietary algorithm. Trump indicated he's open to giving China and the U.S. companies interested in TikTok more time to come to a deal.
Former President Barack Obama and the people who helped him launch the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or sometimes referred to as "Obamacare," are not going to be happy with President Donald Trump's latest actions.
According to The Hill, the president's administration announced that it's slashing funding for ACA navigators by a staggering 90%.
The health insurance navigators assist people in signing up for Obamacare on various exchanges, according to the report.
News of the deep cuts in funding came on the heels of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continuing its winning streak with eliminating government waste and finding ways to streamline it all.
In a bombshell announcement from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday, it was revealed that health insurance navigators will only receive $10 million per year for the next four years.
The same navigators, under President Joe Biden, received a whopping $98 million in 2024 alone, marking a major cut-down on funding on Trump's watch.
The Hill noted:
CMS said the cut will allow the exchanges to focus on more effective strategies to improve outcomes and to reduce premiums for people who don’t qualify for subsidies.
The health agency justified the cut by noting navigators enrolled only 0.6 percent of plan selections on the federal exchange during the open enrollment period — at a cost of $1,061 per enrollment.
CMS officials released a statement defending its move, citing a lack of return on investment for the previous sums sent to the navigators.
"Overall, Navigator performance data shows that the current level of funding does not represent a reasonable return on investment. These numbers indicate that Navigators are not enrolling nearly enough people to justify the substantial amount of federal dollars previously spent on the program," they wrote.
The decrease in funding for health insurance navigators, according to experts, will save U.S. taxpayers some $360 million over the next four years.
Trump, during his first term in the White House, cut funding to ACA navigators in the same manner.
He also slashed funding for ads pointing to Healthcare.gov, the primary website where people can sign up for ACA health care plans.
Interestingly, had Biden -- or Harris -- won the election, their administration was set to up the amount of funding to a mind-blowing $500 million over the next five years.
The Blackhawk helicopter that crashed into a commercial airliner last month over Washington D.C. sent shockwaves through the aviation industry and across the globe.
Many have wondered how such a deadly and seemingly avoidable incident could even occur, and according to ABC 7 News, new information about the lead-up to the fatal event has been revealed.
As authorities continue to investigate the bizarre and nightmarish accident that resulted in over 60 deaths, it was revealed over the weekend that the crew of the Blackhawk helicopter may have experienced inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash.
Additionally, the Blackhawk crew reportedly might not have heard instructions from Air Traffic Control prior to the crash.
Speaking with reporters, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy revealed that "the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left the crew without understanding how it should shift position" before the crash.
She noted that the crew was likely unable to hear the instruction "pass behind the" because the helicopter's microphone key was pressed.
"That transmission was interrupted -- it was stepped on," Homendy told reporters.
The outlet noted:
Homendy said the helicopter was on a "check" flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.
Eager reporters questioned her about the length of time it could take to uncover the reason for the crash. She said it could be up to a year.
"We're only a couple weeks out," from the crash, Homendy said. "We have a lot of work to do."
New information was also revealed regarding the helicopter crew's alleged confusion prior to the crash.
The outlet added:
Cockpit conversations a few minutes before the crash indicated conflicting altitude data, Homendy said, with the helicopter's pilot calling out that they were then at 300 feet, but the instructor pilot saying it was 400 feet, Homendy said.
She added, "At this time we don't know why there was a discrepancy between the two."
It'll be interesting to see what the investigation uncovers, and how such situations will be avoided in the future.
Fox News viewers were likely stunned -- in a good way -- to see one of President Donald Trump's top guys sitting down with New York City Mayor Eric Adams to discuss a new venture to crack down on the illegal immigrant problem plaguing the city.
According to the Daily Mail, during a recent "Fox & Friends" interview, border czar Tom Homan and Adams announced new policy objectives that will allow state and federal authorities to crack down on illegal immigration.
Adams was more than receptive to Homan's help in aiding the city in getting its illegal immigration crisis under control once and for all.
One of the bombshell announcements to come out of the interview is that Riker's Island prison will reopen its ICE office, making it easier for federal authorities to easily take in criminal illegal aliens.
Homan was as honest as he could possibly be when talking about Mayor Adams, admitting that he called him out, publicly, many times over public safety issues.
"I've been on this network for four years, and I've called the mayor out many times for not stepping up when it comes to public safety threats," Homan began the joint interview.
"But I tell you, when I sat down with him, I saw the cop in him, and he really does want to do the right thing."
Tom Homan and Eric Adams went on Fox together this morning to talk about working together to get illegal aliens out of New York 👀 pic.twitter.com/9BoUVW7QvP
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) February 14, 2025
The Daily Mail added:
Adams welcomed Homan's help, claiming he has tried to fight the city's immigration-related woes for years, adding 'we need to go after these dangerous people in our streets, and now I have someone that understands that narrative, and we are fighting together to get it done.'
"As I sat down with Tom earlier, I said that we're going to look at all the legalese," Adams said of the Riker's Island situation.
He added, "I'm able to do an executive order to put them back on Rikers Island where they should be with part of our criminal justice apparatus."
Working together and especially opening the ICE office at the prison will allow for quicker intel sharing and better agency cooperation.
"Not only will we get the bad guys when they hit the street, the intelligence of how TDA operates, where they're operating, all this intelligence they gather at Rikers we'll have access to," Homan said.
It'll be interesting to see what this new partnership means for the city of New York.
Socialite Bettina Anderson shared a touching memory while on a luxury Valentine's Day getaway with boyfriend Donald Trump Jr., the UK Daily Mail reported. The relationship recently became official with President Donald Trump's eldest son.
Anderson took to her Instagram on Friday to post from a private island getaway with the younger Trump. She reportedly shared several Instagram stories of the luxurious trip, but she also shared one sweet memory from childhood.
The post was a photo of the 38-year-old as a little girl with her entrepreneur father, Harry Loy Anderson, at a beach. The sundrenched pair are pictured standing ankle-deep in the surf while focused on a fishing pole that Harry Loy Anderson is holding.
"My first Valentine. Taught me everything I know," Bettina Anderson captioned the photo tribute to her father.
According to the Palm Beach Post, while his father made news as the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson debuted their relationship in New Orleans during the Super Bowl LIX last weekend. The pair previously had been spotted together at events, including the inauguration.
However, the fact that both posted photos from the VIP box for the big game indicates that Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson are "Instagram official." Other Trump family members were also in attendance, including three of the five children Donald Trump Jr. shares with ex-wife Vanessa Trump.
View this post on Instagram
Notably, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-fiance, also came to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Fox News host and attorney is currently the ambassador to Greece after being appointed by President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle had dated for six years but called it quits late last year. The breakup in December came after Donald Trump Jr. was seen kissing and holding hands with Bettina Anderson.
President Donald Trump was known for choosing family members for positions during his first presidential term. According to the New York Post, it seems he's hoping to turn his family into a political dynasty like the Kennedys this time around.
In an interview with Time Magazine published in December, President Donald Trump said it "could be" a possibility for his legacy. "I have some very competent members of my family," President Donald Trump said.
"My kids are very competent," he added. The president lauded the input from his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, for a successful campaign, particularly his namesake.
"I think [Don Jr. would] do well, especially in certain areas. I think he’d do very well. I think he’s a very capable guy," the president said. "Eric is very capable, and a very different type," he noted of Eric Trump, who worked on the campaign alongside his wife, Lara Trump.
The Trump family has become a political powerhouse, including for the people who marry into it. There's no telling if Bettina Anderson will become the next Mrs. Trump, but going public about their relationship is undoubtedly a significant step.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that the $2.7 trillion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud that already has been uncovered by President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency is just part of "a very long list of fraud, waste and abuse that DOGE is identifying on a daily basis."
The question was raised during a recent White House briefing, when she was asked specifically about the $2.7 trillion revealed by a House subcommittee run by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
She said:
"Elon Musk also talked about yesterday about Social Security payments that are going out the door for people who are no longer with us," she continued, "I would say that is certainly fraud. There's also a lot of contracts they've identified that, just as a hypothetical example, are a million bucks, but only $500,000 went out the door. So where's the rest of that cash?"
That's what DOGE works on "every single day," she said, noting, "This is what Trump campaigned on doing."
It was a hearing Wednesday by the Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee in the House that confirmed since 2003, a "staggering" $2.7 trillion had been paid by taxpayers for "improper Medicare and Medicaid payments, including to individuals overseas who are not eligible to receive them."
An Express Tribune report said the committee's goal is the review how "billions" of taxpayer dollars have been "squandered."
The subcommittee's work is part of a wide agenda in the Trump administration to remove inefficiency, fraud, waste, corruption and even criminal conduct that is costing American taxpayers.
Prominent in leadership is Elon Musk and the DOGE.
Among topics reviewed by the subcommittee were the efforts to prevent fraud and abuse, ways that accountability can be integrated into the government, eliminating "self-certification" where recipients confirm their own processes and "continuous auditing."
The report noted Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., was critical of Joe Biden's rash spending procedures, and accused him of being irresponsible with tax money.
The report noted since its creation, DOGE already has canceled more than $1 billion in unnecessary contracts. Massive cuts also have been made at U.S. Aid for International Development and are being proposed in the Department of Education and other agencies.
An American aircraft carrier had a rare collision with a merchant ship in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday night, the U.S. Navy reported - just the latest crash involving the U.S. military.
The nuclear-powered USS Harry S. Truman was preparing to enter the Suez Canal when it collided with a merchant vessel flying under a Panamanian flag.
There were no injuries reported aboard the Truman, just one of 11 aircraft carriers in the Navy's fleet.
There were no reports of flooding or injuries, and the ship's propulsion system, which is powered by two nuclear reactors, is in a "safe and stable condition."
The damage was above the waterline and no aircraft were damaged, a Navy official told USNI News.
The Truman and its strike group entered the Red Sea in December to guard merchant ships from Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly targeted ships transiting the crucial waterway since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.
The Houthi attacks have lulled since a cease-fire began between Israel and Hamas in January.
The Truman was returning from a rest stop in Crete when the 100,000-ton ship collided with the 53,000-ton merchant vessel Besiktas-M at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal.
A U.S. official confirmed the Truman was preparing to enter the Red Sea when the collision occurred near Port Said, Egypt.
"The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea," a statement from the U.S Navy's Sixth Fleet said.
No one was injured on the Beskitas, which had just exited the Suez Canal and was headed for Constanta, a port city in Romania by the Black Sea.
The collision comes after the Truman's strike group mistakenly shot down a U.S. fighter jet while patrolling the Red Sea in December.
The USS Gettysburg, a guided-missile cruiser, shot down an F/A-18 as it was taking off from the Truman's flight deck, forcing two pilots to eject. One of the pilots suffered minor injuries in the incident, which remains under investigation.
The Truman is the Navy's eight Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Launched in 1996, it measures over 1,000 feet in length and weighs 100,000 tons.
The Truman's collision with a merchant vessel comes weeks after a deadly plane crash in Washington D.C. involving an Army helicopter that killed dozens.
Flight restriction data gave early signals that President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, would attend the Daytona 500, the Daytona News-Journal reported. Trump was the grand marshal of the event in 2020 in the aftermath of a row with driver Bubba Wallace.
On Wednesday, the FAA closed the airspace over Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, which acts as his Florida residence. Restrictions for Daytona Beach popped up the following day, indicating that the president may be expected in the area.
The details track with the timeline of the race at Daytona International Speedway. The restrictions begin Friday at 4 p.m. and stretch to Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. except for a break in restrictions on Sunday that could suggest he will leave for a few hours.
According to the Associated Press, the White House confirmed his attendance at the event on Friday, which immediately prompted a discussion of the 2020 race. Last Sunday, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.
In February 2020, Trump served as grand marshal for the event and gave the command to "start your engines" to get the race underway. The presidential motorcade waited in the wings as Trump took a pre-race parade lap.
Despite the honor, the day was not without its challenges. In June 2020, Wallace, a Black NASCAR driver, accused someone of leaving a noose in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
Many, including Trump, believed that it was another race hoax after the rope in question turned out to be a garage door pull that had already been there. The FBI later determined that he was not the victim of a hate crime, and Trump shared his dismay with Wallace on his social media.
"Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?" Trump wrote to X, formerly Twitter, on July 6, 2020. "That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!" Trump added.
Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
When asked for his thoughts about the Trumps attending this year's race, Wallace said he "couldn't care less" and waved away the controversy. "We’re here to race. Not for the show," Wallace said at a press event for the race.
To his credit, Wallace has backed away from making outspoken political posts as he did in 2020, seemingly chastened by the backlash. "Social media nowadays is just a way for people to hide behind a screen and voice their opinions on things they don't really know about," Wallace said to Fox News Digital.
"It's just too much negativity that it's going to take years and years and years to get rid of, and we don't have time for that," Wallace noted of the social media climate. He said his perspective shifted since becoming a father.
"Now, with being a dad and trying to be the best that I can be here for my race team and my team here, that's where I'm investing my energy so that's all you can really ask for," Wallace said. He's also become a better racer since then, with "two top-10 finishes in the last three races," Fox reported.
Trump is a man of the people and will be welcomed at the all-American event after triumphing over his naysayers. It appears as if even Wallace has softened to Trump, which shows that even his enemies can't help but come around.
President Trump is preparing to enact reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax American goods unfairly, delivering on his threats to get even with trade partners that take advantage of the United States.
Joined by his pro-tariff Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, the president signed a memorandum declaring "fair and reciprocal" trade as America's policy from this day forward.
"On trade, I have decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff,” he added.
Trump has long supported using tariffs to promote American industry and reduce America's vast trade deficit, which hit a record $1 trillion in 2024.
Indeed, Trump has often pointed out that other countries have higher tariffs than America does, but "those days are over," he said in the Oval Office on Thursday.
The White House released a fact sheet listing examples of unfair and "non-reciprocal" trade arrangements that Trump will correct. The U.S. tariff on ethanol is a mere 2.5%, but Brazil charges a tariff of 18% on American ethanol, for example.
"The U.S. average applied Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff on agricultural goods is 5%. But India’s average applied MFN tariff is 39%. India also charges a 100% tariff on U.S. motorcycles, while we only charge a 2.4% tariff on Indian motorcycles,” the White House noted.
"Gone," the White House added, "are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security."
While Trump has embraced tariffs to promote an "America First" economic agenda, he has also leveraged the threat of tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
Earlier this month, Trump paused sweeping tariffs on America's two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, after both countries agreed to reinforce their borders.
While critics of Trump's protectionist agenda say tariffs will raise the cost of consumer goods for average Americans, the president has said the pain of any economic shocks will pay off in the end when America emerges stronger and more self-reliant than before.
“TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The White House has announced that it is giving the AP "space" in the Oval Office and on Air Force One to others because the legacy wire service has refused to go along with President Donald Trump's legal name change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
And the fact that the White House under President Donald Trump said it would call out and oppose lies pushed by the media, a promise it has already kept several times.
The wire service has fought back, claiming the move violates the First Amendment, but actually, it can continue, under the First Amendment, to report what it wants, and the First Amendment does not bestow a special "right" to access to the Oval Office or Air Force One for a specific group or person.
Ordinary citizens, in fact, are not allowed in White House press briefings, nor in Oval Office news events.
A statement from the press office said, "The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation.
"While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration. Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.:"
The statement was from Taylor Budowich, White House deputy chief of staff.
It was the Daily Caller News Foundation that earlier reported when CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings poked fun at AP for "not dealing in reality" over the issue.
"We have a lawful process in this country for changing the name of it, the president went through it with the Secretary of Interior [Doug Burgum] by the way … We also have the ability to change this body of water," Jennings said. "I think, look, this smacks to me of a news organization looking for a way to pick a fight with Donald Trump over something that they don't need to pick a fight over. He is the president and there is a lawful process that he went through to do it, so why won't they just respect that?"
He continued, ""Why would I respect a news organization that doesn't live in reality?"
The AP complained about the White House's decision to bar them from the Oval Office, saying it "severely impedes the public's access to independent journalism."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Wednesday press briefing that reporting on-the-ground in the Oval Office is a "privilege," and any outlets telling lies will "be held accountable."
The report noted, "The AP is among several corporate media outlets that raked in millions of dollars from the federal government, including a $19,502,333 contract from the U.S. Agency for Global Media (AGM), stretching from 2017 to 2022.