Category: United States

omaha, nebraska — Egg producers blame the bird flu outbreak for driving prices to record highs, but critics believe giant companies are taking advantage of their market dominance to profit handsomely at the expense of budget-conscious egg buyers.  Advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers and a Federal Trade Commission member are calling for a government investigation after egg prices spiked to a record average of $4.95 per dozen this month. The Trump administration did unveil a plan this week to combat bird flu, but how much that might ease egg prices — a key driver of inflation — remains to be seen.  “Donald Trump promised to lower food prices on ‘Day One,’ but with egg prices skyrocketing out of control, he fired the workers charged with containing bird flu. Working families need relief now,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.  What’s behind the record egg prices?  The industry blames bird flu, as do most experts. More than 166 million birds have been slaughtered to try to contain the virus. Some 30 million egg layers have been wiped out just since January, significantly disrupting egg supplies. The Department of Agriculture’s long-standing policy has been to kill entire flocks anytime the virus is found on a farm.  As a result, the number of egg layers has dropped nationwide by about 12% from before the outbreak to 292 million birds, according to a Feb. 1 USDA estimate, but another 11 million egg layers have been killed since then, so it’s likely worse. When prices spiked to $4.82 two years ago and prompted initial calls for price gouging probes, the flock was above 300 million.  “This has nothing to do with anything other than bird flu. And I think to suggest anything else is a misreading of the facts and the reality,” American Egg Board President Emily Metz said.  “Our farmers are in the fight of their lives, period, full stop. And they’re doing everything they can to keep these birds safe,” Metz said. “This is a supply challenge. Due to bird flu. Nothing else.”  Farm Action suspects monopolistic behavior. The group that lobbies on behalf of smaller farmers, consumers and rural communities notes that egg production is down only about 4% from last year and 7.57 billion table eggs were produced last month, yet some consumers are still finding egg shelves empty at their local grocery stores.  “Dominant egg corporations are blaming avian flu for … “Are egg producers inflating prices during bird flu outbreak to boost profits?” →

DALLAS, TEXAS — The number of people with measles in Texas increased to 146 in an outbreak that led this week to the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child, health officials said Friday.  The number of cases — Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years — increased by 22 since Tuesday. The Texas Department of State Health Services said cases span over nine counties in Texas and 20 patients have been hospitalized.  The child who died Tuesday night in the outbreak is the first U.S. death from the highly contagious but preventable respiratory disease since 2015, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official and a vaccine critic, said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services was watching cases but dismissed the outbreak as “not unusual.”  But on Friday afternoon, Kennedy said in a post on X that his heart went out to families impacted by the outbreak, and he recognized “the serious impact of this outbreak on families, children, and healthcare workers.”  Kennedy also said his agency will continue to fund Texas’ immunization program and that ending the outbreak is a “top priority” for him and his team.  The virus has largely spread through rural, oil rig-dotted West Texas, with cases concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, state health department spokesperson Lara Anton has said.  Gaines County has a strong homeschooling and private school community. It is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year.  Texas law allows children to get an exemption from school vaccines for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs. Anton has said the number of unvaccinated kids in Gaines County is likely significantly higher because homeschooled children’s data would not be reported.  The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.  Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to … “Measles cases rise to 146 in outbreak that led to first US measles death in 10 years” →

Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman likely died on Feb. 17, the last day there was any activity on his pacemaker, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. “According to the pathologist,” Mendoza said, “that is a very good assumption that was his last day of life,” nine days before investigators found his body. The bodies of Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, a classical pianist, were found, along with the dead body of one of their three dogs, Wednesday in their home in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico. The initial findings of autopsies on the couple revealed that Hackman and his wife both tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and “no external trauma” was reported to either of them.  Mendoza said, “There were no apparent signs of foul play.” However, the couple’s “manner and cause of death has not been determined,” according to the sheriff. “The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.” Investigators have retrieved an assortment of prescription and over-the-counter medications, in addition to cellphones and records from medical diagnostics testing from the house. “I’m pretty confident there is no foul play,” Mendoza said Friday on The Today Show. He said the autopsy results “will steer us in the right direction” in determining what happened to Hackman and his wife. Without the autopsy, the sheriff said, it is difficult to determine how long the couple had been dead. A search warrant affidavit issued Thursday said the circumstances surrounding the couple’s deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.” Mendoza told The Today Show that several doors around the house were unlocked and one door in the rear of the house was open. Earlier reports said the front door was open. Hackman’s body was found near the rear of the house, while his wife’s body was found in a bathroom. The dead dog’s body was found in a dog crate, not far from Arakawa’s body. The couple had three German shepherds. The other two dogs were found alive and healthy at the property. The search warrant affidavit also revealed that police called the Santa Fe Fire Department and the New Mexico Gas Company to Hackman’s residence, but no toxic fumes or leaky pipes were found on the grounds. Storied career Hackman had a lengthy career on stage and screen, including appearing in Broadway shows, on television … “Gene Hackman likely died Feb. 17, last day of activity on pacemaker, official says” →

An Illinois jury on Friday found a man guilty of murder and hate crime charges for an October 2023 stabbing that killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and severely wounded his mother, according to court documents. Joseph Czuba, 73, faces life in prison when he is sentenced in May for a murder that prosecutors said was sparked by anti-Muslim hatred. It took place just days after Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, carried out an Oct. 7, 2023, attack inside Israel. The murder of the boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, and the attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen, constituted one of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents targeting Muslims in the U.S. after the Hamas attack on Israel. Rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia and antisemitism in the U.S. since that attack. Czuba, who was the landlord for Shaheen and her son, stabbed the boy 26 times with a military-style knife with an 18-centimeter (7-inch) serrated blade, authorities said. Shaheen suffered multiple stab wounds in the attack, which occurred in Plainfield Township, about 64 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Chicago. During the trial this week, Shaheen testified that Czuba told her “you, as a Muslim, must die,” according to local media reports. Michael Fitzgerald, prosecutor at the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, presented a 911 call recording in the trial. “The landlord is killing me and my baby,” Shaheen is heard saying on the audio, according to CBS Chicago. Other U.S. incidents raising alarm about anti-Arab bias include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl in Texas and the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas. A few incidents raising alarm about antisemitism include threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, and an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York Jewish center. …

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, a classical pianist. The couple were found dead, along with one of their dogs, Wednesday in their home in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico.   Investigators have retrieved an assortment of prescription and over-the-counter medications, in addition to cellphones and records from medical diagnostics testing from the house.   “I’m pretty confident there is no foul play,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday on The Today Show. He said the autopsy results “will steer us in the right direction” in determining what happened to Hackman and his wife.   Without the autopsy, the sheriff said, it is difficult to determine how long the couple had been dead.   A search warrant affidavit issued Thursday said the circumstances surrounding the couple’s deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”  Mendoza told The Today Show that several doors around the house were unlocked and one door in the rear of the house was open. Earlier reports said the front door was open.    Hackman’s body was found near the rear of the house, while his wife’s body was found in a bathroom. The dead dog’s body was found in a dog crate, not far from Arakawa’s body.  The couple had three German shepherds. The other two dogs were found alive and healthy at the property.   The search warrant affidavit also revealed that police called the Santa Fe Fire Department and the New Mexico Gas Company to Hackman’s residence, but no toxic fumes or leaky pipes were found on the grounds.   Storied career  Hackman had a lengthy career on stage and screen, including appearing in Broadway shows, on television and in more than 80 films.  He won an Oscar for best actor for his role in the 1971 film The French Connection and a best supporting Oscar for the 1992 film Unforgiven.   Hackman’s resume featured three other Oscar nominations, including his breakout role in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 as well as I Never Sang for My Father in 1970 and Mississippi Burning in 1988.   His work crossed genres as he appeared in action movies, thrillers and off-beat comedies.   In addition to his award-nominated works, he was also known for roles in films such as The Poseidon Adventure, Young Frankenstein, Superman, Hoosiers, The Birdcage, and … “Investigation into deaths of Gene Hackman, wife continues in New Mexico” →

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday designating English as the official language of the United States, according to the White House. The order will allow government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English, according to a fact sheet about the impending order. It was not immediately clear when on Friday that Trump planned to sign the order. The executive order will rescind a mandate from former President Bill Clinton that required the government and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Designating English as the national language “promotes unity, establishes efficiency in government operations and creates a pathway for civic engagement,” according to the White House. More than 30 states have already passed laws designating English as their official language, according to U.S. English, a group that advocates for making English the official language in the United States. For decades, lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation to designate English as the official language of the U.S., but those efforts have not succeeded. Within hours of Trump’s inauguration last month, the new administration took down the Spanish language version of the official White House website. Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion and frustration at the change. The White House said at the time it was committed to bringing the Spanish language version of the website back online. As of Friday, it was still not restored. The White House did not immediately respond to a message about whether that would happen. Trump shut down the Spanish version of the website during his first term. It was restored when President Joe Biden was inaugurated. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the order Friday. …

A new gallery at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia features the stories and experiences of U.S. Marines who served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. From Triangle, Virginia, VOA’s Noshaba Ashna has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Roshan Noorzai contributed to this story. Camera: Hoshang Fahim …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy has raised expectations of mass deportations to Mexico. However, the shelters in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that were prepared to receive hundreds of migrants are practically empty.   Click here for the full story in Spanish.  …

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and sign a critical minerals deal Friday as Kyiv works to regain U.S. support to fight off the Russian invasion. The minerals agreement negotiated in recent days would open up Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth to the United States but does not include American security guarantees, a disappointment for Ukraine. It gives Washington the right to recoup some of the billions of dollars in costs of the U.S. weaponry supplied to Kyiv through a reconstruction investment fund tied to the sale of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report last year found that about two-thirds of the money Congress appropriated for Ukraine was spent in the United States. Ukraine hopes the agreement will spur Trump to support Kyiv’s efforts to recapture territory seized by Russia. The deal also could win support from Republicans in Congress for a new round of aid to the war-torn country. Trump has engaged in a long-distance feud with Zelenskyy in recent weeks, criticizing his handling of the war, calling him a dictator and urging him to agree to the minerals deal. But during a joint news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, Trump said: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.” Trump also noted he was looking forward to meeting Zelenskyy and praised the Ukrainian military for its bravery. “We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end. I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly,” Trump said. “It’ll either be fairly soon or it won’t be at all,” he added, without elaboration.  …

WASHINGTON — The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in February is on pace to be at or near a record monthly low, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson and two other sources told Reuters. The U.S. Border Patrol is on pace to have arrested around 8,500 migrants at the border in February as the end of the month nears, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Two other sources said the monthly total would be at or near a record low. President Donald Trump, a Republican, took an array of actions to deter illegal immigration after returning to the White House on January 20, saying a crackdown was needed after high levels of migration under his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. Trump’s moves included implementing a sweeping ban on asylum at the border and surging military troops to assist border security. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over the ban earlier this month, arguing it violated U.S. asylum law and international treaties. The Trump administration also struck new agreements with Mexico and Central American countries to accept U.S. deportees from other nations and has sent some migrants to a camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. Border Patrol’s monthly enforcement statistics go back to 2000. The lowest monthly total on record is currently April 2017, when the agency arrested 11,127 at the start of Trump’s first term. While the number of border arrests similarly dipped at the start of Trump’s 2017-21 presidency, they rebounded in the months and years that followed. The February projection would be a steep drop from the 141,000 migrant arrests in February 2024 and down from 29,000 in January, according to U.S. government figures. …

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary federal employees were likely unlawful, granting some temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive trimming of the federal workforce. U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including the Department of Defense. “OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe,” to hire or fire any employees but its own, he said. Alsup handed down the order on a temporary restraining order sought by labor unions and nonprofits in a lawsuit filed by the coalition last week. The complaint filed by five labor unions and five nonprofit organizations is one of multiple lawsuits pushing back on the administration’s efforts to vastly shrink the federal workforce, which Trump has called bloated and sloppy. Thousands of probationary employees have been fired, and his administration is now aiming at career officials with civil service protection. The plaintiffs say the Office of Personnel Management had no authority to terminate the jobs of probationary workers who generally have less than a year on the job. They also say the firings were predicated on a lie of poor performance by the workers. Lawyers for the government say the Office of Personnel Management did not direct the firings, but asked agencies to review and determine whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment. They also say that probationary employees are not guaranteed employment and that only the highest performing and mission-critical employees should be hired. There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. Unions have recently struck out with two other federal judges in similar lawsuits attempting to stop the Trump administration’s goal of vastly reducing the federal workforce. Alsup, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, has presided over many high-profile cases and is known for his blunt talk. He oversaw the criminal probation of Pacific Gas & Electric and has called the nation’s largest utility a “continuing menace to California.”  …

pentagon — The Trump administration’s nominee for secretary of the Navy says the military service branch is at a “crossroads” and must course correct to expand and improve its maritime capabilities. “Extended deployments, inadequate maintenance, huge cost overruns, delayed shipbuilding, failed audits, subpar housing and, sadly, record-high suicide rates are systemic failures that have gone unaddressed for far too long. And frankly, this is unacceptable,” John Phelan told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. While Phelan has not served in the military or in government, committee Chairman Senator Roger Wicker said Trump turned to an “experienced businessperson” to solve the Navy’s massive industrial problems, especially in shipbuilding. “If we threw a zillion dollars at the Department of the Navy today, we couldn’t build the ships because we don’t have the industrial base. We’ve got to fix that,” Wicker said. China’s military, according to Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, is on pace to have more than 400 ships in its navy this year and will likely have about 120 more ships than the United States by 2030. The U.S. currently has about 300 ships. “Every shipbuilding delay, every maintenance backlog and every inefficiency is an opening for our adversaries to challenge our dominance. We cannot allow that to happen,” said Phelan. He said that if confirmed he would incentivize industry while learning from “yesterday’s fights” to develop a force for the future. Phelan also said the Ships for America Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to establish national oversight and support for the U.S. shipbuilding industry, would help industry better “telegraph demand” for ships. The Navy typically receives about 30% of the defense budget. Republicans and Democrats in Thursday’s hearing criticized what they saw as financial mismanagement in the Navy and in the defense industry, a concern that Phelan said he would investigate while developing plans to tackle shortfalls in the Navy’s military acquisitions. “When I’ve looked at all these different weapons programs, it seems like the next missile costs more than the first missile, so you have no economies of scale,” Phelan told lawmakers. “That is a prescription for bankruptcy.” Independent Senator Angus King said the U.S. was falling behind its adversaries in technological developments such as hypersonics and directed energy. Hypersonic weapons can travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can maneuver to avoid detection and countermeasures. Directed-energy weapons cause damage with highly focused energy, not … “US Navy at a ‘crossroads,’ Trump’s Navy secretary nominee warns “ →

WASHINGTON — This year’s harsh flu season — the most intense in 15 years — has federal health officials trying to understand if it sparked an increase in a rare but life-threatening brain complication in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 19,000 people have died from the flu so far this winter, including 86 children. On Thursday, the CDC reported at least nine of those children experienced brain complications, and it has asked state health departments to help investigate if there are more such cases. There is some good news: The CDC also reported that this year’s flu shots do a pretty good job preventing hospitalization from the flu — among the 45% of Americans who got vaccinated. But it comes a day after the Trump administration canceled a meeting of experts who are supposed to help choose the recipe for next winter’s flu vaccine. Still, it’s not too late to get vaccinated this year: “If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, get it because we’re still seeing high flu circulation in most of the country,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Flu shot effectiveness varies from year to year. While not great at blocking infections, the vaccine’s main role “is to keep you out of the hospital and to keep you alive,” said Vanderbilt University vaccine expert Dr. William Schaffner. Preliminary CDC data released Thursday found that children who got this year’s vaccine were between 64% and 78% less likely to be hospitalized than their unvaccinated counterparts, and adults were 41% to 55% less likely to be hospitalized. Earlier this month, state health departments and hospitals warned doctors to watch for child flu patients with seizures, hallucinations or other signs of “influenza-associated encephalopathy or encephalitis” — and a more severe subtype called “acute necrotizing encephalopathy.” Encephalitis is brain inflammation. On Thursday, the CDC released an analysis of 1,840 child flu deaths since 2010, finding 166 with those neurologic complications. Most were unvaccinated children. But the agency concluded it’s unclear if this year’s nine deaths with those complications — four of whom had the worse subtype — mark an uptick. There’s no regular tracking of those neurologic complications, making it hard to find the answers. In California, Dr. Keith Van Haren of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health said earlier this month that he’d learned of about 15 flu-related cases of that severe subtype from … “Harsh flu season has health officials worried about brain complications in children” →

During a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, President Donald Trump defended his administration’s moves to cut waste and reduce the size of the U.S. government workforce. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports on the impact of those actions and pushback from fired federal workers and Democratic leaders. …

MEXICO CITY — Mexico has sent drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States with 28 prisoners requested by the U.S. government, a Mexican government official and other sources confirmed Thursday. It comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington trying to head off the Trump administration’s threat of imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports next week. The official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, confirmed Caro Quintero’s removal. Another person familiar with Mexico’s actions also confirmed the removal on the condition of anonymity because they were unable to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that the 29 prisoners sent to the U.S. Thursday faced charges related to drug trafficking and other crimes. Also among the list were two leaders of the Los Zetas cartel, Mexicans Miguel Trevino Morales and his brother Omar Trevino Morales, known as Z-40 and Z-42, the official confirmed. The removal of the drug lords from Mexico coincided with a visit to Washington by Mexico’s Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente and other top economic and military officials. The meeting was the latest in ongoing negotiations with the U.S. over trade and security relations, which have radically shifted since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. The bilateral talks come just days before the March 4 deadline set by Trump to apply broad 25% tariffs on Mexican imports, which economists say would thrust the Mexican economy into recession. In exchange for delaying tariffs, Trump had insisted that Mexico crack down on the U.S.-Mexico border, cartels and fentanyl production, despite significant dips in migration and overdoses over the past year. The removals may indicate that negotiations are moving along as the tariff deadline approaches. Caro Quintero had walked free in 2013 after 28 years in prison when a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The brutal murder marked a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations. Caro Quintero, the former leader of the Guadalajara cartel, had since returned to drug trafficking and unleashed bloody turf battles in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora until he was arrested by Mexican forces in 2022. The removal of the Trevino Morales brothers also marks the end of a long process that began … “Mexico sends 29 prisoners to US as officials meet with Trump team” →

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to attempts to alter Taiwan’s status through force or coercion. The pledge comes amid growing concerns about the military threat China poses to the democratically ruled island and worries that Taiwan may be sidelined as Washington looks to make deals with Beijing. In an interview with Fox News, Rubio said the best way to prevent a conflict in the Taiwan Strait is to have a strong U.S. “military capability,” adding that the United States needs to be “present” in the Indo-Pacific to deal with China. “We have a longstanding position on Taiwan that we’re not going to abandon, and that is: We are against any forced, compelled, coercive change in the status of Taiwan,” Rubio said. At the White House on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump sidestepped a question about whether he would ensure that “China will never take Taiwan by force” during his presidency. He indicated that he does not want to see a war in the Taiwan Strait under his watch. “I never comment on that. I don’t comment on anything because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting, adding “I have a great relationship with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping].” Some Washington diplomats told VOA that Rubio’s remarks on Wednesday are in line with the Feb. 7 U.S.-Japan joint statement in which Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. During their first official meeting at the White House, the leaders declared in a statement that their countries “opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion.” US urges allies to boost defense The potential end of the war in Ukraine is one factor that could have an impact on Taiwan and the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific region, although not all analysts agree. “I don’t believe that an end to the war in Ukraine would fundamentally shift U.S. strategic focus toward Asia on its own, since U.S. policymakers would have to remain concerned about a resumption of fighting or new Russian attacks against NATO allies,” Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA. Others contend the Trump administration has made it clear that NATO countries are responsible for increasing their defense spending. In this view, the end of … “US still opposes ‘forced, coercive’ changes to Taiwan’s status, Rubio says” →

WASHINGTON — As U.S. President Donald Trump moves forward with an expanding net of tariffs, including an additional 10% for Chinese imports starting next week, industry insiders and experts say closing existing loopholes and workarounds that companies use to avoid trade taxes is also key. One practice that so far has helped companies from China — and others — to avoid being hit with tariffs is transshipment, or the transfer of goods to a second country, where the “Made in China” label is switched for another. Berwick Offray, a ribbon manufacturer in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania, has first-hand experience with the practice. Founded in 1945, the company prides itself on its pledge to keep its products “Made in the USA” and its position as one of the largest manufacturers of ribbons in the world. Earlier this month, the company sued a U.S. importer, TriMar Ribbon, for allegedly buying ribbons produced in China that were shipped to the United States through India to illegally avoid being subject to tariffs. Ribbons made in China are cheaper and sold at below market value prices in the United States. “The current allegations allege that TriMar imported ribbons from China into the United States through transshipment in India, and did not declare the correct country of origin upon entry,” said a notice issued from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, when the agency agreed to investigate the case. Daniel Pickard, an expert on international trade and an attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, which represents Berwick Offray, said there have been numerous cases of transshipment, especially when it comes to products from China. “We have assisted several clients in submitting allegations to CBP against importers of products that have been transshipped from China through third countries such as Thailand, India and Canada,” Pickard told VOA. “Our clients typically are the U.S. manufacturers of those products that are competing against the Chinese imports that are engaged in evasion of duties.” According to CBP data, there are currently 221 investigations of Chinese-made products suspected of transshipment tariff evasion. Tariffs and loopholes In early February, the Trump administration rolled out 10% blanket tariffs on all Chinese goods. On March 4, Chinese imports will face an additional 10% tariff. While Trump has worked to reduce potential workarounds, including his executive order on reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, U.S. lawmakers have introduced measures to close the loopholes that would … “As US tariffs expand, Chinese firms’ workarounds come into focus” →

The first of two seasons of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude has hit the screen. Netflix is currently working on the second season of this attempt to bring the author’s sprawling masterpiece to the screen. Veronica Villafane has the story. …

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday paused a federal judge’s order requiring President Donald Trump’s administration to pay foreign aid funds to contractors and grant recipients. Roberts issued an interim order placing on hold Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s action that had imposed a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday night. Roberts provided no rationale for the order, known as an administrative stay, which will give the court additional time to consider the administration’s more formal request to block Ali’s ruling. Roberts asked for a response from the plaintiffs — organizations that contract with or receive grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department — by noon on Friday. The order came after Trump’s administration said in a court filing on Wednesday it had made final decisions terminating most U.S. foreign aid contracts and grants, while maintaining that it cannot meet Ali’s court-ordered deadline. The administration is cutting more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and over $58 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, a State Department spokesperson said separately, calling the cuts part of Trump’s “America First agenda.” The foreign aid funding dispute arose from a pair of lawsuits brought by the aid organizations, alleging that the agencies have illegally frozen all foreign aid payments. The Trump administration has kept those payments largely frozen despite a Feb. 13 temporary restraining order from Ali that they be released, and multiple subsequent orders that the administration comply, culminating in the Wednesday night deadline. Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department have maintained that the administration has a right to suspend its agreements while it reviews them to determine whether they comply with administration policy. That review is now complete, the administration said in its new filing. It said USAID has made final decisions to cancel nearly 5,800 awards, while keeping more than 500, and that the State Department has canceled about 4,100 awards, while keeping about 2,700. An administration official said in an earlier court filing that grounds for terminating contracts include that they were related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts, or were deemed wasteful. Trump has taken a hard line on programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, signing an executive order in his second day in office last month directing federal agency chiefs to dismantle DEI policies. The administration said on Wednesday … “US Supreme Court pauses federal judge’s order on Trump administration foreign aid funding” →

Oscar-winning American actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead Wednesday at their home in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico. Authorities said they were investigating what caused their deaths but that foul play was not suspected as a factor. Authorities said they went to the home to do a welfare check and found the 95-year-old Hackman and his wife, 64-year-old pianist Betsy Arakawa, dead along with their dog. Hackman had a lengthy career on stage and screen, including appearing in Broadway shows, on television and in more than 80 films. He won an Oscar for best actor for his role in the 1971 film The French Connection and a best supporting Oscar for the 1992 film Unforgiven. Hackman’s resume featured three other Oscar nominations, including his breakout role in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 as well as I Never Sang for My Father in 1970 and Mississippi Burning in 1988. His work crossed genres as he appeared in action movies, thrillers and offbeat comedies. In addition to his award-nominated works, he was also known for roles in films such as The Poseidon Adventure, Young Frankenstein, Superman, Hoosiers, The Birdcage, and The Royal Tenenbaums. His last film was Welcome to Mooseport in 2004. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. FBI on Wednesday accused North Korea of being behind the theft of $1.5 billion worth of digital assets last week, the largest crypto heist in history. “(North Korea) was responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit,” the FBI said in a public service announcement. The bureau said a group called TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, was behind the theft. It said they were “proceeding rapidly and have converted some of the stolen assets to Bitcoin and other virtual assets dispersed across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchains.” “It is expected these assets will be further laundered and eventually converted to fiat currency,” the FBI added. Lazarus Group gained notoriety a decade ago when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for The Interview, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s cyber-warfare program dates back to at least the mid-1990s. It has since grown to a 6,000-strong cyber-warfare unit known as Bureau 121 that operates from several countries, according to a 2020 U.S. military report.                  …

WASHINGTON — Transgender service members will be separated from the U.S. military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday, essentially banning them from joining or serving in the military. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way — at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” This month, the Pentagon had said that the U.S. military will no longer allow transgender individuals to join and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members. Wednesday’s late-evening memo goes further. The memo said that the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender within 30 days and then within 30 days of that, must separate them from the military. “It is the policy of the United States Government to establish high standards for service member readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” said the memo, dated Feb. 26. “This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria or who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria,” it added. The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, according to Department of Defense data. Although transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.  …

CARACAS, VENEZUELA — A permit issued by the United States government allowing energy giant Chevron Corp. to pump and export Venezuelan oil will be terminated this week, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, ending what became a financial lifeline for the South American country. Trump’s announcement in his Truth Social network accused the government of President Nicolás Maduro of not meeting democratic conditions for last year’s July presidential election as well as of not moving fast enough to transport back to Venezuela immigrants set for deportation. “We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolas Maduro, of Venezuela, on the oil transaction agreement,” Trump wrote. Trump’s post did not specifically mention California-based Chevron nor the permit, formally known as a general license, that exempts the company from economic sanctions and allows it to export and sell Venezuelan oil in the U.S. But it is the only Venezuela-related license whose issuance and renewal information match the dates Trump did mention in his social media post. The administration of President Joe Biden authorized the license in 2022 after Maduro agreed to work with Venezuela’s political opposition toward a democratic election. But the election, which took place in July 2024, was neither fair nor free, and Maduro was sworn in last month for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that his opponent got more votes. Biden’s government resisted for months calls from Venezuela’s opposition and others to rescind the license, whose goal the U.S. initially said was “to support the restoration of democracy.” The opposition has estimated that Maduro’s government has received about $4 billion through the permit, which was set to be renewed Saturday. Over time, the license has become responsible for roughly a quarter of Venezuela’s oil production. “We are aware of today’s announcement and are considering its implications,” Chevron spokesperson Bill Turenne said in a statement. “Chevron conducts its business in Venezuela in compliance with all laws and regulations, including the sanctions framework provided by U.S. government.” Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves and once used them to power Latin America’s strongest economy. But corruption, mismanagement and eventual U.S. economic sanctions saw production decline steadily. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2013, when the oil-dependent economy came undone, and Maduro became president. Most settled in Latin America and the Caribbean, but after the pandemic, they increasingly set their sights on … “Trump ends permit to export Venezuelan oil to US” →

washington — U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to undertake more large-scale layoffs of federal workers, as downsizing czar Elon Musk vowed at Trump’s first Cabinet meeting to pursue deeper spending cuts. A new administration memo instructed agencies to submit plans by March 13 for a “significant reduction” in staffing to the federal workforce. It did not specify numbers of desired layoffs. The memo, signed by White House budget director Russell Vought and Office of Personnel Management acting head Charles Ezell, represents a major escalation in Trump and Musk’s campaign to slash the size of the U.S. government. Thus far, the layoffs have focused on probationary workers, who have less tenure in their current roles and enjoy fewer job protections. The next round would target the vastly bigger pool of veteran civil servants. At the Cabinet meeting, Trump said Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, plans to cut up to 65% of his more than 15,000 employees. On Tuesday, an Interior Department source told Reuters that bureaus such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs should prepare for workforce reductions ranging from 10% to 40%. About 100,000 of the nation’s 2.3 million civilian federal workers have been fired or taken buyouts since Trump took office. Trump gave Musk an extraordinary sign of support for the cost-cutting campaign by inviting the billionaire to the Cabinet meeting and asking him to speak about the work of his Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseeing the overhaul. DOGE is not a Cabinet-level department. Musk expressed confidence that he could cut the $6.7 trillion budget by $1 trillion this year. Such an ambitious target would likely entail significant disruption of government programs. Without such deep spending cuts, Musk said, “the country will go de facto bankrupt.” Later Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to work with DOGE to review and terminate all “unnecessary” contracts and instructing the General Services Administration, which manages the government’s real estate, to create a plan for disposing of any unneeded property. Thus far, Trump and Musk have failed to slow the rate of spending. According to a Reuters analysis, the government spent 13% more during Trump’s first month in office than during the same time last year, largely because of higher interest payments on the debt and rising health and retirement costs incurred by an aging population. … “Trump orders large federal layoffs; Musk to seek deeper spending cuts” →

First, they crossed the Darien Gap in the hope of reaching the United States.   Now, many are returning in what authorities call a “reverse flow” of migration.   What is behind this phenomenon and what risks does it entail?  Click here for the full story in Spanish.  …

U.S. President Donald Trump addressed concerns Wednesday that legislation funding the federal government past a March 14 deadline would include controversial cuts to social safety net programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.  “We’re not going to touch it,” Trump told reporters, “Now we are going to look for fraud. I’m sure you’re OK with that, like people that shouldn’t be off, people that are illegal aliens and other criminals.”   Those cuts are one of the issues lawmakers are racing to resolve before a short-term spending bill runs out in just over two weeks. The House of Representatives passed a budget resolution 217-215 late Tuesday when Speaker of the House Mike Johnson secured enough votes from within his party.   “We promised to deliver President [Donald] Trump’s full agenda, not just a part of it, not just a little bit of it now and return for the rest,” Johnson told reporters earlier Tuesday.    The House and Senate bills will now have to be compromised to be signed into law.   Before the vote, several members of the House Republican conference were still concerned about the size of the spending measure, how and when to enact a proposed extension of the 2017 tax cuts, and the political impact of cutting social safety net programs that benefit many American voters.     “Not only are we working to find savings for the American taxpayer, a better, more efficient use of their dollar, which we are morally obligated to do, we also have a moral obligation to bend the curve on the debt,” Johnson said Tuesday.    Trump has called for lawmakers to pass “one big, beautiful bill” that will be a key part of enacting his domestic policy agenda.    Despite Trump expressing his preference for the House version of the budget, the Senate last week passed a funding resolution that provides $150 billion in military funding and $175 billion for border security. That measure also avoids the controversial Medicaid cuts of the House version.    In a statement Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham warned, “Time is of the essence when it comes to border security. ICE will run out of money in weeks, not months. Stalling President Trump’s border security agenda is not only bad politics, it is dangerous.”  Trump posted on Truth Social last week that “The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working … “US lawmakers seek compromise on government funding bills” →