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In the news today: The U.S. Education Department cuts half its staff; the European Union retaliates as the White House begins its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports; and an upset victory in Greenland's election. Also, explorers discover the wreckage of a vessel once touted as one of the safest ships afloat. |
Education Secretary Linda McMahon at her nomination hearing, Feb. 13, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Education Department cuts half its staff as Trump vows to wind the agency down
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The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff – a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency. Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday. Read more. |
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The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100, the agency said. The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, and Cleveland, officials said.
Already there are concerns the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the agency’s most fundamental work, including enforcement of civil rights for students with disabilities and the management of $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. Department officials said it would continue to deliver on its key functions such as the distribution of federal aid to schools and student loan management.
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Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports go into effect
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President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday, promising that the taxes would help create U.S. factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown. Read more. |
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Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%. His moves are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce.
The U.S. president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.
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Trump told CEOs in the Business Roundtable on Tuesday that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in U.S. factories. The 8% drop in the S&P 500 stock index over the past month on fears of deteriorating growth appears unlikely to dissuade him, as Trump argued that higher tariff rates would be more effective at bringing back factories. While Trump’s tariffs could help steel and aluminum plants in the United States, they could also raise prices for the manufacturers that use the metals as raw materials.
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Center-right party wins most votes in Greenland’s parliamentary election as Trump seeks control
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The center-right Demokraatit Party won the most votes in Greenland’s parliamentary elections, a surprise result as the territory went to the polls in the shadow of President Donald Trump’s stated goal of taking control of the island one way or another. Read more. |
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Both Demokraatit — the Democrats — and the second place party, Naleraq — “Point of Orientation” — favor independence from Denmark, but Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit favors a more moderate pace of change. Demokraatit’s win was an upset victory over parties that have governed the territory for years.
Greenland, a self-governing region of Denmark, straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and has rich deposits of the rare earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology.
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Jill Holtz holds a burial flag she pulled from the mud, Feb. 6, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)
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To her, Hurricane Helene debris isn’t trash. It is full of memories — and she’s returning them
U.S. National Guard Capt. Jill Holtz spends much of her free time in Swannanoa, North Carolina, searching for items lost during Hurricane Helene's severe flooding a few months ago. She hopes to reunite storm victims with their cherished possessions after they lost hope that they'd ever find them again. |
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