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By Sarah Naffa
April 20, 2025
By Sarah Naffa
April 20, 2025
In the news today: Fears that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will spark a recession wiped out more than $2 trillion in value from US stocks Thursday; the Pentagon watchdog will review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal app; and a deadly storm system has more than 90 million people at risk for severe weather today. Also, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has unanimously removed Yoon Suk Yeol as president.
A screen displays financial news at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
BUSINESS
Fear that Trump tariffs will spark recession wipes out more than $2 trillion in value from US stocks
U.S. companies had trillions of dollars in value wiped out Thursday after President Donald Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on foreign imports. Virtually every sector suffered big losses as U.S. financial markets closed with their biggest one-day drop since COVID-19 flattened the global economy five years ago. Read more.
Why this matters:
Banks, retailers, clothing, airlines and technology companies were among the hardest hit, with consumers expected to cut spending if tariffs lead to higher prices for goods and services.
Many economists said the tariffs were much worse than expected, and investors dumped shares in companies they predict will suffer most from what is effectively a business tax.
Pentagon watchdog to review Hegseth’s use of Signal app to convey plans for Houthi strike
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general announced Thursday that he would review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen. Read more.
Why this matters:
The review will also look at other defense officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network. “The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,” the acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, said in a notification letter to Hegseth.
South and Midwest face potentially catastrophic rains and floods while reeling from tornadoes
Parts of the Midwest and South faced the possibility of torrential rains and life-threatening flash floods Friday, while many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that destroyed whole neighborhoods and killed at least seven people. Read more.
What to know:
Those killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday were in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana.
Forecasters warned of catastrophic weather on the way, with round after round of heavy rains expected in the central U.S. through Saturday. Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms lined up like freight trains to take the same tracks over communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the national Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.
Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum) growing in a field in southeast Michigan. (David Cappaert/Bugwood.org via AP)
10 native spring ephemerals that bring early color to the garden Spring brings the return of color to the garden as bulbs bloom, perennials re-emerge, and new annuals settle in. But there’s a less common category of plants that’s also worth knowing: native spring ephemerals.
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
