Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Delayed, China Tariffs Take Effect

President Trump delayed new tariffs on Mexico and Canada, after both countries agreed to toughen their border security. Mexico agreed to send 10,000 troops to its border, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would commit more resources to battling the spread of fentanyl. Meanwhile, Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on China took effect. The Chinese government retaliated with tariffs on natural gas, coal, and other products from the United States. In addition, Chinese market regulators said they were investigating Google.

“The Riviera of the Middle East”

At a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump made a surprise proposal that the U.S. take control of Gaza, decimated by the war, and relocate Palestinians there to other countries (clarified later to be temporary relocation). He said the U.S. would turn the Gaza territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump said during his first formal press conference, reading from notes while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stood beside him. “We'll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.” A U.S. official told Axios that Trump presented the plan because he came to the conclusion that no one else had any new ideas for Gaza. Speaking to CBS, National Security Adviser Mike Walz said, “The whole region needs to come up with their own solutions if they don't like Trump's solution," indicating that the announcement might be a proposal intended to be radical enough to bring everyone to the negotiating table. (Similar strategy as the tariffs.)

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• No more boys in girls’ sports: Trump signed an executive order to bar biological men from competing in women’s sports. K-12 schools and colleges that violate it would risk losing federal money.
• The NCAA follows suit: The NCAA announced on Thursday a new policy that prohibits biological males from competing in women's sports teams, while continuing to allow women to participate in men's teams. This marks a change from their previous policy, which had permitted men’s participation in women's sports after one year of testosterone suppression treatment.
• The CIA is offering all employees a buyout: They can quit but be paid through September. A similar offer to other federal workers last week excluded national security-related agencies. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the Trump administration's proposed buyout for federal workers, pushing back the deadline for workers to accept the offer until at least Monday. This was in response to a lawsuit claiming the program was unlawful. So far, over 60,000 federal employees have signed up.
• 5,000 of the FBI’s employees were working on J6 investigations: That figure is particularly jarring when you realize it makes up nearly 14% of the Bureau’s entire workforce.
• A New York judge issued an ex parte ruling barring Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department data. The unprecedented decision was made after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump, and it was made without input from Trump's legal team.
• At the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday, President Trump announced plans to establish a task force and a presidential commission to protect Christians from religious discrimination. He then signed an order to create a White House Faith Office, led by the Reverend Paula White, who has served as a religious advisor to Trump for several years.
• Michigan legislator says she underwent sterilization to avoid pregnancy during Trump presidency: “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America,” Pohutsky said. “If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization because she was uncertain she would be able to access contraception in the future.” The word radical doesn’t even begin to do it justice.