Author: Robert Jones

CNN  —  In President Donald Trump’s first White House term, public confidence in his handling of the economy was always among his greatest strengths. But in the early days of his second term, public views about his economic performance have quickly become his most conspicuous potential vulnerability. Even before Trump rattled the stock market this week by acknowledging his trade agenda could trigger a recession, several public polls had shown his job approval for managing the economy lagging below his overall job performance rating as president. That’s a dramatic reversal from Trump’s first term, when approval for his handling of…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…

The US and Canada are meant to be the best of friends, but they’re in the midst of a pretty ugly fight. It began with President Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, when he began referring to his outgoing Canadian counterpart as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” Things escalated from there, with heated meetings and calls leading to the US enacting (then retracting, then enacting, then retracting) tariffs on its northern neighbor, and Canada responding in kind.Province leaders got in on the action as well, perhaps most notably Ontario Premier Doug Ford: “If they want…

The stock market has plunged since President Trump took office for a second time, a stark contrast to the early days of his first presidency. The S&P 500 index has fallen sharply since hitting a record high on Feb. 19.The index fell into a so-called correction on Thursday. Corrections, a Wall Street term referring to a 10 percent decline from an index’s last peak, are relatively rare yet symbolically worrisome milestones for the markets. Other major indexes, including the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000, had already slid into correction territory before Thursday.Stock prices were once Mr. Trump’s favorite proxy for…

Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said she was “grateful” to speak with President Donald Trump on Thursday for a “productive meeting” that included discussions about jobs and tariffs.Why It MattersSince taking office for his second administration, Trump has pursued an arguably chaotic economic policy, which is reflected by the steep drop in the stock market in recent weeks: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was $44,873 at the start of February, had fallen to $40,813 by the close of business on Thursday.Thursday’s drop marked a 10 percent drop over the previous month, which brought the market into a “correction,”…

Less than two months ago, the tech industry’s top leaders flocked to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration, part of an effort to strike a friendly tone with President Donald Trump after a contentious first go-round in the White House.Thus far, they’ve avoided any nasty social media posts from the president. But their treatment by investors has been anything but warm.Over the last three weeks, since the Nasdaq touched its high for the year, the seven most valuable U.S. tech companies — often called “the Magnificent Seven” — have lost a combined $2.7 trillion in market value. The sell-off has…

BRUSSELS (AP) — In the year after Russia launched outright war on Ukraine, NATO leaders approved a set of military plans designed to repel an invasion of Europe. It was the biggest shake-up of the alliance’s defense readiness preparations since the Cold War.The secret plans set out how Western allies would defend NATO territory from the Atlantic to the Arctic, through the Baltic region and Central Europe, down to the Mediterranean Sea. Up to 300,000 troops would move to its eastern flank within 30 days, many of them American. That would climb to 800,000 within six months.But the Trump administration…

Antonio Guterres’s visit comes after the UN food agency says it may have to halve food vouchers for the Rohingya starting next month.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has visited Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as their food rations face drastic cuts next month, threatening already dire living conditions in the world’s largest refugee settlement. Guterres’s visit on Friday to the border district of Cox’s Bazar is seen as critical, after the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced potential cuts to emergency food supplies following the shutdown of USAID operations. Starting in April, the WFP may be forced to reduce food vouchers…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump is set to deliver what the White House calls a law-and-order speech on Friday at the Justice Department, the storied building from which the government pursued criminal investigations and prosecutions against him. Flanked by staunch allies he tapped to run the organizations he says attacked him relentlessly and unjustly, the event is a marked departure from how former presidents treated the department, taking pains to stay away it and its law enforcement components so that its work would not appear political. But the Trump White House is enmeshed in the daily decision-making at DOJ and…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…