Despite promises of a stronger economy, Donald Trump’s first 100 days have brought an upturn in uncertainty. The Supreme Court takes up the case of the nation’s first religious public charter school. And a man who helped U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan fears deportation.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump’s tariffs give rise to economic turbulence
Voters elected Donald Trump back to the White House in 2024 believing he would be better for the economy than his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. But with recession odds as high as 60%, inflation rates that have barely budged and a stock market that, until recently, was beset by volatility, Trump’s actions have instead contributed to an economic landscape rife with uncertainty. At the heart of the unease is his tariffs strategy.
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The rollout has been marked by starts and stops, with different rationales offered up for each duty and tariff levels sometimes changing within a single day. To this day, the plans are evolving as he claims hundreds of countries are approaching the U.S. to sign new trade deals. The fallout can be seen in various industries:
🛒 An across-the-board 10% tariffs on imports could affect food from countries like China and Mexico and drive up grocery costs.
🏡 Mortgage rates have declined year on year, but the pace of home sales is glacial and prices still remain far above pre-pandemic levels.
📉 The S&P 500 has lost about 8% since Jan. 20, Trump’s first day in office.
Still, retail sales have remained brisk and the unemployment rate is steady at about 4.2%. But overall, it is difficult to find a measure of economic activity that has improved drastically since Trump’s second term began.
Trump suggested in an interview yesterday with ABC News that hardships such as these should come as no surprise to those who voted for him. But while it’s true Trump promised to implement tariffs, he often spoke on the campaign trail of an instant economic recovery on Day One of his presidency. Instead, his “hang tough” comments, in reference to economic volatility, came just over three weeks ago, long after the campaign was over.
Read the full story here.
More politics news:
Dispute over U.S.’s first religious public charter school goes to the Supreme Court
Should charter schools be considered public schools? And if they’re not, is it considered discrimination to to bar religious schools from a state charter program that other entities can participate in? Those are two questions Supreme Court justices are considering as they hear oral arguments today in a case about whether Oklahoma can approve St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a charter school whose proposal to operate in Oklahoma has been the subject of a legal battle that has made its way to the high court.
Lawyers for St. Isidore are defending its proposal to operate in the state alongside the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board and argue that barring religious entities from applying to run charter schools would run afoul of the Free Exercise Clause, which outlaws religious discrimination. Meanwhile, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who challenged the decision to approve the school, argues that charter schools in Oklahoma are like all other public schools, meaning the state can require them to not be sectarian.
The dispute highlights tensions within the Constitution’s First Amendment, particularly between the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the state endorsement of religion or preference for one religion over another, and the Free Exercise Clause. How the justices could have ramifications for not just Oklahoma, but nearly every other state.
He was tortured by the Taliban — but might be sent back to Afghanistan anyway
Mohammed.
Mohammad risked his life working to help the American military during the war in Afghanistan. But after U.S. troops chaotically withdrew from the country in 2021, Taliban forces hunted him down, beat him and imprisoned him. His application to resettle in the U.S. under a special immigrant visa program was rejected during the Biden administration, and a second application got stuck in an indefinite bureaucratic process.
So, Mohammad decided he would have to find another way to get to the U.S. to seek asylum. During his harrowing journey, he was robbed twice in Brazil, faced harassment in Colombia, nearly drowned in a river in Panama and developed an infection that could have killed him had it gone untreated. Now in the U.S., Mohammad has a support group willing to sponsor, house and advocate for him.
But his future — and that of thousands of others — is uncertain as the Trump administration moves to revoke the legal status of migrants who were allowed into the country on a temporary basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons.”
Mohammad’s supporters know there’s little they can do to influence the government’s actions despite the dangers he faces. “If he goes back to Afghanistan, they’re gonna kill him,” said Chris Fulford, Mohammad’s old boss who was based in Kabul for 10 years. “There ain’t no ifs, ands or buts.” Read the full story here.
Read All About It
Staff Pick: Texas police killing raises questions
When I first watched the footage of a Texas deputy fatally shooting a man during a traffic stop in 2022, my jaw dropped. It was hard to understand why the deputy, Sgt. Shane Iversen, resorted to shooting the motorist, Timothy Michael Randall. It was also hard to understand why the case had received so little attention in the media.
But as soon as I spoke to Randall’s mother, Wendy Tippitt, I knew this was a story worth telling. This was a woman who had raised her two sons by herself, working long hours in thankless jobs. And after her youngest son was killed, she had to fight to get answers for nearly two years. Had she not done so, the police video likely would have never been released to the public.
So this wasn’t just a story about a fatal police encounter. It was about a mother’s quest to find out what led to the killing of her son. — Rich Schapiro, investigative reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Ever wonder how the Ultrahuman ring compares to the Oura ring? One NBC Select editor tested it for a couple of months to see how the popular gadget tracks heart rate, workouts, sleep and more. Plus, we asked dermatologists if the beef tallow trend is good for your skin — or just gross.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Read the full article here
