What to Know
- President Trump’s trade war with China is not the only conflict with a major trading partner raging ahead of his reelection bid
- Nearly 100 more measles cases have been reported across the nation since last week, marking a 10 percent increase in total cases
- Doris Day, the honey-voiced singer and actress, has died at age of 97, the Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed
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It's Not Just China: Trump Trade War Rages on Several Fronts
President Trump’s trade war with China is not the only conflict with a major trading partner raging ahead of his reelection bid. Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on cracking down on what he calls unfair trade practices, has stirred trade conflict on even more fronts. From Canada and Mexico to the European Union and Japan, the president faces pivotal moments in his crusade to reshape U.S. trade relationships ahead of the 2020 election. Trump has a difficult path to following through on his trade agenda while avoiding damage to a strong U.S. economy. He will have to decide whether to slap threatened tariffs on the $325 billion in Chinese products that remain untaxed. He aims to ratify updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement, but some lawmakers want him to remove steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico before they will support a deal. Trump already put duties on steel and aluminum imports from the EU. Now, the president is set to decide in the coming days whether he will slap tariffs on European cars. The EU could retaliate if Trump makes good on his threat.
5 Dead, 1 Missing After 2 Floatplanes Collide in Alaska
Five people are dead and one is unaccounted for after two floatplanes carrying passengers from a cruise excursion collided mid-air in Alaska, NBC News reported. The two planes carried 14 passengers from a seven-day roundtrip cruise out of Vancouver, according to a statement Monday from Royal Princess Cruises. The planes collided mid-air about eight nautical miles from Ketchikan, Alaska, at the southeastern end of the state at about 1 p.m. local time. "We are incredibly distressed by this situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with those onboard the planes and their families," the cruise company said. "Princess Cruises is extending its full support to traveling companions of the guests involved."
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock Announces Presidential Run
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If Democrats care as much about electability in 2020 as they tell pollsters they do, then Steve Bullock has a case to make, even with 21 other candidates in the race. NBC News reports the Montana governor declared his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in a video Tuesday, highlighting the fact that he's the only candidate in the race to have won in a red state. "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone," Bullock said in a statement.
NY Has Stunning 82% of US Measles Cases as Total Soars Again
Nearly 100 more measles cases have been reported across the nation since last week, marking a 10 percent increase in total cases as the number in the U.S.' worst outbreak in decades eclipses the 800 mark, officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 839 cases had been reported. It's the most in the U.S. since 1994, when 963 were reported, and affects 23 states, though the lion's share of cases are in New York. More than 40 new cases were reported in Brooklyn and Queens, which have 466 confirmed cases -- more than half of the entire U.S. outbreak concentrated in two boroughs, officials say. City health department data only goes up until May 6, four days earlier than the CDC total. New York's Rockland County, which took the dramatic step a few weeks ago of banning unvaccinated minors from indoor public places in an effort to control the spread, had 225 confirmed cases as of Friday, an increase of nearly a dozen over the prior reporting period. New Jersey's numbers haven't been updated on the state health department website, but there are more than a dozen confirmed cases in Ocean County and a number of exposure risks in Monmouth and Middlesex counties as well.
Monsanto to Pay $2 Billion in Weed Killer Cancer Case, Jury Orders
A jury ordered agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. to pay a combined $2.05 billion to a couple claiming the company's popular weed killer Roundup Ready caused their cancers. The jury's verdict is third such courtroom loss for Monsanto in California since August. The state court jury in Oakland concluded that Monsanto's weed killer caused the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Alva Pilliod and Alberta Pilliod each contracted. Jurors awarded them each $1 billion in punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. A federal jury in San Francisco ordered the weed killer maker in March to pay a Sonoma County man $80 million. A San Francisco jury last August awarded $289 million to a former golf course greens keeper who blamed his cancer on Monsanto's Roundup Ready herbicide. A judge later reduced the award to $89 million. The three California trials were the first of an estimated 13,000 lawsuits pending against Monsanto across the country to go to trial. St. Louis-based Monsanto is owned by the German chemical giant Bayer A.G.
Doris Day, Legendary Actress and Singer, Dies at 97
Doris Day, the honey-voiced singer and actress whose film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies made her a top star in the 1950s and '60s and among the most popular screen actresses in history, has died. She was 97. The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day died at her Carmel Valley, California, home. The foundation said she was surrounded by close friends. "Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death," the foundation said in an emailed statement. With her lilting contralto, wholesome blonde beauty and glowing smile, she was a top box office draw and recording artist known for such films as "Pillow Talk" and "That Touch of Mink" and for such songs as "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" from the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Man Who Knew Too Much."
Felicity Huffman Pleads Guilty in College Admissions Scheme
"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty in the college admissions bribery scheme, the biggest name to do so in a scandal that has exposed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into top universities. The Emmy-winning actress, 56, could face prison time after she admitted to participating in the nationwide scam, in which authorities say parents bribed coaches, rigged entrance exams or both to game the admissions system. Huffman pleaded guilty in federal court to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter's answers on the SAT. She also considered going through with the plan for her younger daughter before ultimately deciding not to, authorities say. She arrived at court holding the hand of her brother Moore Huffman Jr. and did not say anything to journalists. In court, she wore a gray dress and a sweater and sat flanked by her attorneys while her brother watched from the front row. Her husband, actor William H. Macy, didn't attend. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her and responded, "Yes, your honor," when asked whether she understood the charges. Sentencing was set for Sept. 13. Prosecutors are seeking four to 10 months behind bars.