S&P and NASDAQ are down about 5.5% since some tariffs on Mexico and Canada went into effect earlier this month .

Julian Zelizer : Tariffs are not pro-growth because they reduce efficiency and well-being.

Zelizer says the administration's tariff policy has run into trouble because it attempts to solve half a dozen unrelated problems: illegal immigration, Fentanyl , budget deficits, protecting American workers, fairness.

Furthermore, “protective” tariffs can’t benefit all American workers — only some at the expense of others — while simultaneously creating inefficiency and slowing economic growth. So, for what problem are tariffs a good solution? There doesn’t appear to be one. READ MORE from Paul Mueller :.

Most U.S. patents were earned by firms based outside our borders last year , Trey Gowdy says.

Gowdy : China had the greatest increase in patents issued, up more than 30% over the prior year .

China has a track record of questionable intellectual property claims, Gowdy writes.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board is designed to be a more efficient method of resolving intellectual property conflicts.

Trey Gowdy represented South Carolina’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011-19 .

Gowdy says he has every confidence that John A. Squires will faithfully execute the law and efficiently correct the agency's own errors.

He says the Patent and Trademark Office is serious about standing up to China .

The Trump family is reportedly discussing a possible investment in the crypto exchange Binance .

Such a deal would raise a host of conflict-of-interest questions, especially in light of Binance ’s multi-billion-dollar valuation.

Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao , is seeking a presidential pardon after pleading guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering laws.

Labour ’s new deal’ employment programme was its 1997 flagship.

It offered 18- to 24-year-olds four well-organised options: a further education course, work on environmental projects or in a voluntary organisation, or a subsidised job with employers given 60 a week to take them on.

By 2002 , it could claim the virtual eradication of youth long-term unemployment.

Nearly 1 million more people are on disability benefits than pre-pandemic.

Jobs are far harsher than they once were, Prof Ben Baumberg Geiger reports.

Efficiency savings have killed off “light work” for frailer people.

Labour would face a hefty backlash if it cuts disability benefits.

Southwest Airlines will begin charging for checked bags on flights booked on or after May 28, 2025 .

The airline claims the latest change will “Drive Revenue Growth and Reward its Most Loyal Customers .” Unless you fly 40 or more times a year or agree to pay higher fares, you won’t get the benefit of any free baggage exceptions.

USAID was shuttering by billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump .

Experts are fighting for the restoration of key programs, like those that relieve the starvation of children, while bracing for the impact of the cuts around the world.

Some of the countries following the United States in cutting foreign aid include the United Kingdom , the Netherlands , France and Belgium .

USAID has played a critical role in monitoring and containing outbreaks of Ebola and the Marburg Virus in countries like Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

Natsios said he expects the pullback in aid to worsen the ongoing forced migration crisis, which he says is the worst since World War II .

The leasehold system in England and Wales has needed tearing down since the medieval era.

It locks homeowners, especially those in flats, into an exploitative, serf-like relationship with the freeholder.

Ground rent has been gamed in recent years to extort more money from individual leaseholders.

The government’s new commonhold white paper promises to ban leasehold for future flats.

Cassandra Garibay and Ashley Clarke have joined ProPublica 's crowdsourcing and engagement reporting team.

They will work on community-sourced investigations related to issues like housing and health equity.

Clarke plans to cover issues that impact low-income individuals and families, particularly those living in urban communities, focusing on topics like housing insecurity and homelessness.

Labour's shadow shadow shadow cabinet minister says welfare reform is not fiscally or morally sustainable.

Government is seeking to make 6bn of welfare cuts, predominantly through changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) PIP is a benefit designed to help people with extra costs of disability, whether they are in work or not.

The transition to net zero will require a united front across sectors including agriculture.

For UK farmers, that will mean collectively working towards sustainability goals that can be quantified.

Until now, understanding whether efforts to improve sustainability on farms are working has been challenging due to the many disparate reporting platforms, standards and measurement frameworks farmers are required to use.