US News Headlines April 30th 2025
The US economy contracted for the first time in three years amid the chaos of President Donald Trump's tariff regime. The Commerce Department reported that the GDP shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first quarter.
In a speech on Wednesday evening, former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted President Trump's first 100 days, saying his agenda represents a "wholesale abandonment" of American ideals. She also highlighted several lawmakers across the party's ideological spectrum who have spoken out against the administration's actions.
The Senate rejected a resolution that would have effectively blocked the president's global tariffs by revoking the emergency order he is using to enact them. Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote to kill the bipartisan effort to rebuke Trump's tariffs, making the vote 50-49.
President Trump made his first public comments about the minerals deal signed earlier today between Ukraine and the US, saying that the US signed it because he "wanted to be protected." He also claimed that the US has spent $350 billion aiding Ukraine, compared to a much smaller sum from Europe.
A federal judge in Washington, DC, said he is likely to grant a temporary injunction to pause the Trump administration's mass terminations of employees and grants at the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The White House characterized recent steps by Harvard University as "positive," but signaled that the university needs to do more to crack down on what it sees as antisemitism on campus for the flow of federal funding to resume — and even suggested more money could be cut.
A proposed vehicle tax will no longer be included in House Republicans' reconciliation bill after it attracted the ire of conservatives. The US and Ukraine signed an agreement for a joint reconstruction investment fund, the US Treasury Department announced today.
GOP lawmakers highlighted the divide within the party over how to reach the desired $1.5 trillion in spending cuts in President Trump's agenda bill. Rep. Jeff Van Drew warned that cutting Medicaid would be a "blueprint for disaster" in the midterms.
US Stocks Bounce Back from Steep Losses
U.S. stocks bounced back from steep early losses to end mixed, continuing their wild swings amid uncertainty about what President Donald Trump's trade war will do to the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.