Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The market upturn was short-lived: “The major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply on Thursday, a stark reminder that President Donald Trump continues to pursue a tariff agenda capable of throwing the global economy into chaos.”
* The good news on inflation predates last week’s tariff announcement: “Consumer price inflation eased more than expected in March as President Donald Trump prepared to launch tariffs against U.S. trading partners, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, down from 2.8% in February.”
* The latest swap: “A Russian-American woman who was imprisoned for treason by Russia has been freed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday. … Her release was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said she was freed in exchange for the release of Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the U.S. for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.”
* Brink’s resignation had been expected: “The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine is stepping down from her post after nearly three years in Kyiv amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s attempts to broker a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The State Department said Thursday that Bridget Brink will be leaving her post in the near future, although it was not immediately clear exactly when she would depart.”
* Remember when environmentalists issued warnings about this? “The nearly 2,700-mile Keystone oil pipeline was shut down Tuesday morning after it ruptured in North Dakota, halting the flow of millions of gallons of crude oil from Canada to refineries in the U.S. and potentially leading to higher gasoline prices.”
* The anti-climate White House strikes again: “President Donald Trump singled out Vermont and New York state’s climate superfund laws in an executive order signed late Tuesday aimed at gutting them. He called for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to ‘expeditiously’ identify ways to halt the enforcement of laws, such as the climate superfunds, that he said have threatened ‘American energy dominance.’”
* Patel will now have one job he’s unqualified for, instead of two: “FBI Director Kash Patel was removed from his role as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, U.S. officials confirmed on Wednesday.”
* The ABA has apparently joined the enemies list: “The Justice Department on Wednesday barred its lawyers from attending any American Bar Association events, escalating the Trump administration’s battle with the legal profession over who lawyers should take on as clients.” * A case worth watching: “President Donald Trump lost a bid to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by plaintiffs known as the Exonerated Five (formerly the Central Park Five). Thursday’s court ruling brings Trump closer to potential civil liability for comments he made about them during a presidential debate against Kamala Harris last year, but it doesn’t guarantee that the plaintiffs will ultimately succeed in their case.” * The story about Trump accidentally calling retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, his former national security adviser, is both amusing and emblematic of a White House that continues to struggle with the most basic of tasks. See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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