Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary is Howard Lutnick. Here’s what to know
Alina Selyukh We’re following the confirmation hearings for the incoming Trump administration. See our full politics coverage, and follow NPR’s Trump’s Terms podcast or to stay up to date. Who: Howard Lutnick Nominated for: Commerce Secretary You might know them from: Lutnick is a billionaire investor and long-time Wall Street CEO. What does this role do: The Commerce Department is responsible for enforcing…
5 economic papers that lit up our brains — and what they say about our confusing world
Greg Rosalsky We at Planet Money are constantly reading the work of economists and other social scientists to glean ideas, evidence and insights about the economy, and, more generally, the confusing world around us. Often this work provides the seeds for episodes or newsletters. But sometimes they’re just interesting things we learned privately, and we…
Exclusive: White House in talks to have Oracle and U.S. investors take over TikTok
Bobby Allyn The Trump administration is working on a plan to save TikTok that involves tapping software company Oracle and a group of outside investors to effectively take control of the app’s global operations, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks. Under the deal now being negotiated by the White House, TikTok’s…
Trump pardons dark web marketplace creator Ross Ulbricht
Jenna McLaughlin President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to Libertarian supporters on his second day back in office by pardoning the former creator and owner of an underground e-commerce website known for drug trafficking. Ross Ulbricht, also known as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” operated the anonymous digital marketplace known as Silk Road between 2011 and 2013,…
Australia exposed to modern slave labour imports and many businesses ‘ignoring the facts’, commissioner warns
The scale of Australia’s trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community Australia’s new anti-slavery commissioner has called on the government to urgently address the “inadequacy” of its forced labour laws after revelations that it had allowed thousands of imports from Chinese companies blacklisted for their alleged links to…
All of the Day 1 executive actions Trump has announced so far
By Lexie Schapitl , Franco Ordoñez President-elect Trump is expected to sign a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and proclamations on Monday after he is sworn in, reversing many of his predecessors’ policies and reinstating actions from his first term in office. The actions are expected to address a range of issues, including campaign priorities…
Heavy snow and frigid temps put 70 million in the U.S. under winter storm warnings
By The Associated Press BOSTON — Tens of millions of residents along the East Coast are bracing for several inches of snow Sunday followed by dangerously cold temperatures that will take hold in much of the country from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine. Winter storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service…
From GDP to trade, how well equipped is China’s economy for Trump 2.0? | Amy Hawkins
Beijing has prepared for increased tariffs but its actions will not be enough to offset falling demand from the US When Donald Trump enters the White House for the second time on 20 January, the view from the Oval Office will look very different to the one he encountered in 2017. A pandemic, the war…
Zyn nicotine pouches can be marketed in the U.S., the FDA says. What does this mean?
Jaclyn Diaz Federal health officials have authorized the marketing and sale of Zyn nicotine pouches, marking the first time the Food and Drug Administration authorized these popular products that go between a user’s gum and upper lip. After “an extensive scientific review,” the FDA said, the products were found to pose lower risks of cancer…