Desi Weekly News Digest 

NATIONAL

Trump Tariffs Roil Businesses: The American president quickly upped the ante with China, raising the levy to 54% to offset what he said were China’s unfair trade practices. Then, enraged when China retaliated with tariffs of its own, he upped the levies to a staggering 145%. Tariffs on other countries, other than a flat tariff of 10% were paused for 90 days after heavy losses on the stock market. CLICK ORLANDO,  YAHOO NEWS 

Stocks End Volatile Week on a High: Wall Street posted solid gains on Friday as big banks kicked off first-quarter earnings season and investors closed the book on a turbulent week of wild swings driven by the chaos of President Donald Trump's multi-front trade war. REUTERS

House Passes Stringent Voting Bill (SAVE Act):  The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a major voter suppression measure that, if it became law, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and badly undermine U.S. democracy. DEMOCRACY DOCKET

Trump Administration Goes After Academic Freedom: The Trump administration has subpoenaed personal information of hundreds of UC Berkeley professors who signed petitions during escalating Israel-Hamas campus protests to bolster its case that college campuses are hotbeds of antisemitism and not worthy of federal funding. MERCURY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

Mexican Water to Texas: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday that Mexico will immediately deliver water to Texas farmers, aiming to ease tensions with the United States under a decades-old treaty that has drawn renewed scrutiny and threats from President Donald Trump. NEWSWEEK

International Travel to US Drops: Amid recent travel advisories warning those coming to the United States plus strengthened immigration enforcement, many international travelers are starting to turn away from the U.S. as a destination. Between January and March, foreign arrivals dropped by around 4.4% from those first three months last year, according to data from the National Travel and Tourism Office. USA TODAY

USAID Cuts Lead to Deaths in South Sudan: Eight people in South Sudan, including five children, died on a three-hour walk to seek medical treatment for cholera after U.S. aid cuts forced local health services to close. The deaths last month are among the first to be directly attributed to cuts imposed by President Donald Trump. REUTERS

CORRUPTION ALERT

Despite Proven Fraud, Trump to Boost Payments to Privatized Medicare Advantage by $25 Billion: The federal agency now headed by former television host Mehmet Oz announced Monday that it is substantially boosting payments to privately run Medicare Advantage plans, a boon for an industry notorious for overcharging taxpayers and denying patients necessary care. COMMON DREAMS

SCIENCE

Drastic Cuts to Science Funding: The Trump administration has unveiled plans for significant reductions in science funding:​

NASA: A proposed 20% budget cut, with a 47% reduction in its science mission directorate. This threatens projects like the Mars Sample Return and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and may lead to the closure of the Goddard Space Flight Center.​ GUARDIAN

NOAA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration faces a $1.7 billion cut, potentially dismantling key climate research programs and university collaborations.​ AXIOS

NIH: The National Institutes of Health is experiencing grant terminations and funding freezes, affecting research in areas like HIV and LGBTQ+ health. AXIOS

HEALTH

Measles Cases Continue to Rise : U.S. measles cases topped 700 as of Friday, capping a week in which Indiana joined five others states with active outbreaks, Texas grew by another 60 cases and a third measles-related death was made public. AP NEWS

JUST THE HEADLINES

Bhutanese Refugees In Limbo After ICE Crackdown INDIA CURRENTS

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