The Latest: Stock market suffers worst week since 2020 after China retaliates against Trump tariffs

Markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs in the U.S. president’s escalating trade war.

The S&P 500 plummeted 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.

Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.

Meanwhile, Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership.

Here's the latest:

Tune in: It’s Friday night live in the Senate

The pizzas have been carted in for the Republicans. Tacos on the Democratic side.

Senators are preparing to work through the night on the GOP’s budget framework for Trump’s “big” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, despite the economic turmoil from his new tariffs.

Republicans are eager to take this next step toward what they hope will be the centerpiece of the GOP domestic policy agenda.

Democrats, who as the minority party don’t have enough votes to stop the plan, at least intend to shine a bright light on the details — and drag out the process.

Columbia must give 30 days’ notice before sharing student records with Congress’ antisemitism probe

A Manhattan federal judge says Columbia University must give detained activist Mahmoud Khalil and other students 30 days’ notice before handing over any more documents to Congress as it investigates antisemitism on college campuses.

But U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday stopped short of outright blocking the Manhattan university from providing records to the House Education and Workforce Committee, as lawyers for the activists sought.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, who chairs the House committee, called the decision a “victory for credible oversight.”

Lawyers for Khalil and the other students said the decision means they can continue pursuing their legal fight.

▶ Read more about the court actions regarding Congress’ college antisemitism investigation

Trump administration nixes plan to cover anti-obesity drugs through Medicare

Trump’s administration has decided not to cover expensive, high-demand obesity treatments under the federal government’s Medicare program.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday that it would not cover the medications under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage.

Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule in late November after Trump won reelection that would have extended coverage of drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. The rule was not expected to be finalized until Trump took office.

Medicare does pay for drugs like Wegovy for patients who have heart disease and need to reduce their risk of future heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems.

Interior secretary orders national parks to be open and accessible as workforce is cut

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is directing national parks to “remain open and accessible” and says officials will ensure proper staffing to do so.

The order, issued late Thursday, also calls for a detailed review of each park’s operating hours, trail closures and other limits on visitor services.

Burgum said his department and the National Park Service “are committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation’s most treasured places.”

But park advocates and others questioned how park employees could comply, given the Trump administration’s workforce reductions. Fewer workers can mean shorter hours, delays, closed campgrounds, overflowing trash bins, unkept bathrooms, and risks to public safety, they say.

The park service has lost around 1,500 permanent employees since the beginning of this year, Rick Mossman, president of the Arizona-based Association of National Park Rangers, said Friday in a statement. And it’s “bracing for another reduction in force expected in the very near future.”

US says it’s providing another $7 million for Myanmar quake victims

Criticized for a slower and smaller U.S. response than usual, the Trump administration said Friday it was providing about another $7 million to aid victims of the 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar, on top of the $2 million promised earlier.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced the aid in a post on the social media site X. Bruce said the money would help stricken communities in the Southeast Asian nation with shelter, food, medical care and water.

The Trump administration has worked with Elon Musk to dismantle the main U.S. aid agency and most of its programs, and lay off almost all of its staff. While China and some other nations have sent scores or hundreds of people to help with the aftermath of the March 28 quake, the U.S. has disclosed sending only a three-member assessment team, announced days after the quake.

S&P 500 plunges 6% to close its worst week since 2020

The worldwide sell-off for financial markets slammed into a higher, scarier gear. The S&P 500 plummeted 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.

Markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war.

TikTok deal fell apart after Trump tariff announcement, source says

Trump had a TikTok deal in place Wednesday for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors. Under that deal, ByteDance would maintain a minority position.

But the deal collapsed Thursday after Trump announced wide-ranging reciprocal tariffs, including against China.

ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs. That’s according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details of the negotiations.

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Associated Press reporter Aamer Madhani contributed.

Washington and Oregon are latest states to ask a court to reject order overhauling US elections

The two states made the move a day after Democratic officials in 19 others filed a similar lawsuit.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown told a news conference that Washington and Oregon sued separately because they conduct elections entirely by mail and would be particularly harmed by the president’s efforts.

“Neither the Constitution nor any federal law gives the president authority to set rules for how states conduct elections,” Brown said.

Friday’s lawsuit is the fifth against the executive order since it was issued last week. The order includes new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields responded on Friday, calling the proof-of-citizenship requirements “common sense” and objections from Democrats “insane.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to travel to Panama for meetings with country leaders

The planned meeting follows recent Trump administration complaints about alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical Panama Canal shipping lane.

Trump has spoken negatively about the U.S. move more than 20 years ago to relinquish control of the waterway to Panama, and has threatened to retake it. He has argued that the U.S. was being overcharged for using it.

Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson, said Hegseth will participate in the 2025 Central American Security Conference. He said Hegseth will be in meetings that “will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere.”

Judge blocks Trump from dismantling agency that funds community groups in Latin American countries

A federal judge agreed on Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the administration doesn’t have the authority to remove the head of the group. Congress created the foundation more than 50 years ago. It has disbursed $945 million to thousands of grant recipients in roughly three dozen countries.

AliKhan, who President Biden appointed, found that only the foundation’s board can fire its head.

“Because neither President Trump nor Mr. Marocco had the authority to fire her from her position as the president of the IAF, Ms. Aviel is likely to succeed on the merits of her case,” AliKhan wrote.

▶ Read more about the judge’s ruling

TikTok creators react to the deadline extension

Terrell Wade, a comedian and content creator with 1.5 million followers on TikTok, is relieved to hear that the platform will continue to operate in the U.S., but he’s also been hedging his bets by growing his presence on other services.

“I’m glad there’s an extension, but to be honest, going through this process again feels a bit exhausting,” he said.

Singer Ellise Gitas, 26, who goes by the mononym Ellise, agrees that the unpredictability of the social platform’s status makes planning difficult.

“The whiplash of uncertainty around TikTok has been creatively draining for myself and many other musicians,” she said. “Artists need stability to build momentum, and right now, it feels like we’re being asked to sprint on a moving treadmill.”

Judge blocks Trump from dismantling agency that funds community groups in Latin American countries

A federal judge agreed on Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the administration doesn’t have the authority to remove the head of the group. Congress created the foundation more than 50 years ago. It has disbursed $945 million to thousands of grant recipients in roughly three dozen countries.

AliKhan, who President Biden appointed, found that only the foundation’s board can fire its head.

“Because neither President Trump nor Mr. Marocco had the authority to fire her from her position as the president of the IAF, Ms. Aviel is likely to succeed on the merits of her case,” AliKhan wrote.

▶ Read more about the judge’s ruling

US has twice as many measles cases so far this year than in all of 2024

The once common, vaccine-preventable virus continues to spread in active outbreaks in at least five states.

Health experts in Texas and elsewhere have said the outbreak could continue for months and even threaten the U.S.’s status as having eliminated measles spread.

The new count Friday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as a proposal to cut billions of dollars of health funding winds its way through the courts.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has delivereda tepid message on the importance of vaccination against measles, saying it should be encouraged while also claiming the shots cause “deaths every year.” The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely to prevent illness for more than 60 years and is 97% effective against measles after two doses.

More than 500 law firms sign brief criticizing Trump’s executive orders targeting legal community

Friday’s legal brief supports the law firm of Perkins Coie in its challenge to a Trump executive order meant to punish its attorneys. It urges the judge to permanently block the order.

Perkins Coie is among roughly a half-dozen law firms subject to the order, which seeks to suspend lawyers’ security security clearances, terminate federal contracts and block access to federal buildings. The firm won a court order temporarily blocking enforcement of several provisions, but its court case is still pending.

The brief says the executive order poses a “grave threat to our system of constitutional governance and to the rule of law itself.”

EU trade commissioner met with Trump officials, says ’The EU-US trade relationship needs a fresh approach”

Maros Sefcovic said he had a “frank” two hour discussion Friday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and told them the US tariffs are damaging and unjustified.

“EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests,” Sefcovic wrote on X. In terms of concrete results from the discussion, Sefcovic could only offer, “We stay in touch.”

Trump picked 20% as his rate for taxing European imports as part of a sweeping set of tariffs on countries that trade with the US.

EU officials have said they’re ready to negotiate to rescind or modify the European Union’s response, but will otherwise impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. goods.

The US must return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, judge says

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was expelled last month despite a court order shielding him from deportation to his native El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.

Federal prosecutors he was mistakenly put on the plane, but they can’t get him back now because the Salvadoran national is outside U.S. jurisdiction.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis described his deportation as “an illegal act” and questioned why he was sent to a Salvadoran prison where observers say human rights abuses are routine. “Why is he there, of all places?” the judge asked.

The ruling came after Abrego Garcia’s wife, a U.S. citizen, joined dozens of supporters at a rally urging his immediate return.

The White House has alleged that he’s a member of the MS-13 gang. His lawyers say there’s no evidence of that.

Judge moves legal case of detained Turkish Tufts University student to Vermont

A federal judge has moved a case involving a Tufts University doctoral student being held at an immigration facility in Louisiana to Vermont.

Rumeysa Ozturk, who is from Turkey, was taken into custody as she walked along a street in a Boston suburb on March 25. After being taken to New Hampshire and then Vermont, she was moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana.

Justice Department lawyers had argued that Ozturk’s petition was filed in the wrong state, that it should be dismissed and that her case should go before an immigration judge.

A judge on Friday moved the case to Vermont, where Ozturk was being held at the time her lawyers filed the petition seeking her release.

Ozturk is among several people with ties to American universities who attended demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians during the war in Gaza and who recently had visas revoked or have been stopped from entering the U.S.

▶ Read more about the decision to move Ozturk’s case to Vermont

The Energy Department identifies thousands of ‘nonessential’ positions at risk of DOGE cuts

These workers would not be protected if there is another round of large-scale firings, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The jobs at risk include more than 8,500 positions across the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration — which upgrades and maintains the nation’s nuclear warheads. It was not immediately clear if every position identified as nonessential would be eliminated

Trump abruptly fires the 4-star general who led the National Security Agency

That’s according to U.S. officials and members of Congress. The White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move.

Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, who also oversaw the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, the officials said. They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions.

The move has triggered sharp criticism from members of Congress. This latest dismissal of national security officials by Trump comes as his Republican administration faces criticism over his failure to take any action against other key leaders’ use of an unclassified Signal messaging chat that included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss plans for a military strike.