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In the latest salvo in Donald Trump’s trade war against U.S. allies, the president threatened a 200 percent tariff on European alcohol, singling out wines and champagnes from France, if the EU taxed American whiskey.
In Washington, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that Democrats cannot support the Republican spending bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week as a government shutdown looms.
“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort,” Schumer told Congress on Wednesday.
“But Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution (CR) without any input, any input, from Congressional Democrats.
“Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR.”
The White House, meanwhile, is gloating over what they see as an inevitable victory in the funding bill battle, according to reporting by Politico.
“They’re 100 percent gonna swallow it,” one White House official told the outlet. “They’re totally screwed.”
Hours earlier, Trump had launched into a bizarre personal attack on Schumer – the highest-ranking Jewish person in the American government – by inexplicably claiming he is now Palestinian.
Watch: Trump adviser gives warning about Putin

Putin will come back if Trump leaves office, counter terror adviser warns
Vladimir Putin and Russia will come back in four years if Donald Trump leaves the White House, a counter terror adviser has warned. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the US president, discussed his concerns about the Russian leader, when he appeared on BBC Newsnight on Wednesday (12 March). Mr Gorka was challenged by host Victoria Derbyshire about whether the US needs to provide security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression. This comes after Ukraine accepted a 30-day proposal discussed with the US during peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 13:50
Fetterman shares his plan for how Democrats should deal with funding bill
Senator John Fetterman has shared his plan for how Democrats in the Senate should approach the Republican government funding bill as a shutdown looms tomorrow night.
The Pennsylvania senator wrote on X: “Shut the government down, plunge the country into chaos, risk a recession or exchange cloture for a 30-day CR that 100% fails.”
He continues: “The House GOP CR will then pass the Senate because it only needs 51 votes. Total theater is neither honest with constituents nor a winning argument.”
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 13:38
‘Trump is good for business’: Laura Ingraham urges Fox viewers to ‘ignore’ stock market meltdown
Trump loyalist Laura Ingraham has urged Fox News viewers to ignore the stock market meltdown and have faith in the President’s trade decisions – insisting they were a force of good for the economy.
Ingraham’s comments follow a cataclysmic week for the stock markets. Donald Trump’s drastic tariff levy rattled exchange rates and left economists trembling at the possibility of an all-out global trade war.
Madeline Sherratt reports.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 13:35
Trump claims ‘tariff money is pouring into the United States’
President Donald Trump has again attacked The Wall Street Journal for pointing out the flaws in his trade war, claiming “they are owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union.”
He wrote on Truth Social:
The Globalist Wall Street Journal has no idea what they are doing or saying. They are owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of “screwing” the United States of America. Their (WSJ!) thinking is antiquated and weak, and very bad for the USA. But have no fear, we will WIN on everything!!! Egg prices are down, oil is down, interest rates are down, and TARIFF RELATED MONEY IS POURING INTO THE UNITED STATES. “The only thing you have to fear, is fear itself!”
Egg prices are still soaring, with Trump’s own Department of Agriculture predicting that the average price will be 41 percent higher than in 2024.
Tariffs are paid by U.S. importers, and the cost is passed on to American consumers in the form of higher prices.
The president added later:
The U.S. doesn’t have Free Trade. We have “Stupid Trade.” The Entire World is RIPPING US OFF!!!
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 13:30
Trump admin drops Biden-era lawsuit over sexual abuse of migrant children
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced this week that the Trump administration is dropping its lawsuit against Southwest Key, a service that works with migrant children.
The lawsuit, initiated during the Biden-era, accused the company’s employees of sexual abuse against unaccompanied migrants at its various facilities.
Kennedy said that the focus will now shift to moving migrant children out of the care of Southwest Key and initiating an investigation of the service, including its grants.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 13:20
Watch: Lutnick says Trump finds tit-for-tat tariffs ‘really abusive’
President Donald Trump is “annoyed” that other parties in the trade war he began are responding to his actions.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 12:56
Full story: Trump threatens to tax purchases of European alcohol if EU imposes whiskey tariff
President Donald Trump has vowed to escalate his unprovoked trade war by unilaterally imposing taxes on Americans’ purchases of alcoholic beverages imported from European Union countries if the 27-member bloc dares retaliate against Trump’s decision to tax other imports by imposing a similar tariff on American-made whiskey.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 12:53
Musk responds to The Daily Show’s mocking of Trump’s Tesla purchase
Despite being on a one-week hiatus, the late-night show took to Musk’s X platform on Wednesday evening to ridicule the event on the White House south lawn which appeared to be part press conference, part car promotion. The back-and-forth comes as questions remain if Musk will accept host Jon Stewart’s invitation to be interviewed on the long-running late-night show.
James Liddell has the story.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 12:50
‘They’re totally screwed’: White House taunting Democrats over shutdown vote
Politico reports that White House officials are already gloating about the prospects for the government funding bill the Senate is set to vote on.
While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Republicans don’t have the 60 votes needed to keep the government open, President Donald Trump and White House officials are increasingly confident that enough centrist Democrats will vote for passage of the bill.
Per Rachel Bade at Politico:
“They’re 100 percent gonna swallow it,” one White House official told me. “They’re totally screwed.”
While there is no plan yet from Schumer as to how Democrats will approach the bill, lawmakers from both parties are said to be privately predicting that they will get amendment votes in return for passage of the House-passed continuing resolution.
Still, that’s not a done deal. And given the intense pressure from the base to flip Trump the bird, there’s still plenty of time for Democrats to back away from a possible deal before Friday’s deadline.
In some ways the administration looks like it’s almost itching for a shutdown and daring Democrats to touch the stove. Last month, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought notably gave agencies until Thursday to submit plans for “large-scale reductions in force.” The details could spill out hours before a shutdown and would almost certainly agitate the Democratic base even further.
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 12:42
Vance tries out ‘sock diplomacy’ in meeting with Irish premier
Oliver O’Connell13 March 2025 12:35