Soon after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retaliated with $21 billion dollars in retaliatory tariffs. Trudeau, who had recently stepped down as leader of Canada’s Liberal party, lectured Trump calling the tariffs “dumb” and denounced Trump’s bizarre threat to annex Canada as America’s 51st state.
(“Canada’s Liberals Bounce Back After Years of Decline. What’s Going on?” Al Jazeera, March 4, 2025; “Trudeau Condemns ‘Dumb’ Trade War As Canada Strikes Back on Tariffs,” Guardian, March 4, 2025)
On the day the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Jonathan McKernan faced questions from senators in a Capitol Hill confirmation hearing, the agency’s acting Director Russell Vought, who also serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget, was dismissing cases involving consumer complaints of fraud and unethical business practices. The cases dismissed against some of the nation’s largest financial institutions, documented charges against firms accused of illegally steering mortgage borrowers, issuing improper loans, and cheating depositors out of billions of dollars.
(“Amnesty Day at CFPB,” American Prospect, Feb. 27, 2025; “The Plot to Destroy the CFPB,” American Prospect, Feb 28, 2025)
A peace deal signed in Senegal could end one of the longest running insurgencies in West Africa. The agreement between Ousmane Sonko — an opposition leader who became Senegal’s prime minister last year — and members of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance could lead the way to development in the impoverished region of Casamance, geographically isolated and economically marginalized region.
(“A Peace Deal in Senegal,” Foreign Policy, Africa Brief, March 5, 2025)
