President Trump issued a new executive order on Wednesday aimed at shutting down a trade loophole that has allowed inexpensive goods from China to bypass tariffs for years.
The 78-year-old president took aim at what’s known as the “de minimis” exemption, claiming it gave companies in China and Hong Kong a way to smuggle illegal drugs into the country under the radar.
“These shippers often avoid detection due to administration of the de minimis exemption,” the president wrote, asserting that the flood of duty-free Chinese goods “play a significant role in the synthetic opioid crisis in the United States.”
Under current rules, items valued below $800 are eligible for the de minimis exemption and enter the U.S. tariff-free.

Financial markets around the world are reeling Thursday following President Donald Trump’s latest and most severe volley of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market may be taking the worst of it. The S&P 500 was down 4% in morning trading, worse than the drops for other major stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,520 points, or 3.6%, as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.0% lower.

The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit Myanmar nearly a week ago rose Thursday to 3,085 as search and rescue teams found more bodies, the military-led government said, and humanitarian aid groups scrambled to provide survivors medical care and shelter. In a short statement, the military said another 4,715 people have been injured and 341 are missing. The epicenter of Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. It brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges in multiple regions. Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures and with telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, it’s thought the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.

The day after what President Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” has brought a swift and severe backlash in the financial markets, marking what some are calling a “Day of Reckoning” on Wall Street.
Equities took a nosedive on Thursday morning following the President’s sweeping announcement of new retaliatory tariffs, a move that has sparked fears of a full-blown global trade war with far-reaching consequences for the world economy.
As of 9:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 1,162 points, a decline of 2.75%.

A new three-way hypothetical poll for NYC Mayor finds that Democrat Andrew Cuomo would win 43%, Independent Eric Adams would get 13%, and Republican Curtis Sliwa would garner 11%.

JD VANCE: “We do not ask permission from far-left Democrats before we deport illegal immigrants. We do the American people’s business.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu: “We will smash the Iranian terror Axis…. and by doing so we are also protecting Europe”

Former hostage Eliyah Cohen spoke with Channel 12 on Tuesday evening about his harrowing ordeal in captivity. During the interview, he revealed that Raz Bukovza, H’yd, who was abducted from the Nova party and was placed with him and three other hostages on the back of the terrorists’ pickup truck for the trip to Gaza, tried to escape. “I remember him saying: ‘I’m jumping,’ Eliya said. “We tried to convince him not to but he jumped out of the vehicle on the way to Gaza. The terrorists stopped and shot him to death.

WATCH: Footage captures the moment a suspected car bomb malfunctioned and detonated in Amsterdam’s central square. Following a minor explosion, the vehicle burst into flames, an act authorities consider deliberate. This event took place at the exact location where a stabbing attack injured five individuals just days prior.