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Apr 24, 2025 - World

State’s nominal GDP reaches $4.1tn, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn, ranking it behind the US, China and GermanyCalifornia’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, making the Golden state the fourth largest economy in the world, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday.The state’s nominal GDP reached $4.1tn, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn nominal GDP. California now ranks behind the US at $29.18tn, China at $18.74tn and Germany at $4.65tn. Continue reading...

Apr 24, 2025 - World

Former NATO commander James Stavridis claimed Russia's devastating attack on Kyiv was a "message" to President Donald Trump, who claimed on Thursday he was putting pressure on Vladimir Putin. At an Oval Office news conference with Norway's prime minister, Trump said his U.S.-brokered peace deal would give Crimea and 20 percent of Ukraine over to Russia, but said he was stopping Putin from "taking the whole country" as a concession.At least 12 people were killed and 90 were injured early Thursday, in one of the deadliest attacks on Ukraine's capital in nearly a year, according to The New York Times. Trump put out a TruthSocial post shortly afterward saying, "Vladimir, STOP!” and calling the strikes, “Not necessary, and very bad timing." ALSO READ: 'We know where this leads': How Trump’s crackdown puts Jewish people in peril Admiral Stavridis told CNN's Boris Sanchez, "I hate to say it, but it looks to me like a signal to the White House that, 'You're not calling my shots for me.' And it really...feels like kind of thumbing your nose at President Trump. And I think that's why President Trump, quite correctly, indicated that he's not happy, he's angry, he's contemplating action." Stavridis continued, "What I took away from his body language and discussion is that the administration will look at further sanctions, would look at perhaps sending more armaments to Ukraine — I certainly hope that's the case, because at the moment, Vladimir Putin is playing rope-a-dope, and this most recent volley of strikes right in the middle of the Trump team trying to get to a negotiation, looks extremely disrespectful to the president." Trump was roundly criticized Thursday afternoon, with at least one pundit calling Trump's social media post "laughable."Republican commentator Ana Navarro told CNN she didn't think Putin felt "threatened at all" by Trump's "mild" post, while on MSNBC, American diplomat Ned Price called Trump's Oval Office comments about the Russia-Ukraine situation, "a lot of bluster and a lot of lies." Watch the clip below via CNN.

Apr 24, 2025 - World

A business reporter warned that Americans are a few weeks away from seeing empty shelves in stores due to President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with China. Christine Romans, senior business correspondent for NBC News, provided an update on the market's response to Trump's shift in language with China. "The thing here is that the tone is the only thing that has changed," Romans explained, saying that the news is focusing on the "words" and "attitude" of the president changing. "There's not actual concrete details to be reacting to," she said. "So, the market is responding to a tone shift from the president, where just a week or so ago, he was saying, 'If you don't want to tariff, make it in America.' It's my way or the highway. And now he's saying, well, no, it's not going to be 150%. So, the market is up today. It was up yesterday."ALSO READ: 'We’ve made a mistake': Trump’s trade war sends GOP into frenzyShe explained that Trump's "Liberation Day" press conference at the beginning of April happened in conjunction with a Dow over 42,000. "So, you've seen these huge moves in the market. Put it in perspective, you're down 7% since this trade war began, with no meaningful difference here, especially with China," Romans said. "China is the big story here. No meaningful progress or difference here — other than the words the president is saying and the tone he is taking."However, she also issued a warning that Americans can expect to see it beyond just an increase in prices. "The shippers are saying — one major shipper this morning confirming that there are 30% fewer containers on the water today than a year ago, 30% fewer!" she added. "There's no way Americans don't feel that and see that in store shelves in the coming weeks."See the comments below or at the link here. - YouTube youtu.be

Apr 24, 2025 - World

American diplomat Ned Price, who served as deputy to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, blasted President Donald Trump's "pernicious lies" made at a Thursday Oval Office news conference with Norway's prime minister. MSNBC anchor Chris Jansen introduced Price by recapping Trump's comments about giving Crimea plus 20 percent of Ukraine over to Russia, but stopping Putin from "taking the whole country." "Do you hear a deal there that's acceptable?" she asked. "Let's be clear about what we just heard," Price began. "It was a lot of bluster and a lot of lies. And I'm glad you started where you did, because I think one of the most pernicious lies that we just heard was this idea that President Trump is putting pressure on President Putin." ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat' Price continued, "President Trump is right that he is exerting a strategy of carrots and sticks. The problem is that it's all carrots for Russia, and it's all sticks for Ukraine. And I say that because, going back to the start of this process...you might recall, President Zelensky's visit to that very room, the Oval Office, when he was berated by President Trump, thrown out of the White House, and after that, the administration halted security assistance." Price claimed that the gap in security and intelligence assistance "had a practical impact on the ground, and it cost Ukrainian lives." Regarding the peace deal, Price claimed, "The problem is that this would not be a just peace, this would be, again, capitulation; this would be appeasement rather than peace." Price warned that as it stands, the U.S.-brokered deal "would do nothing but incentivize President Putin, and dictators, and wannabe dictators the world over to attempt to undertake the same type of territorial aggression that has cost Ukraine so much in terms of blood and treasure." Watch the clip below via CNN.

Apr 24, 2025 - World

A Washington Post opinion editor cited Elon Musk's "skeevy approach to parenthood" to argue that the tech entrepreneur and father of 14 is not all that good with numbers.David Von Drehle recounted a "copiously documented report in the Wall Street Journal" about Musk's desire to populate the planet that led to his lightbulb moment.Musk's "growing concern that only an army of paid surrogates can produce enough of his babies to populate the 'legion' required to stave off the 'apocalypse" was one big red flag, according to Von Drehle."To think that one dumpy 53-year-old nerd is called by fate to stem the demographic tide of humankind is … bad math, to say the least," Von Drehle wrote. "Suppose Musk and his fantasy army of surrogates begin producing 10 children per day, every day, until he’s 80, 26 years from now."ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'Von Drehle added, "Yuck — sorry to paint that picture. But also: Those efforts would produce fewer babies, total (almost 95,000), than will be born between midnight tonight and tomorrow at 7 a.m. (about 105,000)."In addition, "Others who have followed Musk’s obsession with travel to Mars are already aware of his trouble with concepts such as distance and time," Von Drehle wrote."The innumeracy of Elon Musk would be a matter between him, his investors, his breeding partners and their offspring — but for his involvement in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has sown chaos across the federal government in pursuit of savings he seems unable to count," Von Drehle wrote. "His initial promise of $2 trillion in cuts has already deflated to $150 billion, meaning he was off by a factor of 13-plus in the space of a few months."Von Drehle concluded that Musk is no math genius, and doesn't understand "that what he is saying just doesn’t add up."Read The Washington Post opinion column here.