Donald Trump’s revived plan to slap a 10% tariff on all US imports, circumventing Congress via a 1974 law, could, according to the Peterson Institute, nudge household budgets up by $2,500 a year as prices ripple through everything from groceries to gadgets. Though billed as a cure for the trade deficit, tariffs have a habit of behaving less like medicine and more like a new tax on shoppers.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
Donald Trump abruptly sacked Kristi Noem as Homeland Security chief, swapping her for Oklahoma senator and erstwhile cage-fighter Markwayne Mullin, though actual immigration policy remains Stephen Miller’s unruly offspring. Mass detentions have spiked to 70,000 people—children included—despite legal limits and bipartisan outcry, with fatalities mounting and new jails mushrooming in El Paso and beyond. Still, the administration’s ambitions show no sign of letting bureaucracy get in the way.
New York’s city government has renewed its entente with the Hotel Association, signing a $1.86bn deal to shelter homeless families in hotel rooms through 2027—a lifeline for some 85,000 nightly seekers. While officials tout flexibility and readiness in emergencies, critics such as Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute grumble that the no-bid contract isn’t much competition—except, perhaps, for tourists seeking a decent rate in Manhattan.
New York’s annual budget melodrama resumes as the Assembly and Senate advance counteroffers to Governor Kathy Hochul’s $263bn proposal, demanding higher taxes for millionaires and corporations, plus extra largesse for cities like Buffalo and Rochester. The governor banks on buoyant Wall Street returns to avoid tax hikes, while lawmakers double down on spending. With both sides still playing hardball, compromise may prove the budget’s rarest asset.
Fleeing the scene has become a national pastime for American drivers: a AAA study found 919,000 hit-and-runs reported in 2023—leaving 242,000 injured and nearly 3,000 dead, with New York and its neighbours faring little better than the rest. The unlicensed and the nameless predominate among culprits, but the AAA’s faith in smarter roads and watchful cameras suggests even escape artists may soon have their day in court.