On today’s show: Reuters reports that the world is on the brink of a trade war. USA Today explains what it all means for our wallets. Is flying less safe right now? Zach Wichter with USA Today answers the key questions. Semafor’s David Weigel unpacks what the selection of a new Democratic National Committee chair means for the future of the party. Plus, Elon Musk now has access to a crucial Treasury Department payment system, the NBA trade that shocked the entire league, and the Grammy Awards’ biggest winners. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.
Chapter 1: What is the latest on the trade war and its implications?
Good morning. It's Monday, February 3rd. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the latest on last week's plane crash. Democrats pick a new leader and Beyonce finally wins album of the year.
But first, the Trump administration says it's hitting pause on sweeping tariffs on Mexico for a month while the two countries negotiate an agreement on security and trade.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that she had a, quote, good conversation with President Trump and is committed to having 10,000 National Guard troops at the border to block the flow of drugs like fentanyl into the U.S.,
This is a last-hour change to what was gearing up to be a major trade war, with Trump threatening 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada and a 10% tariff on goods coming from China. As of now, tomorrow's tariff deadline still stands for Canada and China, and leaders there have said they plan to retaliate.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau published a detailed list of American goods that his country plans to tariff, specifically items from Republican-led states, taxing everything from Tennessee's whiskey to Florida's oranges and Kentucky's peanut butter. And some places say they'll no longer buy American beer and liquor.
Prime Minister Trudeau spoke directly to the American people over the weekend, saying tariffs on his country's goods will hurt American consumers.
Tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk. potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities.
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Chapter 2: How will tariffs affect American consumers?
Experts warn the auto industry could take among the hardest hits. Canada produces more than 3,000 cars a day, 90% of which go to Americans. NBC News spoke with one worker at an automotive shop in New Jersey, who said that more expensive car parts inevitably means more expensive servicing of cars as well.
Oil changes mainly. That'll be the first noticeable one. An average oil change on most vehicles now anywhere between $50 to $80. It's probably going to end up over $100.
And that's the key to understand about tariffs. They are a tax, first paid by American companies who import the products, but then passed on to the consumer. Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the United States, told ABC News' Face the Nation that the tariffs are perplexing for Canadians.
This is not something that Canada wants to do. We are actually interested in being and continuing to be your best customer. We buy more from you than any other country on the planet. And we love our American products. So we support 8 million jobs in the United States through the exports that you send to us. Let's keep that going and let's build on that.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico go against the terms of the North American trade agreement that Trump signed in 2020. Now, Trump says the reason for the tariffs is because Canada and Mexico haven't done enough to curb the flow of fentanyl or migrants to the U.S. NPR fact-checked some of these claims and found that less than 1% of the fentanyl that makes its way into the U.S. comes from Canada.
As for Mexico, Trump suggested the Mexican government is complicit in working with cartels to get illegal drugs into the country. Lots of fact-checkers have rejected that claim. Here's how ABC News' Matt Rivers put it.
Look, the Trump administration is correct when they say that corruption has allowed drug cartels here to flourish. It is systemic here in Mexico, and it has been for decades. But it's one thing to say organized crime and corruption is a problem. It's another thing to say the Mexican government has officially allied itself with these cartels.
And according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the amount of fentanyl making its way into the country from the southern border is way down. That is thanks in part to increased cooperation with Mexico under its new president, Claudia Scheinbaum. So what will this all mean for you and your wallet? USA Today has a good breakdown of costs you could expect to go up.
From Canada, it could be everything from aluminum to cotton, cereal, and milk products. From Mexico, if tariffs do get enacted in the future, it could impact what you spend on tomatoes, coffee, tea, avocados, and tequila. And the Home Builders Association is warning that higher lumber costs will likely lead to higher home prices.
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Chapter 3: Is it safe to fly right now after recent aviation incidents?
Chapter 4: What does the future hold for the Democratic National Committee?
Chapter 5: How are tariffs impacting the auto industry?
Oil changes mainly. That'll be the first noticeable one. An average oil change on most vehicles now anywhere between $50 to $80. It's probably going to end up over $100.
Chapter 6: What are the potential costs of a trade war with Canada and Mexico?
And that's the key to understand about tariffs. They are a tax, first paid by American companies who import the products, but then passed on to the consumer. Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the United States, told ABC News' Face the Nation that the tariffs are perplexing for Canadians.
This is not something that Canada wants to do. We are actually interested in being and continuing to be your best customer. We buy more from you than any other country on the planet. And we love our American products. So we support 8 million jobs in the United States through the exports that you send to us. Let's keep that going and let's build on that.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico go against the terms of the North American trade agreement that Trump signed in 2020. Now, Trump says the reason for the tariffs is because Canada and Mexico haven't done enough to curb the flow of fentanyl or migrants to the U.S. NPR fact-checked some of these claims and found that less than 1% of the fentanyl that makes its way into the U.S. comes from Canada.
As for Mexico, Trump suggested the Mexican government is complicit in working with cartels to get illegal drugs into the country. Lots of fact-checkers have rejected that claim. Here's how ABC News' Matt Rivers put it.
Look, the Trump administration is correct when they say that corruption has allowed drug cartels here to flourish. It is systemic here in Mexico, and it has been for decades. But it's one thing to say organized crime and corruption is a problem. It's another thing to say the Mexican government has officially allied itself with these cartels.
And according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the amount of fentanyl making its way into the country from the southern border is way down. That is thanks in part to increased cooperation with Mexico under its new president, Claudia Scheinbaum. So what will this all mean for you and your wallet? USA Today has a good breakdown of costs you could expect to go up.
From Canada, it could be everything from aluminum to cotton, cereal, and milk products. From Mexico, if tariffs do get enacted in the future, it could impact what you spend on tomatoes, coffee, tea, avocados, and tequila. And the Home Builders Association is warning that higher lumber costs will likely lead to higher home prices.
A potential trade war has also rattled Wall Street, with some investors worried that it could lead to inflation and slow U.S. growth. Like we just saw with Mexico, it seems like Trump is willing to reconsider tariffs if he's given the right kind of concessions. And he said this is just the start. He intends to put tariffs on chips, pharmaceuticals, oil, gas, steel, aluminum, and copper soon.
Family members of those who died in the crash between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., gathered yesterday at the crash site as bodies were still being recovered. Many are demanding answers as to how the crash occurred. So far, here's what we know.
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Chapter 7: How does the aviation industry ensure safety amidst incidents?
That's the last time the party was figuring out what to do when Trump won. Instead, Semaphore senior political reporter David Weigel says this race was more existential.
Chapter 8: What insights does Zach Wichter provide about air travel safety?
They're not saying the party needs to move to the left, the party needs to move to the right. It's really the party has lost faith with people. How do we fix it and how do we make it effective?
One part of that answer, according to the Democrats that Weigel spoke with, is messaging.
We need to go into more conservative media. We need to go on podcasts. But it's not like we're going to recreate conservative media or we're going to recreate sort of nonpolitical podcasts that have moved to the right, like Joe Rogan's. It's that, what is it about our party? Something is wrong with our party where they don't want to associate with us.
The listeners of those shows think we're lame, think we're irritating.
The new DNC chair, Ken Martin, says that he'll kick off a review process to fully assess how the party has gotten things so wrong. And he'll make sure the party has the resources it needs to ensure Democrats win in upcoming elections. One of the party's first tests will be in statewide and national races in the 2026 midterms. And after that, the 2028 primary.
Martin has promised a transparent process in his role overseeing it. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is butting heads against some major U.S. departments and agencies. First at the Treasury Department, after Musk's team was given access to a system that disperses $6 trillion in payments every year.
That money goes to everything from Social Security and Medicare to salaries for federal personnel and tax refunds. The decision to grant Musk's team access to the system prompted a standoff between him and a 30-year Treasury veteran, who ultimately retired as a result of the move.
Musk claimed that his team was shutting down payments to federal contractors, but the Treasury Department did not clarify his level of access. Then, the Trump administration removed two top security officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development, also known as USAID, after they initially refused to let Musk's team access their systems.
CNN reports that people from Musk's office physically tried to access the USAID headquarters and threatened to call the U.S. Marshals. They were eventually let in. After reports of the encounter, Musk called USAID a criminal organization and said, quote, "...time for it to die." The Washington Post describes USAID as the world's largest provider of food assistance.
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