Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
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What are the key political developments affecting the US government shutdown?
Democrats clear the way for the GOP funding bill, ending the threat of a government shutdown. Plus, with America's commitment to NATO suddenly in doubt, European leaders grapple with the unthinkable, facing Russia alone.
Europe relies on the US for the backbone of fighting, communications, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, things that it's still possible to fight without them, but it's kind of like fighting blind.
And the price of gold reaches a record high. It's Friday, March 14th. I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Senate Democrats are planning to help advance a Republican measure to fund the government in a vote this afternoon ending the threat of a shutdown Democrats had struggled for days on how to approach the GOP bill which gives the Trump administration more flexibility to downsize and dismantle federal agencies Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there was no good option, adding he would back the GOP measure because the prospect of a shutdown was worse. Siobhan Hughes covers Congress for the Journal.
Schumer's decision is a politically risky one. He is set to lose more than half of the Democratic caucus as he votes in favor of the Republican bill. to keep the government open. A shutdown, Schumer argued, would give President Trump even greater power to lay off federal workers beyond those in agencies he has already targeted.
Senate Republican leaders have scheduled a procedural vote for this afternoon. Without action, the government will shut down at one minute past midnight on Saturday, furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers and stopping non-essential services. At the same time, two judges have now ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were fired at a number of federal agencies. As we mentioned on our PM show, a US district judge in California yesterday ruled that probationary workers from six federal departments including agriculture and veterans affairs, should be offered their jobs back immediately, describing their firing as a sham. Later in the day, a US district judge in Maryland issued a similar ruling in a case brought by 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, saying employees at 18 agencies should get their jobs back.
Why is the Trump administration appealing to the Supreme Court on birthright citizenship?
The Trump administration has brought its plan to restrict birthright citizenship to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to scale back lower court orders, blocking the president's decree of denying citizenship to children born in the US to parents without legal residency. Although the case is in preliminary stages, the emergency request will force the justices to weigh in on one of the most aggressive moves made by the new administration. The 14th Amendment provides, quote, all persons born or naturalised in the US and subject of the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States. In an Inauguration Day order, Trump asserted that children born to people lacking permanent residency aren't subject to US jurisdiction and therefore don't hold citizenship, essentially arguing that the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment is mistaken. Turning to markets now, and gold rallied overnight to reach a record high of $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time ever.
What is causing the price of gold to reach record highs?
Prices for gold have been rising sharply over the past year, with the yellow metal having already surpassed the 2025 price target set by many Wall Street forecasters. Journal Europe finance editor Alex Frangos says there's a few things driving gold higher.
One is there's a lot of uncertainty in the world and gold is, you know, a millennia old safe haven for investors. There's concern about the economy going into a recession, interest rates falling. And when interest rates are going down, that makes gold more attractive. The last thing is gold is a speculative asset. It is used for certain things like jewelry and microchips, but most demand for gold is people thinking that gold is going to be worth more tomorrow than it is today. And when that frenzy starts, it takes on a life of its own.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What are the key political developments affecting the US government shutdown?
0:03–2:44
2
Why is the Trump administration appealing to the Supreme Court on birthright citizenship?
2:44–3:53
3
What is causing the price of gold to reach record highs?
3:53–5:27
4
What led to Donatella Versace stepping down as creative director?
5:27–6:32
5
Can Europe defend itself against Russian aggression without US support?
6:32–12:29
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from WSJ What’s News
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