Trump news at a glance: president hails progress on Ukraine war and threatens India with steep tariffs

Trump hails ‘progress’ after Witkoff meets Putin

Donald Trump has claimed “great progress was made” during talks on ending the war in Ukraine between his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday. The three-hour talks came two days before a deadline the US president set for Russia to reach a peace deal in the war or face fresh sanctions.

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Trump threatens 50% tariffs on India

The White House is placing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing total tariffs up to 50%, in retaliation for the country’s purchase of oil from Russia, according to an executive order signed on Wednesday morning.

India has 21 days to respond to the potential tariffs before they go into effect. The tariffs will be tacked on to a 25% tariff on India Donald Trump set last week as a “penalty” for the country’s trading relationship with Russia.

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Apple to invest $100bn in US manufacturing, Trump says

Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated a commitment by Apple to increase its investments in US manufacturing by an additional $100bn over the next four years.

Apple’s plan to up its domestic investment comes as it seeks to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs, which would increase the tech giant’s costs as it relies on a complex international supply chain to produce its iPhones.

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Trump plans 100% tariffs on chips but spares companies ‘building in US’

Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on foreign computer chips, likely raising the cost of electronics, autos, household appliances and other goods deemed essential for the digital age.

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Texas redistricting standoff escalates with bomb threat

Texas Democrats who left the state say they experienced a bomb threat at their Illinois hotel amid an ongoing clash with Republicans over their effort to block a new congressional map from going into place.

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Report reveals abuse of women and children at Ice facilities

A new report has found hundreds of reported cases of human rights abuses in US immigration detention centers. The alleged abuses uncovered include deaths in custody, physical and sexual abuse of detainees, denial of access to attorneys, and child separation.

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Border patrol agents ambush people at LA Home Depot

The report comes on the same day that US border patrol agents carried out a raid outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with officers jumping out of an unmarked rental truck and chasing and arresting more than a dozen people. The raid raised questions about whether the US government was complying with a federal court order.

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Trump administration freezes $584m in grants for ‘life-saving research’ at UCLA

In a sweeping escalation of its attacks on institutions of higher education, Trump administration has suspended $584m in federal funding for the University of California, Los Angeles – nearly double the amount that was previously expected, the school’s chancellor announced on Wednesday.

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JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip

JD Vance’s team had the army corps of engineers take the unusual step of changing the outflow of a lake in Ohio to accommodate a recent boating excursion on a family holiday, the Guardian has learned.

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