Trump explains his 90-day pause for most countries — with the exception of China

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was open to providing exemptions for certain U.S. companies hit especially hard by tariffs through no fault of their own. 

The president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon and were asked repeatedly about the effect their tariff moves have had on financial markets and whether they will let their recent declines affect future trade decisions. 

Trump was asked specifically if he would consider “exempting” some larger U.S. companies that have been hit especially hard by the new tariffs, and the president said he would consider it. 

“I’ll take a look at it as time goes by. We’re going to take a look at it,” Trump responded. “There are some that have been hard — there are some that, by the nature of the company, get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that.”

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When asked how he would determine which companies might receive such an exemption, Trump responded, “Instinctively.”

“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct than anything else,” Trump added. “Some companies, through no fault of their own, they happen to be in an industry that is more affected by these things than others. You have to be able to show a little flexibility, and I’m able to do that.

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“You have to have flexibility,” Trump said Wednesday. “I could say, ‘Here’s a wall, and I’m going to go through that wall. I’m going to go through it, no matter what. Keep going, and you can’t go through the wall. Sometimes you have to be able to go under the wall, around the wall or over the wall.”  

After the president’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, which included a 10% universal tariff on all imported goods and higher “reciprocal” tariffs targeting other countries like China and the European Union, the Trump administration did release a list of carve-outs related to roughly $644 billion in imports, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The exemptions include $185 billion in goods from Canada and Mexico, but the countries remain subject to other tariffs, according to the report.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS AGAINST TARIFF RETALIATION, SAYS TRUMP ‘HAS SPINE OF STEEL AND HE WILL NOT BREAK’

Additionally, the Trump administration has exempted certain industries, such as the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, from new tariffs, but the president has signaled that could change. These sectors and others are facing an ongoing probe, called a Section 232 investigation, according to Market Watch, to assess the need for imposing tariffs.

No matter the outcome of the investigation, it appears Trump has his sights set on placing higher tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. He told an audience at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee Tuesday night that “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” would be announced very soon. 

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The White House declined to comment for this article.

Man who threatened ICE agents, DHS Secretary Noem seen in tears after judge’s ruling

A Texas man charged with making online threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was ordered by a judge on Wednesday to remain in jail.

Robert King, 35, who was charged with transmitting interstate threats in federal court on Monday, was ordered to stay in detention by U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver after a hearing in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon, Fox News confirmed.

Toliver said King is a flight risk and a risk to the community, which solidified her ruling, despite his attorney arguing that he had no prior charges, no weapons and had been seeking treatment for mental health issues, including depression and suicidal thoughts.

King was upset by the ruling and was seen crying as he left the courtroom.

TEXAS MAN WHO VOWED TO SHOOT, KILL ICE AGENTS, SAID NOEM SHOULD BE IN ‘GULAG,’ CHARGED IN FEDERAL COURT: DOJ 

King was arrested in McKinney, Texas, on March 29 after he allegedly posted threats on Facebook towards ICE agents and Noem.

In the first post, King shared a PBS NewsHour article and wrote: “I truly hope, and I mean this with all my heart, that Kristi Noem meets a horrible and agonizing demise I hope she is tried in a war criminal court with the rest of the Nazis when this is all over and I hope she is ripped apart in a gulag. Nothing less for a Nazi scum. This is America now a Nazi fascist state. Disgusting.”

He then threatened to kill ICE agents in a second post, where he described them as “a secret police force with no real legal authority,” adding that he is “opening fire” on them if he sees agents in his neighborhood. A few days later, he doubled down on the threat.

MAN CHARGED WITH MAKING THREATS AGAINST ICE AGENTS, DHS SEC KRISTI NOEM IN ‘ALARMING’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS 

“Just wanna double down on what I said the other day: if ICE comes to your neighborhood, f****** shoot them and kill them. No mercy for the Gestapo,” King wrote, according to federal prosecutors.

During his Wednesday hearing, a government attorney said King’s social media threats came to light through the national FBI tip line. 

King was also living with his sister and brother-in-law, who is currently a police officer and a former Customs and Border Protection agent, when he allegedly made the threats, which resulted in him being thrown out of the house.

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King will remain in Kaufman County detention, though his attorney wants to transfer him elsewhere so he has access to mental health and other medications.  

US warships get new route as China loses grip on Panama Canal

The United States and Panama have officially signed a new defense and security pact aimed at reinforcing control over the Panama Canal, a move that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims is critical to pushing back against China’s growing grip in the region.

In a press release posted Wednesday night on X, the Panama Canal Authority confirmed that Panama’s Minister for Canal Affairs and Hegseth signed a joint declaration that reaffirms Panamanian sovereignty and outlines new military cooperation.

The deal “reaffirms respect for, and the recognition of, Panamanian sovereignty over the interoceanic waterway,” the Canal Authority stated. 

It also upholds both nations’ commitment to the Neutrality Treaty and the legal framework that governs canal operations, including Panama’s Constitution, the treaty itself, and the Canal’s Organic Law.

​​HEGSETH SAYS PANAMA AGREED TO ALLOW US WARSHIPS TO TRAVEL ‘FIRST AND FREE’ THROUGH CANAL

But the declaration goes beyond words. It lays out plans for a cost-sharing model to cover services provided to U.S. warships and auxiliary vessels, with the goal of keeping it “cost-neutral.”
 

“Efforts will be made [to] develop a mechanism which will allow compensation for services provided to warships and auxiliary vessels, seeking a cost-neutral basis,” the statement reads. “This mechanism will be evaluated jointly with the Ministry of Security of Panama.”

According to Hegseth, a broader framework is also in the works, one that would guarantee U.S. warships “first and free” passage through the Panama Canal.

Hegseth announced Wednesday that U.S. and Panamanian officials had already signed a memorandum of understanding, and that a final document is on the way to formally secure toll-free priority for American naval vessels.

The Canal Authority, meanwhile, emphasized that this agreement is just the start. “The declaration constitutes a first step in establishing this model, which will be developed in later stages.”

US, PANAMA ‘TAKING BACK’ CANAL FROM ‘CHINA’S INFLUENCE,’ SAYS HEGSETH

While the U.S. builds up its military coordination, the Panama Canal Authority confirmed that collaboration already includes “engineering, security, and cybersecurity,” key focus areas for both governments as they push back against foreign interference.

The move comes just as the U.S. prepares to deploy the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, to the region in a show of presence and partnership.

Earlier this week, Hegseth visited U.S. troops, met with Panamanian officials, and toured the canal. He warned sharply that China’s reach in the Western Hemisphere is already too big, and still growing.

“Make no mistake, Beijing is investing and operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain,” Hegseth said. “They operate military facilities and ground stations that extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China’s global military ambitions. China’s factory fishing fleets are stealing food from our nations and from our people.”

Hegseth stressed that war is not the objective. “Together, we must prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China’s threats in this hemisphere,” he said.

He also made clear that the U.S. is taking steps to counter Chinese-controlled infrastructure in Panama.

“China-based companies continue to control critical infrastructure in the canal area,” Hegseth said. “That gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama. This makes Panama and the United States less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign. And as President Donald Trump has pointed out, that situation is not acceptable.”

Hegseth was blunt: “The United States will not allow China to threaten the canal’s operation.” He added, “To this end, the United States and Panama have done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defense and security cooperation than we have in decades.”

Despite the growing military and political coordination, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has publicly denied that China controls the canal.

“I completely reject that statement,” Mulino said, pushing back on earlier claims from the U.S. State Department that a deal had already been reached guaranteeing toll-free passage for U.S. warships. The Canal Authority added that it has “not made any adjustments” to its fee structure.

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Hegseth did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Georgia doctor’s $30 million defamation suit against NBC settled in court

NBCUniversal has finalized its defamation settlement with a Georgia doctor who was repeatedly called a “uterus collector” by MSNBC.

NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC (the latter is currently being spun off as a separate company), settled the $30 million lawsuit filed by Georgia gynecologist Dr. Mahendra Amin. Amin who was the subject of a report claiming he performed unnecessary hysterectomies at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.  

Both parties struck the settlement in February, but the lawsuit was officially dismissed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. The terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed. 

MSNBC PARENT COMPANY NBCUNIVERSAL SETTLES ‘UTERUS COLLECTOR’ LAWSUIT AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES TRIAL

“We are pleased that Dr. Amin is able to move on from his years-long litigation against NBCUniversal,” Amin’s attorneys, Stacey Evans and Scott Grubman, told Fox News Digital. “It is unfortunate that he had to sue to get confirmation of what was known all along—that he did not perform mass hysterectomies on women detained at Irwin County Detention Center. We are glad that the judge found those statements false as a matter of law because, in fact, Dr. Amin performed only two hysterectomies, both of which were medically necessary and consented to by the patients.”

“Dr. Amin is a dedicated physician who has dedicated his entire career to serving underserved communities. The recklessness of NBCUniversal to try to paint him as an evil doctor was disgusting and we are glad they finally settled the case,” they added.

Representatives from NBCUniversal and MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

JUDGE SAYS MADDOW, OTHER MSNBC HOSTS MADE ‘VERIFIABLY FALSE’ STATEMENTS ABOUT DOCTOR SUING FOR DEFAMATION

Amin was the subject of an NBC News article in September 2020, which cited a whistleblower’s claim that he was performing unneeded hysterectomies while providing medical care to women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center. 

MSNBC quickly followed with a series of on-air reports on “Deadline: White House,” “All In with Chris Hayes” and “The Rachel Maddow Show,” all running with the “uterus collector” label for Amin. 

Amin filed a lawsuit against parent company NBCUniversal, alleging he was falsely portrayed as “an abusive, unethical, and dishonest physician who treated and operated on immigrant women in an abusive fashion, without consent, and motivated by profit instead of quality healthcare.”

JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the Southern District of Georgia previously ruled that a jury could reasonably find actual malice and the trial was set to begin April 22, in Waycross, Georgia. In light of the settlement agreement, the court canceled the scheduled trial.

“NBC investigated the whistleblower letter’s accusations; that investigation did not corroborate the accusations and even undermined some; NBC republished the letter’s accusations anyway,” Judge Wood wrote last year in a 108-page summary. 

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Amin believed “false and defamatory” statements published with actual malice that caused him significant damage were said six times on “Deadline: White House,” seven times on “All in with Chris Hayes” and 10 times on “The Rachel Maddow Show.” 

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Nicolle Wallace were among potential witnesses if it reached trial, along with NBC News reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, MSNBC producer Denis Horgan, senior director of stands and practices Mary Lockhart, deputy head of standards Chris Scholl and others. 

Judge Wood previously ruled that multiple statements were proven false, noting “undisputed evidence has established” that “there were no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies at the facility,” “Dr. Amin performed only two hysterectomies on female detainees from the ICDC,” and the doctor is not a “uterus collector.”

DOJ asks to dismiss case for ‘worst of the worst’ alleged MS-13 leader weeks after arrest

The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss its case against a Virginia-based Salvadoran national accused of being an MS-13 leader.

Henrry Jose Villatoro Santos’ only charge in federal court is listed as illegal firearms possession after FBI agents entered his residence in Woodbridge, Virginia — southwest of Washington, D.C. — and confiscated a Taurus, model G2C, 9 mm pistol, as well as three additional firearms, ammunition and two suppressors in a bedroom, according to federal court documents.

“As a terrorist, he will now face the removal process,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday evening.

A Wednesday evening motion to delay the dismissal states that Villatoro Santos’ newly appointed counsel understands “the Government now intends to pursue the deportation of Mr. Villatoro Santos in lieu of prosecution.”

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“The above is a fairly straightforward procedural history,” the defense’s motion, filed by attorney Muhammed Sayed, states. “But in the background of this routine legal process, the United States government, at its highest levels, has been publicly and loudly propagating allegations that Mr. Villatoro Santos ‘is one of the top leaders of MS-13’ and ‘one of the leaders for the East Coast, one of the top in the entire country,’ claims made by Attorney General Pam Bondi at a high-level press conference on March 27, 2025.”

Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel described Villatoro Santos as the top MS-13 leader on the East Coast, during a news conference after his arrest, which they were present for, along with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.

“He will not be living in our country much longer,” Bondi said at the time.

TOP MS-13 LEADER ARRESTED IN VIRGINIA

“They executed a clean, safe operation, and the bad guy is in custody. And thanks to the FBI, we got one of the worst of the worst of the MS-13 off the streets this morning. Virginia and the country is a lot safer today,” Bondi told Fox News after the arrest.

Authorities found a 9 mm pistol, three additional firearms, ammunition and two suppressors in Santos’ bedroom, according to court documents.

Sayed says the government plans to remove him from the U.S. based on an ICE detainer.

“The danger of Mr. Villatoro Santos being unlawfully deported by ICE without due process and removed to El Salvador, where he would almost certainly be immediately detained at one of the worst prisons in the world without any right to contest his removal, is substantial, both in light of the Government’s recent actions and the very public pronouncements in this case,” he wrote in the filing.

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The Trump administration sent another Salvadoran man with protected legal status to El Salvador by mistake in March.

Federal officials removed Kilmar Abrego Garci from Maryland when the administration sent three planeloads of Salvadoran and Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” on March 15 for alleged gang affiliations. 

The White House maintains Garci was a known MS-13 member.

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“These examples are now becoming an everyday occurance,” Sayed aid of the Abrego Garci case.

Villatoro Santos’ attorneys say the requested delay in a dismissal order will give the defendant more time to seek immigration counsel.

Michelle Obama addresses divorce rumors after skipping recent high-profile events

Former first lady Michelle Obama dismissed divorce rumors about her and former President Barack Obama during a podcast interview published Wednesday.

Michelle Obama had attracted attention and even prompted questions about her marriage after skipping recent high-profile events like President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, leaving her husband to attend on his own.

“But the interesting thing is that when I say no, for the most part, people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m okay,’ right?” she told podcast host Sophia Bush of how she spends her time. “And that’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people. I mean so much so that this year people were, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing, you know? This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.”

The former first lady discussed how she has more opportunities now to do things that she really wants to do during the conversation on Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast. 

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“If it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible,” Obama continued.

She said she chose to do what “was best for me,” while saying she operated from “guilt” as a woman.

Obama also talked about how she’s been making more decisions for herself lately during the podcast conversation. 

“Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’ And that changes,” she said. “So, who do I want to have a lunch with? How long do I want to stay in a place? Do I want to travel? If a girlfriend calls and says, ‘Let’s go here,’ I can say, ‘Yes, I can.’ And I’m trying to do that more and more.”

Obama said she still had time for her own projects and issues like education and her husband’s presidential library.

She started her own podcast, “IMO,” alongside her brother Craig Robinson in March. 

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During the first episode, Obama said her husband needed to adjust to leaving the house on time and being punctual.

“Well, Barack, you know, he had to adjust to what ‘on time’ was,” she told Robinson. “I’ve got this husband who’s like, when it’s time to leave — it’s 3:00 — he’s getting up and going to the bathroom. And I was like, dude, dude, 3:00 departure means you’ve done all that, you know?”

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“Don’t start looking for your glasses at the 3:00 departure,” the former first lady said. “But he’s improved over 30 years of marriage, but that was a ‘you must adjust.’”

Former Meta employee tells Congress what social media giant did to help China

A whistleblower on Wednesday told congressional lawmakers that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other executives lied to Congress as Meta actively tried to help China develop artificial intelligence in an effort to win favor with Beijing. 

Sarah Wynn-Williams, who detailed her experience at Meta in the scathing memoir “Careless People,” testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism that she witnessed Zuckerberg and other executives “repeatedly undermine US national security and betray American values,” the New York Post reported. 

Wynn-Williams served as the director of Global Public Policy at Facebook, now Meta, for nearly seven years starting in 2011. She said company executives “did these things in secret to win favor with Beijing and build an $18 billion dollar business in China.” 

Meta allegedly helped China develop advanced artificial intelligence to help outcompete American companies, she said. 

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“We are engaged in a high-stakes AI arms race against China, and during my time at Meta, company executives lied about what they were doing with the Chinese Communist Party to employees, shareholders, Congress, and the American public,” Wynn-Williams will said in her opening statement.

Despite attempts by Meta to discredit her work and stop her from talking, Wynn-Williams’ book shot to the top 10 on Amazon’s best-seller list.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Meta spokesperson said Wynn-Williams’ testimony was “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”

“While Mark Zuckerberg himself was public about our interest in offering our services in China and details were widely reported beginning over a decade ago, the fact is this: we do not operate our services in China today,” the statement said. 

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Among her allegations, Wynn-Williams said Meta’s AI model “has contributed significantly to Chinese advances in AI technologies like DeepSeek.” In addition, Wynn-Williams also said Meta deleted the Facebook account of a prominent Chinese dissident living in the U.S., amid pressure from Beijing.

The account belonged to billionaire Guo Wengui. Meta said it was removed because it violated Facebook’s rules by sharing sensitive information about other people.

“The greatest trick Mark Zuckerberg ever pulled was wrapping the American flag around himself and calling himself a patriot and saying he didn’t offer services in China while he spent the last decade building an $18 billion business there,” Wynn-Williams said. 

Her statement argues that “Meta started briefing the Chinese Communist Party as early as 2015” and those “briefings focused on critical emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.”

“And he continues to wrap the flag around himself as we move into the next era of artificial intelligence.”

In addition to allegedly trying to cozy up with China, Zuckerberg and other tech executives have tried improve their relationship with President Donald Trump, following his election victory last November. 

“This is a man who wears many different costumes,” Wynn-Williams said of Zuckerberg during her testimony. “When I was there, he wanted the president of China to name his first child, he was learning Mandarin, he was censoring to his heart’s content.”

She added that Zuckerberg is now focused on accumulating important contacts. 

“We don’t know what the next costume is gonna be, but it will be something different,” she said. “It’s whatever gets him closest to power.”

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Wednesday’s hearing came days before Meta is slated to go on trial for alleged antitrust violations. 

Weezer bassist’s wife shot by police, booked for attempted murder

Weezer bassist Scott Shriner’s wife, Jillian Lauren Shriner, was shot and wounded by Los Angeles police officers after she allegedly pointed a gun at authorities Tuesday. 

According to a press release issued by the LAPD, multiple officers responded to a request for backup “locating three misdemeanor hit-and-run suspects who fled into a residential neighborhood” Tuesday afternoon. 

When the officers were in the rear of a home where a suspect was last seen running, they saw a female, who was later identified as Shriner’s wife, in the yard of a nearby home.

According to the press release, Jillian, 51, was armed with a handgun and was ordered to drop the weapon “numerous times” by law enforcement. 

WEEZER FAN IN WHEELCHAIR HELD UP BY CONCERTGOERS IN NORTH DAKOTA

“However, she refused,” according to the LAPD.

“However, she refused.”

— LAPD

Jillian then allegedly pointed her gun at the officers before police shot her.

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She retreated back inside her home, later exiting and being taken into custody, according to the LAPD. LAFD paramedics transported Jillian to a hospital, where she was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

According to the LAPD, Jillian was not involved in the hit-and-run and was booked in absentia for attempted murder. A 9mm handgun was recovered from her home, according to police. 

No officers were injured during the shooting. 

Jillian’s bail was set at $1 million by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

Weezer, which includes Shriner, Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell, was recently announced as a surprise performer at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that kicks off April 11. The band is scheduled to perform Saturday. 

A rep for Weezer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Scott and Jillian tied the knot in 2005. They have adopted two children together, according to Page Six.

Jillian is an author who has published books, including “Some Girls: My Life in a Harem” and “Behold the Monster: Confronting America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer.” 

In March, Jillian took to Instagram to share news about her health.

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“Yes, I have a little bit of the C word y’all. I know a lot of us do. I’m here to thank the incredible oncology team here, who pulled me through a complicated operation without a hitch. I am always so grateful for every second of the compassionate, and excellent medical care I receive in my life. Thank you to all the remarkable health care workers, who take our lives in your hands. And let’s all breathe,” she captioned her post.