Trump unveils new tariffs and CDC’s IVF team is eliminated: Morning Rundown

Global markets fall following Trump’s tariff announcements. The CDC team that tracked IVF across the country was eliminated. And a college student who was the subject of a viral rumor amplified by prominent figures said it “ruined” her life.

Here’s what to know today.

Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on major trade partners

President Donald Trump announced expansive tariffs on the United States’ largest trading partners impacting billions, if not trillions, of dollars in trade. China would be hit with a 54% tariff, the European Union with 20%, India with 26% and Japan with 24%, among many others. The White House arrived at the percentages based on how it is calculating duties on U.S. exports, as well as “nonmonetary” trade barriers based on things like countries’ manipulating their currencies or serving as “pollution havens,” but it was not immediately clear how the exact numbers were calculated.

China said it would “resolutely take countermeasures” against the U.S., with the Chinese Commerce Ministry calling Trump’s latest move “a typical act of unilateral bullying.” The European Union threatened countermeasures by mid-April, and Canada warned last week that it was preparing retaliatory moves.

The Trump administration has signaled it is uninterested in diplomacy, raising the odds that foreign leaders will hit back with more levies of their own rather than pressing for talks. In other words, this trade war is just getting started, NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans and business and data correspondent Brian Cheung wrote in an analysis. 

“This is a game changer, not only for the U.S. economy, but for the global economy,” Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said in a note yesterday evening. “Many countries will likely end up in a recession.”

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, Trump slammed what he said were “much higher” import taxes on goods coming from the U.S. compared to what the U.S. had charged other countries for their exports. He argued that the U.S. has been getting “ripped off” by other nations while working-class wages languished. With these new tariffs, American industry “will be reborn,” the president said, touting a new “golden age of America.”

But the tariffs won’t provide an immediate jolt to the economy. Instead, they’re expected to take a toll on many companies whose products rely on global supply chains and now could be forced to raise prices or endure thinner profit margins. The White House has warned of some pain ahead for consumers and businesses but said it is a trade-off that will be worthwhile eventually.

Read the full story here, and follow our live blog for the latest reactions and fallout.

More tariffs coverage:

• Global markets reacted negatively, and initial market indications showed many investors had expected tariffs to be far less expansive. 
• Trump signed an executive order to end the de minimis trade loophole, which allows shipments worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free, effective May 2.
• Consumers are racing to purchase new cars before new tariffs take effect.
• Massive 46% tariffs on imports from Vietnam could hit brands like Nike, American Eagle and Wayfair that have moved some or all of their production out of China.
• The Senate voted 51-48 to pass a resolution to block Trump’s Canadian tariffs from taking effect, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing the measure, but it’s not likely to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House. 

The CDC’s IVF team is gutted in sweeping HHS layoffs

Public health experts and IVF advocates said they are shocked at the elimination of the CDC’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance team — a group of six epidemiologists, data analysts and researchers that tracked how well in vitro fertilization worked across the U.S. Their layoffs were part of the sweeping cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services and come just a week after President Donald Trump declared himself “the fertilization president” while touting efforts to expand IVF. 

The team worked under the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, which was also gutted this week, and was responsible for monitoring and tracking outcomes related to IVF. It also maintained an “IVF success estimator,” a tool that allowed people to estimate how well IVF would work for them and contained data about clinics’ success rates across the country. 

“This is a big handicap for the administration as they embrace IVF and want to expand coverage,” said Barbara Collura, the president and CEO of a nonprofit group for reproductive health. An HHS official said the “work will continue” but did not provide details. Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Republicans said they’re not panicking despite a loss in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and decreased margins in a pair of special House elections in Florida.
• Senate Republicans released a new budget blueprint that would pave the way for $1.5 trillion in new tax cuts, in addition to making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent. 
• Amazon made a late bid to purchase TikTok ahead of the Saturday deadline for TikTok to sell or divest its U.S. business.
• The White House will use real eggs for its annual Easter Egg Roll despite concerns over egg prices and a strain on supply.

College student says viral rumor has ruined her life

A 19-year-old University of Mississippi student who was the subject of an internet rumor amplified by notable figures including popular ESPN host and analyst Pat McAfee is speaking out, saying the barrage of harassment she received has “ruined” her life. It’s “the worst feeling in the world,” Mary Kate Cornett said in an interview with NBC News’ Tom Llamas. “It makes you feel so alone. It’s a horrible experience.” 

Cornett said her friends first told her about a rumor that was spreading on an anonymous messaging app called YikYak, about a student in her sorority who was sleeping with her boyfriend’s father. Eventually, she saw that her name was a trending topic on X. The rumor referenced on “The Pat McAfee Show” alleged a “ménage à trois” at Ole Miss, but Cornett and her boyfriend were not mentioned by name in the show. After Cornett’s number was shared online, she said she was overwhelmed with “thousands” of calls and texts, with some telling her she “deserved to die.” 

Cornett said she intends to take legal action against McAfee and ESPN, and potentially others who, she said, helped spread the rumor. “I’m not a public figure that you can go talk about on your show to get more views,” she said. Read the full story here.

Read All About It 

One person was killed and 10 others were injured as tornadoes and severe weather struck the Midwest and mid-South, destroying buildings, toppling semis and train cars, and tearing down trees.

The federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were permanently dismissed.

The wealthiest Americans have roughly the same lifespans as those of some of the poorest Europeans, a new study found.

DMVs across the country could be overcrowded or have long wait times amid the rush to apply for a Real ID before the May deadline for domestic air travel.

A shingles vaccination may offer some protection against dementia, a new study suggests.

Staff Pick: One way to go to the big game — without going to the big game

As an Arsenal soccer fan living more than 5,000 away in Los Angeles, I wanted a place to see the Gunners face Aston Villa earlier this season. My options were to watch alone at home, in a crowded bar or at a new venue called Cosm. I tried the latter and my mind was blown.

Thanks to proprietary technology that includes cameras shooting live in 12K resolution, I was instantly transported to Villa Park in England. On an 87-foot diameter LED screen, players appeared super close. Crowd noise from the stadium filled the air as if you were part of the supporters’ section. It was the closest I’d get to actually being there. I returned to Cosm — which currently has locations in L.A. and Dallas, with Detroit and Atlanta opening in the coming months — to check out the NCAA Tournament. I left with the same feeling: This is the next big thing in sports viewership. — Greg Rosenstein, sports editor

NBCU Academy: How strangers are connecting through pop-up choirs 

York vocal coach Matt Goldstein never anticipated a gathering of his friends singing pop songs in his living room would become a viral sensation. But that 2021 meetup has evolved into Gaia Music Collective, which now organizes pop-up singing groups around the country. Last year, Gaia gathered over 16,000 people for open-mic sessions, circle sings and popular one-day choirs. Anyone is welcome to join and belt out familiar hits including Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”

“There’s a hunger for this,” Goldstein said of Gaia. “It’s going to go so much further than we’ll ever know.”

See how Gaia is bringing strangers together through song.

NBCU Academy is a free, award-winning education program for developing new skills and advancing careers in journalism, media and tech.

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

NBC Select editor Jordan Bowman has been seeing hiking sneakers around New York City, so he rounded up some of his favorite hiking shoes from brands like La Sportiva, Salomon, Hoka and more. Plus, here are the best affordable air purifiers that can work in different spaces around your home.

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