WHAT GOES UP: Rather than get on the phone to negotiate, China today raised its tariff on US imports to 125 percent, deepening the trade crisis created by President Trump. 

  A Chinese spokesman said his country will not back down and that, “The US cannot win the support of the people and will end in failure.” 

  US farmers and agricultural workers are expected to be hit hard

  Stocks took a dive again yesterday following Trump’s clarification that his tariff on Chinese goods is actually 145 percent, not the 125 percent he declared on Wednesday. The White House issued a statement saying that the 125 percent was in addition to the 20 percent tariff  Trump had imposed on China for its role in feeding the fentanyl crisis.

  The dispute is unravelling a trade relationship that has taken decades to build and made both countries dependent on the other. The US got cheaper goods than what could be made at home and China got money, jobs, and economic development.

  Trump says he wants to deal directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but he’s not calling Xi, and Xi has not called him. 

HOMEWARD BOUND: The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of a legal US resident deported to prison in El Salvador in an admitted “administrative error.” 

  The court’s unsigned order stopped short of outright ordering the administration to bring back Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, indicating that they believe a lower court may not have the power to require the executive branch to obey.  

  “The order properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the Court’s ruling said. “The intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the district court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the district court’s authority.”

  The Trump administration has argued that despite their error, they have no power to bring Garcia back because he’s in the custody of another country.

  The lower court order gave the government until 9:30 this morning to report details on what they are doing to bring Garcia back.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

— President Trump held an open cabinet meeting in front of the press and television cameras during which members of the cabinet praised him for his overwhelming election victory and leadership and assured him that everything is going  just swimmingly under his new administration. It was an effort to show that the administration has nothing to hide and what it revealed was Trump’s cult of admiration.

  Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who is not a member of the cabinet, was present and declared that his Department of Government Efficiency has uncovered $150 billion worth of waste and fraud. 

  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that that he is working with EPA director Lee Zeldin on fluoride in public drinking water following a study from the national toxicity program “of new science that shows a direct inverse correlation between exposure to fluoride and IQ loss, particularly in children.” 

  What Kennedy did not say is what the study findings said, and we quote just as it was printed in boldface: “It is important to note that there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.” 

  Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer claimed that they found 25,000 people over 115 years old collecting $59 million dollars in unemployment benefits as well as people yet to be born.

  Trump congratulated all for doing a great job.

— Despite President Trump’s claim that prices of eggs are dropping, prices rose 5.9 percent last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eggs cost 60 percent more than they did a year ago.

CRASH ON THE RIVER: A family of five and the pilot were killed yesterday when a sightseeing helicopter dropped like a stone straight into the Hudson River off Manhattan. Two passengers were alive when pulled from the river but later died. The dead passengers are Agustín Escobar, a Spanish executive with the technology company Siemens, his wife, and three children, ages 4, 5, and 11. 

  Witnesses said they heard a loud bang and that they believe the chopper lost one of its rotor blades. Video shows the aircraft and some of its parts tumbling end over end as it fell.

THE WAR ROOM: Video taken by both Ukrainian and Russian drones revealed the execution by Russian troops of five surrendering Ukrainian soldiers ordered to lay on the round before being killed. The five are sprayed with bullets then each shot in the head.

  The Russians have done this previously, but the video is some of the most graphic proof of Russian brutality and war crimes. Russia released their own video, but edited out the executions suggesting that the Ukrainians were kept alive.

THE SPIN RACK:  Two American airlines jets, one of them carrying six members of Congress, clipped wings yesterday on the runway at Reagan National Airport in Washington. — Eric Dane, the handsome actor nicknamed “McSteamy” on the long running television series “Grey’s Anatomy,” announced that he has ALS, the crippling neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He’s 52. ALS patients often die within five years of diagnosis. 

BELOW THE FOLD: Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee revealed this week on the Barstool Sports podcast that there is a list of terms that they must use to maintain gentility while covering the Augusta National tournament.

Can’t say: “Fan”
Can say: “Patron”

Can’t say: “Sand trap”
Can say: “Bunker”

Can’t say: “Driving range”
Can say: “Tournament practice facility”

Can’t say: “Back nine”
Can say: “Second nine”

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