March Madness selection panel will have to juggle thanks to SEC overload in bracket

March Madness selection panel will have to juggle thanks to SEC overload in bracket

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

The NCAA selection committee will have some juggling to do before the bracket comes out Sunday to keep March Madness from looking like an extension of the Southeastern Conference’s regular season.

With the country’s deepest league in line to place between 12 and 14 teams in the tournament, some long-held guidelines drawn to help set the matchups will have to give way, bringing the possibility that conference rivals could face each other as early as the second round or the Sweet 16.

“We will move it to try to ensure they don’t play each other too frequently,” the chair of the selection committee, North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham, said Wednesday in a call to preview the selection. “But it is a reality of where we are today.”

The reality is shaped thanks in part to a flurry of realignment that has left college sports with four megaconferences. Three of those will gobble up nearly half of the 68 spots in the tournament. The record for a conference came in 2011 when the Big East placed 11 teams in the bracket.

Some projections have the SEC earning up to 14 spots, the Big Ten getting as many as 10 and the Big 12 earning up to eight. Of those 32 projected spots, seven could go to teams that were in different conferences as recently as 2023 — programs such as Oklahoma, Oregon and BYU.

There will be some big-picture repercussions from all this realignment. In a notable development earlier this week, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark got on board with an idea to expand the tournament to 76 teams in a move that would favor Power Four conferences.

More urgently, though, having so many teams from so few conferences will force the 12 members of the selection committee, who are holed up in a conference room in Indiana this week, to make some nontraditional decisions.

The NCAA bracketing principles frown on teams that have played three times in a season from meeting before the Elite Eight. Likewise, they urge the committee to avoid potential pairings between teams that have played twice coming before the Sweet 16. But, in a tweak that was put in for this season, the principles note that those rules “can be relaxed if a league has nine or more teams in the tournament.”

Cunningham said the committee’s biggest priority will be getting the seedings right, an exercise that could make it more difficult to avoid these early matchups.

“We really try to keep everybody on the same seed line” they’ve earned, he said. “We don’t want to move them to a different seed line because that really does impact the tournament. But it’ll be a little bit trickier this year.”

The SEC’s dominance is showing up not only in the sheer volume of teams but also where they land. Auburn is a lock for a No. 1 seed, with Florida considered a slight favorite to edge out Tennessee and Alabama for another.

Among the biggest questions is whether the top overall seed in the tournament will go to Auburn or Duke, which this week supplanted the Tigers at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The irony there is that Duke is one of only three teams from the ACC projected to make the field of 68, which would mark the hoops powerhouse’s lowest total in 25 years.

US inflation cooled last month, though trade war threatens to lift prices

US inflation cooled last month, though trade war threatens to lift prices

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher.

The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest since April 2021.

The declines were greater than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. Yet inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. And most economists expect inflation will remain elevated this year as Trump’s tariffs kick in.

The report “is encouraging news, though it doesn’t tell us much about where inflation is headed,” said Oren Klachkin, Nationwide Financial Markets economist, in an email. “With tariffs possibly set to push goods prices higher … we see inflation risks as tilted to the upside.”

On a monthly basis, inflation also came in much lower than expected. Consumer prices rose 0.2% in February from the previous month, down from a big 0.5% jump in January. And core prices rose just 0.2%, below the 0.4% increase in January. Economists watch core prices because they are typically a better guide to inflation’s future path.

A sharp drop in air fares, which fell 4% just in February from the previous month, helped bring down overall inflation. Rental price increases also slowed and the costs of hotel rooms and car insurance rose much more slowly in February than the previous month. The price of new cars fell last month compared with January.

Grocery prices were unchanged last month from January, bringing some relief to consumers grappling with a 25% jump in grocery prices from four years ago. The cost of eggs, however, jumped 10.4% in February from the previous month and are nearly 60% more expensive than a year ago.

Avian flu has forced farmers to slaughter more than 160 million birds, including 30 million in January. Average egg prices hit $5.90 a dozen nationwide in February, a record high. The price had consistently been below $2 a dozen for decades before the disease struck.

How big an impact Trump’s tariffs will have on prices remains unclear, for now. The duties have roiled financial markets and could sharply slow the economy, and some analysts see the odds of a recession rising.

On Wednesday, Trump raised U.S. import taxes on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% each. Some companies that use steel are already seeing their costs rise, and depending on how long they stay in place, they could lift prices for cars, appliances, and electronics. The European Union responded in kind almost immediately to the steel and aluminum duties, announcing retaliatory trade action with new tariffs on U.S. industrial and farm products.

The White House has also imposed 25% duties on all imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% rate for oil from Canada. Most of those tariffs have been suspended until early April.

However, Canada will announce retaliatory tariffs that add up to $21 billion in U.S. dollars, according to a senior Canadian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak before the announcement.

Trump has also pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs on any country with duties on U.S. exports on April 2. Economists at the Yale Budget Lab calculate that those duties could boost the average U.S. tariff rate to its highest level since 1937, and cost the average household as much as $3,400.

That has sent business owners scrambling.

“It does put a lot of businesses like ours in a tough spot,” said Ethan Frisch, co-CEO of the New York spice company Burlap & Barrel. “We’re going to have to pass along (the cost) to the consumer. We can’t afford to eat that cost ourselves as a small business. And we certainly can’t pass it back to a farmer in central Mexico. So, it’s going to make the product more expensive, which is then in turn going to slow down sales.”

Performance expectations for 2025 have already been moderated by some of the largest U.S. retailers.

Walmart CFO John David Rainey said last month that some product categories will have price increases.

Last week, Target CEO Brian Cornell said produce prices, including Mexican avocados, could rise soon industrywide and prices for other goods are likely to follow. Best Buy’s CEO Corie Barry said she’s expecting higher prices from suppliers, with China and Mexico being primary sources for its products.

Tariffs were a big topic at the recent annual Toy Fair as nearly 80% of the toys sold in the U.S. are sourced from China. Price increases of 15% to 20% are expected on games, dolls, cars, said Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, said

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AP Writers Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman in Washington, Anne D’Innocenzio in New York, and Lorne Cook and David McHugh in Europe, contributed to this report.

Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks

Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks

By CLAIRE BRYAN of The Seattle Times and SHARON LURYE of The Associated Press

One student asked a search engine, “Why does my boyfriend hit me?” Another threatened suicide in an email to an unrequited love. A gay teen opened up in an online diary about struggles with homophobic parents, writing they just wanted to be themselves.

In each case and thousands of others, surveillance software powered by artificial intelligence immediately alerted Vancouver Public Schools staff in Washington state.

Vancouver and many other districts around the country have turned to technology to monitor school-issued devices 24/7 for any signs of danger as they grapple with a student mental health crisis and the threat of shootings.

The goal is to keep children safe, but these tools raise serious questions about privacy and security — as proven when Seattle Times and Associated Press reporters inadvertently received access to almost 3,500 sensitive, unredacted student documents through a records request about the district’s surveillance technology.

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The Education Reporting Collaborative, a coalition of eight newsrooms, is investigating the unintended consequences of AI-powered surveillance at schools. Members of the Collaborative are AL.com, The Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, The Dallas Morning News, The Hechinger Report, Idaho Education News, The Post and Courier in South Carolina, and The Seattle Times.

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The released documents show students use these laptops for more than just schoolwork; they are coping with angst in their personal lives.

Students wrote about depression, heartbreak, suicide, addiction, bullying and eating disorders. There are poems, college essays and excerpts from role-play sessions with AI chatbots.

Vancouver school staff and anyone else with links to the files could read everything. Firewalls or passwords didn’t protect the documents, and student names were not redacted, which cybersecurity experts warned was a massive security risk.

The monitoring tools often helped counselors reach out to students who might have otherwise struggled in silence. But the Vancouver case is a stark reminder of surveillance technology’s unintended consequences in American schools.

In some cases, the technology has outed LGBTQ+ children and eroded trust between students and school staff, while failing to keep schools completely safe.

Gaggle Safety Management, the company that developed the software that tracks Vancouver schools students’ online activity, believes not monitoring children is like letting them loose on “a digital playground without fences or recess monitors,” CEO and founder Jeff Patterson said.

Roughly 1,500 school districts nationwide use Gaggle’s software to track the online activity of approximately 6 million students. It’s one of many companies, like GoGuardian and Securly, that promise to keep kids safe through AI-assisted web surveillance.

The technology has been in high demand since the pandemic, when nearly every child received a school-issued tablet or laptop. According to a U.S. Senate investigation, over 7,000 schools or districts used GoGuardian’s surveillance products in 2021.

Vancouver schools apologized for releasing the documents. Still, the district emphasizes Gaggle is necessary to protect students’ well-being.

“I don’t think we could ever put a price on protecting students,” said Andy Meyer, principal of Vancouver’s Skyview High School. “Anytime we learn of something like that and we can intervene, we feel that is very positive.”

Dacia Foster, a parent in the district, commended the efforts to keep students safe but worries about privacy violations.

“That’s not good at all,” Foster said after learning the district inadvertently released the records. “But what are my options? What do I do? Pull my kid out of school?”

Foster says she’d be upset if her daughter’s private information was compromised.

“At the same time,” she said, “I would like to avoid a school shooting or suicide.”

How student surveillance works

Gaggle uses a machine-learning algorithm to scan what students search or write online via a school-issued laptop or tablet 24 hours a day, or whenever they log into their school account on a personal device. The latest contract Vancouver signed, in summer 2024, shows a price of $328,036 for three school years — approximately the cost of employing one extra counselor.

The algorithm detects potential indicators of problems like bullying, self-harm, suicide or school violence and then sends a screenshot to human reviewers. If Gaggle employees confirm the issue might be serious, the company alerts the school. In cases of imminent danger, Gaggle calls school officials directly. In rare instances where no one answers, Gaggle may contact law enforcement for a welfare check.

A Vancouver school counselor who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation said they receive three or four student Gaggle alerts per month. In about half the cases, the district contacts parents immediately.

“A lot of times, families don’t know. We open that door for that help,” the counselor said. Gaggle is “good for catching suicide and self-harm, but students find a workaround once they know they are getting flagged.”

Seattle Times and AP reporters saw what kind of writing set off Gaggle’s alerts after requesting information about the type of content flagged. Gaggle saved screenshots of activity that set off each alert, and school officials accidentally provided links to them, not realizing they weren’t protected by a password.

After learning about the records inadvertently released to reporters, Gaggle updated its system. Now, after 72 hours, only those logged into a Gaggle account can view the screenshots. Gaggle said this feature was already in the works but had not yet been rolled out to every customer.

The company says the links must be accessible without a login during those 72 hours so emergency contacts — who often receive these alerts late at night on their phones — can respond quickly.

In Vancouver, the monitoring technology flagged more than 1,000 documents for suicide and nearly 800 for threats of violence. While many alerts were serious, many others turned out to be false alarms, like a student essay about the importance of consent or a goofy chat between friends.

Foster’s daughter Bryn, a Vancouver School of Arts and Academics sophomore, was one such false alarm. She was called into the principal’s office after writing a short story featuring a scene with mildly violent imagery.

“I’m glad they’re being safe about it, but I also think it can be a bit much,” Bryn said.

School officials maintain alerts are warranted even in less severe cases or false alarms, ensuring potential issues are addressed promptly.

“It allows me the opportunity to meet with a student I maybe haven’t met before and build that relationship,” said Chele Pierce, a Skyview High School counselor.

Between October 2023 and October 2024, nearly 2,200 students, about 10% of the district’s enrollment, were the subject of a Gaggle alert. At the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, where Bryn is a student, about 1 in 4 students had communications that triggered a Gaggle alert.

While schools continue to use surveillance technology, its long-term effects on student safety are unclear. There’s no independent research showing it measurably lowers student suicide rates or reduces violence.

A 2023 RAND study found only “scant evidence” of either benefits or risks from AI surveillance, concluding: “No research to date has comprehensively examined how these programs affect youth suicide prevention.”

“If you don’t have the right number of mental health counselors, issuing more alerts is not actually going to improve suicide prevention,” said report co-author Benjamin Boudreaux, an AI ethics researcher.

LGBTQ+ students are most vulnerable

In the screenshots released by Vancouver schools, at least six students were potentially outed to school officials after writing about being gay, transgender or struggling with gender dysphoria.

LGBTQ+ students are more likely than their peers to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, and turn to the internet for support.

“We know that gay youth, especially those in more isolated environments, absolutely use the internet as a life preserver,” said Katy Pearce, a University of Washington professor who researches technology in authoritarian states.

In one screenshot, a Vancouver high schooler wrote in a Google survey form they’d been subject to trans slurs and racist bullying. Who created this survey is unclear, but the person behind it had falsely promised confidentiality: “I am not a mandated reporter, please tell me the whole truth.”

When North Carolina’s Durham Public Schools piloted Gaggle in 2021, surveys showed most staff members found it helpful.

But community members raised concerns. An LGBTQ+ advocate reported to the Board of Education that a Gaggle alert about self-harm had led to a student being outed to their family, who were not supportive.

Glenn Thompson, a Durham School of the Arts graduate, spoke up at a board meeting during his senior year. One of his teachers promised a student confidentiality for an assignment related to mental health. A classmate was then “blindsided” when Gaggle alerted school officials about something private they’d disclosed. Thompson said no one in the class, including the teacher, knew the school was piloting Gaggle.

“You can’t just (surveil) people and not tell them. That’s a horrible breach of security and trust,” said Thompson, now a college student, in an interview.

After hearing about these experiences, the Durham Board of Education voted to stop using Gaggle in 2023. The district ultimately decided it was not worth the risk of outing students or eroding relationships with adults.

Parents don’t really know

The debate over privacy and security is complicated, and parents are often unaware it’s even an issue. Pearce, the University of Washington professor, doesn’t remember reading about Securly, the surveillance software Seattle Public Schools uses, when she signed the district’s responsible use form before her son received a school laptop.

Even when families learn about school surveillance, they may be unable to opt out. Owasso Public Schools in Oklahoma has used Gaggle since 2016 to monitor students outside of class.

For years, Tim Reiland, the parent of two teenagers, had no idea the district was using Gaggle. He found out only after asking if his daughter could bring her personal laptop to school instead of being forced to use a district one because of privacy concerns.

The district refused Reiland’s request.

When Reiland’s daughter, Zoe, found out about Gaggle, she says she felt so “freaked out” that she stopped Googling anything personal on her Chromebook, even questions about her menstrual period. She didn’t want to get called into the office for “searching up lady parts.”

“I was too scared to be curious,” she said.

School officials say they don’t track metrics measuring the technology’s efficacy but believe it has saved lives.

Yet technology alone doesn’t create a safe space for all students. In 2024, a nonbinary teenager at Owasso High School named Nex Benedict died by suicide after relentless bullying from classmates. A subsequent U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights investigation found the district responded with “deliberate indifference” to some families’ reports of sexual harassment, mainly in the form of homophobic bullying.

During the 2023-24 school year, the Owasso schools received close to 1,000 Gaggle alerts, including 168 alerts for harassment and 281 for suicide.

When asked why bullying remained a problem despite surveillance, Russell Thornton, the district’s executive director of technology responded: “This is one tool used by administrators. Obviously, one tool is not going to solve the world’s problems and bullying.”

Long-term effects unknown

Despite the risks, surveillance technology can help teachers intervene before a tragedy.

A middle school student in the Seattle-area Highline School District who was potentially being trafficked used Gaggle to communicate with campus staff, said former Superintendent Susan Enfield.

“They knew that the staff member was reading what they were writing,” Enfield said. “It was, in essence, that student’s way of asking for help.”

Still, developmental psychology research shows it is vital for teens to have private spaces online to explore their thoughts and seek support.

“The idea that kids are constantly under surveillance by adults — I think that would make it hard to develop a private life, a space to make mistakes, a space to go through hard feelings without adults jumping in,” said Boudreaux, the AI ethics researcher.

Gaggle’s Patterson says school-issued devices are not the appropriate place for unlimited self-exploration. If that exploration takes a dark turn, such as making a threat, “the school’s going to be held liable,” he said. “If you’re looking for that open free expression, it really can’t happen on the school system’s computers.”

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge

Photo by Getty Images

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe from Barefeet in the Kitchen

Prep time: 5 minutes

Chilling time: 4 hours

Serving size: 48 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3½ cups powdered sugar
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. Combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a medium-size saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir to combine, it should come together very quickly and be smooth and creamy. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the powdered sugar a cup or so at a time. Stir to combine thoroughly.
  2. Grease an 8-9″ pan with butter or line with parchment. Transfer the fudge mixture to the pan and press into the pan. Chill for at least 4 hours before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Photo by Getty Images
March 12th 2025

March 12th 2025

Thought of the Day

Photo by Getty Images

Life offers so many great choices, all you have to do is see them.

US resumes military aid and intelligence sharing as Ukraine says it is open to a 30-day ceasefire

By MATTHEW LEE Associated Press

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.

The administration’s decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago, when it imposed the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces. The suspension of U.S. assistance came days after Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump argued about the war in a tense White House meeting.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation to the talks in Jeddah, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has thus far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict without accepting any concessions.

“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” Rubio told reporters after the talks. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”

Tuesday’s discussions, which lasted for nearly eight hours, appeared to put to rest, for the moment at least, the animosity between Trump and Zelenskyy that erupted during the Oval Office meeting last month.

Waltz said the negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end,” including long-term security guarantees. And, he said, Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply of billions of of dollars of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing.

Senior officials began meeting only hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Neither U.S. nor Ukrainian officials offered any comment on the barrage.

Trump said he hoped that an agreement could be solidified “over the next few days.”

“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” Trump said. He did not elaborate.

The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the U.S. and Ukrainian statements. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said only that negotiations with U.S. officials could take place this week.

Trump ‘s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.

Zelenskyy renews calls for lasting peace

Meanwhile, in an address posted shortly after Tuesday’s talks ended, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to achieving a lasting peace, emphasizing that the country has sought an end to the war since its outset.

“Our position is absolutely clear: Ukraine has strived for peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything possible to achieve it as soon as possible — securely and in a way that ensures war does not return,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation, described the negotiations as positive. In a joint statement with the U.S., he said the two countries “share the same vision, and that we are moving in the same direction toward the just peace long awaited by all Ukrainians.”

Hawkish Russians push back against any ceasefire

In Moscow, hawkish politicians and military bloggers spoke strongly against a prospective ceasefire, arguing that it would play into Kyiv’s hands and damage Moscow’s interests at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the fighting.

“A ceasefire isn’t what we need,” wrote hard-line ideologue Alexander Dugin.

Viktor Sobolev, a retired general who is a member of the Russian parliament’s lower house, warned that a 30-day truce would allow Ukraine to beef up arms supplies and regroup its troops before resuming hostilities.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political commentator, suggested that Moscow could demand a halt on Western arms supplies to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire. “An embargo on arms supplies to Ukraine could be a condition for a truce,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas.

Ukrainians watch the talks

On the streets of Kyiv, Ukrainians kept an eye on the Saudi talks.

Lena Herasymenko, a psychologist, said she accepts that compromises will be necessary to end the war, but she said they must be “reasonable.”

“We had massive losses during this war, and we don’t know yet how much more we’ll have,” she told The Associated Press. “We are suffering every day. Our kids are suffering, and we don’t know how the future generation will be affected.”

Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier who could give only his first name because of security restrictions, warned that Ukraine cannot let down its guard down.

“If there is a ceasefire, it would only give Russia time to increase its firepower, manpower, missiles and other arms. Then they would attack Ukraine again,” he said.

The meeting in Jeddah offered an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine’s relationship with the Trump administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during Zelenskyy’s Feb. 28 visit to the White House.

The Kremlin sticks to its conditions for peace

The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions. Putin has repeatedly declared that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.

Russia has said it’s ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognizes regions that Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.

Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a year, though at a high cost in infantry and armor, and are pushing at selected points along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, against Ukraine’s understrength and weary army.

Ukraine has invested heavily in developing its arms industry, especially high-tech drones that have reached deep into Russia.

Most of the Ukrainian drones fired overnight — 126 of them — were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv’s forces control, and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region, according to a statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying toward it — the biggest single attack on Moscow so far in the war.

The governor of the Moscow region surrounding the capital, Andrei Vorobyov, said the attack damaged several residential buildings and a number of cars.

Flights were temporarily restricted in and out of six airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky just outside Moscow, and airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions.

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Associated Press writers Baraa Anwer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Hanna Arhirova and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Trump halts doubling of tariffs on Canadian metals, after Ontario suspends electricity price hikes

Trump halts doubling of tariffs on Canadian metals, after Ontario suspends electricity price hikes

By JOSH BOAK, ROB GILLIES and MICHELLE PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ‘s threat on Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada led the provincial government of Ontario to suspend its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.

As a result, the White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the U.S. president pulled back on his doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs, even as the federal government still plans to place a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports starting Wednesday.

The drama on Tuesday delivered a win for Trump but also amplified concerns about tariffs that have roiled the stock market and stirred recession risks. Tuesday’s escalation and cooling in the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada only compounded the rising sense of uncertainty of how Trump’s tariff hikes will affect the economies of both countries.

Trump shocked markets Tuesday morning by saying that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday had been a response to the 25% price hike that Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday afternoon that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him and Ford agreed to remove the surcharge. He said he was confident that the U.S. president would also stand down on his own plans for 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

“He has to bounce it off the president but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,” Ford said on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff threat. “By no means are we just going to roll over. What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation.”

After a brutal stock market selloff on Monday and further jitters Tuesday, Trump faces increased pressure to show he has a solid plan to grow the economy. So far the president is doubling down on tariffs and can point to Tuesday’s drama as evidence that taxes on imports are a valuable negotiating tool, even if they can generate turmoil in the stock market.

Trump suggested Tuesday that tariffs were critical for changing the U.S. economy, regardless of stock market gyrations.

The U.S. president has given a variety of explanations for his antagonism of Canada. He has said that his separate 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada, some of which are suspended for a month, are about fentanyl smuggling and voicing objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalize U.S. farmers. He also continued to call for Canada to become part of the United States as a solution, which has infuriated Canadian leaders.

“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” Trump posted Tuesday. “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

Tensions between the United States and Canada

Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will keep tariffs in place until Americans show respect and commit to free trade after Trump threatened historic financial devastation for his country.

Carney, who will be sworn in as Justin Trudeau’s replacement in coming days, said Trump’s latest tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers, families and businesses.

“My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect and make credible, reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” Carney said in a statement.

Canadian officials are planning retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s specific steel and aluminum tariffs. Those are expected to be announced Wednesday.

Carney was referring to an initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs that have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.

Trump also has targeted Mexico with 25% tariffs because of his dissatisfaction over drug trafficking and illegal immigration, though he suspended the taxes on imports that are compliant with the 2020 USMCA trade pact for one month.

Asked if Mexico feared it could face the same 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum as Canada, President Claudia Sheinbaum, said “No, we are respectful.”

Trump was set to deliver a Tuesday afternoon address to the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that during the 2024 campaign he wooed with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers. But his tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, with plans for more to possibly come on Europe, Brazil, South Korea, pharmaceutical drugs, copper, lumber and computer chips — would amount to a massive tax hike.

The stock market’s vote of no confidence over the past two weeks puts the president in a bind between his enthusiasm for taxing imports and his brand as a politician who understands business based on his own experiences in real estate, media and marketing.

Worries about a recession are growing

The investment bank Goldman Sachs revised down its growth forecast for this year to 1.7% from 2.2% previously. It modestly increased its recession probability to 20% “because the White House has the option to pull back policy changes if downside risks begin to look more serious.”

Trump has tried to assure the public that his tariffs would cause a bit of a “transition” to the economy, with the taxes prodding more companies to begin the years-long process of relocating factories to the United States to avoid the tariffs. But he set off alarms in an interview broadcast on Sunday in which he didn’t rule out a possible recession.

The stock market slide continues

The promise of great things ahead did not eliminate anxiety, with the S&P 500 stock index tumbling 2.7% on Monday in an unmistakable Trump slump that has erased the market gains that greeted his victory in November 2024. The S&P 500 index fell roughly 0.2% in Tuesday afternoon trading, paring earlier losses after Ontario backed down on electricity surcharges.

Trump has long relied on the stock market as an economic and political gauge to follow, only to look past it as he remains determined so far to impose tariffs. When he won the election last year, he proclaimed that he wanted his term to be considered to have started Nov. 6, 2024 on Election Day, rather than his Jan. 20, 2025 inauguration, so that he could be credited for post-election stock market gains.

Trump also repeatedly warned of an economic freefall if he lost the election.

“If I don’t win you will have a 1929 style depression. Enjoy it,” Trump said at an August rally in Pennsylvania.

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Associated Press writer Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this report from Mexico City. Gillies reported from Toronto.

Republicans are marching ahead with a government funding bill despite Democratic opposition

Republicans are marching ahead with a government funding bill despite Democratic opposition

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when a spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September comes up for a vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is teeing up the bill for a vote as soon as Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act.

Republicans will need overwhelming support from their members in both chambers — and some help from Senate Democrats — to get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk. It’s one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president’s second term, prompting Vice President JD Vance to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to rally support.

“We have to keep the government in operation,” Johnson said as he emerged from a House Republican meeting. “It’s a fundamental responsibility of ours. The vice president echoed that sentiment. It was very well received and very well delivered. I think the holdouts are down to just one or two.”

The strategy has the backing of Trump, who is calling on Republicans to “remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right.”

House Republicans said the bill would trim $13 billion in non-defense spending from the levels in the 2024 budget year and increase defense spending by $6 billion, which are rather flat changes for both categories when compared with an overall topline of nearly $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending. The bill does not cover the majority of government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Funding for those two programs is on auto pilot and not regularly reviewed by Congress.

Democrats are mostly worried about the discretion the bill gives the Trump administration on spending decisions. They are already alarmed by the administration’s efforts to make major cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk. And they say the spending bill would fuel the effort.

“This is not a clean CR. This bill is a blank check,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “It’s a blank check for Elon Musk and President Trump.”

Spending bills typically come with specific funding directives for key programs, but hundreds of those directives fall away under the legislation, according to a memo released by Senate Democrats. So the administration will have more leeway to reshape priorities.

“President Trump has endorsed this full-year CR because he understands what is in it for him: more power over federal spending to pick winners and losers and devastate Democratic states and priorities,” the memo warned.

For example, the Democratic memo said the bill would allow the administration to steer money away from combating fentanyl and instead use it on mass deportation initiatives.

Normally, when it comes to keeping the government fully open for business, Republicans have had to work with Democrats to craft a bipartisan measure that both sides can support. That’s because Republicans almost always lack the votes to pass spending bills on their own.

This time, Republican leaders are pushing for a vote despite Democratic opposition. Trump is showing an ability this term to hold Republicans in line. He met with several of the House chamber’s most conservative members last week.

Now, House Republicans who routinely vote against spending bills said they would support this one. The House Freedom Caucus, which includes many of the House’s most conservative members, issued a statement of support saying “contrary to Congress’ longtime abuse of this legislative tool, this CR is a paradigm shift.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is still a holdout, though. He says he’ll vote no.

“I guess deficits only matter when we’re in the minority,” said Massie, when asked why colleagues weren’t listening to his concerns.

Trump went after Massie on social media, calling him a “GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble.”

“HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump posted online.

Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, acknowledged the continuing resolution was not the outcome he was seeking but said it was time to end the cycle of short-term extensions Congress has been passing to keep the government open. This will be the third for the current budget year.

“Congress does have other things to do,” said Cole, of Oklahoma. “It’s got a lot on its plate this year.”

Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders have come out strongly against it. Less clear is how strongly they’ll push members in competitive battleground districts to follow their lead.

“House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican efforts to hurt the American people,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said.

Senate Democrats generally seem to be emphasizing patience at this stage, waiting to see if Republicans can muscle the bill through the House before taking a stand.

“No comment,” said top Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York as he rushed through the hallway outside the Senate chamber.

Still, several rank-and-file Democrats criticized the measure. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was stunned that Republicans were “trying to jam through something that is their way or the highway.”

If the bill does move to the Senate later this week, support from at least eight Democratic senators will likely be needed for it to advance to passage.

“It’ll be up to the Democrats whether they want to deliver the votes and keep the government from shutting down,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Democrats also introduced an alternative bill Monday night funding the government through April 11. The bill could serve as a Plan B if the GOP-led effort falters.

The spending bill could also have major ramifications for the District of Columbia’s government. City officials voiced their concerns during a news conference outside the Capitol on Monday, and district residents later in the day flooded the hearing room and surrounding hallway where lawmakers were considering debate rules for the measure.

The bill would limit the district to last year’s funding levels, though it’s already spending at 2025 levels. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said the proposal would require the district to cut $1.1 billion in spending in the next six months since it has already passed a balanced budget and is midway through its fiscal year. That means, officials said, cuts to critical services such as education and public safety.

The mayor also emphasized that the district’s 2025 budget focused on boosting three priorities: public safety, public education and economic growth.

“If the Congress goes through with this action, it will work against a priority that President Trump and I share, and that is to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world,” Bowser said.

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Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam, Gary Fields and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Blackberry-Lime Porch Punch

Blackberry-Lime Porch Punch

Blackberry-Lime Porch Punch

Photo by Getty Images

Blackberry-Lime Porch Punch Recipe from Southern Living

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: N/A

Serving size: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 cups fresh blackberries
  • 4 cups chilled sweet tea
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 5 limes)
  • 4 (12-oz.) cans chilled nonalcoholic ginger beer
  • 1 (16-oz.) bag frozen blackberries
  • Ice
  • Lime slices
  • Mint sprigs
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. Place fresh blackberries in a large bowl; mash with a potato masher until fully broken. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup or bowl, pressing pulp to release juice. Discard solids.
  2. Pour blackberry juice into a large (4- to 6-qt.) punch bowl. Stir in sweet tea, water, and lime juice until well combined. Gently stir in ginger beer and frozen blackberries until just combined. Serve over ice. Garnish with lime slices and mint sprigs.
Photo by Getty Images
March 11th 2025

March 11th 2025

Thought of the Day

Photo by Getty Images

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

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