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Republican pollster Frank Luntz issued a warning to Donald Trump just hours before the president was set to announce his "liberation day" tariffs that experts say threaten to drain Americans' bank accounts as they shop for everyday items. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNBC Wednesday that Trump's sweeping tariffs "will throw the global economy into turmoil and leave Americans holding the bag." But Trump appeared to be plowing full steam ahead. Luntz, who spoke with CNN's Boris Sanchez Wednesday, called the United States a "polarized and angry country" that's only going to get more unstable as the Trump tariffs drag on. ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the world "The reason why I appreciate this discussion is that it's a chance to say precisely, the agenda and the policies have support, the communication and the execution do not," Luntz said. "So, I don't know if you're Democrat or Republican, you're going to be mad at this analysis, but this is the way things are, and we should start to pursue the truth rather than pursue some sort of partisan gain." Sanchez asked, "How do you take that sentiment and apply it to...this announcement on tariffs?" "It's going to freak the world out, and some Americans don't care," Luntz answered. He claimed that Trump chose 4 p.m. for his announcement "because the markets are closed at that point." Luntz continued, "You could see an explosion on Wall Street, and Donald Trump has always used the stock market as a measurement of his success. Well, he can't ignore it now. And if the markets are saying this is not the right way to do it, he needs to listen." Luntz admitted that Americans "are tired of being treated as second class citizens. They're tired of countries like China taking advantage of our markets, selling their products and blocking our products," he said."But they don't want to pay more, and the tariffs are like a tax. And, so, we've got once again, a mixed message. I hope Americans respond slowly to this because in the end, our businesses are at stake. Our economic system is at stake. Capitalism is at stake. And how we handle this will determine how the rest of the world is going to see us, trade with us, negotiate with us, and treat us in the months and years to follow." Watch the video below or at this link.

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen once believed that President Donald Trump's stated desire to take over Greenland was all hot air — but now he's not so sure.In his latest column, Cohen — who is of no relation to the former Trump attorney of the same name — points to new evidence that the president is deadly serious about acquiring the large island nation, which would possibly require him to invade a NATO ally to get the job done.Cohen believes that Vice President J.D. Vance's recent trip to Greenland was an indication that the United States really is making plans to launch a war of aggression for Greenland, which is currently owned by longtime American ally Denmark.What particularly disturbed Cohen is that Vance didn't meet with any government officials in Greenland and only delivered a bellicose speech that baselessly accused the Danish government of doing a poor job of defending the territory.ALSO READ: Elon Musk 'being driven visibly insane' by anti-Tesla protests: analysis"The vice president’s menacing rhetoric follows a familiar and disturbing pattern," Cohen observes. "In January, before taking office, Trump refused to rule out economic or military coercion to take over the island. 'It might be that you’ll have to do something,' he said at the time in reference to Greenland and the Panama Canal. In his address to a joint session of Congress last month, he said, 'One way or another, we’re gonna get it.'"What makes this most unnerving, adds Cohen, is there truly does not appear to be any strategic rationale for snatching Greenland."Why does Trump want Greenland so badly? I suspect it’s the same reason he wants to annex Canada and reclaim the Panama Canal," he warns. "It’s consistent with his propensity for slapping his name (always in giant letters) on garish, self-aggrandizing, yet oddly boring architectural monstrosities around the globe. It’s all about Trump’s ego."

Prime minister says Israel will build a new security corridor to isolate parts of the strip in major escalation Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is “seizing territory” and intends to “divide up” the Gaza Strip by building a new security corridor, amid a major expansion of aerial and ground operations in the besieged Palestinian territory.“Tonight, we have shifted gears in the Gaza Strip. The [Israeli army] is seizing territory, hitting the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure,” the prime minister said in a video statement on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

U.S. farmers who are desperately awaiting congressionally appropriated funds to pay their bills have been told by the Trump administration that they first need to remove "diversity aspects or make other revisions to better align" their clean energy projects "with President Donald Trump’s agenda."A new report in The Washington Post said farmers received the confusing demand in a letter from the Agriculture Department last week urging farmers to make the changes in exchange for quicker payments.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote that "the department was issuing a course correction after the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature climate and health-care law, delivered more bureaucracy than benefits for rural families," according to the Post.ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs"But farmers said the announcement only created more confusion and another hurdle to receive funding they desperately need to pay off loans and replenish money they had already spent on projects," wrote reporter Daniel Wu.One farmer in Maryland, Michael Protas, who was expecting funds for solar panel installation, said he forwarded the letter to his USDA representative, asking, "What in the world does this mean? DEI has nothing to do with solar panels. I don’t know what they’re asking for.”Wu wrote that the Agriculture Department "declined to answer questions from The Washington Post about what changes to remove diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility from rural energy projects could entail."Hana Vizcarra, an Earthjustice attorney suing the Agriculture Department said the farmers “expect the government just to fulfill their obligations. And instead, as the new administration came in, they just froze all the funds and disrupted work that was already ongoing and put everything at risk.”Travis Forgues, who runs a creamery in Wisconsin, reportedly told The Post, “When you’re trying to talk about solar or energy independence, this is not a DEI issue. And quite frankly, if it was a DEI issue, who cares?”Read The Washington Post article here.

Two women who were taken to El Salvador as part of Donald Trump's mass deportation policy say that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials deceived them about their destination, and the chaotic process resulted in them being returned to the U.S. – at least for now.The Trump administration herded more than 200 men onto planes March 15 and flew them to the Central American nation's notorious CECOT prison in a widely publicized operation, but eight women also on the planes never got off because El Salvador refused to take them, and two of them told NBC News about their experience.“We were lied to,” said 24-year-old Heymar Padilla Moyetones. “They told us we were going to Venezuela, and it turns out that, no. When we arrived at our destination, that’s when they told us we were in El Salvador.”ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding billThe administration claims all the people deported to El Salvador were Venezuelans with ties to the Tren de Aragua gang Trump has declared a terrorist organization, but their vetting process did not include a determination that El Salvador would accept women detainees.“They didn’t let us leave [the plane]," Moyetones said. "They told us that we were going back, that we were coming back here."Senior administration officials insist there's no need for judges to review the cases of anyone sent to El Salvador, but the women's experience and the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father married to a U.S. citizen sent on those same planes to El Salvador, show a chaotic and haphazard vetting process.“It just shows how little process there is and how little due diligence,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who is challenging the deportations. “Whoever heard of sending someone potentially for a life sentence in El Salvador without giving them any due process?”The women described confusion and delay consistent with an affidavit that describes two failed attempts to move them out of detention to an airport, and 18 women were ultimately taken to the airport but only eight were flown to El Salvador, and one of the 10 left behind on a bus told NBC News they were "desperate" to find out what was going on.“An immigration official got on and she told us, ‘You want to go back to your country, right?’ and we said, ‘Yes, obviously!’” said one of those 10 women, who gave her name as Karla. “'Well then, you should thank God that you’re not going on that plane, because that plane is not going to Venezuela.'"The women on the plane didn't realize where they were going until they landed in El Salvador after a brief stop in Guatemala, but officials continued to lie about their destination as the men were taken off the plane and roughly treated by Salvadoran officials on the tarmac.“We kept asking where we were,” said one of the women, Scarleth Rodriguez. “They would tell us, ‘You’re in Venezuela.’ We are from Venezuela, we know that airport, it’s the only airport that’s in Caracas, so, like, we would know where we were, and we were not in Venezuela.”Moyetones, who is sharing a cell with Rodriguez at a detention center in Laredo, Texas, describes what they saw from the plane windows.“Very little. ... But the little we could see was the brutal way they were taking the men down, because [Salvadoran officials] did take them down in a very ugly way," Moyetones said. "Almost hitting them, dragging them.”

Protests that erupted across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul’s opposition mayor have taken a new direction as government opponents called for a one-day shopping boycott

Slovakia's government has approved a plan to cull 350 bears following a deadly attack on a human

Report finds police mistook girl for missing woman in blunder that has appalled political leadersAn 11-year-old girl was restrained, injected with anti-psychotic drugs and placed on a mental health ward after New Zealand police mistook her for a missing woman, a report found on Wednesday.Health officials and police have scrambled to explain the mix-up, which has appalled political leaders and stoked outrage across the country. Continue reading...