Trump says US will impose additional 10% tariff on China

Donald Trump said he planned to hit goods from China with a new 10% tariff, the latest salvo in the US president's steadily escalating trade fights. Imports from China already face taxes at the border of at least 10%, after a Trump tariff order that went into effect earlier this month. China's ministry of foreign affairs said it "strongly" expressed its "dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the plans. Trump also said on Thursday he intended to move forward with threatened 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are set to come into effect on 4 March. Trump's comments came as officials from Mexico and Canada were in Washington for discussions aimed at heading off that plan. Trump had announced the plans for 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 4 February unless the two nations increased border security. He paused the measures for a month at the last minute after the two countries agreed to increase border funding and talk more about how to combat drug trafficking. On social media on Thursday, Trump wrote that he did not think enough action had been taken to address the flow of fentanyl to the US. "Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels," he wrote, adding that "a large percentage" of the drugs were made in China. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, at a press conference from the country's National Palace, said in response: "As we know, [Trump] has his way of communicating." She added: "I hope we can reach an agreement and on 4 March we can announce something else." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said his country was working hard to reach a deal, warning tariffs from the US would prompt an "immediate and extremely strong response". Trump's threats against Mexico and Canada have raised widespread alarm, as the North American economy is closely connected after decades of operating under a free trade agreement. Leaders of the two countries have previously said they would impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if the White House went ahead with its plans. Tariffs are a tax collected by the government and paid for by the business bringing the goods into the country. China, Mexico and Canada are America's top three trade partners, together accounting for more than 40% of imports into the US last year. Economists have warned tariffs on goods from the three countries could lead to higher prices in the US on everything from iPhones to avocados. Trump's call for an additional 10% levy on goods from China - which he said would also go into effect on Tuesday - had not been previously announced, though during his presidential campaign he backed border taxes on Chinese products of as much as 60%. A spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs, Lin Jian, said that Trump was using the issue of the drug fentanyl entering the US from China as an "excuse" to threaten tariffs, adding it had one of the "strictest" drug control policies in the world. "Pressure, coercion, and threats are not the correct way to deal with China," he said. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy, had earlier said that his country was already working with the US to address the concerns about fentanyl, and had made "visual progress" in areas such as information exchange, case cooperation and online advertisement cleanup. "Reducing domestic drug demand and strengthening law enforcement cooperation are the fundamental solutions," he said in a statement, which warned that Trump's tariff moves were "bound to affect and undermine future counternarcotics cooperation between the two sides". "The unilateral tariffs imposed by the US will not solve its own problems, nor will it benefit the two sides or the world." Trump's comments, which called for drug flow to stop or be "severely limited", seemed to set the stage for Mexico and Canada to negotiate, said trade expert Christine McDaniel, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. On Thursday, as tariff talks intensified, two imprisoned alleged leaders of the violent Zetas cartel long sought by the US - Miguel Angel Trevino Morales and his brother Oscar - were extradited. Mexican media said they were part of a larger group of drug lords sent from Mexico to the US - a major step in terms of US-Mexico security relations. Ms McDaniel said Trump's demands of China were less clear, raising the likelihood that those measures will come into effect. Trump's initial round of tariffs on China was eclipsed by his threats against Canada and Mexico. But the potential for further duties raises questions about how businesses will respond. Ms McDaniel said she expected the hit to be felt more in China. "It's not costless for the US, but so far it seems more costly for China," she said. The impact of tariffs, if they go into effect, is expected to be felt more in the Canadian and Mexican economies, which count on the US as a key export market. But analysts have warned that the threat of the levies, even if they are never imposed, is still likely to have a chilling effect on investment, including in the US. China has already responded to the first round of tariffs from the US with its own tariffs on US products, including coal and agricultural machinery. Trump has dismissed fears about damage to the American economy.


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Most Americans hit the snooze button every morning — here’s why it could be bad for your health

More than half of sleep sessions end with the snooze button, with people sneaking in an extra 11 minutes on average, a new study reveals — but experts say it may not be a good idea. Researchers from Mass General Brigham analyzed data from the Sleep Cycle app, which included sleep habits from more than 21,000 people globally. Among the more than three million sleep sessions tracked, nearly 56% ended with the snooze button. MOST SLEEP-DEPRIVED CITIES IN US REVEALED IN REPORT: WHERE DOES YOURS RANK? The heaviest users of the snooze button — who used it for more than 80% of the mornings included in the study — slept an average of 20 extra minutes. These heaviest snoozers were also shown to have "more erratic sleep schedules" than those who used the snooze button less often, the researchers found."Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep," said lead author Rebecca Robbins, PhD, in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in a press release. "The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer light sleep in between snooze alarms."


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4 biggest handwashing mistakes that could increase germs and viruses

Proper handwashing could save a million lives a year, according to an expert — and yet many people are doing it improperly, often due to misconceptions surrounding the practice. Doctors recommend washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. The NFID 2025 State of Handwashing Report, recently released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, provides details on Americans' handwashing habits (and mistakes). WHY YOUR LAUNDRY COULD BE MAKING YOU SICK AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT The report is based on a survey of 3,587 U.S. adults, conducted in November and December 2024 and March 2025."We have to recognize that there are a number of important infections that hand sanitizers are not effective at preventing," Hopkins said. One example is norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus that is common on cruise ships and is also spread seasonally. The virus cannot be killed with hand sanitizer, but is "easily destroyed" with soap and water, according to Hopkins.Certain viruses are "encapsulated" and can be destroyed with either soap and water or hand sanitizer, the expert said. However, there is also an "unencapsulated" type of virus, which has an outer coat that does not break down from the alcohol in hand sanitizer. Using soap and water is a more effective way to kill the germs, the doctor noted. 2. Just coughing into your sleeve When people cough or sneeze into their sleeve, they could still spread germs afterward. "If you cough into your sleeve … go ahead and wash your hands with soap and water as well," Hopkins advised. COMMON MEDICAL TEST LINKED TO 5% OF CANCERS, STUDY SUGGESTS: ‘USE THEM WISELY’ "We also have to recognize that we often bring our hands up close to our face, touch our nose, our glasses, other parts of our face," noted the doctor, who is based in Arkansas. "If we have bacteria or viruses on our hands, we can introduce them into our mucous membranes, where we can get infections."


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The optimal time to drink coffee isn't when you normally have it

Note the time delay "The [cortisol] decline is different for everyone but typically occurs one-and-a-half to two hours after you wake," Zumpano said. That's the best time to have coffee, Zumpano said. SLEEP EXPERT REVEALS TOP FOODS AND DRINKS KEEPING YOU UP AT NIGHT That way, "you can rely on your body's natural alert system - cortisol - and when it declines, then you use caffeine to provide the boost.""There is no specific time that's best to drink caffeine," the dietitian added. "[It's] based on when you wake and your natural rise and drop in cortisol." Yet adhering to the body's natural wake-up processes can help sustain energy levels by avoiding one big cortisol, caffeinated crash. COFFEE CREAMER HEALTH RISKS: WHAT TO KNOW, WHAT TO CHOOSE INSTEAD Fox News Digital previously reported on smart ways to consume coffee, with an expert noting that coffee drinking should be tailored to each individual. "For some people, waking up and having a glass of water to rehydrate and then having coffee works well – but for others the morning ritual of having a cup of coffee first thing upon awakening is just too good to give up," said Wendy Troxel, a Utah-based sleep expert and senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation.


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The Pandemic Agreement is a Landmark for Public Health

The Pandemic Agreement, just adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a landmark for global public health. Had such an agreement been in place before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic would have looked very different. The agreement now means that when the next pandemic begins brewing, the world will be much better equipped to mitigate or even prevent it. What exactly will the agreement do? In a nutshell, 124 countries have pledged to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics. The countries that formally ratify the agreement will be bound to uphold a number of commitments including investing in health infrastructures, sharing intellectual property, and engaging in technology transfer. Advertisement One of the biggest benefits promises to be the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System. This will require U.N. member states to share information and data about potential pandemic viruses, including sequencing of new viruses or variants, as well as share relevant vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic technologies. Vaccine manufacturers in participating countries will be expected to provide 20% of pandemic vaccines in real time to the WHO to distribute globally, including to poorer countries and those most in need of them. Of these vaccines, member countries will donate 10% of them for free. Such an arrangement would have saved many lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first few years, the unequal access to vaccines was one of the biggest challenges, with one study finding that up to half the COVID-19 deaths in many lower income countries could have been avoided with a more equitable supply of vaccines. Read More: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: Global-Health Architect Conspicuously absent from the agreement is the U.S., which has historically played a key role in global health, from HIV/AIDS to malaria and beyond. Although 11 countries abstained from voting, the U.S.'s omission due to its decision to withdraw from the WHO is notable. COVID-19 taught us that the health of people on the other side of the world is inexorably tied to our own. Isolationism doesn't work when it comes to infectious disease. Even countries that took the most drastic measures to contain COVID-19, like China, eventually succumbed to rapid and extensive spread of the virus when they relaxed international travel or strict lockdowns and social-distancing measures. Preventing the next pandemic will require us to ensure that all countries, including low- and middle-income ones, have the necessary resources to prevent outbreaks from happening and to quash them before they spread. Advertisement The agreement also proves that multilateralism and a desire for global cooperation are still shared goals among most countries. Some critics of the agreement, including U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have argued that it would be a threat to national sovereignty or freedom, in that it would compromise countries’ ability to make pandemic-related health policy decisions. This is not the case. The agreement states that it “does not prejudice the sovereign right” of countries to consider it in accordance with their own national constitutions. Global agreements or treaties of this nature are rare. But when they do come about, they are far from being tokenistic documents full of legalese. Although the Pandemic Agreement is less formal and legally binding, several U.N. global treaties have already saved millions of lives. The Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, the first WHO treaty, has reduced tobacco use by one-third over the past 20 years and has saved lives with policies like indoor smoking bans.


Foreign diplomats come under Israeli fire on official West Bank visit, drawing swift international condemnation

The Israeli military fired warning shots at a large delegation of European and Arab diplomats on an official visit near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, drawing swift international condemnation. Delegations from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Canada and others, were on an official mission to see the humanitarian situation around the besieged camp, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called the incident a “deliberate and unlawful act.” Video from the incident shows Israeli soldiers firing toward the delegation as it backs away from a gate blocking the road. At least seven shots can be heard in the video. One member of the delegation cautions the group, “be close to the wall, be close to the wall,” as they walk away from the scene. “The ministry holds the Israeli occupying government fully and directly responsible for this criminal assault and affirms that such acts will not pass without accountability,” the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the visit to the camp - the site of a major ongoing military operation that has destroyed more than 100 buildings and impacted thousands of families - was coordinated in advance. The military said it launched an initial investigation once it became clear that the group was a diplomatic delegation. “The delegation deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorized to be,” the military said in a statement Wednesday. “IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away.” The IDF said it will reach out to the delegations about the findings of the initial inquiry and “regrets the inconvenience caused.” The Palestinian Authority said the visit was announced 10 days in advance and that the group had been at the gate for more than 15 minutes before Israeli soldiers started shooting. Roland Friedrich, the director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the West Bank, refuted the Israeli military’s version of events, saying that its explanations “do not fully capture the severity of today’s event.” “This incident is a stark reminder of the lax use of excessive force routinely deployed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, often with lethal consequences,” Friedrich said. “This raises serious concerns over the way rules of engagement are applied to unarmed civilians.” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, said after the incident that “any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable.” “We definitely call on Israel to investigate this incident and also hold those accountable who are responsible for this,” Kallas said at a press conference Wednesday. Italy’s foreign ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador in Rome for an official clarification. “The threats against diplomats are unacceptable,” the country’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani added in a social media post on X. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that Israel’s ambassador to France would also be summoned following the incident, calling it “unacceptable,” while Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his government summoned the head of the Israeli embassy in Madrid. Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed on social media that four Canadian personnel were part of the delegation that was shot at, adding that she has asked officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey “Canada’s serious concerns.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told a news conference in Ottawa that Canada expected a full and immediate explanation of what happened. “It’s totally unacceptable,” he said. “It’s some of many things that are totally unacceptable that’s going on in the region.” On Wednesday evening, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told CNN’s Isa Soares that her country will be summoning the Israeli ambassador to Finland in response to the military’s actions. “Any deviation of any route – it is not an excuse,” Valtonen said. “It is prohibited to open fire against civilians, even under the laws of war. And, of course, these people were also under diplomatic protection.” A host of officials from other European nations condemned the shooting, including representatives from Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Foreign ministries from countries including Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar also strongly condemned the incident. “This attack, which endangered the lives of diplomats, is yet another demonstration of Israel’s systematic disregard for international law and human rights,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said. “The targeting of diplomats constitutes a grave threat not only to individual safety but also to the mutual respect and trust that form the foundation of inter-state relations. This attack must be investigated without delay, and those responsible must be held accountable,” it added. Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the shooting incident occurred near the Jenin refugee camp, not within the camp.


Britain’s plan to transfer Chagos Islands blocked by last-minute legal injunction

Britain’s government has been temporarily blocked from concluding its deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, PA Media reported, after an 11th-hour injunction by a High Court judge. Prime Minister Keir Starmer intends to return the islands to the African country, while maintaining control of the US-UK Diego Garcia military base, and it had been expected that the deal would be signed off on Thursday.


US and China are already feuding again after unexpected trade truce

Just days after the United States and China declared a temporary truce over tariffs, tempers are already flaring: this time over the future of Beijing’s most advanced homegrown semiconductors. Over the past week, Beijing has repeatedly lashed out at Washington for warning companies against using AI chips made by national tech champion Huawei. It has even accused the Trump administration of “undermining” a consensus reached at recent trade talks in Geneva, where both sides agreed to temporarily roll back tariffs and use a 90-day window to hash out a broader deal. The conflict over Huawei’s most advanced chips serves as a reality check that despite the positive words shared by US and Chinese negotiators last week, there are still sharp differences between the two sides on a variety of subjects that may be difficult to bridge. On Wednesday, China’s Commerce Ministry fired its latest broadside, accusing the US of “abusing export controls to suppress and contain China” and engaging in what it called “typical acts of unilateral bullying and protectionism.” China was responding to the Trump administration’s announcement last week rescinding a set of Biden-era curbs meant to keep AI chips out of the hands of foreign adversaries. As part of that announcement, the US Commerce Department issued guidance on May 12 warning companies that “using Huawei Ascend chips anywhere in the world would violate US export controls.” The department has since changed its wording to remove the reference of “anywhere in the world” in an updated version of the statement. The Ascend chips are Huawei’s most powerful AI processors, which are used to train AI models and aim to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in designing high-end chips. Huawei’s efforts are central to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s plans to build up China’s own capacity to develop cutting-edge chips as it vies for AI supremacy with the US. At a top political meeting last month, Xi called for “self-reliance” to develop AI in China, saying his country would leverage its “new whole national system” to target bottlenecks such as advanced chips. Beijing’s ire On Monday, Beijing signaled the US Commerce Department’s wording change in the updated statement on Huawei wasn’t enough to end the feud. In a statement, China’s Commerce Ministry said that despite the “adjustment” in wording, the “discriminatory measures and market-distorting nature” of the guidance itself remained unchanged. “China has engaged in negotiations and communications with the US at various levels through the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, pointing out that the US actions seriously undermined the consensus reached during the high-level talks in Geneva,” the ministry said, urging the US to “correct its mistake.” The ministry’s latest statement on Wednesday came with an extra warning from Beijing to global businesses, threatening legal action against anyone who helps what it calls a US attempt to “globally ban the use of advanced Chinese chips.” “Any organization or individual that implements or assists in implementing these US measures may be in violation of China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and other relevant laws and regulations, and must bear corresponding legal responsibilities,” the statement said. “China will closely monitor the implementation of the US measures and will take resolute steps to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” it added. There has been no announcement of further trade talks between the US and China. But last Friday, US trade representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang met on the sidelines of a gathering of APEC trade ministers in South Korea, Reuters reported.


Why Trump Can’t ‘Void’ Biden’s Pardons Because of Autopen

On Monday, President Donald Trump signaled that he intends to nullify the presidential pardons—issued to those on the House Jan. 6 committee that investigated Trump—executed by President Joe Biden because, he said, they were signed via autopen. “The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” the President shared on his social media platform Truth Social. “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden.” But according to the U.S. Constitution, the President has no such authority to overturn his predecessor’s pardons, especially not based on the type of signature, legal experts say. “The Constitution doesn't even require that the pardon be written, so the idea that the signature is by autopen rather than by handwritten signature seems not relevant to the constitutionality because Article II just says that the President has the power to pardon,” says Bernadette Meyler, a Stanford Law School professor and constitutional law expert. Autopen is an electronic signature that allows individuals to sign a document without physically being there. The signature mimics a handwritten signature, but is done by a computer. A vast number of statutes and other documents have been signed by autopen, experts say. For instance, former President Barack Obama signed a national security measure via autopen while he was in France. Meyler says that if presidential pardons were to be invalidated because of an autopen signature, that could bring into question other policies that were signed by such measures. “When so much is being automated and put online, requiring some literalness in the signature really would be a step backwards," she says. A 2005 guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) noted that a President does not need to “personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law. Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.” Jeffrey Crouch, a professor at American University, told Axios that pardons are final so long as they are valid. But aside from criticizing the use of the autopen, Trump also appears to be undermining President Biden’s cognitive ability at the time such pardons were issued. “He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump wrote on Monday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed this position during a White House briefing on Monday, when she questioned whether Biden knew his signature was on such pardons. When asked if the White House had any evidence to support such a claim, Leavitt responded, “You're a reporter, you should find out.” These concerns were previously flagged by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who called on the DOJ to investigate Biden’s actions on March 5. “I am demanding the DOJ investigate whether President Biden’s cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval,” Bailey posted on X. If Trump were to try to prosecute someone who received a presidential pardon, experts say the case would likely go to courts, where Trump’s actions are unlikely to stand. “I can't imagine the court saying that it wasn't a valid pardon because of the autopen issue,” says Meyler. “Biden made statements regarding these pardons, so it would be hard to show that they weren't a decision of the President.”


What to Do If You’re Anxious About Flying Right Now

Anxiety about flying is common during the best of times: Research suggests up to 40% of people worldwide have some degree of aerophobia. Add a string of recent plane crashes and other horrifying incidents to the mix, and feeling jittery about boarding a plane seems perfectly reasonable. “I’m hearing about it a lot from patients, and we talk about it within the psychiatry department, too,” says Dr. Nathan Carroll, chief resident of psychiatry at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, who’s scheduled to take a flight in two weeks. “People are like, ‘Ehhh, maybe I’ll drive instead.’” Such anxiety is natural—but, he stresses, shouldn’t overshadow the fact that flying is still safe in the U.S. “Despite it being in the news so frequently, we know it's really safe,” he says. “There are thousands and thousands of flights every day that don't crash. If we compare it to cars, it's still way safer.” According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), about 45,000 commercial and private flights take off each day in the U.S., carrying 2.9 million passengers, and the odds of dying in an air disaster are astronomically small: about 1 in 13.7 million. (That’s compared to 1 in 95 odds of dying in a car accident.) Here’s what to do if you’re anxious about flying right now. Grottoes bear the enduring touch of Tang Branded Content Grottoes bear the enduring touch of Tang By China Daily Accept your anxiety Martin Seif, a psychologist who co-founded the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, has treated thousands of people with aerophobia. He says the recent aviation disasters haven’t impacted his clients as much as you might think: They're already so anxious about flying that many avoid it altogether, so the news events are almost irrelevant to them. The most profound impact, he says, has been on reluctant flyers who have traditionally still managed to board the plane, though they don't relish the experience. “What’s happened is that the normally nervous people who go on airplanes—who don’t like thinking about it too much but say, ‘OK, I have to get there’—are having an uptick in their concerns and fear of flying,” Seif says. "Specifically, they’re having an uptick in anticipatory anxiety,” or excessive worry or fear about a future event. Read More: 8 Symptoms Doctors Often Dismiss As Anxiety If you have a flight booked and are feeling anxious about it, Seif recommends telling yourself: “I’m committed to going on this flight. I’m going no matter what.” That helps tamp down anticipatory anxiety, he says, because it reduces the amount of debating you’ll do with yourself about whether you should still go or not. “The first thing I tell people is to expect anxiety, accept it, and allow it,” he says. “Anxiety is very, very strange. The more you fight it, the greater it gets.” Instead of obsessing about trying to calm down—and giving your anxiety more oxygen—simply stand by your decision to fly and “learn to let the time pass,” he says. Focus on the perks of air travel If you’re nervous about flying, spend time thinking about the ways it enriches your life and allows you to meet your goals, says Madeline Marks, a practicing psychologist with the University of Maryland Medical Center. She suggests asking yourself why you bought a plane ticket in the first place, and listing the ways that flying serves you. “Flying might allow you to visit your loved ones, because one of your core values is your family, and spending time with friends celebrating milestones,” she says. “Maybe one of your big values is appreciating other cultures and food, so seeing the world is important to you.” Or, jetting across the country to attend a work-related conference might allow you to network and advance in your field. Remind yourself that “airline travel has allowed us to be more globally connected,” Marks says, “and to connect more with these activities that give our life meaning.” Cut off your news consumption It might feel impossible to escape headlines about what caused American Eagle Flight 5342 to crash in Washington, D.C., or videos from inside the Delta plane that flipped on its roof during a landing in Toronto. But Carroll advises looking away from aviation-related news—including speculation about how firings of FAA staff could potentially impact safety. We don't yet know how things will play out, he says, and worrying isn’t going to help ensure your flight goes smoothly. If possible, start tuning out the news at least two weeks before your flight. “It might sound like a long period of time for someone who really is a news junkie,” he says. “You don’t have to go cold turkey, but gradually decreasing the amount of news you consume will make you calmer in general.” Start calming yourself down well before you get on the plane Aim to be as relaxed as possible on your travel day—which might mean starting to get ready for your trip early, rather than jamming all your errands, chores, and packing into the day before you leave. If the airport isn't close to home, it can even be helpful to book a hotel nearby, Carroll says, so you don't have the added stress of a long drive. Read More: Do You Really Store Stress in Your Body? Throughout your travels, practice progressive muscle relaxation or deep-breathing exercises, which can, for example, be helpful as you wait in the security line. Once you’re on the plane, you could even put the dreaded barf bag into use: Breathing into a paper bag can help curb anxiety attacks, allowing people to resume normal breathing patterns. “Your neighbors might get a little nervous,” Carroll says. “But it actually works.” Take comfort in your past flying experiences Anxious flyers can think themselves out of their fear, Carroll says. The key is identifying and challenging negative thought patterns, instead reframing them so they're more realistic and productive. You might tell yourself, for example, that you’ve gone on dozens of flights before, and every single one has landed safely. Or you could remind yourself that the pilots in the cockpit have spent hundreds of hours training for this very flight. “You’re using the rational and logical part of your brain to confront the emotion-driven limbic part of your brain,” he says. “It’s very effective.” Avoid triggers Avoid anything that might exacerbate your anxiety on flight day. That includes caffeine, alcohol, and illicit drugs, says Dr. Lokesh Shahani, a psychiatrist with UTHealth Houston. “We know that caffeine makes people anxious, so avoiding coffee the morning of flying is an important thing you could do,” he says. Similarly, while you might be inclined to order an in-flight cocktail to dull your nerves, opt for a soda or juice instead: “Alcohol could actually worsen your anxiety,” he says.



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Now you can have Martha Stewart in your garden

For most of us, the chances of having Martha Stewart visit our garden is vanishingly small. Until now. After years of research, a highly fragrant pink and apricot hybrid tea rose named after the lifestyle doyenne has hit the market. In May 2023 Stewart decided to install a rose garden at her Bedford, New York estate and invited Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn, the owner of Rose Story Farms and author of “The Color of Roses,” to advise her. While Hahn was in New York for the garden build, the two began to discuss an idea over dinner. “I said, ‘Martha, what do you think about having your own rose?’. And she said, ‘Amazing, I would love that’,” explained Hahn. Creating a new rose is a massive undertaking — from inception to market usually takes years. So, while Stewart’s involvement in the project began a few years ago, the rose named after her has been around a decade in the making. The creation of a rose begins by considering “the traits you want” the flower to have, explained Consulting Rosarian (a certified expert in rose care) and independent hybridizer Christopher Huffer, before choosing your parent plants with those traits. Once the parents are crossed through the pollination process, seeds will form in rose hips (the seed pods of roses) with each seed having the potential to become a new rose. Then there are years of testing before a potential new rose can ever be sold commercially. Hahn is no stranger to working with celebrities. She and her father Lorenzo Dall’Armi collaborated with chef and author Julia Child when Child decided to pick the now iconic yellow rose to be her namesake. Stewart, meanwhile, already has a number of plants carrying her name including a begonia, a daffodil and an orchid. But to have a rose named after you is “a really big honor,” said Hahn. “And for people who love roses, it is the highest honor”. Finding the perfect rose to become Martha’s namesake was difficult according to Hahn, who visited various fields and looked at dozens of contenders. When searching for the right rose, there are a number of factors to consider, including color. Stewart has a “very defined color palette,” said Hahn, “but anything in like the medium-pink to peach, to apricot, even a creamy apricot, I think she would have been open to.” But the search ended when they came across a compact hybrid tea in Martha’s preferred color palette at Star Roses and Plants, an American horticultural company involved in plant breeding, distribution and intellectual property. What would become the Martha Stewart rose was first sent to the United States as a test rose called CP 15 8603 in December 2015, one of many sent by European rose breeding company Meilland International for evaluation. “On average, it’s maybe 150 codes (roses) we get from them every year,” Kristen Smith, a rose evaluation manager for Star Roses and Plants, told CNN. But Meilland is just one of the rose breeders the company works with. On average, it looks at close to 700 roses annually, according to Smith. After entering the US, roses are placed in a two-year quarantine period before testing begins. During the testing phase roses are reviewed for certain criteria, including growth and development in different weather conditions, as well as disease resistance. The rose that would become Stewart’s was placed at Star Roses’ testing fields in Pennsylvania and California. In 2021, as it became apparent that CP 15 8603 was special, the Star Roses team decided to patent it. “At that time, we hadn’t necessarily 100% decided to introduce it, but we knew that it was an important variety,” said Susan Bacus Morgan, marketing manager for Star Roses and Plants. “On average, it’s about five varieties that are going in to the catalog every year,” said Smith, meaning that on average less than 1% of the roses tested make it into Star’s portfolio annually. “It’s a really long and loving process to launch a rose,” said Morgan. “We want to release the very best.” While many people had a hand in finding the perfect rose to carry Stewart’s name, it was ultimately Martha’s choice. “Martha personally chose and approved the rose,” confirmed a spokesperson from a public relations agency that represents Stewart, in an email to CNN. “I am so happy that such a great rose is named after me and that many of you will be adding it to your garden!”, said Stewart in an Instagram post on her verified account last week. Stewart also thanked Hahn who “worked with me for two years to make this happen”. While new to the North American market, this same rose has been available since 2021 in Europe, where it is known as “Jean de la Fontaine.” “Oftentimes a rose introduced in Europe will receive a different name in America,” said Morgan. When choosing a name for commercial use, cultivators pick “something to catch people’s attention,” said Beth Smiley, publications director of the American Rose Society. “The Martha Stewart rose is going to attract a lot of attention”. There is no “financial benefit for having a rose named after you — absolutely zero,” said Hahn. In a statement provided to CNN, Star Roses said: “This rose has been named in honor of Martha Stewart, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to lifestyle, design, homemaking, and gardening… Our hope is that this rose will honor her legacy and serve as a source of inspiration for generations to come.” While there are only a limited number of Martha Stewart rose plants are available for pre-order, if you miss out this year, the variety is expected to be available at independent garden centers in 2026. As a repeat bloomer, you can expect the Martha Stewart rose to flower in flushes through the growing season. Smith said that while the rose has performed well in hot, dry climates like California, “it does get some leaf spot in areas that are more susceptible to fungal diseases, but it is better than older varieties of hybrid tea types.” But it’s the scent that’s the standout for this plant. “It’s not a traditional rose fragrance,” said Hahn. “It’s fruitier, it’s light, it’s luscious. You feel like you could eat it."


Australia struggles to address a surge in antisemitic attacks

Australian lawmakers and experts say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. With homes vandalized, synagogues on fire and residents on edge, Australia is grappling with a surge in antisemitic attacks that has prompted dozens of arrests across the country in what its leaders say is a “national crisis.” Australian lawmakers and experts say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Between the start of the war and September 2024, there were more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in Australia, three times the figure for the same period a year earlier, according to a report in December by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Australian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress. Over the past 16 months, Jewish Australians have faced “an unprecedented rise in antisemitism across the country,” according to a parliamentary inquiry report tabled Wednesday. Homes, cars and schools have been set on fire or spray-painted with anti-Israel messages, and there have been arson attacks against a synagogue in Melbourne and a child care center in Sydney. Last month, police said they had disrupted a potential antisemitic attack after they discovered a caravan containing explosives in a Sydney suburb. This week, two nurses in a Sydney hospital were suspended for saying they would kill Jewish patients or refuse to treat them in a video chat with a TikTok user who told them he was from Israel. The Australian government’s response to the antisemitic incidents has been criticized by Jewish groups as well as Israel. “The epidemic of antisemitism is spreading in Australia almost unchecked,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on the social media platform X last month. “We expect the Australian government to do more to stop this disease!” Last week, Australian lawmakers almost unanimously passed tough hate crime laws that include mandatory jail time for giving a Nazi salute in public. “We want people who are engaged in antisemitic activities to be caught, to be charged and to be put in the clink,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters. Opposition leader Peter Dutton agreed. “This is a time of national crisis,” he said. The laws have been welcomed by Jewish communities. “Prison sentences and fines are called for if there is to be any hope of stamping out this hateful behavior,” the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said in a statement last week. A home formerly owned by the group’s co-chief executive was among those targeted. The attacks have been concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s most populous cities and home to 85% of the country’s Jewish population. Most of them have been “small-scale, low-technology attacks,” said Julian Droogan, head of the Department of Security Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. An exception was the trailer laden with explosives, which Droogan said “was quite remarkable and almost without precedent in recent years.” While police have arrested dozens of Australians in connection with the arson, they have also said they are investigating whether the attacks could be part of a large-scale concerted effort by foreign actors paying criminals for hire. “So part of our inquiries include: Who is paying those criminals, where those people are, whether they are in Australia or offshore, and what their motivation is,” Australia Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said last month. Local police are enhancing their efforts as well. This month, police in New South Wales, the Australian state that includes Sydney, said they had doubled to 40 the number of investigators on a task force formed to investigate antisemitic crimes and patrol schools and places of worship. “Children shouldn’t feel scared to go to school, people shouldn’t feel afraid to go to prayer or practice their religion,” Commissioner Karen Webb said in a statement. The Israel-Hamas war and protests around it have been a sensitive issue in Australia, where some rallies have devolved into clashes between protesters and police officers. In October, police in New South Wales cited security risks and policing costs in trying to ban a pro-Palestinian rally marking the one-year anniversary of the start of the war, which has killed about 1,200 people in Israel and more than 46,000 people in the Gaza Strip. “We often look at Australia as geographically detached, and it is. But we forget to mention that the rest of the world is represented within Australia in microcosm,” Droogan said. “So conflicts and disputes in the world regularly manifest in the Australian community.” The tensions have extended to Australian schools, with multiple universities urging pro-Palestinian protesters to shut down encampments similar to those set up on campuses in the United States. There have been increased reports at universities of antisemitic graffiti, protests and chants, according to the parliamentary inquiry report, which urged universities to adjust their definition of antisemitism to more closely align with one that Palestinians and some civil rights groups say mutes criticism of Israel. Some Jewish groups say that in an attempt to address growing antisemitism, lawmakers and university campuses have instead politicized the issue and worsened prejudice against Palestinians and other groups. “To address antisemitism on campus, we must also address the racism faced by other racialized groups, including First Nations, Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and Asian staff and students,” Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said in a statement Friday.

Workers Forced to Leave Foreign Policy Center as Trump Presses Shutdown

Almost all the employees of the Wilson Center, a prominent nonpartisan foreign policy think tank in Washington, were placed on leave on Thursday and blocked from their work email accounts as Elon Musk’s task force quickly shut down most of the center. About 130 employees received orders telling them not to return to the office after the end of the day, according to an email reviewed by The New York Times and people with direct knowledge of the actions. The Wilson Center employees are to be paid while on leave but will be fired soon, in line with what has happened at other institutions that Mr. Musk’s workers have dismantled in recent weeks. Only five employees will remain — a president, two federal employees and two researchers on fellowships. Those positions are mandated in the center’s congressional charter. The cuts align with an executive order President Trump signed in March. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Private donations to the center will be returned to the donors, according to a person familiar with the center who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. It was not clear what would be done with the center’s endowment. On Thursday afternoon, dozens of employees carried boxes and bags filled with papers, plants and posters out of the center’s offices in the Ronald Reagan Building, which houses several government agency offices. Tears glistened on the face of one woman as she departed. Workers wheeled out carts full of documents. It was not clear on Thursday how the offices will be used, but the center’s charter requires the space to be part of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial. On Monday, four members of the Musk team entered the center’s offices and began taking over its systems. The next day, the center’s president, Mark Green, resigned.The Trump White House fired the center’s board members in recent weeks, one person briefed on the events said. Mr. Green, a former Republican congressman and ambassador, was told this week he would be fired if he did not resign, another person said. The White House declined to comment. Mr. Musk’s government-overhauling workers have gutted several other institutions in Washington, including the United States Agency for International Development. They have shut down centers that receive federal funding but that have done independent research for decades with the goal of giving nonideological expert assessments to policymakers, lawmakers and people outside government. The Wilson Center, created in 1968 as a working memorial to honor the 28th president, Woodrow Wilson, receives about 30 percent of its funding from Congress; the rest comes from private donations. The center has been run by former Democratic and Republican officials appointed by the board. Before Mr. Green, who led U.S.A.I.D. in the first Trump administration, became president and chief executive of the center in 2021, Jane Harman, a former Democratic congresswoman from California, ran the think tank. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The center has been a gathering place for scholars in all areas of foreign policy over the decades. It houses the personal library of George F. Kennan, the diplomat and policymaker who studied the Soviet Union. On Thursday, the director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, Michael Kimmage, posted photos of the library online and compared it to the library of ancient Alexandria, which “fell victim to political vicissitudes and war,” he wrote. One question is what will happen to those materials and extensive digital archives that the Wilson Center has compiled. Researchers from around the world have used the archives for projects, and scholars especially value the center’s records of documents from the Cold War era. A person familiar with the center said that it also housed historical records from Wilson’s campaign and presidency. The center’s more than 50 fellows were expected to be paid until the end of their program, but those who are foreign citizens expect to have their visas canceled. Two of the fellows are at the center through a program for scholars whose work endangers them in their home countries, according to a person familiar with the center. Each class of fellows is usually made up of academic researchers and one or more journalists working on book projects. Reporters from The New York Times have received fellowships. A Trump administration official said that Natasha Jacome, a senior adviser to Mr. Green, was the center’s new president.