The Times reported this week that the U.S. military was quietly preparing for the possibility of war with Pyongyang. Joel S. Wit, Senior Fellow at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins and author of "Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis" joins The Hive to discuss what Americans need to worry about...and what they don't.
Wit says there is a chance of going to war with North Korea, but no one should think it will happen tomorrow. The reports of U.S. military exercises are very serious though, and people should take note. On the other hand, Wit says President Trump's tweets have made it seem like the situation is a lot more dire than it really is.
Plus, Wit adds that North Korea and South Korea banning together for the Winter Olympics is the first piece of positive news we've had in a long time from that region. However, he wonders what will happen after the Olympics. Will tensions continue to ease? Or will things go back to normal?
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
