Michael Harriot, columnist at The Root, and Jarad Geldner, Senior Advisor at The Democratic Coalition, discuss the FCC's vote to repeal net neutrality, the Obama-era regulations that restricted internet service providers from prioritizing certain sites and apps over others.
Harriot weighs in on what the move would mean for politics. Internet service providers will be able to allow or block ads of certain political parties of their choice, or possibly ones that have bought ad space or invested in their company. We ask Geldner what the U.S. government stands to gain from the move, adding that it simply seems like a handout to big internet companies, allowing them to take advantage of consumers.
Harriot notes his surprise that major companies like Google, Facebook, and Netflix have not been as vocal recently about their opposition to the net neutrality repeal. Harriot says that content creators like Netflix stand to lose the most.
Geldner talks about various litigation against the repeal, including a fight from the Democratic Coalition.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
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.
