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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Wed Mar 12 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Hi! 🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Would you pay $19 for a strawberry?

Here's a glimpse at Wednesday's news:

•	Stocks cut losses and a tariff tit-for-tat.
•	The Senate's fight to keep the lights on.
•	Birds are on the move.

Canada reverses energy surcharge after tariff threat

President Donald Trump's increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect Wednesday but runup to the tariff deadline came with some drama. On Tuesday, Trump threatened Canada with doubling the duty to 50% on its steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. But Trump backed off those plans after Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to suspend his province's decision to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York until earlier U.S. tariffs were removed. The incident whip-sawed U.S. financial markets already jittery over the president's broad tariff offensive.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, wearing a "Canada is not for sale" hat last month.

Blair Gable, REUTERS

Ukraine agrees to temporary ceasefire

"Before you can negotiate, you have to stop shooting at each other. That's what the president has wanted to see, and that's the commitment we got today from the Ukrainian side. They're willing to do that. Obviously now that will be delivered to the Russians."

~ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio coming out of talks with Ukraine held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Kyiv agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Russia, but the Kremlin would need to agree to the proposal for it to take effect as a crucial first step in ending the 3-year-old war.

More news to know now

•	Local authorities failed to find the body of a missing Pittsburgh student in the waters off the resort town of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
•	An even larger slashing of federal workers across the country is set for Thursday.
•	Universities and colleges are implementing hiring freezes.
•	Brace for even more wildfires this year.
•	DOGE cuts came for employees at wildlife refuge created to protect the threatened Florida manatee.

Waiting at the doctor's office? Tackle our crossword. Sally's hint: Page-turner (freestyle).

A spending showdown looms in the Senate

The Republican-controlled House approved a spending bill Tuesday supported by President Donald Trump to fund the government for the next six months. But the vote dares Senate Democrats to oppose GOP priorities and risk a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday, as the nation faces economic uncertainty and stocks markets wobble. Democrats contend the bill would be devastating for healthcare, food assistance and veterans benefits by boosting defense spending $6 billion and reducing non-defense spending by $13 billion. It's a fight to keep government lights on.

Mahmoud Khalil's arrest fulfills a Trump promise

The ICE arrest of a pro-Palestinian student protest leader facing deportation shows President Trump putting his vow to target people he calls anti-American into action.

The latest: Mahmoud Khalil, 30, is a former Columbia University graduate student currently detained by federal immigration agents for his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

•	Khalil is currently in a Louisiana detention center. U.S. District Court Judge Jesse M. Furman has ordered Khalil not to be removed from the country for the time being.
•	Who is Khalil? Born in a Syrian refugee camp, Khalil was a major figure during last year's pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia. He is a green card holder married to an American citizen, his attorney said.
•	"This is the first arrest of many to come": During his campaign, Trump vowed to target student protesters he said were anti-American and anti-Jewish.

Supporters of ICE-detained Mahmoud Khalil march in downtown New York City on Tuesday.

Eduardo Cuevas/USA TODAY

Today's talkers

•	Are Girl Scout cookies ... toxic?
•	"Love is Blind" would like some good men.
•	Tiger Woods is out for the Masters.
•	It's not cheating, it's research! Build your bracket with USA TODAY's men's and women's March Madness predictions.
•	Should young people be worried about their 401(k)s?
•	Gonna need to get more efficient packing carry-on baggage.

Coming soon to a sky near you: 500 million birds

Avian annual spring migration is here. Radar tracking shows birds flying overhead as they flap their way to summer feeding grounds. Cornell University's bird lab hosts a BirdCast Migration Dashboard that gives daily summaries of radar-based nocturnal bird migration. With it, you can watch the progress of birds as they waft their way across the nation and even track how many flew over your county the night before. The biggest migration peaks are still to come.

Photo of the day: Greenland votes

Greenland's pro-business opposition Demokraatit party, which favours a slow approach to independence from Denmark, won Tuesday's parliamentary election, but a pro-U.S. party recorded its best result ever in a vote that took place in the shadow of President Donald Trump's pledge to take control of the island.

Lars Joergen Kleist, wearing a Make America Great Again hat, casts his vote at the polling station in Nuuk on Tuesday in Greenland.

ODD ANDERSEN, AFP via Getty Images

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here . Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.