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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau.
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Trump's Day: The president and first lady Melania Trump participate in a celebration of military mothers at the White House this evening.
U.S.-China Talks: Trade negotiators met in Washington yesterday and discussions are set to continue today as they try to get talks back on track.
Nomination: President Trump plans to nominate as secretary of defense Pat Shanahan, a longtime Boeing executive now serving as acting secretary.
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Graphic: The Trump administration’s use of tariffs on imported goods has broadened to affect hundreds of billions of dollars in goods from China and other big economies. Here's a look.
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The U.S. increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10% as trade talks resumed. As the tariff increase took effect at 12:01 a.m., the Chinese Commerce Ministry reiterated that Beijing “cannot but take necessary countermeasures,” without specifying how or when. President Trump also threatened to impose additional levies on virtually everything China exports to the U.S., report Bob Davis and Josh Zumbrun.
This round of tariffs will likely hit Americans in the pocketbook, making $40 billion of consumer goods on retailers’ shelves more expensive. Opponents of the tariffs, including in the retail industry, say the higher levies will drive up costs for consumers, reduce saving and dent economic growth.
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Even though a new Cold War of limited and tightly controlled interactions between the U.S. and China isn't likely, there are signs the countries are decoupling economically. American and Chinese investors, businesses and scholars could find themselves operating in separate spheres pursuing separate strategies, report Greg Ip and Yoko Kubota.
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The U.S. blocked China Mobile Ltd.’s U.S. arm from providing services via American networks amid escalating tension between the countries.
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Economists said unpredictable trade negotiations with China complicate the outlook for the U.S. trade deficit for the rest of the year.
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Manufacturers around the world are bracing for collateral damage as the U.S. escalates its tariff fight with China.
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The U.S.-China Trade Struggle: How We Got Here
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By William Mauldin
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The U.S. and China have had a complicated trade relationship for the last half century. Here's a look at the key moments that landed the two countries on the doorstep of a possible trade deal.
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President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House in Washington on Thursday. ‘I blame our past leadership for allowing this to happen,” he said in reference to China’s trade practices. PHOTO: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
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President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is being challenged on four fronts at once, reports Michael R. Gordon. It is an extraordinary test of the White House’s ability to manage multiple crises and deliver on its ambitious agenda.
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In Asia, talks with China over trade are at a delicate stage and North Korea is again testing short-range missiles.
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In the Middle East, Iran is threatening to ramp up its nuclear program and, according to U.S. officials, has prepared to attack American forces.
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In Latin America, the Venezuelan government has thwarted a U.S.-backed regime-change campaign.
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Video: Defying sanctions, vessels linked to Pyongyang use a large toolbox of tactics to import and export goods like oil and coal—and keep North Korea’s economy afloat.
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U.S. authorities seized North Korean cargo ship Wise Honest, alleging it had been used to illicitly transport coal from the country in violation of U.S. international sanctions, reports Aruna Viswanatha. The 17,000-ton ship was also used to deliver heavy machinery to North Korea, authorities said.
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U.S. dollars were used, in violation of U.S. sanctions, to make payments to maintain the ship, the Justice Department alleged. Officials said it was the first such seizure for sanctions violations.
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The announcement came hours after North Korea launched two suspected short-range missiles amid stalled nuclear talks with the U.S.
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Leaving 'Medicare For All' to the 2020 Candidates, House Democrats Look Back to Obama
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While Democrats on the presidential campaign trail are proposing a fundamental rethinking of U.S. climate and health-care policy, in the House, the party is reaffirming policy positions carved out under the Obama administration.
On Thursday, House Democrats passed a bill aimed at rescinding Trump administration regulatory guidance that Democrats say would allow insurers to bar people with pre-existing conditions from obtaining coverage. Health care, particularly protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, has been a central plank of the Democratic platform for years now, and Republicans have recently sought to show voters that they, too, support those protections.
Many Democrats, including several who won moderate or conservative districts in 2018, cheered the Thursday vote. But the vote to maintain protections established by President Obama’s signature health-care law did not address broader policy ideas.
Left-leaning Democrats, including several running for president, have pushed for a full government takeover of the health-care industry. The plan, broadly labeled “Medicare For All,” would provide every American with health insurance. Other Democrats propose allowing Americans without insurance from their employers to purchase Medicare coverage for a fee.
While the House has held a hearing on Medicare For All, the House’s Democratic leadership has no plans to hold a vote on the measure. Many moderate Democrats do not support Medicare for All, wary of its potential costs and of Republican attacks that it is too extreme.
The dynamic on the Thursday vote is similar to that on the vote Democrats took last week on a bill barring President Trump from leaving the Paris Agreement, an international climate accord to limit carbon emissions enough to keep average global temperature increases to two degrees Celsius.
As Democrats took that vote to recommit one of President Obama’s policy accomplishments, they skirted a debate about the Green New Deal, a sweeping plan to wean the U.S. economy off of fossil fuels entirely within 10 years. Like Medicare for All, many Democrats see the Green New Deal, which also aims to give every American a job and health insurance, as too extreme.
Write to Andrew Duehren at andrew.duehren@wsj.com
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Mr. Trump backed a push to limit suprise medical bills. Under principles unveiled by Mr. Trump, patients receiving emergency services wouldn’t get separate, out-of-network bills. Doctors and hospitals have pushed back against the idea of a single bill, Stephanie Armour reports.
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The amount companies in the U.S. pay hospitals can vary widely and often exceeds what Medicare pays, according to a new study.
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The Senate Intelligence Committee’s decision to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. has opened up a rift among Republicans. Scrutiny settled Thursday on committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), who often has taken a more bipartisan approach toward probing President Trump than some of his fellow Republicans, report Andrew Duehren and Rebecca Ballhaus.
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Mr. Trump told reporters he was “very surprised” to learn his son had been subpoenaed. He declined to say whether his son should comply.
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Several Democrats on the panel praised the Republican chairman.
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“I think that’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Senate Intelligence Committee is focused on...Mueller is a criminal justice investigation, ours is an intelligence investigation about the Russia threat.”
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— Sen. Marco Rubio
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President Trump said the attorney general will decide whether Robert Mueller should be allowed to appear before Congress, days after the president made clear he didn’t want the head of the Russia probe to testify, report Michael C. Bender and Byron Tau.
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The comments put Mr. Barr in the position of either allowing Mr. Mueller to testify—something he previously told lawmakers he wouldn’t object to—or reversing his previous answer to side with Mr. Trump.
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A debate about whether the U.S. should have a patchwork of minimum wages is complicating a push to raise the federal pay floor. There's a divide among House Democrats on the issue, report Kristina Peterson, Eric Morath and Ken Thomas.
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While the bill is unlikely to come up for a vote in the Senate, passage in the House would give Democrats a campaign talking point.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders is calling for a federal capped interest rate of 15% on consumer credit cards and other consumer loans while allowing states to maintain caps below that level. PHOTO: JERRY MENNENGA/ZUMA PRESS
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Bernie Sanders proposed legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 15%, comparing the banking industry to "loan sharks" as he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination. The proposal, announced alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has little chance of clearing the Senate and will face opposition from financial interests, Ken Thomas reports.
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The Democratic National Committee set a June 12 deadline for qualifying for the first presidential primary debates, and outlined a tiebreaking system in case more than 20 candidates qualify for the two-night event.
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Here's a look at who's who in the crowded 2020 race for president.
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A former intelligence analyst has been arrested and charged with providing classified information to a reporter at the Intercept, report Aruna Viswanatha and Dustin Volz. Prosecutors allege Daniel Hale, who was assigned to work with the National Security Agency, provided about U.S. counterterrorism operations including against al Qaeda.
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The case comes less than a year after another former U.S. intelligence community contractor, Reality Winner, was sentenced to more than five years in prison for sending classified information to the Intercept.
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A third source of classified information to the Intercept, former FBI agent Terry Albury, was sentenced in October to four years.
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Several high-profile Democrats including Stacey Abrams, Joaquin Castro and Steve Bullock have passed on the chance to run for Senate seats in red states in 2020. (538)
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How former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of murder, got Trump to pardon him (Washington Examiner)
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Top tech executives are urging regulators to adopt approaches from the past to regulate their businesses, including self-regulation. (Axios)
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This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Tim Hanrahan, Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Daniel Nasaw. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage during the day on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.
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