In our news wrap Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it should have a process ready in about 45 days to start refunding invalidated tariffs to hundreds of thousands of companies, storms are rolling across the central U.S. with forecasters warning of possible tornadoes and GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales is vowing to finish out his term after announcing he won’t seek re-election.
Geoff Bennett:
In the day’s other headlines: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it should have a process ready in about 45 days to start refunding invalidated tariffs to hundreds of thousands of companies.
In a filing today, CBP told the Court of International Trade that it couldn’t immediately comply with the judge’s order to refund the tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled them illegal. Many large companies, including Costco, FedEx and Kohl’s, have sued the Trump administration for refunds. Some have pledged to pass on any compensation directly to customers.
Potentially dangerous storms are rolling across the Central U.S. with forecasters warning of possible tornadoes across multiple states. More than seven million Americans from Texas to Iowa are at a higher risk of severe weather. More heavy rain and strong thunderstorms will stretch into the Upper Midwest. By tomorrow, the risk will shift as far south as the Gulf Coast and to the Eastern Great Lakes.
Authorities in Oklahoma say the storms have already claimed the lives of two people. A police official there says a car crash involving a mother and daughter appeared to be tornado-related.
Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas is vowing to finish out his term after announcing he won’t seek reelection. The third-term congressman faced increasing pressure after admitting to an affair with a staffer who later took her own life. Just yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican leadership had called on him to withdraw, and the House Ethics Committee had launched an investigation into his conduct.
On Wall Street today, stocks limped to the end of a week marked by war, economic concerns, and rising oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average lost around 450 points on the day. The Nasdaq fell roughly 360 points. The S&P 500 closed out its worst week since last October.
Tributes have been pouring in following the passing of civil rights activist Bernard Lafayette. The Florida native is best known to history for his work in Selma, Alabama, where he laid the groundwork for the voter registration campaign there that culminated with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Lafayette was also arrested during his time as a Freedom Rider, and he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His ties to the civil rights movement ran deep. Lafayette was seminary roommates with civil rights icon and future Congressman John Lewis. He also helped lead Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 and was with King on the morning of his assassination.
In later years, Lafayette spoke to the PBS program “American Experience” about the importance of Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence.
Bernard Lafayette, Civil Rights Leader:
We always took the position that, when we were faced with an avalanche of violence, that we had to respond with a macro nonviolence, and that somehow we couldn’t let violence rule the day.
Geoff Bennett:
Lafayette’s son said he died Thursday morning of a heart attack. Bernard Lafayette was 85 years old.
And thousands gathered in Chicago today to pay their respects to the late Reverend Jesse Jackson. Choirs and gospel singers provided the soundtrack to a public celebration of life for the late civil rights leader. The event was part of a series of memorials, including in South Carolina, where Jackson was born.
Former President Barack Obama spoke about Jackson’s immense gifts for creating racial progress in American politics and how Jackson’s two campaigns for president helped inspire his own.
Barack Obama, Former President of the United States: And it was because of that path that he had laid, because of his courage, his audacity that two decades later a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination.
(Cheering)
Geoff Bennett:
Obama was one of three former presidents to speak today. He was followed in his remarks by Joe Biden and Bill Clinton. All three men knew Jackson personally and spoke about their relationships and the example that he set.
Joe Biden, Former President of the United States: Jesse kept hope alive for us in his lifetime, and we have got a continue to do it in our lifetime for our children, because there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States: He was always trying to lift people up. So I’m here more as a friend than a former president. He was my friend when I needed him.
(Applause)
Geoff Bennett:
Former Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke today about how Jackson inspired her as a student and later early in her legal career. The Reverend Jesse Jackson died last month. He was 84 years old.
