On This Day, March 31: Eiffel Tower completed, dedicated
In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by its designer, Gustave Eiffel, during the Universal Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturers.
In 1906, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association) was established.
In 1918, daylight saving time went into effect in the United States for the first time.
In 1948, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Aid Act, a plan to rehabilitate war-ravaged Europe.
In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Chinese-occupied Tibet and was granted political asylum in India.
In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced he wouldn't seek re-election and simultaneously ordered the suspension of U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.
In 1971, U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the deaths of 22 Vietnamese civilians in what was called the My Lai Massacre. Public opinion polls and news reports indicated that most Americans believed the sentence was too severe; many said Calley was a scapegoat. His sentence was gradually reduced and he was paroled in 1974.
In 1991, the Warsaw Pact formally ended, with Soviet commanders surrendering their powers in an agreement between pact members and the Soviet Union.
In 1995, Major League Baseball players went back to work, ending the longest strike in league history. The lockout, which began Aug. 12, 1994, ended the rest of the 1994 season.
In 1998, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia after unrest in the Serbian province of Kosovo turned violent.
In 2005, Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old Florida woman in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, died 14 days after removal of her feeding tube amid a legal struggle over her fate that reached the White House and Supreme Court.
In 2007, Pakistan successfully tested its Hataf-II Abdali ballistic missile, believed capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
In 2017, mudslides killed more than 200 people after heavy rains in Colombia.
In 2019, rapper Nipsey Hussle died in a shooting outside his Los Angeles clothing store.
In 2021, the Biden administration reversed a Trump-era ban on transgender Americans serving in the U.S. military. Days into his second term in 2025, President Donald Trump reinstated the ban with an executive order.
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USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump, when in trouble, throws tantrums. The economy is his latest conniption.
Trump's economy is telling you a story the president doesn't want you to hear: Prices are rising, growth is slowing, unemployment is increasing in some sectors – and the stock market is noticing. President Donald Trump applies a very simple – and deeply dishonest – approach to telling the story of America's economy: Everything his opponents do is designed to destroy it, and only he can fix it. And if the economic data doesn't support Trump's claims, he plays the victim of a rigged system. This way, in his own telling, Trump can never be wrong. Either his policies saved the day, or his rivals cheated him out of victory. No surprise there. This is Trump's schtick for everything, from developing real estate to keeping score at golf to winning and losing presidential elections. We're about seven months into Trump's second term, and the data produced by his chaotic economic policies – trade wars and tariffs for our allies, mass deportations that impact agriculture and other industries, overhaul of agencies that has eliminated nearly 150,000 federal employees – tells a story Trump doesn't want you to hear. Trump and Republicans still owe us an economic resurgence Prices are rising, growth is slowing and unemployment for some Americans is increasing. The stock market is noticing. Trump's conniption about adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job numbers from May, June and July continued with an attempt to distort reality during an Aug. 5 CNBC interview, where a friendly interviewer couldn't shake him from his baseless claim that the report was "rigged." This is instructive because it shows us what he fears. Our economy displayed some strengths and plenty of challenges in 2024 when Joe Biden was president and Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to Trump, who directly linked economic revival through tariffs and trade wars with the deportation of undocumented immigrants. We've now seen nationwide deportation efforts so random and ruthless that public sentiment has turned on Trump for this issue. But where is the economic revival that he promised? There, too, on the economy, Trump's approval ratings are dismal. He's tanking. And he needs someone to blame. So he fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Aug. 1 and continued this week to claim, while offering zero evidence, that she had somehow rigged the reports that showed America adding a lackluster 73,000 jobs in July while revising downward the projections for May and June by 258,000 jobs. Trump had previously touted the May and June reports as proof that he was "revitalizing the American economy." The revised data bursts those boasts. No wonder he wigged out. He must know that he now faces what he warned about while campaigning for reelection. The truth of the economy is plain to see Trump, campaigning in Wisconsin in May 2024, claimed Biden's administration was suffering from "stagflation" – a period of increasing inflation, slowing economic growth and high unemployment. America hasn't actually seen stagflation since Jimmy Carter's presidency. But Trump told his supporters in Wisconsin that stagflation "spells the death of the American dream," while directly linking his false claim to his complaints about undocumented immigrants. Now that he is in charge, talk of stagflation is back in a way that Trump doesn't want to hear. Opinion: Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill victory tour hits major bump − voters hate it Prices in June ticked up 2.6% from 12 months before, when Biden was president. The Associated Press says it's a sign that "broad-based tariffs are starting to lift prices for many goods." Unemployment is climbing among Black Americans, rising from 6.3% in July 2024 to 7.2% this July, an economic indicator that can be an early sign of a weakening job market. A new report showed the nation's gross domestic product, a broad measure of the nation's economy, grew by less than 1.3% in the first half of 2025, down from 2.8% growth a year ago. While the GDP is still growing, Trump's unpredictable dalliances with tariffs affected the percentage. The stock market, which has been on a Trump tariff roller coaster ride for months, clearly took note on Aug. 5 of rising prices and falling employment, giving back some recent gains. Americans keep disapproving of Trump's policies None of this means America's economy is on the precipice. It just means the economic revival Trump promised on the campaign trail is not happening. If anything, his policies are making things worse, not better. But that's not a story Trump could ever tell. Instead, he'll try to construct an alternate reality where he is winning at everything while foes, real and imagined, attempt to defeat him. Opinion: Republicans in Congress head home to angry voters. So much for summer break. Just listen to Trump ramble on CNBC, where he tried to float the whopper that he has "the best poll numbers I've ever had." It was just too much, so the host had to tell him he was wrong. His response: "fake polls." The truth: 54.8% of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy while 41.9% approve, as of Aug. 4, according to an average of surveys compiled by the website RealClear Polling. But Trump would much rather fire statisticians for producing accurate reports than admit that his promise of economic revival has been stymied by his own actions. That's not going to fix anything. The most likely outcome is that future reports will echo Trump's lies to prevent his tantrums. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
As Trump cracks down on college student visas, other countries see opportunity
LONDON (AP) — In China, wait times for U.S. visa interviews are so long that some students have given up. Universities in Hong Kong are fielding transfer inquiries from foreign students in the U.S., and international applications for British undergraduate programs have surged. President Donald Trump's administration has been pressuring U.S. colleges to reduce their dependence on international enrollment while adding new layers of scrutiny for foreign students as part of its crackdown on immigration. The U.S. government has sought to deport foreign students for participating in pro-Palestinian activism. In the spring, it abruptly revoked the legal status of thousands of international students, including some whose only brush with law enforcement was a traffic ticket. After reversing course, the government paused new appointments for student visas while rolling out a process for screening applicants' social media accounts. The U.S. remains the first choice for many international students, but institutions elsewhere are recognizing opportunity in the upheaval, and applicants are considering destinations they might have otherwise overlooked. The impact on U.S. universities — and the nation's economy — may be significant. New international enrollment in the U.S. could drop by 30% to 40% this fall, according to an analysis of visa and enrollment data by NAFSA, an agency that promotes international education. That would deprive the U.S. economy of $7 billion in spending, according to the analysis. Many international students pay full price, so their absence would also hurt college budgets. The country's new Labour government has vowed to cut migration, and officials have imposed time limits on post-study visas allowing graduates to stay and work. But admissions consultants say the United Kingdom is still seen as the most welcoming of the traditional 'big four' English-speaking destinations in higher education — the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. After declining last year, the number of international applications for undergraduate study in the U.K. this fall grew by 2.2%, official figures show. A record number of applications came from China, up 10% compared with the previous year. Applications from the U.S. also reached nearly 8,000 students — an increase of 14% and a 20-year high. Acceptances of international students for graduate programs in the U.K. grew an estimated 10% from last year, driven by demand for business and management courses in particular, according to data from UniQuest, which works with many British universities on admissions. Data showing the extent of any impact will not be available until fall, said Mike Henniger, CEO of Illume Student Advisory Services, a consultancy that works with colleges in the U.S., Canada and Europe. 'But the American brand has taken a massive hit, and the U.K. is the one that is benefiting," he said. Staying in Asia is becoming more popular Demand from Chinese students has risen rapidly for universities places in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, said Will Kwong, managing director of AAS Education, a consultancy in Hong Kong. Many Western universities have offshore campuses there that are more affordable than going to the U.S. or U.K. 'Opting for study in Asia has been a trend since the easing of COVID-19,' Kwong said. 'But obviously it's been exacerbated by the change of administration in the U.S.' Some Asian families have told him the U.S. is no longer their clear first choice because of political turbulence and visa difficulties, many are still waiting for U.S. visa interviews and will likely miss the start of the fall term, Kwong said. Chinese college student Alisa, who is studying data science, plans to attend an exchange program this fall at the University of California, Berkeley. She hopes to pursue a master's degree in the U.S. But she is also looking into other options 'just so I could still go to school if the extreme scenario occurs,' said Alisa, who spoke on condition of partial anonymity out of fear of being targeted. Hong Kong will welcome any students who are denied entry to the U.S., the city's leader John Lee has said. Last year, the Chinese territory decided to allow international students to work part-time. Hong Kong University said it has received over 500 inquiries from students in the U.S. and is processing around 200 applications for transfer. At another school, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, international undergraduate applications have surged by 40% from last year, said Alison Lloyd, associate provost on institutional data and research. Upheaval could be a boon for countries with satellite campuses Countries including the United Arab Emirates have invested heavily in attracting international students by partnering with universities elsewhere to host branch campuses. These arrangements could appeal to students who fear being denied access to the U.S. Dubai, which has designs on becoming a global education hub, hosts dozens of international institutions' satellite campuses. It saw international student numbers grow by a third in 2024-2025. Lisa Johnson, principal of Dubai's private American Academy for Girls, said her mostly Emirati student body is increasingly looking away from the U.S. for college. 'Every student wants and dreams to go to Harvard,' she said. 'But as college options increase in the United Arab Emirates, more and more students are staying." Kazakhstan has similar ambitions, said Daniel Palm, who has helped U.S. universities set up campuses abroad. Illinois Tech and the University of Arizona are among colleges offering degree programs in the Central Asian country, drawing students mostly from China and Russia. 'All of a sudden U.S. colleges are asking how to provide diversity, provide access," Palm said, "because you have students who want to come to the U.S. and can't."
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Michael Goodwin: Sen. Warren backing Mamdani is the latest example of Dems floundering — and their zany agenda
More than six months into Donald Trump's highly consequential second term, Democrats are still looking for their sputtering resistance movement to deliver some big victories. Instead, they've suffered repeated failures and are responding with an increasingly angry radicalism that has zero appeal to the hearts and minds of most voters. A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that a mere 33% of national respondents hold a favorable view of Dems, which the Journal called the party's lowest point in its polls over three decades. Advertisement It also found that a stunning 63% of voters hold an unfavorable view of the party. Those dismal results are the fruit of a run of bad candidates —think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz — and a scatter-shot strategy that consistently defies common sense and traditional American middle-class values. The impression is that party leaders and high-profile advocates are lurching from one temper tantrum about Trump to another, each delivered with the desperation of a Hail Mary pass. Advertisement They seem more concerned about the welfare of illegal immigrants, including gang-bangers, than about the physical safety and financial security of innocent, tax-paying Americans. Comes now the latest example of their zany agenda, this one courtesy of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In a few brief remarks Monday, she managed to prove that the passing years have not dimmed her gift for poor judgment and terrible ideas. Major party headache Her new brainstorm threatens to become another major headache for her party. Advertisement Appearing in Gotham with socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Warren declared that 'New York City is the place to start the conversation for Democrats on how affordability is the central issue, the central reason to be a Democrat, and that delivering on it in meaningful, tangible ways that will touch working families is why we're here.' It's a pretty strange thing to say given that it was almost exclusively Democratic mayors, governors and lawmakers that created the affordability crisis she now bemoans. She went on to claim that Mamdani, the 33–year-old nepo-baby radical who won the Dems' mayoral primary, should be the party's national face. 'Bring it on!' Republicans say, convinced that he would be a major drag for Dems in the 2026 elections. Advertisement The GOP would be delighted to run against a party that features a radical leftist who never held a real job in his life. It's worth noting that four years ago, then-Mayor-elect Eric Adams declared himself 'the new face of the Democratic Party.' The idea never gained much traction, with his tenure soon swamped by the tide of illegal border crossers waved in by Joe Biden, as hundreds of thousands made their way to New York for free housing, food and medical care. Adams never quite recovered, and that was even before he faced federal corruption charges brought under Biden that the Trump Justice Department dropped. Nonetheless, the turmoil and critical coverage were such a burden that Adams passed up his party's primary and is seeking re-election in November as an independent. Although he and the NYPD deserve great credit for driving shootings to historic lows, recent polls show the mayor's support is stuck in single digits and sometimes falls below the slice of voters who say they are undecided. NY Dems shun him As for Warren's idea about making Mamdani the national model for the party, she is so deep in fantasy land that she's even out of step with leading New York Dems. They are avoiding the far-leftist candidate like the plague, which is what he could be politically in areas that are more balanced than the People's Republic of New York, where there is just one registered Republican for every six registered Dems. Advertisement And so Gov. Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries all have declined to endorse Mamdani, which is an exceptional rebuke to him and his platform. Normally, they would reflexively back the winner of the party's mayoral primary, but they look ahead and see his major positions — defund the police, hike taxes, boycott Israel and support the anti-Jewish mobs disrupting cities and college campuses — as a toxic brew that even if it prevails in the city, won't fly around the rest of the state or across the nation. They see him as a major burden next year, when Hochul will be seeking re-election and Schumer and Jeffries will be trying to guide Dems to victory in their respective chambers. Of the group, Hochul has been the most outspoken and explicit in shunning him. Advertisement Mamdani's plan to tax high-income New Yorkers would require legislative approval and her signature, and the governor made it clear that's not going to happen. Days before the late June primary, Hochul threw cold water on the tax proposals he aims to use to fund his long list of free things, including buses and child care. 'I'm not raising taxes at a time where affordability is the big issue,' she said in a TV interview. 'I don't want to lose any more people to Palm Beach. We've lost enough . . . so let's be smart about this.' Advertisement Hochul's answer was surprising in that she's usually an automatic yes vote for new taxes, congestion pricing being a recent example. But her answer was also clever in that she adopted Mamdani's theme of an 'affordability crisis' and turned it on its head to use it as a reason not to support him. She's right in the sense that when it comes to affordability, New York governments' addiction to high spending and taxing already are major causes. Trickle-down pain City and state regulations also amount to a mountain of expensive red tape that discourage construction as well as business and job creation. Advertisement Her congestion tax is a good example of the trickle-down impact. The price of every loaf of bread, bottle of beer and bag of potato chips sold in Midtown now includes a portion of the added tax she slapped on delivery trucks. Meanwhile, the state's enormous budget reflects the way the government mafia grabs a piece of every action. Albany is now spending $254 billion this year, more than $100 billion more than it spent a decade ago. Florida has millions of more people than New York, but somehow manages to make do with spending $117 billion. That's almost identical to the city's budget alone, which is $116 billion this year, up from $75 billion over the last decade. These exploding expense budgets do not include the numerous 'off-the-books' entities such as the MTA, public colleges and universities, the Dormitory Authority and scores of other lesser-known units that spend multiple billions of dollars they collect from the public. Just remember: As bad as things are, they can always get worse. And if Mamdani is elected, everything definitely would get worse.
