(WASHINGTON) -- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday he expects President Donald Trump's tariff policy will hike prices and slow economic growth, while noting that key indicators "still show a solid economy."
Policy changes implemented by the White House have contributed to a "highly uncertain outlook," Powell said, making the remarks as stocks plummeted amid an escalating global trade war.
Despite the murky outlook, Powell said Trump's tariffs would likely increase consumer prices.
"While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it's also possible the effects will be more persistent," Powell told the audience at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing conference in Washington, D.C.
Minutes before Powell was set to speak, Trump sharply criticized the Fed chair, calling on him to reduce interest rates.
"This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump also claimed without evidence that political considerations have played a role in Powell's decision-making on interest-rate policy.
On Friday, Powell declined to directly respond to Trump. Still, Powell strongly rebuked concern about his political independence.
"I don't respond to political remarks," Powell said, adding that it would be inappropriate for the central bank to comment on U.S. trade policy.
"We try to stay as far as we can from the political process," Powell said. "That's what people expect from us."
The remarks from Powell came about two weeks after the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, even as the central bank said it expected higher inflation and slower economic growth than it had forecast in December.
Despite escalating trade tensions and market turbulence since Trump took office in January, the economy remains in solid shape by several key measures.
The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level. Meanwhile, inflation sits well below a peak attained in 2022, though price increases register nearly a percentage point higher than the Fed's goal of 2%.
A new jobs report on Friday showed a surge in hiring last month, exceeding economists' expectations and defying growing concern on Wall Street of a possible recession.
The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure marked a major increase from 151,000 jobs added in the previous month.
Still, the backward-looking report about the labor market failed to assuage investor fears in the aftermath of sweeping tariffs issued by Trump earlier this week.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,600 points, or 4%, while the S&P 500 plunged 4.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 4.6%.
The selloff extended losses from Thursday, which marked the worst trading day since 2020.
Addressing the conference in Washington, D.C, on Friday, Powell said it remains too early to determine how the Trump administration's policy changes will impact forthcoming interest-rate decisions.
For now, Powell said, it is "too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(AUSTIN, Texas) -- The measles outbreak in western Texas has hit 481 cases, with 59 newly identified infections confirmed over the last three days, according to new data published Friday.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Three of the cases are among people vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.
At least 56 measles patients have been hospitalized so far, the DSHS said.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, at 180, followed by children ages 4 and under, who account for 157 cases, according to the data.
Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 315 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.
"We're continuing to see a rise, and so it certainly does tell us that we're not quite in a place yet where the outbreak has been contained," Dr. Sapna Singh, chief medical officer for Texas Children's Pediatrics in Houston, told ABC News in reference to the state data.
"What it does not tell us is how many undiagnosed cases we are potentially missing," she continued. "I suspect that there are greater numbers of patients out there who have infections but may not be seeking out testing and or medical care for symptoms that may not require it."
Singh said the low number of rare breakthrough cases show how effective the vaccine is, and that there are many reasons breakthrough cases might occur, including someone who has a condition that causes their immunity to wane over time.
"Even in those cases, we know that those patients are less likely to develop severe infection, they're less likely to have complications, and they're also much less likely to be the spreaders of the infection, and that is very important in terms of community protection and the protection of vulnerable people in the population," she said.
It comes as the CDC has so far confirmed 607 measles cases in at least 21 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
This is likely an undercount due to delays in states reporting cases to the federal health agency.
About 12% of measles patients in the U.S. have been hospitalized, mostly among those aged 19 and under, according to CDC data.
Among the nationally confirmed cases by the CDC, about 97% are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, the agency said.
Of those cases, 1% are among those who received just one dose of the MMR inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles.
"This is an unfortunate part of just declining vaccine rates, not just within the country, but internationally as well," Singh said. "Many of these other cases that you're seeing in isolated areas, not necessarily large outbreaks, are coming from international travel. … But it is certainly of concern to see the number reach this this high,"
Last year, just 285 cases were confirmed during the entirely of 2024, according to CDC data.
Singh says having more than double the cases in just the first three months of 2025, is "of significant concern" and said it's important to educate people on the importance of vaccination.
"Our greatest defense against the infection is vaccination" she said. "Texas Children's pediatrics, we are really encouraging families to come in speak with their pediatricians if they think their child needs a vaccine, if they think they are due for an additional dose or are unsure about their vaccine status. Your physician, your pediatrician, is going to be the best source for you to get your concerns and questions answered."
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HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that less than a day after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against U.S. trading partners, Texas Republicans were divided on whether to endorse a trade war that business leaders say is likely to hurt the state’s economy. Many jumped up to support the president, even as financial markets dropped and trade partners ramped up threats of counter tariffs. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, cheered Trump on X for “restoring fairness and strength to the global stage on behalf of the American people.” U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, said Trump’s tariffs weren’t starting a trade war, “they’re ending one.” “For decades, other countries ripped off American workers with unfair tariffs and barriers. Now, we’re finally fighting back. America First!” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, viewed as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, appeared on Fox News Thursday proclaiming his distaste for tariffs, which he called, “a tax on consumers.” “Time is going to tell in the next month or two or three what happens,” he said. “My hope is these tariffs are short lived, and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe.” Many Texas Republicans chose to say silent on trade moves that stood to hurt businesses and farms across Texas, which exports more goods overseas than any state in the country. U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw, Chip Roy, Tony Gonzales and Jody Arrington, chair of the House Budget Committee, made no mention of the tariffs on social media as of Thursday afternoon and their offices did not respond to requests for comment. Nationally, some Republicans are already speaking out against tariffs, following a recent downturn in global financial markets. The S&P 500 is down 10% since Trump took office Jan. 20 with the promise to upend longstanding trade relationships.
Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been charged with one count of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, the Metropolitan Police in London announced Friday.
The charges relate to four separate women. The alleged crimes span from 1999 to 2005, authorities said.
"The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers," Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said in a statement. "The Met's investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police. A dedicated team of investigators is available via email at CIT@met.police.uk."
Brand, 50, is due in court in London on May 2.
ABC News has reached out to representatives for Brand for comment on the charges.
In a video message shared to social platform X on Friday, Brand responded to the charges.
"I've always told you guys that when I was young and single, before I had my wife and family ... I was a fool, man, I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord," Brand said. "I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. I've never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes."
He then thanked his supporters, adding he is "incredibly grateful" to defend the charges in court.
Metropolitan Police said Friday that the charges stem from an investigation that began in September 2023.
That month, Britain's Channel 4 program Dispatches aired a documentary episode, the result of a joint investigation with TheTimes and The Sunday Times, called Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. The documentary involved four unnamed women who claimed they had been raped or sexually assaulted by Brand between 2006 and 2013.
Following the airing of that episode, Metropolitan Police announced they had opened an investigation after they "received a number of allegations of sexual offences." Police did not name Brand at the time but referenced a television documentary and news investigations, according to The Associated Press.
In October 2023, in a separate case, the Thames Valley Police in South East England told ABC News they were also investigating allegations of harassment and stalking against Brand "dating back to 2018."
The actor, known for his stand-up comedy acts and his film role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, denied all allegations.
Brand claimed in a September 2023 YouTube video, posted prior to the documentary's release, that he had received a pair of "extremely disturbing letters" from what he described as a "mainstream media" outlet and news publication that outlined "very serious allegations that I absolutely refute."
At the time, Brand claimed the allegations "pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream" and "in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies."
"As I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous," he said in that video. "Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well."
Brand suggested that the allegations were part of a "coordinated media attack" intended to discredit him.
In addition to acting and comedy, Brand has worked as a political commentator and wellness influencer.
He was previously married to singer Katy Perry from 2010 until their divorce in 2012. Brand married Laura Gallacher in 2017. The couple have three children.
TYLER – As severe weather hits East Texas, several school districts have announced they will be releasing students early on Friday to ensure students and staff stay safe.
As we head into Friday afternoon, severe storms are predicted with the possibility of creating hail or tornadoes. To ensure student and staff safety, our news partner, KETK, has compiled a list of schools that will release students early. To view the full list, click here.
NEW LONDON – Parents are pushing for the 2025 school bond project which includes a new elementary building. According to our news partner, KETK, it would be the third time voters are asked this question following two previous failed attempts.
West Rusk parents who drop their children off every morning at the elementary school said they are concerned with the current conditions. Some of the problems include leaks, aging floor, mold and have termite damage in their classrooms and windows that leak during rain.
“My daughter cannot run in the gym in certain spots because the floors buckled up so high and kids will trip and fall,” concerned parent Nathan Bishop said. “The kids have to bring their own water because we can’t drink out of the water fountain.” Continue reading West Rusk parents advocating a bond for new school building
SMITH COUNTY – 24 dogs and 3 cats have been seized from the Lanellas Rescue and Sanctuary due to alleged animal cruelty, according to our news partner, KETK.
After receiving a tip about animal cruelty on March 24, members of the Smith County Animal Shelter (SCAS) arrived at Lanellas Rescue and Sanctuary, and found several animals to be emaciated.
SCAS supervisor Amber Green told KETK that Lanellas owner Bonnie Kelley was given a time limit to take the animals to the vet to receive rabies shots and vaccinations. In the agreed time period, Kelley reportedly took only seven or eight of the 27 animals to receive care. Due to Kelley failing to meet the agreement, Green said SACS obtained a warrant and seized all 24 dogs and 3 cats from the property. Continue reading 27 animals seized from an East Texas animal sanctuary for cruelty
BULLARD – According to a report from our news partner, KETK, a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 69 near Bullard slows traffic Friday morning.
The multi-vehicle crash is out of the roadway but is slowing northbound traffic. Drivers in the area are encouraged to use caution and watch for emergency personnel in the roadway. Information regarding the crash will be updated as it becomes available.
(NEW YORIK) -- About 10,000 people across the United States Department of Health and Human Services were laid off this week as part of a massive restructuring plan.
In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the layoffs represented "a difficult moment for all of us" but that "we must shift course" because Americans are "getting sicker every year."
An official at the National Institutes of Health with knowledge on the matter, who asked not to be named, told ABC News that the layoffs were an "HHS-wide bloodbath," with entire offices being fired.
Sources told ABC News that affected offices included a majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health, key offices in the Center for Tobacco Products, most of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the entire assisted reproductive technology team at the CDC.
Then, Kennedy told ABC News on Thursday that some programs would soon be reinstated because they were mistakenly cut.
In a video statement posted on X prior to the layoffs, Kennedy said that he plans to bring to the agency a "clear sense of mission to radically improve the health of Americans and to improve agency morale."
In the six-minute clip, Kennedy claimed that the U.S. is the "sickest nation in the world," with rates of chronic disease and cancer increasing dramatically and the lifespan of Americans dropping -- though Kennedy did not present any data in his video to support those claims.
Smoking and the use of tobacco products contribute to both chronic disease and cancer -- and the offices tackling those issues are among those that were gutted in Kennedy's recent moves.
While Kennedy is correct in his statement that some chronic disease and cancer rates have risen, public health experts said -- and data shows -- that the country has made great progress tackling illnesses, including driving down cancer mortality rates, and that life expectancy is on the rise.
"Gutting the public health system while claiming to fight disease is a dangerous contradiction," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as a contributor for ABC News.
"We should be focusing on strengthening – not stripping – the public health system if we're serious about tackling chronic disease," Brownstein continued. "Dismantling key infrastructure will only set us back in the fight to keep Americans healthy."
American life expectancy increasing
In a post on X, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator from 2022 to 2023, said Kennedy was incorrect in his statement about Americans getting sicker.
"So much of what is in here is incorrect," he wrote. "Americans are NOT getting sicker every year. After a devastating pandemic, life expectancy is beginning to rise again."
Between 2022 and 2023, age-adjusted death rates decreased for nine of the leading causes of death in the U.S., according to a December 2024 report from the CDC.
This includes decreasing death rates from heart disease, unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, kidney disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and COVID-19.
Additionally, age-specific death rates dropped from 2022 to 2023 for all age groups ages 5 and older, the CDC report found.
The report also found life expectancy in the U.S. is beginning to rise again after it dropped in every U.S. state during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life expectancy in 2023 hit its highest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC report. Data showed life expectancy for the U.S. population was 78.4 years in 2023, an increase of 0.9 years from 2022.
The drop in age-adjusted death rates was largely attributed to decreases in mortality from COVID-19, heart disease, unintentional injuries and diabetes.
"Claims that Americans are getting sicker every year simply don't hold up," Brownstein told ABC News. "Life expectancy is rising again post-pandemic, and we've seen declines in cancer, cardiovascular and overdose mortality."
Obesity rising in children, decreasing in adults
Kennedy has said he wants to tackle the obesity epidemic, including childhood obesity.
Research does show that obesity is rising in children in the U.S. and is occurring at younger ages, with approximately one in five children and teens in the U.S. having obesity, according to the CDC.
A 2022 study from Emory University that studied data from 1998 through 2016 found that childhood obesity among kindergarten through fifth-grade students has become more severe, putting more children at risk of health consequences.
However, Jha pointed out in his post on X that "even obesity rates have plateaued and are beginning to turn down" in adults.
For the first time in over a decade, adult obesity rates in the U.S. may be trending downward, with numbers dropping slightly from 46% in 2022 to 45.6% in 2023, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum in December 2024.
The study reviewed the body mass index, a generally accepted method of estimating obesity, of 16.7 million U.S. adults over a 10-year period. The average BMI rose annually during that period to 30.24, which is considered obese, until it plateaued in 2022, then dropped marginally to 30.21 in 2023.
"Recent research I co-authored in JAMA shows that obesity rates in adults have plateaued and are even starting to trend downward," said Brownstein, a co-author of the study. "That progress reflects the very kind of long-term public health investment this reorg puts at risk."
Chronic disease on the rise
Kennedy has made tackling chronic diseases a cornerstone of his "Make America Healthy Again" platform.
Over the past two decades, the prevalence of chronic conditions has been steadily increasing, according to a 2024 study conducted by researchers in Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
"An increasing proportion of people in America are dealing with multiple chronic conditions; 42% have [two] or more, and 12% have at least [five]," the authors wrote.
However, the study also found that the prevalence of chronic disease varies by geographic location and socioeconomic status. Residents who live in areas with the highest prevalence of chronic disease also face a number of contributing social, economic and environmental barriers, the study found.
A 2022 study from the CDC found chronic diseases linked to cigarette smoking include respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancers and diabetes.
Rates of cancer have 'increased dramatically'
Kennedy is correct in stating that cancer rates in the U.S. have increased, with incidence rates rising for 17 cancer types in younger generations, according to a 2024 joint study from the American Cancer Society, Cancer Care Alberta and the University of Calgary.
There has been a notable increase in incidence rates for many cancer types among women and younger adults, research shows.
Incidence rates among women between ages 50 and 64 have surpassed those among men, according to a 2025 report published in the journal of the American Cancer Society.
Additionally, cancer rates among women under age 50 are 82% higher than among men under age 50, which is up from 51% in 2002, the report found.
However, while cancer incidence has increased, cancer mortality has decreased.
A 2025 report from the American Cancer Society found that age-adjusted cancer death rates have dropped from a peak in 1991 by 34% as of 2022, largely due to reductions in smoking, advances in treatment and early detection for some cancers.
However, there is more work to be done and disparities still persist. For example, Native Americans have the highest cancer death rates of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S.
Additionally, Black Americans have a two-fold higher mortality rate than white Americans for prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancers, the latter of which is a cancer of the lining of the uterus.
Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen Akambase is a family medicine and preventive medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
ABC News' Dr. Niki Iranpour, Cheyenne Haslett and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) -- Researchers who had millions of dollars' worth of grants terminated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are suing the federal government in the hopes of stopping any further research cancellations.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday evening against the NIH and its director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Among the plaintiffs are Dr. Brittany Charlton, an associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who said all of her grants were terminated because they allegedly "no longer [effectuate] agency priorities," according to termination letters.
"Why am I standing up? I am a scientist, and therefore not a lawyer, but I appreciate that contract law is complex, and yet NIH's contract cancellations set off my alarm bell," she told ABC News in a statement.
Co-plaintiffs include the American Public Health Association; Ibis Reproductive Health; and United Auto Workers as well as three other researchers.
Both the NIH and the HHS told ABC News that they don't comment on ongoing litigation.
Over the past several weeks, active research grants related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been canceled at the NIH because they allegedly do not serve the "priorities" of President Donald Trump's administration.
As of late March, more than 900 grants have been terminated, an NIH official with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named, told ABC News.
The terminations come after Trump passed a flurry of executive orders including vowing to "defend women from gender ideology extremism," which has led to new guidance, like that from HHS, which now only recognizes two sexes.
The administration has also issued several executive orders aiming to dismantle DEI initiatives.
In previous termination letters, viewed by ABC News, they state that, "Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans. Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities. It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize these research programs."
The lawsuit alleges that the grant terminations are a "reckless and illegal purge to stamp out NIH-funded research that addresses topics and populations that they disfavor."
Charlton said she was alarmed by Project 2025 -- a nearly 1,000-page document of policy proposals unveiled by the Heritage Foundation during the 2024 campaign intended to guide the next conservative administration -- which allegedly attacked fields like hers, centering on LGBTQ+ health research, as "junk gender science," she said.
On the campaign trail, Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025, saying he didn't know anything about the proposals.
Five of Charlton's grants were terminated, including a five-year grant, of which Charlton said she and her colleagues were in their fourth year, focused on documenting obstetrical outcomes for lesbian, gay and bisexual women, she said.
Another grant was focused on how to improve the experience of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals who are trying to form their families, she said.
A third was research looking to understand how laws identified by the team as discriminatory affect mental health among LGBTQ+ teens and potentially lead to depression and suicide, according to Charlton.
Charlton said the cancellations are not only affecting her ability to conduct research but the ability to keep open the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence -- based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health -- of which she is the founding director.
"My current NIH research contracts are worth $15.9 million, of which $5.9 million still needs to be spent to finish our research," Charlton said. "I have essentially no salary now, and I may need to shutter our newly launched LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence, which was a career goal of mine that I finally met when we launched less than a year ago."
She went on, "These grant terminations may end my academic career, and I've already been forced to make really tough decisions like terminating staff, including our newly appointed center's executive director."
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Katie Edwards, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, has had at least six grants terminated worth about $11.9 million, including one studying sexual violence among men who fall under sexual minorities. She can no longer pay several of the roughly 50 staff members who are funded through the research grants, the lawsuit states.
Dr. Peter Lurie, president and CEO of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, was a paid consultant and adviser on a grant evaluating the impacts of over-the-counter access to pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce HIV transmission, according to the lawsuit. The grantee institution, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, received a termination letter from the NIH in late March, the lawsuit states.
Meanwhile Dr. Nicole Maphis -- a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico's School of Medicine -- who was studying the link between alcohol use disorder and Alzheimer's disease, applied for a MOSAIC grant, "intended to help diversify the profession," according to the lawsuit. Her proposal was pulled and her current funding ends September 2025.
"Without additional funding, which the MOSAIC award would have provided, she will lose her job," the lawsuit states.
Charlton said she is hopeful the lawsuit results in a preliminary injunction and therefore halts further NIH terminations.
"I believe these contracts are binding agreements and are constitutionally grounded," she said. "It's been less than 100 days since inauguration, and I'm concerned. Concerned about signs of growing authoritarianism, and yet there is absolutely hope executive orders can't rewrite laws, and I pray courts ensure justice, pursuing truth, including via science, unites us, and it's the only way to ensure a healthier future for all."
(NEW YORK) -- U.S. hiring surged in March, blowing past economists' expectations and defying concern on Wall Street about a possible economic recession, government data on Friday showed.
The fresh data offered news of an upsurge in employer activity as stocks suffered a second day of selloffs over sweeping new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week.
The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure amounted to robust hiring and marked a major increase from 151,000 jobs added in the previous month.
The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2%, but it remains historically low.
The uptick in hiring last month came despite staff cuts imposed by the federal government amid cost-cutting efforts undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Federal government employment declined by 4,000 jobs in March, following a dropoff of 11,000 jobs the previous month.
The job gains came primarily in health care, transportation and warehousing.
Average hourly wages climbed 3.8% over the year ending in March, indicating that pay increases outpaced the inflation rate over that period.
Despite escalating trade tensions and market turbulence since Trump took office in January, the economy remains in solid shape by several key measures.
The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level. Meanwhile, inflation sits well below a peak attained in 2022, though price increases register nearly a percentage point higher than the Fed's goal of 2%.
"The economy is strong," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month.
Tariffs announced earlier this week, however, threaten to derail hiring and worsen inflation, multiple analysts previously told ABC News.
The far-reaching levies increase the likelihood of a recession by driving up prices, sapping consumer spending, slowing business activity and risking layoffs, they said.
The White House plans to slap a 10% tax on all imported products and place additional duties on items from some of the largest U.S. trading partners, including China and the European Union.
"??These policies, if sustained, would likely push the U.S. and global economy into recession this year," J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients after the tariff announcement.
"Recession risks will likely rise," Deutsche Bank added.
U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday in the first trading session after Trump unveiled the new tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,679 points, or nearly 4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined almost 6%.
The S&P 500 tumbled 4.8%, marking its worst trading day since 2020.
(SEOUL) -- South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose short-lived declaration of martial law late last year plunged the country into political chaos, in a decision that removes the suspended leader from office.
The verdict was read in court shortly after 11 a.m. Friday local time (10 p.m. Thursday ET). Police across the country had been placed on the highest security alert level ahead of the verdict, with a security perimeter established around the court in Seoul, according to the Yonhap news agency.
With the court's decision, Yoon is formally removed from office and South Korea will hold a snap presidential election within 60 days, according to the news agency.
Yoon was removed from office by the opposition-controlled National Assembly after declaring martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3, claiming the opposition party sympathized with North Korea and was paralyzing the government.
The move sparked fierce protests, and several hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order.
Separate from his removal from office, Yoon was indicted by South Korean prosecutors on insurrection charges over the brief imposition of martial law.
An arrest warrant against him led to a standoff between his security team and police earlier this year.
In a dramatic scene, thousands of police descended on his home and were met with crowds of the impeached president's backers, including some who lay down in front of police vehicles in an attempt to block authorities from reaching the residence.
Yoon was eventually arrested several days later and held in custody until March 8.
(NEW YORK) -- U.S. stocks closed down significantly on Friday after a continued selloff amid fallout from President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.
The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since that year happened on Thursday, a day earlier. Over the past two days, the S&P 500 dropped more than 10%.
Corporate giants that rely on supply chains abroad were among the firms that continued to see shares fall. Apple fell 7% and e-commerce firm Amazon slid 4%.
Shares fell for each of the so-called "Magnificent Seven," a group of large tech firms that helped drive stock market gains in recent years.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, dropped 5%. Chipmaker Nvidia slid 7%.
Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, declined more than 10%.
On Friday, China said it will impose 34% tariffs on U.S. goods in response to the levies issued by Trump earlier this week.
In a social media post hours later, Trump signaled a commitment to the tariff policy.
"TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE," Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump later criticized China in a different social media post, saying, "CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!"
All three major American stock markets closed down on Thursday, marking their worst day since June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NASDAQ fell 6%, the S&P 500 4.8% and the Dow Jones nearly 4%
Global markets gave early signals of the difficulty to come on Friday. Japan's Nikkei index lost 3.5% on Friday, while the broader Japanese Topix index fell 4.45%.
In South Korea, the KOSPI index was down 1.7%, with the country grappling with both Trump's tariffs and the news that South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Indian investors joined the sell-off on Friday, with the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indexes both falling more than 1%. India's stock markets had previously performed better than others thanks to lower tariffs than competitors like China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Australia's S&P/ASX, meanwhile, continued its slide into Friday with another 2% drop taking the index to an 8-month low.
In Europe, too, stock markets fell upon opening. Britain's FTSE 100 index dropped more than 1%, Germany's DAX fell 0.75%, France's CAC lost 0.9% and Spain's IBEX slipped 1.4%.
ABC News' Leah Sarnoff, Max Zahn, Victor Ordoñez and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
