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ECONOMY

Paused

On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 90-day pause––during which, most countries will face a “substantially lowered reciprocal tariff” of 10%.

The White House pitched the move as the “art of the deal” in action, saying it has kick-started trade negotiations with dozens of countries. China, notably, isn’t one of them. Trump further hiked Chinese tariffs to a cumulative 145%, citing the “lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets.” Earlier Wednesday, China announced 84% retaliatory duties on American imports.

It’s led to an (extra) wild week on Wall Street. 

Following the pause, the S&P 500 rose 9.5%—its third-largest single-day gain since WWII—and the Nasdaq climbed 12%, nearly erasing a week of losses. But… markets gave up some of those gains yesterday, with the S&P falling 3.5%.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Whether your portfolio is booming, tumbling, or nonexistent, remember: you won’t bring your earthly treasures to heaven. Stewarding money well is important, but keep your focus on the Giver rather than the gifts. 

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” 
2 Corinthians 8:9 (CSB) (read full passage)

WORLD NEWS

Nightclub Collapse

The roof of the iconic Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, collapsed early Tuesday, killing at least 218 people and injuring more than 200 others. 

Former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco were among those killed. The collapse happened while merengue singer Rubby Pérez was mid-performance; he was killed along with his band’s saxophone player. A video posted online shows parts of the roof falling moments before the full collapse.

Rescue crews used dogs and thermal cameras to search for victims, pulling more than 180 survivors from the rubble. Officials say it’s too early to determine what caused the collapse, and that it’s unclear when Jet Set was last inspected. The Dominican government said it would launch a full investigation once the recovery phase ends and all victims have been accounted for.

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CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Join us in prayer for the families of everyone affected by this tragic incident, that the “God of all comfort” would move in power in this time of incredible tragedy (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). 

“Grant, O Lord, to all who are bereaved the spirit of faith and courage, that they may have strength to meet the days to come with steadfastness and patience; not sorrowing as those without hope, but in thankful remembrance of your great goodness, and in the joyful expectation of eternal life with all who love you.” 
Book of Common Prayer, page 264

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TECHNOLOGY

Unfriended

An ex-Facebook executive shared some serious status updates with the Senate on Wednesday.

Sarah Wynn-Williams, director of global policy at then-Facebook from 2011 until her 2017 involuntary departure, accused the social media giant of undermining American national security in pursuit of profit. She said she saw Zuck & Co. help the Communist Party with censorship, allow Americans’ data to be accessed, remove a Chinese dissident’s account, and use Meta’s AI model to help China develop its own (DeepSeek).

Meta called her testimony “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims,” pointing out that, while Zuckerberg was publicly interested in expanding into China at the time, Meta doesn’t operate there today.

The hearing comes days before Meta’s massive antitrust trial begins, where the Federal Trade Commission will argue Meta should be forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.

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CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God—the Creator of the universe, Great Innovator, and Inventor of everything. However you engage with social media, remember to use technology to point others to eternal hope in him.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.” 
Colossians 1:15-16 (CSB) (read full passage)

Golf’s biggest week is here. The 89th Masters teed off yesterday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, expecting to draw nearly 90,000 fans a day—per tradition, zero will be sitting on the grass. Defending champ Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite, followed by Rory McIlroy (who hasn’t won a major championship since 2014, but keeps coming painfully close).
 

Inflation lost some steam in March. Overall prices dipped more than expected, bringing annual inflation down to 2.4%. Cheaper gas (prices down 6.3%) helped, but eggs are still living their most expensive life—up 5.9% for the month and 60.4% for the year. Shelter prices—usually a stubborn holdout for inflation—rose just 0.2%, their smallest gain since November 2021.
 

The White House is freezing more funds. Cornell and Northwestern universities had $1B and $790M in research grants and contracts paused while the schools are investigated for civil rights violations. They join a long list of schools—including Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania—who have had funding cut over alleged tolerance of antisemitism or policies around transgender athletes.
 

The U.S. and Russia swapped prisoners for the second time in two months yesterday. After a year-long detainment, Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American citizen sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison for donating $51 to a charity benefitting Ukraine. In turn, the U.S. released Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen accused of smuggling sensitive American microelectronics to Russia’s military.
 

A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York City yesterday, killing at least six people. It’s unclear what caused the incident; witnesses said the helicopter appeared to be “falling apart” midair, before it spun into the river and crashed upside-down. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with support from the FAA.

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Steph Juliot | Writer

A special announcement: This weekend, our founder—Jason—is celebrating his birthday. We like to celebrate big around here. We thought about giving out his phone number and asking everyone to text him a special message but… it’d be easier if you just replied to this email and shared a way TPO has blessed you. Happy birthday, Jason!