*By Justin Chermol*
In a presidential field that's growing more crowded [by the day](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-sanders/bernie-sanders-to-seek-u-s-presidency-again-in-2020-idUSKCN1Q81A9), Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is looking to stand out by making foreign policy central to her campaign while her fellow Democratic candidates tussle over progressive moonshots like the Green New Deal or Medicare for All.
At a campaign event in Concord, N.H., during the Presidents Day weekend, Cheddar's J.D. Durkin spoke with Gabbard, who said her agenda is based on her belief that the U.S. is "addicted" to regime-change wars.
Referring to the American-Russian relationship as a "new Cold War," Gabbard said she's running to "take us back from this point where we are at a greater risk for nuclear catastrophe today than ever before in history."
"The reality is, that every single American is paying the price for our country's addiction to regime-change wars which must come to an end," Gabbard said.
The four-term, 37-year-old congresswoman is also an Iraq War veteran and current major in the National Guard ー credentials that she hopes will lend more credibility to her non-interventionist image.
As Gabbard was outlining her platform in snowy New Hampshire, President Trump was in sunny Miami, delivering his most hawkish comments yet on the escalating crisis in Venezuela with a warning to Venezuelan military leaders that they would "lose everything" if a humanitarian blockade wasn't lifted. Meanwhile, in Munich, Vice President Mike Pence was delivering similar remarks to European allies, while admonishing them for continuing to support the Iran nuclear deal.
Gabbard, who has been criticized for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the midst of the bloody civil war in that country, said her military experience makes her most qualified among the 2020 contenders to lead the country's armed forces.
"I know personally, how important it is that we take this role of commander-in-chief seriously," she said. "The President's most important job is to serve as commander-in-chief."
Gabbard also promised a campaign free of so-called "dark money" ー saying no to super PAC and lobbyist contributions ー that she hopes will appeal to younger voters who have been discouraged by the prominent role of money in American politics.
"This is a people-powered campaign," she said. "I know that there is incredible power in the voices of the people, and I'm proud of the campaign that we are running."
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the American media landscape have led to the suspension of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
