Dec 5, 2018

Nebraska farmers say Trump's trade war cost them $1 billion

Photo: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

The Nebraska Farm Bureau said this week that the tariffs triggered by President Trump's ongoing trade war have cost the state's agricultural sector more than $1 billion in revenue, specifically affecting soybeans, corn and pork, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

"To put a $1.2 billion loss into perspective, every person in the state of Nebraska would need to contribute $632 to cover that volume of lost dollars. That’s a significant hit to our state’s economy."

— Jay Rempe, a Nebraska Farm Bureau senior economist, to the Omaha World-Herald

Why it matters: The effects of Trump's trade war with China on farmers have been an ongoing story over the last few months, especially regarding issues with the soybean market. Farmers have been forced to store mass quantities of their crops until prices improve after demand in China, the biggest market for American soybeans, has dropped nearly 90%.

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Axios

Live updates: CDC confirms possible community spread of coronavirus

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The first case of the novel coronavirus in a person in the U.S. who did not recently return from a foreign country nor have contact with a confirmed case has been detected, the CDC said Tuesday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 81,000 others. By Wednesday morning, South Korea had the most cases outside China, with 1,261 infections. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, where 374 cases have been confirmed.

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Mass shooting in Milwaukee: What we know so far

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

Six people died in a shooting at the Milwaukee Molson Coors brewery complex on Wednesday, including the shooter, Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at an evening press conference with local police.

What's happening: Police said "there is no active threat" just before 6 pm ET, but noted the scene remains active. Police chief Alfonso Morales told reporters that officers have "more than 20 buildings we have to secure" at the complex and they do not currently have all employees accounted for, as more than 1,000 were at the complex during the shooting.

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Zachary Basu

Trump assigns Pence to lead U.S. coronavirus response

Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump announced at a press briefing Wednesday evening that he'll be putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of leading the administration's response to the coronavirus.

The big picture: In the wake of a market sell-off and warnings from health officials that there's a real threat of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S., Trump sought to reassure the nation and Wall Street that the U.S. is "ready" for whatever comes next.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy