PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP added China to the list of nations to be tariffed (Shutterstock).

President Donald Trump on Friday added China to the list of countries upon which he will impose tariffs on Saturday.

According to the Associated Press, in addition to the 25 percent levies he is planning on for Canada and Mexico, China is in for a 10 percent charge on goods from that nation into the United States.

“Starting tomorrow, these tariffs will be in place,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett. “These are promises made and kept by the president.” she added.

Products from Canada and Mexico whose prices to American consumers could be affected include:
• automobiles; the supply chain of American-badged cars includes parts from both those nations, and more than one in five cars and light trucks – including sport utility vehicles – were built north or south of the border.

• gasoline prices: The biggest supplier of crude oil in the U.S. is not an Arab nation, it’s Canada, which shipped $90 billion of crude oil to America during the period of January through November.

• alcohol: The importation of tequila and mezcal from Mexico was worth $4.7 billion in a recent year. Canadian hard liquor such as whiskey worth $537 million came from north of the border.

Firing FBI Agents who investigated Trump?

The New York Times is reporting that the Trump administration is examining the work of “scores” of FBI agents who were involved in the Justice Department’s investigations of the president and his backers.

That information could be used to fire bureau leaders and/or agents considered to be “enemies” of the president. Kash Patel, the nominee to lead the agency testified to Congress that he would not carry out a “campaign of retribution.”

“All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” he said on Thursday.

The Times also reported that “senior officials” at the bureau have asked for the names of the thousands of agents who worked on cases attached to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-president Trump.

41 bodies recovered from crash

Workers have recovered 41 of the 67 bodies of persons who died in the collision of an Army helicopter and a civilian jetliner, according to United Press International.

ARMY BLACKHAWK helicopter (US Army).

The craft broke apart and plunged into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Twenty-eight of the victims have been identified.

Teams of divers are employing sonar to search for more human remains in the water, which is near freezing temperatures.

Reporters were told that it may not be possible to recover all the bodies until the fuselage (main body) of the jet is pulled out of the river.

Weather: Mid-60s this week

Our West Orange County cities can expect some consistency through the weekend and into the new week. The temperatures will start Saturday at 65, rise to 67 on Sunday and then return to 65 Tuesday. We’ll have partly cloudy skies each day except for Sunday, when sun is forecast and – perhaps surprisingly – there’s also a 10 percent chance of rain each day.

Great Thoughts

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see Beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see Beauty never grows old.”
– Franz Kafka, writer