CNN
 — 

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s imposing a new 50% tariff on all copper imported into the US. However, it’s unclear when the new tariff would take effect.

“Today we’re doing copper,” he said at a Cabinet meeting, adding that he believed the rate will be 50%.

This would mark the fourth across-the-board tariff Trump has imposed during his second term. Currently, most imported cars and car parts face a 25% tariff, while imported steel and aluminum both face 50% tariffs.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to CNN regarding Trump’s timeline for imposing copper tariffs.

Trump ordered a Section 232 investigation into copper imports in February, using a law that gives the president authority to impose higher tariffs based on national security grounds.

Copper is a crucial component in a variety of goods, including electronics, machinery and cars. Tariffs on copper could make those goods more expensive for Americans. The US imported $17 billion worth of copper last year, according to US Commerce Department data. Chile was the largest foreign supplier of the metal, shipping $6 billion worth of it to the US last year.

Copper prices surged to all-time highs after Trump said he plans to levy tariffs on the red metal. Copper futures in New York jumped as much as 15% and hit a record $5.68 per pound.

“I’ve been surprised it’s taken this long to get the copper tariff,” Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, told CNN.

Copper prices have soared 38% this year as Trump’s tariffs are set to hike the cost of importing the metal, a reflection of stockpiling to get ahead of tariffs.

“A 50% increase will be a massive tax on consumers of copper,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said in an email.

“Watch what Trump does, not what he says,” Hansen said. “Perhaps we may see a staggered approach once the administration realizes the impact on consumers of such a big move.”

Trump also said on Tuesday that 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals are coming “very soon,” but they may not take effect for some time in an effort to get more companies to move to the US.

Trump, who exempted drug imports from tariffs during his first term, has been promising to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products for several months but has yet to announce any concrete measures. The administration launched an investigation into pharmaceutical imports in mid-April, setting the stage to impose tariffs on national security grounds.

The president now argues that the United States needs more domestic drug manufacturing so it does not have to rely on other countries for its supply of medicines. Multiple drug makers have announced expansions of their US-based manufacturing initiatives, though some were in the works prior to Trump taking office in January.

In response to the pharmaceutical tariff threat, Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday that the country is “urgently seeking” more details on the “very concerning” development.

“Our pharmaceuticals industry is much more exposed to the US market,” Chalmers told Australia’s national broadcaster ABC, adding that it amounted to billions of dollars in exports.

Meanwhile, on Monday Trump extended his “reciprocal” tariff pause to August 1. Those rates, briefly imposed in April, had been set to resume at 12:01 am ET on Wednesday. Trump has also been sending a flurry of letters to country leaders informing them what their new tariff rates could be come August, absent a new negotiated rate.

This story has been updated with additional context and developments.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
AP
 — 

At least three people were missing in a mountain village in southern New Mexico that is a popular summer retreat after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding Tuesday that was so intense an entire house was swept downstream.

Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area, including of people who were trapped in their homes and cars, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

No deaths were immediately reported, but Silva said the extent of the destruction wouldn’t be known until the water recedes.

“We knew that we were going to have floods … and this one hit us harder than what we were expecting,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn D. Crawford said during a radio address Tuesday night.

Crawford said that some people were taken to the hospital, although the exact number was not immediately clear. He encouraged residents to call an emergency line if their loved ones or neighbors were missing.

The floods came just days after flash floods in Texas killed over 100 people and left more than 160 people missing.

In New Mexico, officials urged residents to seek higher ground Tuesday afternoon as the waters of the Rio Ruidoso rose nearly 19 feet in a matter of minutes amid heavy rainfall. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings in the area, which was stripped of vegetation by recent wildfires.

A weather service flood gauge and companion video camera showed churning waters of the Rio Ruidoso surge over the river’s banks into surrounding forest. Streets and bridges were closed in response.

Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist in Ruidoso, was riding her motorcycle through town Tuesday afternoon when the storm started to pick up, and she sought shelter at the riverside Downshift Brewing Company with about 50 other people. She started to film debris rushing down the Rio Ruidoso when she spotted a house float by with a familiar turquoise door. It belonged to the family of one of her best friends.

Her friend’s family was not in the house and is safe, she said.

“I’ve been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking,” Carpenter said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

There were also reports of dead horses near the town’s horse racing track, the mayor said.

Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams already were in the area when the flooding began, Silva said, and more Guard teams were expected.

The area has been especially vulnerable to flooding since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires raced across tinder-dry forest and destroyed an estimated 1,400 homes and structures. Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with intense flooding later that summer.

“We know that the water levels seemed to be higher than they were last summer,” Silva said. “It is a significant amount of water flowing throughout, some of it in new areas that didn’t flood last year.”

Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said storms formed in the early afternoon over terrain that was scorched last year by wildfire. The burn scar was unable to absorb a lot of the rain, as water quickly ran downhill into the river.

Preliminary measurements show the Rio Ruidoso crested at more than 20 feet — a record high if confirmed — and was receding Tuesday evening.

Three shelters opened in the Ruidoso area for people who could not return home.

The sight brought back painful memories for Carpenter, whose art studio was swept away during a flood last year. Outside, the air smelled of gasoline, and loud crashes could be heard as the river knocked down trees in its path.

“It’s pretty terrifying,” she said.

Cory State, who works at the Downshift Brewing Company, welcomed in dozens of residents as the river surged and hail pelted the windows. The house floating by was “just one of the many devastating things about today,” he said.

Keith’s note: Things are starting to look darker at NASA. The Supreme Court just gave the final, ultimate green light to the Administration to gut agencies – NASA – however they wish to do so. Its time to adapt to this new paradigm. It is gloomy now. But that will eventually pass. NASA’s best days lie ahead. (More below).

According to this CNBC article: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will allow the Trump administration to proceed with large-scale reductions in staff at many federal government agencies as opponents continue to seek to block those efforts in lower-court proceedings.” OK, so that really sucks.

There were not many things standing in the way of the Executive Orders and de facto cancellation plan embodied in the FY 2026 President’s Budget Request for NASA. Add in these new Supreme Court decisions that further limit lower court blocks on Administration actions, and there’s not much left to protect NASA employees from RIFs and layoffs. And of course contractor employees and external researchers who depend on NASA funds have even less protection. So here we are.

If you do not take a buyout by 25 July you are throwing your dice hoping not to be laid off or reassigned to another part of NASA. And if you survive your teammates will be gone. Again, contractor personnel and researchers are collateral damage. The Administration’s political management is filling out obedient senior ranks at NASA HQ. Center Directors, Associate Administrators, and Program Managers will soon make sudden departures as required loyalty to the new way of running a shrinking NASA asserts itself.

Once the dust settles – and the damage to NASA becomes clear – those of you who survived will be called upon to clean up the mess. I lost a dream job at NASA under similar albeit less brutal chaos – so I totally – viscerally – understand your situation. All of you are among the most gifted, energetic, imaginative, inspired, dedicated creative, and truly cosmic-minded team ever assembled – anywhere.

Wherever you are now – and wherever you end up – you’ll will quickly learn that ‘you may leave NASA – but NASA never leaves you’. Someday, after this nightmare passes, you’ll all show those who sought to ruin NASA just what NASA people can really do. There’s a vast universe to explore. NASA people have – and always will – lead the way.

Ad Astra to all of you.

Keith