President Donald Trump didn’t rule out reducing tariffs on some goods in order to address affordability concerns. When asked by Politico if he would rule out reducing tariffs on any more goods, Trump said he would “on some” goods, adding on some, he will increase tariffs. “Because you know what happens is because of tariffs, all of the car companies are coming back,” he said. “You know, we lost 58% of the automobile business. We had a monopoly in the world.” Trump said he “inherited a total mess” from former President Joe Biden. “Prices were at an all-time high when I came in,” he said. “Prices are coming down substantially. Prices are all coming down. It’s been 10 months. It’s amazing what we’ve done. If you think of gasoline a gallon, they had it at $4.50, almost $5.00. You go to some of the states, you had it at $6.00. We hit three states two days ago, $1.99 a gallon. When that happens, everything comes down. Now everything is coming down.” Trump said beef prices will “start coming down pretty substantially.” On Monday, Trump announced he would make $12 billion in tariff revenues available to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. Trump has previously called the word affordability “a hoax” made by the Democrats. He repeated that the Democrats “love to say affordability, but then they never talk about it.” “They’re the ones that gave us the high prices,” he said. “I’m the one that’s bringing them down.” The post Will Trump Lower Tariffs To Address Affordability? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

REUTERS—Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access to platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s GOOGL.O YouTube and Meta’s META.O Instagram and Facebook from midnight. Ten of the biggest platforms were ordered to block children from midnight on Wednesday (1300 GMT on Tuesday) or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million) under the new law, which drew criticism from major technology companies and free speech advocates, but was welcomed by parents and child advocates. The ban is being closely watched by other countries considering similar age-based measures amid growing concerns about the impact of social media on children’s health and safety. Former Chicago mayor and Barack Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel praised the move, writing “it’s time for America to step up its game and do the same” as Australia. “Parents have been battling big Tech all alone. They need a helping hand to protect their kids,” he added in a post on X Tuesday. Tomorrow, Australia is banning TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media apps for kids under 16. Now it’s time for America to step up its game and do the same. Parents have been battling big Tech all alone. They need a helping hand to protect their kids. TikTok,…— Rahm Emanuel (@RahmEmanuel) December 9, 2025 In a video message that Sky News Australia said would be played in schools this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ban aimed to support young Australians and ease the pressure that can come from endless feeds and algorithms. “Make the most of the school holidays coming up. Rather than spending it scrolling on your phone, start a new sport, learn a new instrument, or read that book that has been sitting there for some time on your shelf,” he said. “And importantly, spend quality time with your friends and your family, face to face.” Australia Could Set Precedent The rollout ends a year of speculation about whether a country can block children from using technology embedded in modern life. It also begins a live experiment that will be studied globally by lawmakers frustrated by what they say is a tech industry too slow to implement harm-reduction measures. “While Australia is the first to adopt such restrictions, it is unlikely to be the last,” Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies at Curtin University, said. “Governments around the world are watching how the power of Big Tech was successfully taken on. The social media ban in Australia … is very much the canary in the coal mine.” Governments from Denmark to Malaysia—and even some states in the U.S., where platforms are rolling back trust and safety features—say they plan similar steps, four years after a leak of internal Meta documents showed the company knew its products contributed to body image problems among teenagers. Meta has said it has tools to protect children. Beginning of the End The ban initially covers 10 platforms, but the government said the list would change as new products emerge and young users switch to alternatives. Of the initial 10, all but Elon Musk’s X have said they will comply using age inference—guessing a person’s age from their online activity—or age estimation, which is usually based on a selfie. They might also check with uploaded identification documents or linked bank account details. Musk has said the ban “seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians” and most platforms have complained that it violates people’s right to free speech. An Australian High Court challenge overseen by a libertarian state lawmaker is pending. For social media businesses, the implementation marks a new era of structural stagnation as user numbers flatline and time spent on platforms shrinks, studies show. Platforms say they earn little from advertising to under-16s, but warn the ban disrupts a pipeline of future users. Just before the ban took effect, 86% of Australians aged eight to 15 used social media, the government said. ($1 = 1.5097 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Byron Kaye, Claire Beers. Writing by Alexandra Hudson. Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter. The Daily Signal’s Katrina Trinko also contributed.) The post Australia’s Social Media Ban for Children Takes Effect appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new 5% tariffs on Mexico if the country does not “immediately” comply with a decades-old water treaty.   “Mexico still owes the U.S over 800,000 acre-feet of water for failing to comply with our Treaty over the past five years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty.   The treaty requires the U.S. to send Mexico 1.5 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River every year, and for Mexico to supply the U.S. with 1.75 million acre-feet of water from the Rio Grande over a five-year cycle. Mexico has fallen significantly behind on its water deliveries to the U.S., creating challenges specifically for farmers and ranchers in Texas.   As of Nov. 25, the U.S. State Department reports Mexico is approximately 865,000 acre-feet short of meeting the required amount of water it is to supply to the U.S. in the five-year period ending on Dec. 31.   “The U.S needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, and the rest must come soon after,” Trump wrote.   “As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water. That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY,” the president said. “The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our Farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”   “Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation is seriously hurting our BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND LIVESTOCK… Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW.” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/m4V1KEW0Lm— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 8, 2025 Drought has significantly reduced the flow of the Rio Grande, a river that provides six million people with drinking water in Mexico and the U.S., according to Inside Climate News.   If the water agreed upon in the treaty is not delivered to the U.S., “Texas water users are forced to secure alternate sources of water, change crops, and reduce operations,” according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.   The additional 5% tariff that Trump has threatened if Mexico does not deliver the water would be on top of an already existing 25% tariff rate. Many goods imported from Mexico to the U.S., however, are exempt from tariff under the United States—Mexico—Canada Agreement.   Since returning to office in January, Trump has relied heavily on tariffs as a tool to spur the U.S. economy and bring manufacturing back to the U.S. The president is expected to address questions about the water treaty and his tariff policies on Tuesday as he visits eastern Pennsylvania to discuss the economic successes of his administration.   The post Trump Threatens Mexico With Additional Tariffs Over Failure to Fulfill Water Agreement   appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Hoosier state has joined the redistricting war. A new Republican-favored U.S congressional map, known as Map 90, advanced from the Indiana state House to the Senate this week for final approval.   The new congressional map would likely give the final two Democrat U.S. House seats to Republicans, making the states’ margins 9-0, in the Republicans favor.   The GOP currently holds a majority in the U.S. House, but it is slim—a 219–213 majority with three vacancies. Map 90 could give Republicans a stronger eight-seat majority along with being a more accurate representation of the state. Brett Galaszewski, director of Turning Point Action’s National Enterprise, joined The Daily Signal’s flagship podcast, “The Tony Kinnett Cast” to discuss the significance of Map 90 and what it means for Republicans nationally.   Yesterday’s @TPUSA rally brought incredible energy to the Statehouse.These young conservatives are the ones who will defend freedom, protect our values, and lead Indiana into its next chapter.Hoosiers are rallying around FAIR MAPS for Indiana!! pic.twitter.com/LMAiRs5EFR— Governor Mike Braun (@GovBraun) December 6, 2025 Indiana is currently the “center of the political universe,” according to Galaszewski. Map 90 is “putting (Republicans) in the best possible position to retain the House of Representatives.”   “A state like Indiana really epitomizes what a conservative state looks like,” Galaszewski told Kinnett. “It’s about as red as any other, Wyoming, Alabama…There’s no reason we shouldn’t have a 90 congressional map.”  ? BREAKING: The red state of INDIANA has the chance to pass this Congressional map for the 2026 midtermsSHIFT:? Republican: +2? Democrat: -2There is NO EXCUSE it can’t be done.Make sure your local Indiana Senator knows redistricting is a MUST — or we’ll lose ground to… pic.twitter.com/rGeNvh0qUC— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 23, 2025 “If the Supreme Court overturns the Voting Rights Act, like we’re expecting them to, Indiana’s going to have to redraw its maps anyway because Marion County (Indiana 7th congressional district) is literally drawn along racial lines in its electoral map,” Kinnett explained.  Retaining the House of Representatives next year is a broader national issue. But Galaszewski shared the aspect which will impact the Indiana citizens who have been struggling in the two Democrat districts.  “We have an opportunity, via now new maps, that allow for Republican representation to instill prosperity into those two communities of Gary and central Indianapolis that haven’t had that in literally decades,” Galaszewski explained.   Turning Point Action is issuing a warning to the Indiana State Senate:Any GOP legislator who stands in the way of passing this CONSERVATIVE redistricting plan will be up against a tidal wave of resources to replace them.#RallyIndiana pic.twitter.com/4wkudeb3fl— Turning Point Action (@TPAction_) December 5, 2025 Turning Point Action is the grassroots activism arm of Turning Point USA, the conservative student nonprofit founded by Charlie Kirk, who was murdered earlier this year.   “We’re a generation that really embraces authenticity, and Turning Point has kind of the monopoly right now on the young conservative activist crowd,” said Galaszewski.  Last week he hosted the first ever Turning Point Action event at the Indiana State House.  “We’re hoping that we can send that final message to those Republican state senators that the Republican grassroots—the ones who have knocked doors until their knuckles have bled to make sure that we’ve had that 40 to 10 majority on the state Senate—they don’t want this. They want the 9-0 map,” said Galaszewski. “(The) Republican base, the ones who donate time and treasure to come out and vote these people in, they don’t want that either. They want President [Donald] Trump’s redistricting effort.”  Although Republicans control the Senate, according to the Associated Press, there’s “no clear indication” the Senate will approve the map, as some GOP lawmakers have expressed concerns about a mid-decade redistricting.  The post Why Indiana Is the ‘Last Line of Defense’ for Republicans appeared first on The Daily Signal.

WASHINGTON—What happens when rules designed to ensure public safety fray so much that undocumented residents can obtain commercial driver’s licenses for big rigs, even if they are not qualified to drive them and do not speak English? In 2025, Americans saw the danger of allowing unvetted migrants to drive big rigs without obtaining bona fide commercial driver’s licenses, often thanks to what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls “scam schools.” In November, an illegal immigrant with a California commercial driver’s license was charged with killing a newlywed couple in Oregon. In October, an immigrant truck driver who had been in the United States illegally since 2011 allegedly caused a fatal accident. He did not hold a valid CDL, the New York Post reported. In August, three people were killed in Florida after an Indian driver made an illegal U-turn on a major freeway. If you see the video, you have to wonder, what was the illegal immigrant from India thinking when he blocked all lanes of the highway? And who gave this guy a CDL? The answer, according to the Department of Homeland Security: California. Again. After President Donald Trump withheld $40 million in federal funds to punish California for not complying with its new English-speaking requirements, Gov. Gavin Newsom revoked some 17,000 CDLs. Good. Fatal crashes were bound to happen more frequently when unqualified individuals who should not be behind the wheel were able to drive 18-wheelers that weigh as much as 80,000 pounds—and on roads with family cars, light trucks, and pedestrians. As Paul Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association, said of big-truck drivers, “They should be able to read a runaway ramp truck sign.” Truckers who can’t read traffic signs won’t see warnings they need to see. But as a report you can read at TruckingResurgence.com informed, the requirement that truck drivers be able to read road signs and basic English instructions “was essentially removed in 2016.” “This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain,” Duffy maintained. “Under Joe Biden and [his Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways.” According to the report, “90% of trucking carriers remain unrated for safety.” Scary. When truck drivers aren’t properly trained by experienced professionals who know why smart regulations make travel safer, they may not appreciate how lethal their profession can be. So they might flout the rule limiting drivers to 11-hour days behind the wheel, Enos noted. And they might tinker with electronic monitoring devices meant to make sure that they don’t drive too much in a day. Another issue is the problem of “chameleon carriers” who shutter when they are busted for flouting regulations, then reopen with new names. It takes brass to go after bad actors at a time when America is experiencing a trucker shortage. That’s probably why the Biden administration did not make compliance a top priority. On the one hand, trucking provides opportunities to men and women who aren’t interested in desk jobs. But the demands—long hours, living on the road away from family—mean the job is not for everyone. The rules and testing regimen can discourage marijuana users, which Enos tells me has limited the driver pool. But professionals want a system that protects them from bad actors. So it’s heartening that the Trump administration isn’t out to simply cut the size of government. Duffy wants to make it work. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Keep on Truckin’—If You Are Rightly Licensed appeared first on The Daily Signal.