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The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering letting go up to half of its approximately 90,000 employees, a source with knowledge of the situation told AFP on Tuesday.The bloodbath would be the latest drastic cut to a federal agency under President Donald Trump’s administration. When asked about US press reports of the plans to halve the IRS headcount, the source confirmed such a project was being discussed internally. Last month, the IRS laid off around 7,000 probationary employees, amid similar cuts at other federal agencies.Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has launched a vast offensive aimed at slashing public spending and reducing the federal bureaucracy, one of the goals he promised on the campaign trail. To that end, he has tapped billionaire Elon Musk, his top campaign donor turned close adviser, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has cut thousands of government jobs and upended federal agencies. Among his first targets were members of the federal bureaucracy overseeing policies that promote diversity. Trump’s return also saw the dismantling of the US Agency on International Development (USAID), ending humanitarian and international development projects around the globe.

More than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Tuesday in front of Columbia University in New York to demonstrate against former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, who was at the campus for a speaking engagement.After more than a year of protests at the campus by both supporters of Israel and opponents of the assault on Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the appearance of the former leader of Israel’s far-right was met with expected pushback.”The decision to host a man with such a violent and openly discriminatory record sends a message that the university values some voices over others,” a spokesperson for Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition — one of the groups taking part in the protest — said in a statement.None of the individual protesters at the event, many of whom wore masks or traditional Palestinian keffiyehs, agreed to speak with AFP journalists.Police at the scene worked to separate the protest from a small group of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators nearby, though the two demonstrations passed without any incident.The protest was held at the same time as US President Donald Trump’s administration threatened federal funding for the New York university over an anti-semitism row.The federal government on Monday said it was considering ending contracts it has with Columbia worth over $50 million, blaming it for failing to protect its Jewish students from anti-Semitism amid the protests.”All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Trump wrote Tuesday on his platform Truth Social.”Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on …the crime, arrested,” the post continued.

Taiwanese chip-making giant TSMC plans to invest a whopping $100 billion in the United States, after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on overseas-made chips.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is the world’s biggest maker of the critical technology that has become the lifeblood of the global economy.This week’s announcement takes the total amount TSMC has pledged to invest in the United States to $165 billion, which the company says is the “largest single foreign direct investment in US history”.It follows Trump’s accusations that Taiwan stole the US chip industry and his threats to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent — and Taipei’s promises to invest more in the United States.AFP looks at what TSMC’s investment could mean for Taiwan.- ‘Silicon shield’ -Semiconductor chips are used in everything from smartphones and televisions to electric vehicles and missiles — and more than half of them are made in Taiwan.The concentration of chip manufacturing on the island has long been seen as a “silicon shield” protecting it from an invasion or blockade by China — and an incentive for the United States to defend it.China has upped military pressure on Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty over the self-ruled island, where TSMC has its headquarters and the bulk of its fabrication plants.That has fuelled calls for the firm to move more of its production off the island to avoid supply disruptions if China did attack. Trump recently warned of import levies of 25 percent, or higher, on overseas-made chips, which one analyst has said could trigger a recession in the industry.While TSMC’s latest investment might deflect the threat of tariffs, there are fears it could hurt Taiwan’s economy and weaken its “silicon shield”. “The more TSMC produces in the United States, the less important Taiwan will be in geopolitics and the less incentives the United States will have to help Taiwan in the future,” said Ko Ju-chun, a lawmaker with the main opposition Kuomintang party.- Control of TSMC -Taiwan’s leaders are aware of the risks as they try to stay onside with their most important security backer Washington and protect the island’s status as a chip-making powerhouse.President Lai Ching-te’s office said Tuesday the government would review TSMC’s deal “in accordance with the law” and ensure that the “most advanced” chip-making processes stayed in Taiwan.TSMC had already pledged to invest more than $65 billion in three factories in the US state of Arizona, one of which began production in late 2024. The $100 billion investment will be used to expand its US footprint further, with three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development team centre.Richard Hu, deputy director of the Taiwan Center for Security Studies think tank, said Trump wanted to prevent TSMC from falling into China’s hands and to make it a “technological asset of the United States”.”Trump’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the US can fully or critically control TSMC’s semiconductor production, making it a de facto part of America’s chip industry,” Hu said.- Defence guarantees -Taipei security analyst Su Tzu-yun was more optimistic, telling AFP that TSMC’s investment would make Taiwan “safer” and help grow the chip industry.It would also build trust between Taipei and Washington, and ease Trump’s concerns about US economic security, said Su, from the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.”I think the importance of Taiwan is not only TSMC but also the geostrategy,” Su said, noting the importance of global shipping lanes near Taiwan. However, James Yifan Chen of Tamkang University said higher manufacturing costs in the United States would drive up prices of products using TSMC chips.And there were no guarantees the investment would make the mercurial Trump more inclined to defend Taiwan.”The deal’s effect on US willingness to defend Taiwan is unclear,” said Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.”It really depends on how Trump feels on any particular day, and whether Beijing will attempt to outbid Taiwan subsequently.” 

Donald Trump declared “America is back” Tuesday in his first address to Congress since returning to power, touting his radical policies in the face of raucous Democratic hostility while proclaiming a breakthrough on Ukraine.In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, the Republican repeatedly hailed billionaire advisor Elon Musk’s controversial assault on the federal bureaucracy and said his administration was “just getting started”.”The American Dream is unstoppable,” said Trump in a speech lasting over one hour and 40 minutes, which beat Bill Clinton’s record for his State of the Union speech in 2000.Almost every line got loud applause from Republican Party members, including on two occasions when Trump singled out SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk, who stood up to salute Congress.But protests also began within minutes.One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ejected because he refused to stop heckling Trump over healthcare programs, and shaking his walking stick at the president.Other Democrats silently held up placards including “False” and “Musk steals” and “That’s a lie!”And at one moment, numerous Democrats yelled “January 6!” at Trump, referring to his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol in 2021 after he refused to concede his election loss.The 78-year-old president was undeterred, hailing his first six weeks and vowing to press on with his polarizing bid to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war — whatever the cost.- Reality TV style -Trump reverted to his tried-and-tested reality TV instincts. At one point he called attention to a boy with brain cancer who — in front of Congress — was handed an official ID by the head of the Secret Service.But in what mostly sounded like a campaign speech rather than an address to the nation, Trump made no attempt to reach out to opponents and at times mocked them.To cheers of “USA” and “Trump, Trump, Trump”, he proclaimed that his culture war on diversity programs and transgender rights meant “our country will be woke no longer.”He claimed that he was trying to resolve an “economic catastrophe,” despite inheriting the strongest developed economy in the world from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.He defended his disruptive economic moves — even as the trade war he launched against Canada, China and Mexico is prompting jitters on world markets.”We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth,” Trump said.After a torrent of warnings that tariffs will badly hurt US exporters, including politically powerful farmers, he conceded they would bring “a little disturbance.”And after enumerating a series of murders committed by migrants, Trump got big applause when he vowed to “wage war” on Mexican drug cartels.Well before he had finished, dozens of Democrats had already walked out.- Quest for power -Trump is pushing to extend presidential power to its limits, with the popular vote behind him and a Republican-controlled House and Senate doing his bidding.Aided by Musk, Trump has cracked down on the federal bureaucracy, firing thousands of workers, shuttering entire agencies and decimating foreign aid.”The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over,” Trump said.But there are early signs in the polls that Trump’s sweeping cuts and his failure to tackle inflation are hitting his popularity.Trump is also upending US foreign policy with his pivot to Moscow over the Ukraine war, which has stunned Kyiv and allies alike.Days after a televised row in the Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said Ukraine’s leader had told him he was now ready for talks with Russia and a US minerals deal.”I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads (that) Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Trump said.Trump also doubled down on his controversial vows on “taking back” the Panama Canal and getting Greenland from Denmark by “one way or another.”Democrats have so far struggled to counter Trump’s flood-the-zone strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant press conferences.On the Democrats’ rebuttal speech, Senator Elissa Slotkin aimed her sober address at middleclass Americans, calling Trump and Musk “reckless” at home and giving up on “American leadership” abroad.

A US judge on Tuesday denied Elon Musk’s request to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business in a loss for the Tesla tycoon amid his feud with Sam Altman.US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Musk and his xAI startup failed to prove an injunction against OpenAI was necessary as the case heads to trial.Musk sued in California federal court to stop OpenAI from transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit business, arguing the startup violated antitrust law and betrayed his trust in their mission as a co-founder of OpenAI.The judge wrote that, while Musk did not prove the need for an injunction, she is prepared to expedite a trial on that claim later this year.The ruling leaves OpenAI free to continue its transition from nonprofit to for-profit enterprise.Musk’s injunction bid argued that OpenAI’s co-founders, including chief executive Altman, “took advantage of Musk’s altruism in order to lure him into funding the venture,” according to court documents.Musk contended in filings that it was clear his backing of OpenAI was contingent on it remaining a nonprofit, offering a few email exchanges to support the claim.”Whether Musk’s emails and social media posts constitute a writing sufficient to constitute an actual contract or charitable trust between the parties is debatable,” the judge said in her ruling.OpenAI’s board chairman in February rejected a Musk-led offer to buy the valuable artificial intelligence company for $97.4 billion.”OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” OpenAI Board Chair Bret Taylor said in a statement posted by the company on Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter.OpenAI currently operates in a hybrid structure, as a nonprofit with a money-making subsidiary.The change to a for-profit model — one that Altman considers crucial for the company’s development — has exacerbated ongoing tensions with Musk.Musk and Altman were among the 11-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015, with the former providing initial funding of $45 million. Three years later, Musk departed the company, with OpenAI citing “a potential future conflict for Elon… as Tesla continues to become more focused on AI.”Musk established his own artificial intelligence company, dubbed xAI, in early 2023 after OpenAI ignited global fervor over the technology.The massive cost of designing, training, and deploying AI models has compelled OpenAI to seek a new corporate structure that would give investors equity and provide more stable governance.

There was dismay on the left and jubilation on the right as Donald Trump’s addressed the US Congress on Tuesday in a tense atmosphere and with Washington’s political divisions rarely more visible. Trump entered the chamber to cheers from Republicans and took a languid stroll down the center aisle to the podium, taking his time and pressing flesh along the way. As he passed Democrat Melanie Stansbury, the New Mexico congresswoman held up a sheet of paper reading “This is not normal.” A Republican politician snatched the sign out of her hands — a harbinger of the tensions to come. The ultra-Trumpist Marjorie Taylor Greene, always a politician to wear her support on her sleeve, sported a red “Trump was right about everything” cap — in violation of a ban on headwear introduced almost two centuries ago.When Trump arrived at the podium, the Republican half of the chamber chanted “USA! USA!” their jubilation evident in their broad grins. On the other side of the room, the Democratic members remain seated and stony-faced. The only (presumed) Republican who might have bested the president on the applause-o-meter: his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who waved to acknowledge the raucous applause as she took her place, wearing a charcoal gray suit. “To my fellow citizens, America is back!” Trump enthused as he began his address, whose theme was “Renewal of the  American Dream.”- Yellow and blue -Minutes later, Democrat congressman Al Green stood up and yelled at the president: “You don’t have a mandate.” His protest was drowned out by the uproarious Republicans, who ordered him to take a seat as they dived into another stirring round of patriotic chants. Green refused to sit down, and was quickly escorted out of the chamber, as he was jeered by his political opponents on the Republican side. When Trump called predecessor Joe Biden the “worst president” in history, there were whistles from a few triggered Democrats, some of whom denounced the “lies.” Many were wearing scarves, striped ties, or lapel ribbons in the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag, as a sign of solidarity for a war-torn ally they consider the Trump administration to have betrayed.Indeed, the speech came just after Trump had ordered a pause in American military aid to Kyiv, and the atmosphere was markedly different from Biden’s March 2022 address to Congress, five days after the start of the Russian invasion.On that occasion marked a demonstration of unity from both sides of Congress, and both chambers, as Democrat and Republican alike rose at Biden’s beckoning to offer solidarity with the Ukrainian people. That unanimity is decidedly a thing of the past in the Washington of the “America First” movement which has Trump as its standard-bearer. In addition to Ukrainian yellow and blue, a number of Democrats came in pink outfits to protest against what they see as the Trump administration’s anti-women policies.Some of the House Democrats left the chamber before Trump had even got into his stride and Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett removed her jacket to reveal a t-shirt with the word “Resist” emblazoned on the back. – Musk the spectator -Some traditions hold, even in the norm-breaking Trump era, and the usual bevy of Supreme Court justices could be found in the front row, enjoying the pomp and circumstance. With many of the Trump administration’s decisions already the subject of legal challenges, the judicial panel — with its strong conservative tilt —  is likely to have its hands full in the weeks and months ahead. But if Trump was expecting a sold-out speech, he will have been disappointed. A number of Democrats, such as left-winger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had previously announced that they would be giving the event a wide berth. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump’s point man on drastically downsizing the federal government, watched from the galleries, a spectator to the drama for once. Yet, even from the sidelines, he still managed to command the attention of the TV cameras as Trump invited applause for a man whose millions helped get the Republican elected.A few hours before Trump’s arrival, a dozen protesters outside the US Capitol waved signs reading “Stand up to tyranny” and “Musk must go.” Trump seemed to provide a direct retort during his speech, as he warned: “We’re just getting started.”

More people watched the Oscars than previously thought, Disney said Tuesday, after they totted up those tuning in on their mobile phones and laptops.The company, which owns network ABC and streamer Hulu, had initially reported that ratings were down for the show, which saw indie sex worker romp “Anora” take home a bevy of awards.But on Tuesday they said an additional 1.6 million people had watched on a mobile device, taking the total on-the-night viewership to 19.69 million.”As viewing patterns continue to evolve, there is the potential to see a greater difference” between initial figures and the final number, the company said in a statement.”In the case of Sunday night’s live telecast of ‘The Oscars,’ we saw dramatic growth with younger viewers from mobile and PC viewing that was not captured” in the early viewing figures.Disney said the revised number made the broadcast the most watched Oscars in five years.The show went live on streaming for the first time this year, but the stream was beset by technical glitches that left some viewers unable to see the final prizes.The revised figure is slightly up from last year’s early ratings of 19.5 million, for a gala that saw Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster “Oppenheimer” dominate prizes, and featured live musical performances from smash hit “Barbie.” During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank as low as 10.4 million.The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just a decade ago.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the retaliation they attracted will likely weigh on US growth and boost inflation, according to analysts, but, beyond that, uncertainty surrounding the levies threatens to overshadow optimism about his future policies.Trump reignited trade wars this week with hefty duties on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports, drawing sharp retaliation from Ottawa and Beijing, including new tariffs on key American farm products.Collectively, these could dent US GDP growth by one percentage point and hike inflation by 0.6 points if kept in place for the year, said Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic.”Tariffs represent a negative supply shock. It hurts production, raises prices,” she told AFP, warning that business and consumer confidence also take a hit from levies.And the unpredictability of Trump’s tariff plans stand to offset positivity about the president’s promises of deregulation and tax cuts, which are seen as pro-growth, she said.”That hope and excitement right now is overwhelmed by the uncertainty of what’s going to play out,” she added.It also remains unclear if new tariffs will be long-lasting, and they come atop cost-cutting measures in the federal government which are being challenged in courts, KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk said.The fallout from these efforts can undermine demand.Trump has not only quickened the pace of tariff hikes in his second term by tapping emergency economic powers to impose them without an investigation period, but his levies cover a larger value of goods.Trump’s first-term tariffs hit $380 billion worth of US imports over 2018-2019, mainly from China, said Erica York of the Tax Foundation.But his latest duties introduced over a month impact $1.4 trillion of imports, mostly from allies, she added.”Because of the faster implementation and the larger magnitude, the new tariffs will be much more disruptive to the US economy than Trump’s first trade war,” York said.- Prices, jobs -While the situation is fluid, Bostjancic said prices of products like motor vehicle parts could rise by 10 percent within months, given how integrated North American supply chains are.This could inflate consumer costs for big ticket items. Used car prices could increase if producing new vehicles became pricey, analysts said.New homes stand to become more expensive too, potentially making property owners reluctant to move and weighing on the housing market, said Jessica Lautz at the National Association of Realtors.Trump’s latest 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods hits lumber imports, which are important to homebuilders.With the breadth of Trump’s current tariff plans, “some companies may not be able to maintain the same level of employment,” Swonk of KPMG warned.During Trump’s first term, despite an initial uptick in steel industry employment when he imposed tariffs on imports of the metal, these were more than offset by higher input costs and layoffs elsewhere, she noted.- ‘Choke points’ -Other near-term effects include countries’ readiness to to hit US “choke points” following experiences from his first administration, said Swonk.”They’re going to look for the places that are the biggest pinch points for the president’s party and that’s the Republican Party,” she told AFP.This means taking aim at Republican-dominated states.When the world’s biggest economy takes action like sweeping tariffs other countries tend respond strategically, targeting countermeasures at areas which likely have more political sway over the administration, she said.Farm and food products are often primary targets of retaliation, said Wendong Zhang of Cornell University. This could spark the need for federal aid to farmers subsequently.Already, China said it would impose 10 percent and 15 percent levies on various US agricultural exports including soybeans.In Trump’s first term, retaliatory tariffs on the United States caused more than $27 billion in US agricultural export losses from mid-2018 to late-2019.Economists say the hit to growth and inflation in 2025 could be somewhat counterbalanced by aggressive deregulation efforts next year, as Trump’s government seeks to rein in the budget deficit and make certain tax cuts permanent.For now, the “uncertainty effect,” serves as a tax of its own, Swonk said.