Daily Business Report: Thursday, May 1, 2025
Trump, Tariffs, Trade—and a Taboo?
By Victor Davis Hanson | The Blade of Perseus
After only a hundred days, the Trump counterrevolution has made quite miraculous progress on the border, illegal immigration, cost-cutting, curbing the DEI/woke revolution, and a historic Ukrainian War settlement.
The pushback to this multifront effort from the left has been formidable, if not hysterical. The greatest fury mostly centers around Trump’s efforts to force U.S. trading partners to adopt either reciprocal or no tariffs while obeying international trading norms—an effort aimed at vastly reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
If Trump could cut a proverbial deal in the next 100 days that, say, cut the annual $1.2 trillion trade deficit in half, coupled with multitrillion-dollar foreign investments, then stocks and bonds would settle down.
Wall Street would go back to its traditional platitudes that the trade deficit then would be no higher than the 3-percent-of-GDP red line.
San Diego remains in top 10 for worst ozone pollution in the U.S.
By Kate Murphy, Alex Fitzpatrick | Axios
San Diego’s ozone pollution is among the worst in the U.S., making it one of the smoggiest areas in the country, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.
Why it matters: Air pollution threatens everyone’s health — especially children, older people and those with asthma or heart and lung conditions.
Zoom in: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad region ranked No. 8 among the 25 U.S. metro areas most polluted by ozone, per the ALA’s 2025 State of the Air report.
- The area, which covers the county, received an “F” grade for the number of days with high ozone and a failing grade for year-round particle pollution
Yes, but: San Diego’s air quality is improving by some measures, dropping off the 2025 list of the 25 most polluted U.S. cities for daily particle pollution.
Senate Democrats Shield Violent, Illegal Immigrant Felons in Sanctuary State
By Brain W. Jones |Senate Minority Leader
Radical Democrats on the Senate Public Safety Committee blocked Senate Bill 554, the Safety Before Criminal Sanctuary Act, authored by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego). The measure proposed a modest reform to California’s Sanctuary State Law to help ensure violent offenders are not shielded from federal immigration authorities. Click here for the bill’s factsheet and here for a video recording of the fiery debate during the hearing.
“Our Safety Before Criminal Sanctuary Act is a commonsense reform to close dangerous loopholes in California’s Sanctuary State policies and keep violent illegal immigrants off our streets,” said Leader Jones. “Senate Democrats chose to side with violent offenders over the safety of Californians, allowing dangerous criminals back into our communities to threaten citizens and law-abiding immigrants alike.”
SB 554 would have required local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities for illegal immigrants convicted of serious and violent felonies including rape, child molestation, armed robbery, DUIs, human trafficking, and drug trafficking.
