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Hong Kong CNN  —  China has announced a wide-ranging “special action plan” to promote domestic spending, in an effort to counter the economic impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The initiative, announced Sunday by the official Xinhua news agency, is ambitious but short on specifics. It covered everything from boosting people’s incomes to establishing a childcare subsidy system, and expanding a “cash-for-clunkers” program to trade in old goods like cars and electronics. The plan builds on Premier Li Qiang’s promise during a major political meeting earlier this month to ensure that the “giant ship of China’s economy”…

CNN  —  The Vatican has released the first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization. The photo shows Francis at the chapel in Rome’s Gemelli hospital. He is seen wearing a stole, a vestment worn to concelebrate Mass. The Vatican announced on Sunday, for the first time since his hospitalization a month ago, that Francis concelebrated Mass at the chapel in Rome’s Gemelli hospital. Concelebration means to be among the priests presiding over the Mass. This would mean Francis has gone beyond just participating in Mass or receiving the Eucharist as he has been doing in the past weeks. The…

CNN  —  Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in October 2022. It was updated and republished in March 2025 to mark the launch of CNN’s Chance Encounters podcast Rachel Décoste landed in West Africa’s Republic of Benin in August 2018, anticipating an important journey of self-discovery, but not predicting the extent to which the trip would change her life. On her first day exploring Benin, Rachel asked a passerby for directions. Two weeks later, Rachel and the stranger were engaged. Within six months, they were married. Rachel grew up in Ottawa, Canada, the daughter of Haitian parents who’d immigrated…

CNN  —  US military officials believe Russia and China are aggressively testing new offensive space capabilities, pointing to a series of satellite training missions conducted by both countries in recent months as growing evidence of an effort to weaponize outer space. As recently as last week, Russian satellites were practicing “attack and defend tactics,” maneuvers intended to increase the proficiency of their space force, according to a US defense official. US officials watched multiple Russian satellites work together to surround and isolate another satellite that was positioned in low-Earth orbit, demonstrating how they could potentially target enemy spacecraft in a…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump has said he doesn’t intend to create exemptions from steel and aluminum tariffs and that additional sectoral, as well as reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on April 2. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One Sunday during a flight back to the White House, Trump called April 2 a “liberating day” for the United States. “It’s going to be reciprocal — in other words, whatever they’re charging, we’re charging,” he said. “Then in addition to that, on autos, on steel, on aluminum, we’re going to have some additional tariffs.” He said previous administrations and…

New York / London CNN  —  Forever 21 isn’t even cool enough to exist anymore. The retailer’s US operating company filed for bankruptcy Sunday — for the second time in six years — in a court in Delaware, citing fierce competition from foreign fast fashion retailers. It marks the end of an era for a clothing brand that introduced many teens to fast fashion. The company said in a statement that its stores and website in the United States will remain open and continue serving customers for now, but it is implementing an “orderly wind-down” of its business in the…

CNN  —  The Democratic Party’s favorability rating among Americans stands at a record low, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, fueled in part by dimming views from its own frustrated supporters. With many in the party saying publicly that their leaders should do more to stand up to President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents say, 57% to 42%, that Democrats should mainly work to stop the Republican agenda, rather than working with the GOP majority to get some Democratic ideas into legislation. The survey was taken March 6-9, days before 10 Democratic senators — including Senate…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law previously used when the US was at war. The law has been invoked three times before — most recently as a justification for some internments during World War II. This time, Trump says he’s targeting Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, declaring that its members “have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.” The move to invoke the 1798 law is already facing a legal challenge. A federal judge said Saturday that he…

Hong Kong CNN  —  One nationalist influencer called it “truly gratifying.” Another said he was laughing his head off. And a state-media editorial hailed the demise of what it called the “lie factory.” Chinese nationalists and state media could hardly contain their schadenfreude after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other US government-funded media organizations that broadcast to authoritarian regimes. For years, the Chinese government and its propaganda apparatus have relentlessly attacked VOA and RFA for their critical coverage of China, particularly on human rights and religious…

Washington CNN  —  Tyler Wolf was laid off last week from his job as an employment attorney at the US Department of Health and Human Services. The 32-year-old had been saving up to buy a home and planned to move in with his girlfriend this year. Wolf is now planning to move out of his apartment near The Wharf, a trendy waterfront business district in the city, by early April to live with his parents in Virginia. He has also cut back on his spending. The Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government, carried out in large part by Elon…