Trump’s New Plan for Social Security Death List, and China’s Counterattack on Tariffs

Summary

The Headlines: April 11, 2025

Hosted by Tracy Mumford, The New York Times' "The Headlines" provides a comprehensive overview of the day’s top stories with insightful analysis from Times reporters worldwide. This episode covers significant topics ranging from economic tensions between the U.S. and China to critical developments in immigration policy, international diplomacy, and cultural recognitions.

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1. Economic Turbulence: Trump’s Tariffs and China’s Counterattack

Stock Market Volatility
The episode opens with a deep dive into the ongoing impact of President Trump's tariffs on the U.S. stock market. Despite a brief rally, stocks have resumed their sell-off, signaling persistent investor anxiety. Tracy Mumford reports:

“A day after the biggest rally since 2008, stocks resumed their sell-off despite initially soaring after Trump said he was pausing most of his tariffs. Stocks then tumbled again yesterday.” [00:48]

Escalating Trade War
The tension escalates as the U.S. increases tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, while China retaliates with its own surcharges reaching 125%. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant attempts to downplay the situation:

“China will be the one to lose out.” [01:31]

Foreign policy analyst Farnaz Fassi adds nuance to the discussion:

“No one wins in a war, but its proportionality and the proportionality for the Chinese is going to be much worse.” [01:38]

Impact on Consumers and Farmers
Higher tariffs are expected to drive up prices on billions of dollars worth of imported goods. Additionally, U.S. farmers face significant losses, reminiscent of the first trade war where crops like soybeans and corn saw revenue declines. The tariffs could adversely affect farmers in red states, potentially influencing voter sentiment against the administration.

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2. Immigration Policies: Social Security Death List Tactics

New Crackdown on Migrants
A startling revelation from The New York Times sheds light on the Trump administration's unconventional measures to deter immigration. The Social Security Administration has begun placing thousands of migrants on a “death list,” falsely marking them as deceased to cut off their financial benefits. Alexandra Berzon elaborates:

“Our reporting is showing that there's an aim here from the government that's pretty explicit, which is about President Trump's edict to try to get people to self-deport.” [03:21]

Inclusion of Minors and Errors
Despite official claims that the first batch includes only convicted criminals or suspected terrorists, Alexandra Berzon points out alarming inaccuracies:

“That group includes a 13-year-old boy and seven other minors, raising concerns about how carefully the names were selected.” [03:48]

The potential for wrongful inclusion of American citizens and non-targeted immigrants poses severe risks, potentially wreaking financial havoc on innocent individuals.

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3. Supreme Court Ruling on Wrongful Deportation

Deportation to El Salvador
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the government must take steps to repatriate an individual mistakenly deported to El Salvador. However, the Court stopped short of mandating an immediate return, citing unresolved issues regarding judicial roles in foreign affairs. Tracy Mumford discusses:

“The justices unanimously said that the government needs to take steps to bring him home, though they didn't go so far as to order that he be brought back immediately.” [04:34]

Family’s Plea and Uncertainty
In an emotional interview, the deportee’s wife vehemently denied allegations linking her husband to violent gangs and expressed her determination to secure his return:

“I want to know when they will bring him back, because my kids ask, when is he coming? And I don't have an answer.” [05:07]

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4. Iran-US Nuclear Talks Resumption

First Negotiations Since 2018
This weekend marks the resumption of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, the first since President Trump exited the previous agreement. Farnaz Fassi provides context:

“Iran is facing a cascade of crises... they need sanctions relief and they need to negotiate with the United States.” [06:32]

Supreme Leader’s Reluctance and Strategic Necessity
Ayatollah Khamenei's mistrust of the U.S. complicates negotiations, yet Iran's internal crises and the looming threat of military conflict compel participation. Fassi notes:

“If negotiations fail, they will have to stop Iran's advancement in its nuclear program with military strikes.” [06:29]

Stance of Former Negotiators
A former Iranian negotiator warns that any attempt by the U.S. to completely dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities would be a non-negotiable stance for Tehran, potentially derailing talks.

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5. Tragic Club Collapse in the Dominican Republic

Disastrous Incident at Jet Set Club
A catastrophic collapse at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo has resulted in 221 fatalities, including notable figures such as a Dominican governor and former MLB players. The collapse occurred during a concert, overwhelming local emergency services.

Humanitarian Impact
Families faced immense hardship as they camped out at the morgue to identify and claim their loved ones. The morgue officials have been working tirelessly to process the remains:

“The morgue said it has identified most of the victims and is, quote, working tirelessly to finish the process.” [07:37]

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6. Oscars to Honor Stunt Design

New Category Introduction
The Academy Awards will introduce a new category recognizing achievement in stunt design, starting with films released in 2027. This move honors the vital yet often unsung efforts of stunt teams in the film industry. Actor Ryan Gosling highlighted the necessity of this recognition:

“They come on set, they risk everything and then they disappear into the shadows.” [10:00]

Future Award Details
While specific eligibility criteria and award mechanics remain under wraps, the addition of stunt design underscores the Oscars' commitment to celebrating all facets of filmmaking. Additionally, next year will feature an award for casting, marking the first new category in two decades.

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Conclusion

This episode of "The Headlines" navigates through a spectrum of pressing issues, from economic policies and immigration strategies to international diplomacy and cultural acknowledgments. Tracy Mumford, along with expert reporters like Farnaz Fassi and Alexandra Berzon, provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the complexities shaping today's world.

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For more in-depth analysis and updates, subscribe to The New York Times Audio app available for iOS users.

Transcript

[Alexa Weibel]

Hi, it's Alexa Weibel from New York Times Cooking. We've got tons of easy weeknight recipes and today I'm making my five ingredient creamy miso pasta. You just take your starchy pasta water, whisk it together with a little bit of miso and butter until it's creamy, add your noodles and a little bit of cheese.

[Tracy Mumford]

Hmm.

[Alexa Weibel]

It's like a grown up box of Mac and cheese that feels like a restaurant quality dish. New York Times Cooking has you covered with easy dishes for busy weeknights. You can find [e-mail].

[Tracy Mumford]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, April 11th. Here's what we're covering. The chaos that President Trump's tariffs unleashed on the stock market is not over yet.

[Farnaz Fassi]

A day after the biggest rally since.

[Tracy Mumford]

2008, stocks resuming their sell off despite initially soaring after Trump said he was pausing most of his tariffs. Stocks then tumbled again yesterday.

[Farnaz Fassi]

You can see the big red arrows.

[Tracy Mumford]

There for the signaling that investors are still unnerved by all of the back and forth and that they're concerned about a big part of Trump's trade war that he has not backed down from his standoff with China. The president's now pushed tariffs on China to 145% while he's been repeating his claim that the country's ripping off the US And China has retaliated with its own steep surcharges that have now reached 125%.

[Farnaz Fassi]

They can raise their tariffs, but so what?

[Tracy Mumford]

Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, downplayed the escalating tariffs this week, saying China will be the one to lose out.

[Farnaz Fassi]

No one wins in a war, but its proportionality and the proportionality for the Chinese is going to be much worse.

[Tracy Mumford]

Still, the now sky high surcharges will likely lead to higher prices on the hundreds of billions of dollars of goods the US Imports from China. And China's tariffs in turn could be a huge blow to US Farmers, many of whom are in red states, potentially hitting voters who helped elect the president. China is America's largest foreign market for agriculture. During Trump's trade war with China in his first term, American farmers growing crops like soybeans and corn lost billions of dollars in revenue. And ultimately Trump handed out massive subsidies to try and stabilize the situation. The Times has learned about an extraordinary and unorthodox new tactic that the Trump administration is taking in its crackdown on immigration. For years, the federal government has given Social Security numbers to migrants who have temporary permission to live in the US that's allowed them to work and in some cases to receive benefits. But this week, the Social Security Administration started moving thousands of migrants to its so called death list, the record it keeps of people who are supposed to be deceased and thus shouldn't get any benefits. To do that, the agencies even had to enter fake dates of death for the migrants. That data often then gets shared with banks and other financial institutions. The head of the agency told staff that they were making this move because he wants the migrants financial lives to be, quote, terminated.

[Alexandra Berzon]

Our reporting is showing that there's an aim here from the government that's pretty explicit, which is about President Trump's edict to try to get people to self deport. The idea is that if you make their lives difficult enough, you make it clear that they're not going to be able to get access to their banks, their mortgages are going to cancel, their landlords might evict them, all kinds of problems they're going to have. It's really to scare people and, and to convince people to leave.

[Tracy Mumford]

My colleague Alexandra Berzon is on the team that broke the story. The administration claims that the first group of people that it's added to the death list are convicted criminals or suspected terrorists. But Alexandra says that group includes a 13 year old boy and seven other minors, raising concerns about how carefully the names were selected.

[Alexandra Berzon]

Every year there are already mistakes that are made and people mistakenly end up on this list and it can be an incredible difficulty to try to get off of it and really upend a person's life. Now add to that more possibility. You could end up with American citizens or immigrants who are not intended to be on the list, and it could really wreak incredible financial havoc and disruption to people's lives.

[Tracy Mumford]

In other immigration news, the Supreme Court has sided with the man that the Trump administration mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The justices unanimously said that the government needs to take steps to bring him home, though they didn't go so far as to order that he be brought back immediately, since they said there are unresolved questions about the role the courts can play in foreign affairs. This means, for the moment, his return is still up in the air. Do you have any idea what's happening for him or to him right now? Have you had any contact?

[Farnaz Fassi]

Nothing?

[Tracy Mumford]

In an interview on MSNBC earlier this week, the man's wife rejected the government's claims that her husband is a violent gang member. And she said she'll keep fighting to bring him back to the U.S. i want to know when they will bring him back, because my kids ask, when is he coming? And I don't have an answer. In the Middle east this weekend, American officials will sit down for talks with Iran as they try and rein in the country's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. It's the first time both sides will engage in nuclear talks since 2018, when President Trump pulled the US out of a previous agreement. Under that deal, the US had dropped some of its economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for limits on the country's stockpile of nuclear material. After that, relations between the two countries devolved, Iran raced forward with its nuclear program, and the US Put some of its crippling sanctions back in place.

[Farnaz Fassi]

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the last word in all state matters, has said he really doesn't trust the United States and doesn't want to negotiate with the Trump administration. He's called negotiations with the US Idiotic and unwise, but he really doesn't have a choice.

[Tracy Mumford]

Farnaz Fi sighi covers Iran for the Times.

[Farnaz Fassi]

He conceded to talks because Iran is facing a cascade of crises. There's a shortage of energy, there's power cuts, the shortage of water. The economy's tanking, the currency's plunging. There's widespread discontent among the population. And in order to be able to resolve all their problems, they need to have sanctions relief and they need to negotiate with the United States. The other major incentive for Iran and Mr. Khamenei to agree to talks is that they understand that if they don't negotiate, there's also the threat of war. President Trump and Israel have both clearly said that if negotiations fail, they will have to stop Iran's advancement in its nuclear program with military strikes. And if that happens, Iran will have to respond. And then it's unclear where that war would go. So they really don't want to have a war, and agreeing to come to talks is one way to try to avert that.

[Tracy Mumford]

Farnaz says that the two countries are far apart as they head into the talks this weekend. Trump has said Iran can't be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. But a former negotiator for Iran told the Times that any push to fully shut down the country's nuclear program would be a, quote, deal breaker. In the Dominican Republic, authorities announced they have ended their search for victims in the rubble of a collapsed nightclub there. The roof of Jet Set, one of the most popular clubs in the country's capital city, came crashing down after midnight. On Tuesday during a concert. And the head of the fire department there said some of the rescue workers stayed on site for 53 hours straight, digging through the debris. By the time they ended their search yesterday, the death toll had climbed to 221. The club had been a go to destination for live music for decades, popular with politicians, athletes and bankers. A Dominican governor died in the collapse, as did two former major league baseball players and the celebrated merengue singer who was performing Ruby Perez. The tragedy has overwhelmed the local morgue. Some family members told the Times they spent days camped out there trying to claim their loved ones. The morgue said it has identified most of the victims and is, quote, working tirelessly to finish the process. And finally, for every jaw dropping car crash and fight scene and motorcycle flying off a cliff in the movies, there's a whole stunt team behind it. And now the Academy Awards is going to recognize those unsung heroes who've mastered exactly how to blow something up and make it look good. Starting with movies released in 2027, there will be a new Oscars category for achievement in stunt design. For people in the industry, it's a long time coming. The actor Ryan Gosling actually called that out last year when he starred in the movie Fall Guy as a stunt double.

[Farnaz Fassi]

I've basically had a stunt double my whole life, and there's this sort of accepted dynamic where they come on set, they risk everything and then they disappear into the shadows and we all pretend as though they were never there at the time.

[Tracy Mumford]

Gosling joked that the movie was basically a giant campaign to get the Oscars to recognize stunts. All of the details about eligibility and how the stunt award will work haven't been released yet. Next year, the Oscars will also give out the first ever award for casting, for the people who pulled together a film's ensemble. That will be the first new category for the awards in 20 years. Those are the headlines. This show is made by Will Jarvis, Jessica Metzger, Yon Stewart and me, Tracy Mumford. Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Isabella Anderson, Larissa Anderson, Jake Lucas, Alyssa Moxley, Zoe Murphy, Paula Schumann and Chris Wood. The headlines will be back on Monday.