The Evening: A tariff break for carmakers

Also, meet the man who wants to save the world from bad sound.

View in browser|nytimes.com March 5, 2025 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Wednesday. A tariff reprieve for carmakers More U.S. pressure on Zelensky Plus, meet the wizard of vinyl Mike Blake/Reuters Carmakers were given a monthlong reprieve from tariffs President Trump announced today that cars would receive a one-month exemption from the sweeping 25 percent tariffs he imposed this week on imports from Mexico and Canada. The president said he made the decision after speaking with America's three largest automakers, whom he pushed to move their production facilities to the U.S., according to the White House. Trump's initial rollout of the tariffs, which also included fees on imports from China, drew pushback from American businesses and roiled financial markets. As my colleagues Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have reported, the stock market is one of the few forces that can convince Trump to change his mind. The S&P 500 ended today up 1.1 percent. The president declined to offer a reprieve to Canada, despite overtures today by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump said he was not satisfied with Canada's efforts to reduce the flow of fentanyl across the border, even though the U.S. intercepted just 43 pounds of fentanyl there in all of 2024. In Mexico, leaders were frustrated because they believed they had met all of Trump's demands to avert the tariffs. Demonstrators outside the Capitol last month. Valerie Plesch for The New York Times The Supreme Court ruled against the foreign aid freeze The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision released today, rejected Trump's plan to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid as part of his efforts to slash government spending. The majority was formed by two conservative justices and all three liberals. The ruling was one of the court's first moves in response to Trump's spending cuts. It suggested that the president will face a Supreme Court more skeptical than its mostly conservative composition might indicate. In other politics news: The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to reduce its work force by more than 80,000 people. At a hearing in Washington, House Republicans accused the Democratic mayors of New York, Denver, Boston and Chicago of harboring criminal immigrants. The mayors defended their policies. Frustration has been growing inside the White House over the pace of deportations. A Native university is losing a quarter of its staff in federal cuts. The nation's primary regulator of workplace discrimination has walked away from cases involving transgender workers. We fact-checked Trump's speech last night to Congress. We also asked voters what they thought about the address. Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston who became a congressman from Texas in January, died today at 70. A Ukrainian artillery unit near the front lines in the eastern Dnipro region last month. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times The U.S. paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine The C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, said today that the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, after Trump's decision this week to suspend the delivery of military aid to the country. Officials said the pauses were designed to pressure Ukraine to cooperate with Trump's plan to end the war with Russia. Some U.S. officials suggested that the moves could be relatively short-lived if Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, bends to the demands of the White House. And after some prodding and counseling from European leaders, Zelensky is now working to get in Trump's good graces. But if Trump continues to withhold U.S. support, it could reorder the battlefield. "If Russia sees potential for quick military gains from a weakened Ukraine, the incentive for talks will diminish for Moscow," said Andrew Kramer, our Kyiv bureau chief. Trump, Andrew added, "is essentially asking Ukraine to agree to terms in advance, without knowing what they are." For more: These charts show how crucial U.S. aid is for Ukraine. A secret campaign to save a woman chained by the neck Three years ago, a video blogger stumbled upon a shack in a village in eastern China. Inside was a woman — dazed, shivering and chained up by the neck. A video of her set off what many observers called the biggest moment for women's rights in recent Chinese history. For weeks, the Communist Party struggled to quash the nationwide outcry. Eventually it did, though not entirely: In secret, a new generation of more determined activists had risen. My colleague Vivian Wang looked into what happened to the woman in the shed and her supporters. More top news Middle East: U.S. and Hamas officials held direct talks, breaking with a long-running American policy of refusing to directly engage with the militant group. D.O.J.: The U.S. charged a dozen Chinese citizens accused of being part of a sophisticated hacking ring that steals data from Americans. Syria: Fighting in the northeast has intensified and risks scuttling efforts by the new government in Damascus to unify the country. California: Almost 4,000 campsites in national forests could close for part or all of the summer because of staffing shortages, according to a memo. Cars: Tesla's sales in Germany plunged in February, part of a wider slump across Europe. Business: Adidas said it had sold its last pair of Yeezy sneakers, as it tries to move past its scandal-ridden partnership with the rapper Ye. France: Witnesses at the trial of a surgeon accused of sexually abusing 299 people, most of them children, testified about warning signs that went unheeded. Science: Researchers identified a gene that seems to help slow brain aging in women. TIME TO UNWIND Chricket Cho spent $8,400 on tickets, merchandise and travel for seven shows last year. Audra Melton for The New York Times $1,000 concert tickets are busting Gen Z budgets Gone are the days when fans could pay $8 to see Bruce Springsteen perform on his Born to Run tour. Ignacio Vasquez, 20, has been saving money for tickets to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter show in Los Angeles, which are listed at a minimum of $600 each and many at more than $1,000. For 20-somethings, it can quickly become unaffordable. But according to a recent survey, many still buy the tickets because they fear missing out. Some save, while others go into debt. The city in "Silo." Apple TV+ Where would we live after an apocalypse? "Paradise" is a TV show about a postapocalyptic society that lives underground in a suburb. "Silo" is a TV show about a postapocalyptic society that lives underground in an apartment tower. Both recognize that housing would be a central problem after a global catastrophe, but they diverge on what it would look like. Our housing reporter Conor Dougherty spoke to the writers behind both stories and explained how they echo the debate over America's housing shortage today. Keira Knightley in Chanel. Landon Nordeman for The New York Times Dinner table topics Stars turned out: Paris had its own Met Gala. "The Electric State": Here's how Netflix made the cute, round-headed robot at the center of the film. Movie theaters: French cinema leads the way to a revival of in-person moviegoing. The Great One: Can Wayne Gretzky be both a Trump supporter and a beloved national hero? Canadians aren't so sure. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: Sprinkling Parmesan over these sausage meatballs gives them some crunch. Watch: The Hulu comedy "Deli Boys" centers on South Asians, drugs, violence — and the minimart. Read: These two books celebrate the 1920s jazz scene in New York and Paris. Listen: Our critic made a playlist of the best songs she saw onstage this winter. Decorate: See how professional designers hide storage space in plain sight. Test: Get a sense of your body awareness. It helps you stay balanced as you age. Share: If you have been married for 30 years or more and have advice for an enduring marriage, we want to hear from you. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here. ONE LAST THING David Robert Elliott for The New York Times A mission to save the world from bad sound Vinyl LPs seemed destined for extinction decades ago, when the music industry went digital. But CDs and downloadable tunes never appealed to Chad Kassem. "I mean, you put on a CD and even dogs leave the room," he said. So Chad founded a vinyl manufacturing company in Salina, Kan., and turned it into a mini-empire. He is particularly obsessed with, and known for, fine-tuning each detail of his LPs until they sound as close to perfect as possible. "What I'm all about," Chad said, "is saving the world from bad sound." Have a vibrant evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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