Rafi Schwartz

Minneapolis

Staff Writer at Mic

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Articles

What China's role means in the India-Pakistan Kashmir escalation

3 days ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

India and Pakistan's escalating military attacks against one another in recent weeks, which brought the two antagonistic powers closer to major conflict than they had been in years, called attention to another stakeholder in the region: China. The global superpower has a keen interest in what happens in its national backyard.
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal

6 days ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Thursday announced what the White House called a "historic" and "great" trade deal. The limited bilateral agreement reduces or eliminates some of the tariffs Trump has imposed in his global trade war but keeps his 10% tax on most British imports. In return, Britain agreed to open its markets to more ethanol and beef.
Can team Trump make the MAGA playbook work for Albania's elections?

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

President Donald Trump seems to see himself as part of a broader global shift toward populism. But while he cozies up to other strong-arm heads of state like Russia's Vladimir Putin and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, the team that helped bring the MAGA movement to the White House has been working to expand the roster of aspiring autocrats, particularly in Albania.
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Jerome Powell warns on tariffs

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

The Federal Reserve voted unanimously Wednesday to keep interest rates unchanged, disregarding President Donald Trump's demands for lower borrowing costs as his global trade war roils the U.S. and global economies. Who said whatTrump's "large increases in tariffs," if "sustained," are "likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth and a rise in unemployment," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at an afternoon press conference.
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mount

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

Perhaps the most telling moment of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's first meeting with President Donald Trump came after the two world leaders had concluded their awkward, occasionally tense sit-down: "I'm glad that you couldn’t tell what was going through my mind," Carney said, after being asked by Toronto Star reporter Tonda MacCharles what he was thinking while listening to Trump extol the virtues of annexing Canada. "Oh, I could," MacCharles laughed.
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

The Supreme Court Tuesday said the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service members could go into force while the policy is litigated in a lower court. The justices did not explain their decision, which the court's three liberal justices opposed.
Whatever Happened to Shame?

1 week ago | discourseblog.com | Rafi Schwartz

Perhaps you’ve already seen the video: Shiloh Hendrix, a white woman, launches into a furious tirade against a five-year-old Black child she accused of stealing from her diaper bag at a playground in Rochester, Minnesota. If you’ve seen it, you already know what happens; if you haven’t seen it…you probably also already know what happens: Hendrix not only confirms that she called the kid in question a hard-r n-word but repeats it for good measure after she’s confronted by an outraged bystander.
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

The Department of Homeland Security said Monday it would give $1,000 and a plane ticket home to any undocumented immigrants who opted to "self-deport," calling the "historic" offer a "dignified way to leave the U.S." Migrants who register for "voluntary self-deportation" through the Customs and Border Protection app will be "deprioritized for detention and removal," DHS said, so long as "they are making meaningful strides" toward their departure.
Harvard stares down Trump's tax threat as other schools take note

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

Even within the elite Ivy League, Harvard University stands out as the country's premier institution of higher education. As such, the Trump administration has targeted Harvard in its assault on collegiate infrastructure. But the university has positioned itself to fight back, both in the courts, where it is suing the administration over frozen federal funds, and in the court of public opinion.
Trump moves to gut PBS and NPR in latest salvo against the media

1 week ago | theweek.com | Rafi Schwartz

One of the less bombastic features of the second Trump administration has been the effort to reshape the traditional media ecosystem into a more obsequious institution. That endeavor took a significant step forward this week, after President Donald Trump signed a new executive order aimed at stripping federal funding from NPR and PBS.