📌 Market’s Bad Start, Russia’s Hybrid Attacks

Trump 2.0 was supposed to usher in a stock market bonanza. That's not what's happened in the first few months.

The S&P 500 has declined 14% since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, marking the stock market's worst start to a presidency in the last century, reported an analysis released Monday by Bespoke Investment Group.

The S&P 500’s drop is “by far the biggest decline the index has seen three months into a Presidential term since 1928,” the analysts wrote. The second worst came during FDR’s third term in 1941 when stocks fell 9% amid a domestic debate about whether America should enter the Second World War.

Trump's unpredictable, ever-changing trade policy has plunged financial markets into turmoil and cast a dark cloud over the economy. US stocks, which fell sharply again on Monday, have suffered some of their worst days in decades amid the uncertainty.

Of 45 country ETFs surveyed by Bespoke, only Taiwanese stocks, down 15.5%, have had a rougher start to Trump’s presidency. The average country ETF has risen 3.2% since Trump’s inauguration, about 18 percentage points of outperformance against the S&P 500.

European stocks have been among the best performers this year. The iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG) has risen 10.8% in the last three months, boosted by new stimulus measures and plans to boost defense spending. Stock markets in Italy (+10.2%), the UK (+6.6%), and France (+3.7%) have also outperformed the US.

Russia is increasing hybrid cyber attacks on the Netherlands and its European allies, said Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD.

"We see the Russian threat against Europe is increasing, including after a possible end to the war against Ukraine," MIVD director Peter Reesink said in the agency's annual report.

The MIVD said it had, for the first time, detected an attack by Russian hackers against the digital operating system of an unspecified Dutch public service last year. It said it had also found a Russian cyber operation against critical infrastructure in the Netherlands, possibly as preparation for sabotage.

Hybrid threats span everything from physical sabotage of critical infrastructure to disinformation campaigns. The MIVD described such attacks as combining traditional acts of espionage with cyber attacks and other attempts at influencing and undermining society.

The agency repeated its warnings of Russian entities mapping infrastructure in the North Sea for espionage, and acts of sabotage aimed at internet cables, water and energy supplies.

Moscow has denied responsibility for all such incidents, saying accusations against it are baseless and unproven.

Trump border czar Tom Homan criticized Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for his trip to El Salvador to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The senator traveled to meet the deported Abrego Garcia, an “MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, [and] terrorist” on the “taxpayer dime,” Homan said, alleging the trip and the costs were a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who was residing in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison in March. His attorneys and family deny he's affiliated with MS-13.

Abrego Garcia received a protective court order in 2019 barring him from being deported to El Salvador due to fear for his safety. In a court filing, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged he should not have been sent to El Salvador, calling it an "administrative error."

Van Hollen stressed, that for him, this case is about protecting constitutional rights. "I am not defending the man. I'm defending the rights of this man to due process.”

Homan defended the administration's actions, arguing that under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, invoked to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, including Abrego Garcia, due process rights are more limited. "We have followed the Constitution. We have followed the law,” Homan said.

The Supreme Court later upheld an order saying the administration must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the US.

The Trump administration has proposed cuts to NASA’s budget next year, slashing science research funding in half.

The reduction would halt the launch of a high-tech space telescope and curtail other planetary exploration missions. The cuts could close NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, a prominent research laboratory in Greenbelt, Md.

In Maryland, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Steny Hoyer and Rep. Glenn Ivey, all Democrats, said they think Congress will oppose the cuts. They said trimming science research will benefit China, which has accelerated its space program.

The cuts are part of the Trump administration's plan to reduce federal spending. In fiscal year 2024, total NASA funding accounted for about 0.36% of the total national budget, according to the Planetary Society.

SpaceX CEO and White House adviser Elon Musk called the planned cuts "troubling" in a social media post. The budget plan, called a passback, is a draft for fiscal year 2026 that will be revised before being submitted to Congress. NASA funding would drop to about $20 billion, from $24.9 billion in 2024.

NASA has already started laying off staff and closing offices at the order of the Trump administration. The agency said in March that it was closing three offices and laying off 23 employees.

Nadine Menendez, the wife of convicted former N.J. Sen. Bob Menendez, was found guilty of her role in a bribery scheme.

Menendez, 58, and her husband have both been convicted of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars for political favors to benefit the government of Egypt and enrich themselves. Menendez wore a facemask when the verdict was read for numerous counts. She faces sentencing on June 12.

Menendez's husband resigned his Senate seat weeks after being found guilty of accepting lavish bribes, including gold bars and cash. He was sentenced to 11 years and must surrender to authorities on June 6. He has vowed to appeal his conviction.

During opening statements, prosecutors told jurors "she did the dirty work," alleging Menendez and her husband "engaged in a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey associates and businessmen" and provided Egyptian government officials with sensitive information.

One of the businessmen, Jose Uribe, testified he bought Menendez a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for her husband's influence to try to get state prosecutors to drop criminal cases against his friend and associate. Uribe took a plea deal in the scandal.

An FBI search of the couple's home found over $480,000 stuffed and hidden in envelopes, along with $70,000 in Nadine Menendez's safe deposit box. The ex-senator said in his trial the hoard stemmed from a habit of storing money and valuables after his parents fled Cuba in the 1950s.

A Thai-Chinese company denied allegations the steel rods in its collapsed block in Bangkok’s earthquake didn’t meet safety rules.

Authorities are probing Xin Ke Yuan Steel about the quality of the rods and a Chinese contractor in the construction to find out why the building crumbled following a quake centered in Myanmar, over 745 miles away. It was the only building in Bangkok that completely collapsed that day.

The 7.7 magnitude quake on 28 March killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar, while in Thailand, 47 people lost their lives, mostly at the building collapse site.

The collapse sparked questions about the enforcement of construction safety and the state-run Chinese contractor, China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, leading to the arrest of its Chinese executive in Thailand, identified as Zhang, on suspicion of operating the business through the use of nominees.

Last week, a Thai engineer filed a police complaint saying that his name and signature were forged as a project controller in one of the construction plans. He denied any involvement in the project.

At age 83, Bobbi Oxford’s wish has finally come true. She got to drive a racing car around a track.

“I have the need for speed, baby!” she said from her senior living community in Littleton, Colorado, where she stays busy with sewing, quilting, and painting, leading a quiet life.

The devoted fan of NASCAR racing got to check off her bucket list item thanks to Wish of a Lifetime, a charity that grants life-changing wishes to inspire people to age with joy.

Her dream was fulfilled at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado in a retired race car belonging to Joe Garone, the track’s COO. Bobbi took to the track under a clear blue Colorado sky.

After being fitted with a helmet and personalized racing suit, getting a tour of the garage, and completing an orientation, Bobbi got behind the wheel with an experienced driver in the passenger seat and she drove around the 1-mile oval track — over and over.

After she’d had her fill, a professional driver took her on the ride of her life — spinning in circles and burning rubber to give Bobbi the full experience she’d missed all these years. “I made it!” Bobbi called out as she completed her drive. “Nothing can ever, ever top this.”