Monday, April 7, 2025

If you were hoping for good news about the stock market, you may not get it this morning. That's where we're starting The Seven from The Washington Post. I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Monday, April 7. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Global financial markets have continued their slide. It's tricky for me to tell you anything definitive about the stock market on this podcast, since things can change quickly.

But at the time of this recording, a few hours before U.S. markets open, the clues suggest that things aren't looking so hot today. Asian and European stocks continued to fall this morning. That has extended the sell-off that was triggered by President Donald Trump's new tariff. Last week, the president announced 10% tariffs on imports from most of the world, with even higher levies on certain countries.

That has caused global markets to do what they're doing, and it has sparked fears of a recession. But that hasn't daunted Trump or his top officials. Here's White House Senior Counselor Peter Navarro urging Americans not to panic on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures yesterday. What we're going to have this time is a very broad-based S&P 500 recovery.

It's going to be led by the companies that manufacture here in America. And people should just sit tight. Let that market find its bottom. Don't get shook out by the panic in the media. And life is going to be beautiful under Donald John Trump. And that's where we're headed. So administration officials appear to remain in lockstep in their support of Trump. But some of the president's most vocal supporters are beginning to question his move.

Meanwhile, Democrats are aggressively criticizing the president. And so are protesters who took to the streets across the country on Saturday. That brings us to our second story. Number two. Tens of thousands of people protested against Trump this weekend. organizers said at least 1,300 rallies were planned by more than 150 groups in all 50 states on Saturday. You just heard protesters marching in Los Angeles.

The theme of the demonstrations was hands-off. People were protesting Trump's dismantling of federal agencies, his imposition of sweeping tariffs, and what demonstrators called the circumvention of due process. Organizers said they hoped Saturday's events would be the largest Trump protest since he returned to office in January. Meanwhile, Democrats are launching a new effort to push back on Trump's agenda through an expansive network of micro influencers.

This morning, The Post reported that the Democratic National Committee is setting up a rapid response operation to counter misinformation from the administration.

A second child died of measles in a Texas outbreak. That's number three. Since January, Texas health officials have confirmed more than 480 measles cases, mostly among children. Last week, an 8-year-old girl became the second person known to have died in the outbreak. A hospital spokesman said the child had no known underlying health conditions and was not vaccinated against measles. The child's death prompted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to meet with the family of the girl.

Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic, and he's been criticized since the outbreak began for not making a resounding endorsement of the safe and effective MMR vaccine. Instead, Kennedy has touted therapeutic treatments like using vitamin A or steroids to combat measles. That contradicts guidance from infectious disease experts.

Number four. A new report revealed that Israel's military systematically destroyed homes along the border in Gaza. Breaking the Silence is an Israeli human rights group. This morning, it published testimonies from Israeli troops. The troops testified that in the early months of Israel's war in Gaza, there was a methodical effort to destroy buildings and agricultural fields to create a buffer zone.

But the soldiers said the destruction was excessive and lacked a clear rationale. And legal experts said the tactics appear to violate international law. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House today. The visit was spurred by Trump's new 17% tariffs on Israeli exports, and it comes as Israel is expanding its military assault on Gaza. Number five. At least 18 people were killed in relentless storms in the Mid-South.

Days of torrential rain and wind have pummeled states from Arkansas to Kentucky. And even as the rains subside, some rivers are continuing to rise, threatening more flooding. Most of the deaths from the storms were in western Tennessee. Some towns there and in Kentucky were left almost entirely underwater. This destructive weather hit as states have been caught unprepared for President Trump's threats to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA is canceling plans to award states grants to prepare against future disasters. And funding for disaster relief could also be in jeopardy. Connecticut routed South Carolina to win the women's college basketball national title game. That's number six. It was a commanding end to the women's NCAA tournament. Connecticut star Paige Beckers capped her career with 17 points as the Huskies upset the defending champions. And she got the one thing she was missing, a national title.

It was UConn's 12th national championship, and all have come under legendary coach Gino Auriemma. Tonight is the men's championship game in San Antonio. On Saturday, Houston shocked the tournament favorites Duke. And now, coach Kelvin Sampson will lead the Cougars against the Florida Gators for the title. The game airs at 8.50 p.m. Eastern on CBS. And at number seven, a moment of hockey history.

Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL record for goals scored. The Washington Capitals star scored his 895th career goal yesterday with his signature unstoppable shot. He celebrated with a joyful belly slide down the ice in New York. Here's the moment it happened on TNT. I'm going to try to force it to him if he's open. Here Israel Betts gets it! He scores! He scores! Number 895!

Gretzky is a hockey legend known as the Great One. His goals record was once thought to be untouchable. But 39-year-old Ovechkin has consistently chipped away at the record over his 20-year career all spent with Washington. He broke the record in his 1,487th regular season game. Gretzky played exactly that many games, and Gretzky was there in the crowd to see his record broken.

All right, you're all caught up. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter this morning. The 7 Morning Briefing is where you can find links to all the stories I talk about here on the podcast. We send it early every weekday morning. It's totally free and a great resource to stay informed in a busy time for news. Find a link to sign up in our show notes. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.

I'm Fennet Narapil, and I'm a health reporter for The Washington Post. My job is to cover public health, and that means I'm writing about infectious disease threats like COVID, Mpox, and bird flu. And I'm also holding the federal government and state government officials accountable for how they respond to these disease threats. So when we write about public health issues, we want to serve our readers by going deep into the science.

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