Hard Numbers: Trump to unveil steel tariffs, Paris AI summit begins, Ecuador faces runoff election, Maoist rebels killed, Baltics energized by Europe, Eagles soar over Chiefs
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl, on Feb. 9, 2025.
25: Donald Trump says he plans to announce a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, including Mexico and Canada. It’s unclear when the tariffs will take effect, but the US president said Sunday that he would make a formal announcement on Monday.
80: Government and industry leaders from at least 80 countries are convening in Paris on Monday and Tuesday as the AI Action Summit gets underway inside the historic Grand Palais. This year’s summit, the third following similar gatherings in Bletchley Park (UK) and Seoul, Korea, is co-hosted by France’s President Emmanuel Macron and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi,and it will feature an open dialogue about AI regulation and innovation at a critical time for both geopolitics and the technology itself. US Vice President JD Vance is attending as he begins his first official trip abroad. GZERO’s Tony Maciulis will be reporting from the summit and bringing us an interview with Paris Peace Forum Director General Justin Vaïsse on Tuesday.
1: Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa was expected to prevail in Sunday’s election and avoid a runoff, but the race against his leftist opponent, Luisa Gonzalez, proved extremely close. Up less than 1% at the time of writing, and with nearly 80% of the ballot boxes counted, Noboa had 44.5% of the vote compared to Gonzalez's 44.1%. If neither candidate secures an outright majority, a runoff will be held on April 13.
31: Security forces battled Maoist rebels in the Bijapur district of Chattisgarh in central India on Sunday, killing 31 insurgents. The left-wing communists, part of the Naxalite movement, have been fighting with India’s government since 1967. Two Indian commandos were also killed in the clash.
3: The three Baltic countries have bid farewell to Russia’s power grid. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania completed their switch from the Russian to the European grid on Sunday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the move — amid heightened security owing to suspected sabotage of underwater cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea — a new era of freedom for the region.
40-22: The Kansas City Chiefs were hoping for a historic hat-trick Super Bowl win last night in New Orleans, but it wasn’t to be. The Philadelphia Eagles dominated from the start, closing out the first half at 24-0, and finishing the game 40-22, with their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, winning MVP.