President Donald Trump Tuesday said the federal government would not finance California’s high-speed rail project, escalating tensions over the state’s long-delayed infrastructure plan.

Trump’s comments come as his administration undertakes a formal compliance and performance review of the project, raising doubts about the future of the rail line. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in February that the Federal Railroad Administration would conduct the probe.

“It’s hundreds of billions of dollars for this stupid project that should have never been built,” Trump said. “This government is not going to pay.”

The California High-Speed Rail Authority in 2008 said the high-speed rail line would cost $33 billion and begin service by 2020. So far, only about 119 miles of the planned 776-mile railroad have commenced construction, and the estimated costs have soared to as much as $128 billion.

Trump canceled nearly $1 billion in federal funding during his first term, while the Biden administration awarded $3 billion in 2023.

trade deficit hits record as businesses, consumers try to get ahead of tariffs

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $140.5 billion in March as consumers and businesses alike tried to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s latest and most sweeping tariffs — with federal data showing an enormous stockpiling of pharmaceutical products.

The deficit — which measures the gap between the value of goods and services the U.S. sells abroad against what it buys — has roughly doubled over the last year. In March 2024, Commerce Department records show, that gap was just under $68.6 billion.

According to federal data released on Tuesday, U.S. exports for goods and services totaled about $278.5 billion in March, while imports climbed to nearly $419 billion. That’s up $500 million and $17.8 billion, respectively, from February trade.

Consumer goods led the imports surge — increasing by $22.5 billion in March. And pharma products in particular climbed $20.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis noted, signaling that drugmakers sought to get ahead of Trump’s threats to slap tariffs on the sector.

Tesla sales plummet across Europe even as company rolls out updated model y

Tesla sales kept sliding across Europe’s biggest electric-car markets in April, despite the company rolling out an updated version of its most popular vehicle.

The company registered only 512 new vehicles last month in the U.K., the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Tuesday, down 62% from a year earlier. Tesla’s plunge was even more pronounced in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, with sales dropping by at least two-thirds in each country.

Tesla saw steep declines in eight of Europe’s 10 largest EV markets even as it started shipping the redesigned Model Y sport utility vehicle to customers. Changing over production lines at assembly plants around the globe, including in Germany, cost the company several weeks of output early this year and contributed to the company’s worst quarterly sales since 2022.

The U.K. was a rare exception for Tesla in the first quarter, with the company seeing a 6% increase in registrations. But while Tesla managed to grow, it lagged behind the 43% jump in industrywide sales of battery-electric vehicles.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.