Pennsylvania
Trump defends tariffs as he launches economic tour: ‘You can give up certain products. You could give up pencils.’
President Donald Trump is standing by his tariffs, at least in theory.
Under the banner “Lower Prices, Bigger Paychecks,” Trump kicked off the first of a series of speeches to promote his economic message in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, as polls indicate the country is increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living.
“They always have a hoax,” Trump told the crowd, referring to criticism from Democrats that his policies drove up prices. “The new word is ‘affordability.’”
“Democrats are like, ‘prices are too high.’ Yeah, they’re too high because they cause them to be too high,” Trump added. “But now they’re coming down.”
Later, he said, “I can’t say affordability is a hoax because I agree the prices were too high. So I can’t go to call it a hoax because they’ll misconstrue that.”
Trump, during the 90-minute speech, also reiterated that his favorite word is “tariff” and credited his policies for bringing in “hundreds of billions of dollars,” presumably for the government in tariff revenue.
“You can give up certain products,” Trump said at one point. “You could give up pencils. Because under the China policy, you know, every child can get 37 pencils. They only need one or two, you know. They don’t need that many.”
Despite standing by his tariff policies, Trump has, in reality, rolled back many of his earlier tariffs, especially ones enacted on April 2.
Tariffs are still higher than they have been in many decades, but the original 25% tariff on every import from Mexico and Canada was walked back to exclude all items covered in the USMCA trade agreement, which includes most imports from the two neighbors. Tariffs on imports from China, once more than 100%, have been reduced to a baseline tariff of 10%, which applies to all other countries.
On top of that, in an attempt to address the price of groceries, Trump also modified and removed tariffs on a range of food products in November, such as beef, coffee, bananas, and tomatoes.
Of the remaining tariffs, evidence points to an impact on the price of consumer goods.
“Our analysis suggests that tariff measures are already exerting measurable upward pressure on consumer prices,” according to a report published in October by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis that looked at data from January to August of this year. “The rise in prices beginning in early 2025 coincides closely with tariff developments, and our model-based regressions confirm that these effects are statistically and economically significant.”
“At the same time, the pass-through remains partial; only a portion of the model-predicted effect has materialized so far,” the report added. “This could reflect delays in price adjustments, competitive pressure limiting firms’ ability to raise prices, or expectations that the tariffs may prove temporary.”
Trump’s speech comes as consumer sentiment remains low. According to the University of Michigan’s survey of consumers, sentiment dropped to 51 points in November, which is the second-lowest score the index has ever recorded since 1952, narrowly topped by a score of 50 in June 2022.
Earlier on Monday, in an interview with Politico, Trump said that he would give his economy a grade of “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”
Some Democrats have centered their pre-2026 midterm messaging on affordability, and several have explicitly blamed rising costs on Trump’s tariff and trade policies. Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, with whom Trump had a meeting, also won while running primarily on making the city more affordable.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TRANSFER, Pa. (MyValleyTributes) – Sandra “Sandy” J. Kulka, age 68, of Transfer, Pennsylvania, passed away on Friday, April 24th, 2026, peacefully.
She was born June 24th, 1956, in Mercer, Pennsylvania, to Gerald Stainbrook and Violet (Patton) Stainbrook.
Sandy was a graduate of Hickory High School.
She was a homemaker and later in life worked as a custodian at Hermitage School District until her retirement. She enjoyed spending time with her five grandchildren and beloved pets, Teddy and Bella.
Sandy is survived by her three children, April Redfoot and her husband Daniel, Becky Kulka and Samuel Kulka, all of Greenville, Pennsylvania; a brother, Dennis Stainbrook and his wife, Margaret Kern of Transfer, Pennsylvania; and her five grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Patrick Kulka; her sister, Gail Hall; and her parents, Gerald and Violet Stainbrook.
In following Sandy’s wishes there will be no services.
Memorial contributions can be made in her name to Strayhaven Animal Shelter, 94 Donation Road, Greenville, PA 16125
John Flynn Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. is serving the family with arrangements.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sandra J Kulka, please visit our floral store.
Pennsylvania
Target of Action News Investigation Agrees to settlement with Pennsylvania attorney general
The target of an Action News Investigation in 2022 has agreed to a settlement with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Florida-based MV Realty was accused of offering homeowners, many of whom are low-income, a few hundred bucks.
In return, the company would get exclusive rights for the opportunity to sell the properties for a 3% commission.
But many homeowners claim they were unaware there was a 40-year life to the agreement, and mortgages were placed on their homes.
They would also be forced to pay the fee in the event they transferred properties to loved ones.
“I could’ve jumped out of the chair and did a little dance,” said Latrelle Fuller to Action News Investigative Reporter Chad Pradelli upon learning of the settlement.
We first met her in 2022 after she entered into an agreement with MV Realty for $500.
She says she was unable to get a home equity loan on her paid-off house because of MV Realty’s mortgage.
Her neighbor, Carolyn Brown, had to pay $6,000 dollars to MV Realty to get a loan on her home. She, too, entered into an agreement with MV Realty several years ago.
“They told me that I have to do this or they would not give me the loan,” Brown says.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday called MV Realty’s actions reprehensible.
“So as a result of the settlement, all 1,300 mortgages that were entered into in Pennsylvania are going to be cancelled, ” he said in an exclusive interview earlier this week.
Action News Investigation: Real estate company accused of deceptive practices
Rosetta Loper Grant, who is selling her Oxford Circle home, signed onto the agreement offered by MV Realty. But then in May, she started second-guessing her decision.
He says the Action News Investigation led to his office taking action by his predecessor, now-Governor Josh Shapiro. The investigative team dug through city property records to uncover the MV Realty mortgages.
He says the company will pay $645,000 in restitution under the settlement so homeowners like Brown will get their money back.
The owner of MV Realty, former reality TV personality Amanda Zachman, has not responded to requests for comment.
“I know what it’s like to work unbelievably hard for what you have and to take it in such a misleading way from consumers, especially to Target low-income communities, is disgusting to me, ” Sunday said.
If you were a victim of MV Realty and paid the company fees to sell or transfer a property, reach out to the AG’s office online.
You can also email the complaint or call 1-800-441-2555.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
Catchy chemistry: Pennsylvania musician sings songs about the periodic table of elements
Bethlehem, Pa — A Pennsylvania musician is making the periodic table of elements fun!
George Hrab and his band, The George HraBand, sing about all 118 elements in the periodic table in his show, “Occasional Songs For The Periodic Table.”
As they go through the table of elements, there are various musical styles, from reggae to heavy metal.
“So heavy metal fans and reggae fans will then appreciate and learn about protactinium or learn about einsteinium,” explains Hrab.
“It’s sort of a fun opportunity to teach people a little bit of something.”
The project started as a way to get Hrab out of a writers block and he never expected it to turn into something more.
“And before I knew it, I had like 50 done and then 60 and an 80 and then 100,” says Hrab. “And then I finished them all off and hoped that someday I’d be able to play them live with a band.”
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