By Emma Tucker

President Trump's escalating feud with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shows just how much U.S. foreign policy has changed in four weeks. From alienating allies to praising adversaries, Trump's moves stand to fundamentally reshape the U.S.'s relationship with the world. Some Americans have already embraced Russia's traditional values. Among them is a self-described Christian missionary who made his way into Ukraine to spy for Moscow.

Today's Headlines

Trump's attack on Ukraine's leader is the latest sign of how he has dramatically shifted the direction of U.S. foreign policy, making the U.S. a less reliable ally.

Coffins holding the bodies of four Israeli hostages were handed over to Israel by Hamas this morning, in a spectacle that included taunts and anti-Israel slogans.

Kash Patel, who is expected to be confirmed as FBI director today, stands to make millions when China-founded fashion company Shein goes public.

New York leaders are gearing up for a fight with the Trump administration over the fate of congestion pricing in Manhattan.

Live From The Markets

The iPhone 16e's not-so-cheap price shows Apple is unwilling to trade margin for sales volume, Dan Gallagher writes.

Read It Here First

An American enamored with Russia spied on Ukraine for years.

To Daniel Martindale, who grew up on farms in upstate New York and Indiana, Russia symbolized the traditional values that he believed his own country had forsaken. As Russia mounted its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he found a way to help the country he idealized -- by secretly calling in Russian attacks on Ukrainian troops and border towns, Brett Forrest and Vera Bergengruen report.

A Synapse executive raised alarms about missing customer funds before the firm collapsed.

Financial technology firm Synapse connected companies with banks, helping startups that marketed flashy savings apps to find a place to park their digital customers' money. After Synapse's sudden collapse in April, a court-appointed mediator disclosed that as much as $96 million in customer funds might be missing. As a grand jury in New York investigates the scandal, it has questioned an executive who raised alarms before the company went under, Alexander Saeedy reports.

Expert Take

Q: What will new U.S. tariffs mean for the auto industry?

Trump said he is considering tariffs of 25% or more on automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products, adding pressure on automakers already facing intense competition in China and heavy regulation in Europe. Stephen Wilmot explains on our What's News podcast how the new tariffs could affect car makers.

A: Foreign car makers are very exposed, firstly because the U.S. is, in many cases, their most important market and, secondly, because they rely on shipping vehicles from their home markets to the U.S.

Just under 16 million cars were sold in the U.S. last year. Of those, 8 million were imported: 4 million from Mexico and Canada -- within the USMCA free-trade area, which is subject to its own tariff threats -- and another 4 million imported principally from Japan, South Korea and Germany.

Domestic car makers are very worried about the proposed 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian manufactured cars because they rely very heavily on trading parts and vehicles across the U.S. land borders. That's also an issue for German and Japanese car makers -- and South Korea's Kia, a bit -- because they have Canadian and Mexican plants too.

Then all of these other tariff threats come on top of that. It seems like Japan, South Korea and the European Union are particularly in the line of fire.

See The Story

Starbucks's new CEO plans to lower wait times and prices -- and boost sales.

Starbucks's sales lagged throughout 2024 -- but now the company has got a new CEO on board. Investors are hopeful that former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol can turn the brand around. WSJ's Heather Haddon sat down with Niccol to learn more.

Happening Today

Earnings: Walmart, Block, Wayfair, Shake Shack

Number Of The Day:

$149 billion

How much the government spent on improper payments in the fiscal year that ended in September, or 3.7% of payments that totaled $4.1 trillion, according to federal agency reports. Improper payments include fraud but also underpayments, duplicate payments, payments to ineligible recipients or for ineligible goods or services. Identifying the wasteful outlays isn't the hardest part -- it is actually doing something about it.

And Finally...

In Carmel-by-the-Sea, small homes sell for big money.

On California's Central Coast, along the Monterey Peninsula, is Carmel-by-the-Sea, an approximately one-square-mile city with a European village feel. Its distinctive 1920s cottages have fairy-tale features: rolled eaves, rounded doors and stone chimneys. With a median price of $2,015 per square foot, its residential real estate is also some of the priciest in the U.S., according to Realtor.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2025 06:13 ET (11:13 GMT)

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