WSJ What’s News - Powerful Earthquakes Rock Myanmar, Thailand

Episode Date: March 28, 2025

A.M. Edition for Mar. 28. Rescuers search through rubble in Bangkok and streams of wounded seek treatment in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake. Plus, President Trump broadens his retribution campaign against major law firms as Perkins Coie pushes back. And WSJ Brussels Bureau Chief Dan Michaels describes how European leaders are waking up to the reality that U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s hostility toward them could be more than just a show. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. A powerful earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand. Plus, President Trump broadens his retribution campaign against major law firms. And as Vice President Vance heads to Greenland, Europe confronts the reality that hostility from Washington could be more than just a show.

There is the risk that what Vance is saying rubs Europeans the wrong way to such a degree that Vance brings about a higher level of antagonism across the Atlantic. It's Friday, March 28th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin in Thailand and Myanmar, where a series of powerful earthquakes, one of which

reached a magnitude of 7.7, sent streams of wounded seeking treatment in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw and triggered the collapse of an apartment block under construction in the Thai capital Bangkok. Thailand's National Institute of Emergency Medicine said 50 people had been transferred to hospital and one person died in the collapse. For more on this developing story, visit wsj.com. We are exclusively reporting that Israel provided sensitive intelligence on a Houthi military operative that was targeted

in a U.S. attack in Yemen that was described in the Signal Chat at the center of a political firestorm. According to two U.S. officials, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz texted that a Houthi missile expert, a key target of the attacks, was seen entering a building Waltz said had been destroyed, intelligence that came from an Israel-linked human source on the ground in Yemen. U.S. officials said Israeli officials have complained privately about Waltz's texts becoming public.

Trump administration officials have denied the texts contained classified information, and when asked yesterday whether the Justice Department would be getting involved, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected. Well, first, it was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released. And what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission. Our world is now safer because of that mission. Walz has said he's taking responsibility for initiating the Signal Chat. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office and embassy in Washington declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is making new economic demands of Ukraine that would see Kiev surrender future profits from a swath of projects in order to compensate for American financial and military assistance. In addition to seeking profits from certain Ukrainian mineral projects, the latest draft of an economic deal now includes oil and gas resources, while continuing to omit mention of American security guarantees and early demand of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Zelensky said that the new proposal, which updates an agreement he and Trump had been set to sign before a late February blowup at the White House, would require detailed

study. The updated proposal comes as the U.S. faces headwinds in brokering Ukraine-Russia peace talks, raising questions about which side Trump might try to pressure to break the deadlock. Well, speaking of the Trump administration's diplomatic strategy, Vice President J.D. Vance is set to arrive in Greenland today, a visit that sparked ire on the island, which sees the trip as an act of aggression. The trip also comes as officials around Europe are reckoning with comments made by Vance in a signal chat featuring top American officials in which he expressed disdain for what he perceived to be quote, European freeloading. The journal's Brussels

bureau chief Dan Michaels has been speaking to people close to Vance to understand the vice president's motives. Dan, before we get deeper into that, tell us about this visit to Greenland today and what it reveals about Vance's diplomatic instincts and U.S. policy at the moment. All indications are that this visit did not follow standard international diplomatic protocol. And that seems to be Vance's approach to kind of toss out the standard traditional niceties of diplomacy and just be very blunt about what he thinks and what he believes other countries should do and how the United States should approach them. What's the end goal?

One narrative around Vance's actions and his comments that have been directed towards Europe since taking office has been that it's animus. But your reporting suggests there could be something else at play here. What is Vance ultimately driving at? I spoke to several people who've known him for a while and are close to him. And they say that it's essentially tough love. He actually likes Europe and thinks that Europeans are US allies, but that the Europeans haven't been pulling their weight within the Western Alliance. And that's on essentially the NATO front, where there's a lot of discussion about spending on

militaries. But then there's this whole other area of cultural issues, freedom of speech, migration, that are hot button issues within the MAGA community. And some people in Europe align with those views, but a lot of people don't and feel that in what Vance is saying and in his actions, like coming to Europe essentially uninvited, there's a degree of hostility, aggression in it. If Vance is doing this, as some of his ideological allies say, is born of tough love, we want Europe ultimately

to be strong and to align with the US. The way European countries react to this could unfold in a way that isn't in line with the US. Very much so. And some of the actions by the administration, like cutting USAID, are seen in Europe as undermining the Western Alliance, the ending of what some might call propaganda,

others might call messaging, like Voice of America have sparked a feeling across Europe that the US is stepping away from its role as the leader of the West, supporting liberal democracy, supporting those who want to fight for causes that traditionally the West stood up for. So there's on one level just a degree of confusion in Europe what the administration is trying to achieve, in part because Europeans have found Vance quite charming and cooperative in private, willing to discuss issues but in public find him much more abrasive.

That was the Journal's Brussels Bureau Chief, Dan Michaels. Dan, thanks so much. My pleasure as always. Coming up, we'll recap a pair of executive orders out of Washington targeting unionized federal workers and another big law firm. Plus, Paul Hannon drops by to share some good economic news out of Europe. That and more after the break. When you get into an escape plug-in hybrid, you get the perfect mix. You can chill in electric mode, turn it up in gas mode, or get the best of both in hybrid

mode. Choose how you move in the all-in-one Escape. And right now, get a $3,000 rebate on the Escape plug-in hybrid and all 2025 Escape models. For details, visit your Toronto area Ford store or ford.ca. Australians are set to go to the polls in early May after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for elections against a backdrop of an economic recovery and an uncertain global outlook. Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia.

In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond. Polls point to a tight race, with Albanese's Labor government expected to point to falling interest rates, stronger wage growth and tamed inflation, while the opposition Liberal-National coalition is proposing tax changes to lower fuel costs and building nuclear power plants to replace coal. Global issues and leadership will likely be key features of the campaign, too, as the Trump White House targets Australia with tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Well speaking of the White House, we've got two more executive orders from President Trump to discuss. First, he moved to end the government's collective bargaining with workers at agencies involved in intelligence and national security, and only exempting police and firefighters. The move could affect workers at the departments of state, defense, veterans' affairs, and more, and follows prior moves to chip away at union bargaining rights within the government. Trump cited the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act as giving him authority to issue yesterday's

order, while the American Federation of Government Employees Union said it was preparing immediate legal action. And in a separate order, Trump targeted yet another major law firm, this time Wilmer Hale, yanking its security clearances and restricting its access to federal buildings. The order singled out Wilmer Hale's ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated ties between the president and his campaign in Russia. Wilmer had lobbied to avoid the executive order, hoping to leverage its ties to the administration, including helping vet top officials and preparing some for their confirmation

hearings. Several additional firms are scrambling to avoid being targeted next, including Skadden, which we report is in talks with the administration. Among those already targeted by Trump, Perkins Cooey is the only firm that's filed a lawsuit challenging the president's actions. The journals Dana Mattioli and Aaron Mulvaney have the inside story on why it decided to fight back, how that's gone over with clients, and how Trump's orders have roiled the clubby U.S. legal industry. We've left a link to that story in our show notes.

And in markets news, a raft of fresh data is pointing to light at the end of the tunnel for the European economy despite imminent tariffs that are threatening to dampen already lackluster Eurozone growth. Low inflation in France and Spain points to slower price rises and tees up fresh cuts to interest rates in the months ahead. And as economics editor Paul Hannan told us, lower borrowing costs are a boon for businesses and consumers in particular. So we've had some business surveys that have pointed to a more upbeat outlook amongst German factories in particular. I mean, these guys are going to be making the armaments

that help Europe rebuild its kind of military capacity. But also today, we're seeing signs that consumers are buying into this slightly less gloomy story with a rise in German consumer confidence. So yeah, there are definitely signs that we're past maximum European gloom and people are beginning to think, well, maybe the future is a little brighter than we'd expected it to be. And that's it for What's News for this Friday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff and I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show.

Otherwise, have a great weekend and thanks for listening.