美国有线新闻 CNN 特朗普宣布对进口太阳能板和洗衣机征收关税（在线收听）

U.S. President Donald Trump's first major trade action of the year is to impose a tariff or a tax on solar panels and washing machines that come from other countries.

Why these two items?

America's independent International Trade Commission found that these imports in particular had hurt American companies. They've been sold at cheaper prices than American made products, making it hard for U.S. companies to compete.

So, the Trump administration is placing at temporary tariff of 30 percent on imported solar panels and a tariff of 20 percent on large home washing machines. This will raise the cost of these imports to Americans and encourage them to buy panels and machines that are made in the U.S. instead.

The taxes will be in place for three years and then be reduced after that. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump had promised to reduce America's trade deficits. And a U.S. trade representative says the tariffs make it clear that the Trump administration will defend American businesses.

Reactions to the decision were mixed. Whirlpool, an American company that makes washing machines and other appliances, says it plans to hire hundreds more people and create new manufacturing jobs.

But Samsung, a company based in South Korea, says the tariffs will cause people to have to pay more for washing machines. And China, where most of America's imported solar panels come from, said it was strongly opposed to the tariffs and that they could cause trouble for the global trade environment. Critics say they could also hurt some solar industry jobs in America.

President Trump isn't the first U.S. leader to do this. Former President Barack Obama also put tariffs on some Chinese solar imports, but they're still reportedly cheaper than American ones. The Trump administration says more trade actions like this are ahead.

AZUZ: In the U.S. state of Kentucky, investigators are searching for answers after a deadly shooting took place at a high school. A 15-year-old male student has been charged with murder and attempted murder after he allegedly shot 14 people at Marshall County High School. Two of them died and five other people were injured but not from being shot.

Marshall County is a rural area in western Kentucky. The state's governor, Matt Bevin, described the community as a small one that's closely knit, and said the shooting was a tremendous tragedy. What caused it was unclear last night, but stories of heroism had already started coming out of the school. One involved the quick action of a student and a teacher who rushed to help another student who'd been shot in the arm and get hem to the hospital.