This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.

Sign up here!

☂️Grab an umbrella to ward off a slight chance of rain. Highs in the 50s, with sunset at 7:13 p.m.

President Donald Trump, who made tariffs a major campaign issue, yesterday announced a minimum tax of 10% on all goods imported into the U.S. Imports from some countries will face higher fees: Chinese imports will get a 34% and goods from European Union countries will face a 20% tax. Back in February, the Yale Budget Lab ran the numbers on the president’s proposal and said they could cost the average American consumer an extra $2,700-$3,400 a year. Earlier this week, GBH’s Sam Turken reported on potential impacts to homebuilders in Massachusetts. If you missed it, you can find the article here. 

We’ll be reporting on how tariffs affect our local economy in the coming weeks and months. Have an angle you’d like us to look into? Reply to this email or send a note to daily@wgbh.org .

Four Things to Know

After ICE agents detained a man in the middle of his criminal trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that his office is exploring charges against the agents. “We’re now finding witnesses reluctant to cooperate with investigators due to fear of ICE, [and] this harms public safety,” Hayden said. Wilson Martell-Lebron was accused of providing false information on a driver’s license application and forging a document.

White Stadium lawsuit: A judge in Suffolk County Superior Court has ruled that the city of Boston is not violating state environmental protection laws in redeveloping White Stadium in Franklin Park. The new stadium will serve as the home base for a new professional women’s soccer team, the Boston Legacy Football Club, as well as for Boston Public Schools’ athletics.

Worcester’s city council failed to pass a measure establishing rules for councilors’ attendance after some expressed concerns that the  proposal was intended as retribution against one of their colleagues. Councilor Thu Nguyen, who has accused colleagues of making transphobic comments and creating a toxic work environment, has attended only one council meeting since Jan. 15. However, City Manager Eric Batista stated that they have attended budget meetings and fulfilled other job responsibilities. Worcester’s city councilors get paid $2,641 a month.

Want to have a say in how the MBTA spends $10 billion through 2030? The T wants to hear from you. The agency’s new spending plan has almost 700 projects, many of them focused on upgrading technology, increasing reliability and improving service. Former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi said he would have preferred more focus on commuter rail service and projects like connecting the Red and Blue lines by extending Blue Line service to Charles/MGH. “We’re either serious about this or we’re not,” Aloisi said. There’s a virtual meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. and an in-person meeting near downtown Boston on April 10.

Number of families entering Massachusetts’ shelter system sharply dropping

The Massachusetts emergency shelter system was all over the headlines in 2024. Here’s where it stands now.

First: there are fewer people staying in emergency shelters — which have been hotels, remade community centers and in one case a decommissioned jail — than there were in July. There were more than 7,600 families in emergency shelters then and, as of March 24, that number stands at 5,392. About half are longer-term Massachusetts residents and the other half are recent arrivals from other countries.

More people are leaving the emergency shelter system and moving into apartments. The HomeBASE system, a taxpayer-funded program that helps eligible people find an apartment, cover fees and pay rent for up to two years, has been a large part of that.

“We are seeing families move out into permanent housing across the Commonwealth,” said Danielle Ferrier, CEO of Heading Home.

The Office of Housing and Livable Communities says triple the number of families are now leaving the emergency shelter system each month, from 213 in January 2024 to 717 this past January. The state has also helped almost 5,000 people from emergency shelters get job authorizations and find work.

“The number-one factor is telling a family that you have a limited amount of time in the shelter, whether it’s six months or nine months. And that is the one thing that motivates people the most, it seems,” said Jeffrey Thielman, chief executive officer of International Institute of New England. His organization works with the state to get families into longer-term housing.

Other relevant factors: Gov. Maura Healey put in place a nine-month limit on shelter stays; Former President Joe Biden put restrictions last summer on asylum seekers; and more recently, President Donald Trump has put in place more restrictive immigration policies.

Still, there are more people seeking shelter who are waiting for openings to enter the system. About 75% of them are Massachusetts residents, state officials said.

Read Sarah Betancourt’s full reporting on the issue here.