Friday, March 28, 2025

March 28, 2025

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Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Stefanik Nomination Pulled to Protect Passage of Reconciliation, White House Official Says . . . President Donald Trump on Thursday withdrew Elise Stefanik's nomination to be United Nations ambassador because Republicans in the House will likely need the New York congresswoman's vote to help ensure passage of the budget reconciliation bill, a senior White House official told The Daily Signal. Passing the debt ceiling and reconciliation packages are going to be difficult due to Democrats' opposition and Republicans' razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives no matter what, and Republicans can't spare Stefanik's vote. Daily Signal

This was poorly planned, and it harmed a rising GOP star. She gave up her House leadership post to be nominated, so now instead of UN Ambassador, she's a House backbencher.

Stefanik says UN nomination withdrawal about being 'team player' and House margin

Politics

GOP Bill Protects Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers From Being Forced to Promote Abortion . . . Republican lawmakers announced a bill Monday to prohibit federal and state governments from discriminating against pro-life pregnancy resource centers by requiring them to perform or encourage abortions. The Let Pregnancy Care Centers Serve Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and four of his Republican colleagues, would amend the Public Health Service Act to "prohibit discrimination against entities that do not participate in abortion and to strengthen implementation and enforcement of federal conscience laws." Daily Signal

Judge orders government to preserve Signal messages about Houthi military strike

White House office moves to limit union rights for federal employees . . . The White House Office of Personnel Management on Thursday announced in a memo that President Donald Trump had signed an executive order limiting the ability of federal employees across multiple departments to unionize. The memo cites authority issued under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which Trump is also using to end collective bargaining agreements with federal unions that represent agencies with national security missions, per a White House Fact Sheet. Daily Signal

Federal officials are preparing for agencies to cut between 8 and 50 percent of their employees

Trump signs order targeting law firm with ties to Robert Mueller . . . President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation targeting WilmerHale, a law firm with ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller, making it the latest law firm to be a target for retribution. The presidential action directs the government to suspend any security clearances held by WilmerHale employees, review the firm's access to government buildings and terminate any contracts with WilmerHale. The Hill

Culture

Trump order targets 'divisive narratives' in Smithsonian museums . . . President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order seeking to exert more control over what is displayed at Smithsonian museums and federal sites, citing what the White House called "divisive narratives" promoted by certain museums. The executive order claimed that the Smithsonian Institution, which operates numerous museums in the nation's capital, "has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology." "This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive," the order states.

Texas Lawmaker 'Sneaks' into University's Transgender Event, Exposes Programs Funded by Taxpayers . . . Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison sounded the alarm after he "snuck" into a state-funded transgender conference at the University of Texas at Austin on Monday, according to a string of posts on his X account. The first thing Harrison saw upon stepping onto campus was a promotional banner for "TRANSCENDENCE: A Century of Black Queer Ecstasy, 1924-2024," according to one of his posts. Daily Signal

GOP lawmakers in 10 states introduce bills to treat abortion as homicide . . . A growing number of Republican state lawmakers are introducing legislation that would treat abortion as murder in a push to give legal rights to fetuses. Since the beginning of this year, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills in at least 10 states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho and North Dakota, that aim to charge pregnant women with homicide if they seek out or receive an abortion. The Hill

National Security

Border Patrol Recruiter Asked to Leave California High School Career Fair . . . A Border Patrol recruiter was asked to leave a college and career fair on Wednesday at a public high school in Southern California. A post on the El Centro Sector Facebook page described the incident and questioned if "Extremist Agendas in our Schools" played a role in the high school's principal asking the Border Patrol recruiter to leave the campus event. Daily Signal

Tren de Aragua is more likely to be permitted to set up a recruiting station at a high school in Southern California.

Feds lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied border kids . . . The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General's office confirmed the government failed to properly monitor tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who crossed the border without parents. The report, published Wednesday, revealed that, from fiscal years 2019 to 2023, more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' custody, with the majority then released to sponsors. However, more than 31,000 of the children's release addresses were blank, missing apartment numbers, or otherwise incomplete. Just the News

If kids are put in temporary detention centers so we can figure out what to do with them, the Left howls. But if they're wandering around aimlessly or being grabbed by human traffickers, that's fine. It's all part of the tragedy of unlimited illegal immigration that the Biden administration allowed and promoted.

Bondi urged to probe Code Pink's ties to Chinese Communist Party . . . Sen. Jim Banks called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the longtime left-wing protest group Code Pink for "growing ties to the Chinese Communist Party" and potential violations of federal law. The left-wing activists of Code Pink have attracted fresh scrutiny for their ties to China and the communist country's suspected financial underwriting of their political demonstrations. The allegations stem, in part, from a Code Pink co-founder's marriage to a millionaire socialist activist who has been linked to the CCP's worldwide propaganda machine. Washington Times

International

Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, killing at least 3 in Bangkok high-rise collapse . . . A powerful earthquake rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar's second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Associated Press

Money

Trump Warned U.S. Automakers Not to Raise Prices in Response to Tariffs . . . Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased prices, people with knowledge of the call said. Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called former President Joe Biden's electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production. He made a lengthy pitch for how they would actually benefit from tariffs, adding that he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and was better for their industry than previous presidents. Wall Street Journal

You should also know

Chicago dubbed America's murder capital as Democrat leaders 'demonize' police, splurge on migrants . . . "I said this for the last two mayors too," said 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano. "It's not even so much so that these last two administrations are turning a blind eye. They're ignoring the crime rate because their objective … is to demonize the police department, make it seem like there's not there's not as much of a crime issue as there is, because their goal is to steal the police budget." In 2024, Chicago had 573 homicides, leading the nation in that category for the 13th year in a row. Fox News

Another example of how black lives don't matter to people who support Black Lives Matter.

Video || Trump official leaves CNN's Kaitlan Collins stunned as he turns the tables on her . . . CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins was left stunned when the Secretary of Veteran Affairs turned the tables on her by asking about a $5 million settlement the network made for slandering a veteran. The CNN star had been trying to grill VA Secretary Doug Collins about the Signal group chat debacle just days after a reporter for The Atlantic was accidentally sent bombing plans for Yemen. But Secretary Collins (no relation) wanted no part in debating an issue he had nothing to do with. 'Well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don't want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA secretary,' he warned. Daily Mail

Guilty Pleasures

Child complains of 'monster' under the bed. Babysitter then comes face-to-face with man hiding there . . . A babysitter looked under a bed to reassure a worried child that there wasn't a monster hiding there — and came face-to-face with a man who wasn't supposed to be there, a sheriff's office in Kansas said in a news release. The 27-year-old was booked into jail this week after a struggle with the babysitter that knocked the child to the ground. The man once lived in the home, but that there was a protection from abuse order issued against him to stay away from the property, the sheriff's office said. Associated Press

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