Wednesday, April 9, 2025

April 9, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Supreme Court blocks judge who ordered Trump to rehire fired probationary employees . . . The Supreme Court pushed back Tuesday on another Democratic-appointed judge who had leaped to block one of President Trump's policies, ruling that the lower court used iffy evidence to halt the administration's mass firing of probationary employees. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, a Clinton appointee, had ordered the administration to bring back thousands of the workers to their same jobs. The high court said the labor unions that sued to stop the firings hadn't done enough to prove they had legal standing to bring the case. Washington Times

Politics

Judge orders Trump White House to restore AP access . . . A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore The Associated Press's access to key White House spaces after it exiled AP reporters over the organization's refusal to use "Gulf of America" in its popular stylebook. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, directed the White House to resume allowing the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when they're made available to other press pool members. The Hill

Senate Set to Vote on Bill to Revoke Biden-Era Overdraft Regulation . . . The rule issued by the Biden administration capped most overdraft fees, fines imposed by banks to customers that spend more money than they have in their accounts, to $5 or at an amount that should cover their losses and costs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule had estimated the rule would potentially save American households as much as $3.5 billion per year but was also heavily criticized by groups representing the U.S.' financial institutions. Daily Signal

Johnson Seeks to Quell Conservatives' Mutiny Against Budget Plan . . . Republican leadership in the House has its hands full this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to get about a dozen fiscally conservative Republicans to sign off on the Senate's budget plan by the end of the week. President Donald Trump has urged the House to "quickly" pass the plan that the Senate approved on a party-line vote after 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Daily Signal

Head of IRS to resign in protest as agency inks deal to share tax data on illegal immigrants with DHS . . . The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service will resign in the wake of a deal struck on behalf of the agency that will see it share tax data on undocumented immigrants. Melanie Krause, a commissioner at the IRS who is the third person to serve as its chief since the start of the year, will pack up her desk as part of the deferred resignation program offered by the Trump administration, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday. New York Post

Pardoned Devon Archer says Hunter Biden leveraged Biden brand, gave 'halo' of protection to clients . . . In his first interview since being pardoned by President Donald Trump last month, former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer tells Just the News that there was "no doubt" the younger Biden was talking business with his father and confirmed that his former partner was selling the "Biden" brand in deals abroad. Just the News

How Jill Biden's Lust for Power Saved America . . . "Let's be honest, Jill was a thousand percent behind this," a Biden ally told journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, authors of Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House. "So, she was pushing it. The staff was all pushing it. At the end of the day, I don't think anyone in that inner circle was presenting the president any contrary advice that this thing is not going to be easy or maybe this is not the best thing for the Democratic Party." Washington Free Beacon

Rep. Jasmine Crockett suggests US needs illegal immigrants because 'we done picking cotton' . . . . "So I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain't none of y'all trying to go and farm right now," Crockett said, garnering a sheepish laugh from a few members of the audience. "OK, so I'm lying?" Crockett shot back, noticing the awkward silence. "You're not! You're not! We done picking cotton! We are. You can't pay us enough to find a plantation." Fox News

She's being kind of funny, actually.

Culture

Trump Administration Freezes $1 Billion for Cornell and $790 Million for Northwestern . . . The Trump administration has frozen more than $1 billion in funding for Cornell and $790 million for Northwestern amid civil rights investigations into both schools, two U.S. officials said. The funding pause involves mostly grants from and contracts with the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education and Health and Human Services, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the unannounced decision. New York Times

Why are these universities getting any money from the federal government at all when they charge exorbitant tuition and have astronomical endowments sitting comfortably in the bank? Just maybe there are some cuts they can make, like radical, anti-American professors, for example.

Yet Another Major Company Drops the Human Rights Campaign's Index . . . Constellation Brands—which owns the rights to sell the Mexican-made beers Corona, Modelo, and Pacifico in the U.S.—told employees that it would cease DEI practices, stop working with the LGBTQ activist group the Human Rights Campaign, stop using the term "Latinx," end its advocacy for bills like the Equality Act, and direct employees not to inject personal activism while representing the company brand. Daily Signal

I think we're all tired of drinking liberal beer, which tastes terrible.

National Security

Biden State Dept. DEI Chief Asked: How Did It Advance US Interests Abroad? . . . The former head of diversity and inclusion at former President Joe Biden's State Department was asked point blank at a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing Tuesday to justify diversity, equity, and inclusion in American foreign policy. Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, who was chief diversity and inclusion officer at the State Department under Biden, testified before the Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee that by the end of her tenure, her office had a budget of "about $7 million." Daily Signal

Maybe they thought enemy troops would die of shock when they found out how stupid these policies were.

Trump Admin To Fine Illegal Aliens Nearly $1K A Day For Refusing To Self-Deport . . . The Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security will fine migrants nearly $1,000 every day they stay in the United States past the date of their deportation order. The Trump DHS will enforce a 1996 law that allows it to impose a fine of $998 on migrants for every day they stay past the date of their removal order. The administration says it will enforce the penalties retroactively to cover up to five years, resulting in fines of more than $1 million against offenders. The Daily Wire

'They'll Take As Many As We Want To Send': Noem Says El Salvador Prison Ready For More Deportees

International

Ukraine says it captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia . . . Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He said on Tuesday that intelligence suggested the number of Chinese soldiers in Russia's army was "much higher than two". Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Chinese troops fighting on Ukrainian territory "puts into question China's declared stance for peace" and added that their envoy in Kyiv was summoned for an explanation. BBC

These aren't just sacrificial lambs. China and North Korea are gaining some valuable lessons, unfortunately, in the conduct of modern warfare.

Dominican Republic nightclub collapse kills 113 . . . At least 113 people have been killed and more than 150 injured after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo, officials have said. A provincial governor and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel were among the victims. Dotel, 51, died on the way to hospital after being pulled from the debris. The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday at a concert by popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez at the Jet Set nightclub. He was among those killed in the incident, his manager said. BBC

Money

China raises tariffs on U.S. goods to 84% in retaliation to Trump tariffs . . . China has pushed back once again to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies by hiking its levies on U.S. imports to more than 80%. China's Office of the Tariff Commission of the State Council said tariffs on U.S. goods will rise to 84% from 34% starting on April 10, according to a translation of the announcement. This comes after the latest U.S. tariff hike — which brings levies on Chinese goods to more than 100% — took effect at the start of April 9. CNBC

Trump says tariffs on medicine coming

Big Short investor reveals why Trump will win global tariff trade war . . . Famed investor Steve Eisman has offered a glimmer of hope for President Trump's controversial tariff policy, insisting the United States could still come out on top. Eisman - whose own exploits during the 2008 market crash were chronicled in Hollywood blockbuster The Big Short - said Trump could get 'pretty much what he wants' out of the tariffs. 'The reason why cooler heads will prevail is that, again, in a trade war, everybody will suffer; the US will suffer the least,' he said Tuesday. Daily Mail

Guilty Pleasures

What happens when 3,000 metalheads take a Caribbean cruise? . . . Ozzy Osbourne's voice bellowed over the sound system of the Independence of the Seas as I pressed my fork into a stack of all-you-can-eat pancakes. This was one of the more peaceful moments aboard the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, a four-day heavy metal vacation that sailed roundtrip from Miami to Jamaica on a Royal Caribbean ship. If you are into chugging death metal with guttural vocals by Incantation, headbanging to vintage Swedish doom by Candlemass or surfing a mosh pit to Sepultura's "Dead Embryonic Cells" on a pool deck, this is the cruise for you. Washington Post