Friday, May 30, 2025

May 30, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

America Let Its Military-Industrial Might Wither. China's Is Booming . . . Modern warfare is a contest of industrial might, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown. Both sides are burning through arsenals of artillery shells, rockets and military vehicles. Automated factories now spit out drones day and night. Even an old-fashioned howitzer requires precision manufacturing. The U.S. won World War II in part by producing more of everything—from bullets to food—than its enemies. One California shipyard in 1942 assembled a supply ship in less than five days. America is no longer capable of that kind of manufacturing feat. Wall Street Journal

This is the kind of problem Trump is trying to reverse with tariffs, and for which he's taking a lot of heat from both the establishment and the public. But he's willing to take the hit because, despite constantly being portrayed as a rank opportunist, he thinks it's the right to do.

Politics

Appeals Court Puts Trump's Sweeping 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Back In Place . . . A federal appeals court reinstated President Donald Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on Thursday. The appeals court granted the Trump administration's request for a temporary stay of a lower court's order freezing tariff increases across dozens of countries. On Wednesday, the New York-based Court of International Trade ruled that the president had overstepped his authority in issuing the sweeping new tariff regime, abusing emergency powers and stepping on Congress' constitutional authority to regulate commerce with foreign countries. Daily Wire

Trump attacks conservative Federalist Society over adverse rulings by judges, calls Leonard Leo a "sleazebag . . . Trump took aim at Leonard Leo, a chairman on the Federalist Society's board of directors. Trump said that he used the conservative legal organization to pick out judges when he was "new to Washington." "It was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges," Trump wrote. "I did so, openly and freely, but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real 'sleazebag' named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions." Fox News

Leavitt Goes Scorched Earth on Judge Tribunal's Ruling Against Trump Tariffs . . . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went ballistic over a ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to place tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada, and other countries. Leavitt, addressing reporters from the White House briefing room on Thursday, opened the briefing by saying, "Last night, the Trump administration faced another example of judicial overreach. Daily Signal

Someone pretended to be Susie Wiles in calls and texts to prominent Republicans and business executives . . . Federal authorities are investigating a clandestine effort to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to people familiar with the matter, after an unknown individual reached out to prominent Republicans and business executives pretending to be her. In recent weeks, senators, governors, top U.S. business executives and other well-known figures have received text messages and phone calls from a person who claimed to be the chief of staff, the people familiar with the messages said. Wall Street Journal

Rahm Emanuel flirts with Democratic run for the White House . . . The Democrat has been an investment banker, congressman, White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor, and U.S. ambassador to Japan, and now he's been thinking about adding another title to his long resume: president. Democrats say there aren't many people on the list of potential candidates who can raise money and organize better than Emanuel, who helped run the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 and was credited with flipping the House back to Democrats in that cycle. The Hill

Will Democrats drop the Rahm Bahm? They will have a lot of strong candidates in 2028. One who will not make the final cut? Kamala Harris.

Biden Energy Loan Czar Awarded $1.6B Government Loan to Company Advised By His Business Partner . . . Biden energy loan czar Jigar Shah signed off on a $1.6 billion taxpayer-funded loan last year that now appears to have directly benefited his current business partner, Jonathan Silver. Silver worked as a consultant for the project's developer after spending years on its board of directors. The Department of Energy's loan office, which Shah led between early 2021 and 2025, awarded the lucrative loan to New York-based Plug Power in May 2024. Washington Free Beacon

Dem Rep. Subramanyam: Musk Likely Committed Crimes, Once in Power Dems Will Investigate

Culture

Heritage President Argues That America is Entering a 'Golden Age' . . . Kevin Roberts began his remarks by saying that the last four years under President Joe Biden were a "dark age" in American life. "It was a time when the government opened our southern border to chaos, but also a time when that same government shut the doors of our schools and churches," Roberts said in his opening statement. Trump's election has already brought reforms to the American government that have not only been a massive reversal of how things were done before in Washington, but are already proving popular, Roberts said. Daily Signal

Texas set to mandate Ten Commandments in classrooms as ACLU vows to sue . . . Texas is set to become the largest state in the nation to mandate that every public school classroom display a copy of the Ten Commandments. While Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has not yet signed the measure, which comes as red states are increasingly seeking to inject Christianity into public education, he told lawmakers in early May to "get this bill to my desk. I'll make it law." Under the legislation, beginning September 1, every school in Texas will be required to display a 16 inch by 20 inch poster of the Ten Commandments. The Hill

National Security

Trump Administration Publishes List of Sanctuary Cities and Counties to Target . . . The Trump administration on Thursday named counties and cities in more than 30 states, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, as sanctuary jurisdictions it could go after for not complying with federal immigration laws. President Trump has threatened to pull federal funding and pursue lawsuits against places that don't change their practices. Wall Street Journal

Intelligence agency employee accused of attempting to leak classified documents out of frustration with Trump . . . An employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency is accused of attempting to share classified material with a foreign government out of frustration with President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice said Thursday. Nathan Villas Laatsch, who worked in IT for the military intelligence service, offered to share classified material with an unspecified "friendly foreign government," according to court documents and an announcement by the DOJ. Politico

ICE Nabs Illegal Immigrant Teen Who Received No Jail Time After Killing Colorado Woman . . . A 16-year-old illegal immigrant from Colombia who received probation and community service after killing 24-year-old Kaitlyn Weaver in a high-speed crash in Aurora, Colorado, was nabbed by federal immigration agents last week. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on Thursday that the illegal immigrant teen was arrested "along with his family who are also illegal aliens." Daily Wire

MAGA Muriel? DC Mayor Bowser Flip-Flops on Immigration, Moves To Repeal Sanctuary City Law . . . Amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, Washington, D.C., mayor Muriel Bowser (D.) is doing an abrupt about-face from her previous views on enforcement, working to repeal a law that bars local police from assisting ICE. Bowser is quietly proposing to overturn the sanctuary city law, which prohibits D.C. officials from inquiring about a detainee's immigration status, transferring individuals to ICE, or allowing ICE to interview suspects in local custody without a judicial order. Washington Free Beacon

Money

Out of DOGE, Elon Musk Returns to His Bruised Business Empire . . . "Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms," he posted on X Saturday. "I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week)." Musk is known for maniacal focus on whatever is in front of him, and for years has carved up his time to try to advance difficult technologies across his business empire. The companies he is returning to are still wrestling with those kinds of heady challenges, but now must do so with Musk transformed into a deeply polarizing figure. Wall Street Journal

You should also know

Meet the Left-Wing Groups and Operatives Rallying Behind Jewish Museum Shooter Elias Rodriguez . . . A radical student group at Brandeis University. Members of a socialist organization affiliated with House "Squad" members. The treasurer of a Democratic super PAC funded heavily by George Soros. These are just some of the figures and groups calling to "free" Elias Rodriguez, the Chicago man police say confessed to the Washington, D.C., murders of two Israeli diplomats. Twenty-one organizations, along with Democratic activist Kamau Franklin, signed an open letter in support of Rodriguez organized by the Tariq El-Tahrir Youth and Student Network. Washington Free Beacon

Where's the outrage and the Gestapo comparisons we'd see if conservative extremists did this?

Bernie Kerik, former NYPD commissioner known as 'America's Cop' after 9/11, dead at 69 . . . Ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was known as "America's Cop" and led the city's police department through the 9/11 terror attacks, died Thursday after he was hospitalized with cardiac disease. He was 69 and surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Kerik, whose high-profile career was peppered with success and controversy, shot to prominence when he was named the Big Apple's top cop by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2000 and presided over a 63% drop in violent crime. New York Post

They have the video: FBI debunks conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein's prison death . . . Convicted sex offender and millionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered in his jail cell, according to video evidence the FBI is about to release along with a tranche of stunning, previously undisclosed files stashed away in a hidden room. The video, according to the FBI, debunks years of conspiracy theories, including one President Trump posted on social media, claiming Epstein was murdered to silence him from revealing the wealthy and powerful clients he allegedly connected to minors for sex. Washington Times

Let's not deny Jeffrey Epstein his one worthwhile achievement.

Guilty Pleasures

Brazilian nuns go viral after beatboxing on Catholic TV . . . Two Brazilian nuns have gone viral after dropping an impromptu beatbox and dance session during a Catholic television program. Sisters Marizele Cassiano and Marisa de Paula, members of the "Copiosa Redenção" congregation, were talking about a vocational retreat on Brazil's Pai Eterno — Eternal Father — TV channel when they brought up a song about being called to the religious life. The duo stood up and launched into a routine complete with singing, beatbox and dance moves. Associated Press