Thursday, May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

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Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law . . . A federal court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law, swiftly throwing into doubt Trump's signature set of economic policies that have rattled global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised broader fears about inflation intensifying and the economy slumping. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs exceeded his authority and left the country's trade policy dependent on his whims. Associated Press

Politics

A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He's Exiting Washington . . . Musk, who once called himself the president's "first buddy," is now operating with some distance from Mr. Trump as he says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies. Mr. Musk remains on good terms with Mr. Trump, according to White House officials. But he has also made it clear that he is disillusioned with Washington and frustrated with the obstacles he encountered as he upended the federal bureaucracy. New York Times

Musk Triggers Political Earthquake in Congress

Trump responds to TACO trade criticisms: 'You call that chickening out? . . . President Trump on Wednesday bristled when asked about a new Wall Street term based on his tendency to reverse his tariff threats, defending his approach and dismissing the question as "nasty." A reporter asked Trump in the Oval Office about what was dubbed by a Financial Times columnist as the TACO trade, an acronym that stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out." "I've never heard that. You mean because I reduced China from 145 percent that I set down to 100, and then down to another number, and I said you have to open up your whole country?" The Hill

Paxton holds 9-point lead over Cornyn in Texas Senate primary: Poll . . . Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leads Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) by 9 points in their upcoming Republican primary battle for the state's Senate seat next year, according to a survey released Wednesday. The poll — from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University — showed Paxton leading in a hypothetical two-way contest with 43 percent to Cornyn's 34 percent, and 23 percent unsure. The Hill

Congressional Leaders on the Left Just Relaunched Their Government Health Care Takeover . . . Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont's independent socialist, and his House Democrat allies are again honing their comprehensive health policy agenda: the abolition of all Americans' private and employer-sponsored health insurance and the creation of a "single payer" system of government-run national health insurance. The legislation has attracted 16 co-sponsors in the Senate and 104 co-sponsors in the House—almost half of the entire House Democrat caucus. Daily Signal

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Eyeing Bid for Top Dem on House Oversight Committee

Culture

RFK Jr. Tells Doctors to Discard Unscientific Guidelines Promoting Child Gender Transitions . . . The Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to health care providers urging them to discard discredited research on child gender transitions. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy told health care providers, risk managers, and state medical boards to heed his department's recent review of child sex changes, which determined the irreversible procedures can cause significant harm, including sterilization. Daily Signal

Justice Department Opens Investigation Into California for Allowing Males in Women's Sports . . . The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division warned California officials Wednesday that it is opening an investigation into whether the Golden State violates federal civil rights law by allowing males to compete in women's sports. "Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies," Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement on the move. Daily Signal

Harvard Hosts Anti-Trump, Anti-Israel CNN News Anchor As Grad Speaker . . . Christiane Amanpour delivered the address to the student body the day before the commencement ceremony, in which she hailed academics as fighting "on the front lines of the current struggle between the two halves of America." The speech comes as the Trump administration and Harvard continue to face off over campus antisemitism and the school's ability to admit new foreign students. Amanpour said that "we cannot surrender to any system that deems only power-approved speech or thought is allowed." Daily Wire

The don't learn at Harvard, apparently.

National Security

Trump administration to 'aggressively revoke' visas for some Chinese students . . . Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the Trump administration will "aggressively revoke" visas for a segment of Chinese students.

Chinese foreign nationals studying "critical fields" or with ties to the Chinese Communist Party will be among the students targeted for removal, the top US diplomat said. "Under President Trump's leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields," Rubio said in a statement. New York Post

2 Illegal Aliens Arrested in Jet Ski Incident That Left 18-Year-Old Dead . . . Ava Moore, an Air Force cadet candidate, was kayaking on Lake Grapevine in North Texas on Sunday when Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Venezuela, allegedly struck and killed the 18-year-old with a jet ski. The suspect is reported to have then struck a vehicle while fleeing the scene in a vehicle with a male, according to the Dallas ABC station WFAA. Daily Signal

International

President Trump gives Putin deadline to prove he's serious about ending the war in Ukraine . . . President Trump gave Vladimir Putin a hard deadline to prove he's serious about ending the Ukraine war — as the Kremlin revealed Thursday the Russian leader has no plans to pow wow with his US counterpart. "We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not, and if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently, but it will take about a week and a half to two weeks," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday. New York Post

Rebekah Koffler on Newsmax explaining why Putin is in Ukraine and why he's not going to stop fighting

You should also know

FBI Director Kash Patel fumes over James Comey 'copycats' . . . The FBI has been overwhelmed investigating James Comey "copycats" in the wake of his controversial "86 47" Instagram post, Director Kash Patel revealed Wednesday. "Do you know how many copycats we've had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from the former director?" Patel told Fox News "Special Report" host Bret Baier, during an interview from the bureau's academy in Quantico, Virginia. Patel indicated that the uptick in potential threats against President Trump since Comey's May 15 post has been so substantial that the FBI has had to redirect significant resources – including agents focused on child sex crimes and drug trafficking – to investigate them. New York Post

Guilty Pleasures

King Charles Offers Land Acknowledgment in Ottawa Address to Parliament . . . Britain's King Charles III delivered a land acknowledgment at the opening of Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, appearing to contradict his right to rule. Charles—who leads Canada as a legacy of the British colonization of the country—delivered the phrase in a speech from a literal throne in the Canadian Parliament. "I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people," the king said, near the beginning of his so-called throne speech. Daily Signal

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