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Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak — Live shot of Donald Trump setting tariffs: — And here's what happened yesterday: — Anyone sounding the all-clear on tariffs, or Trump economic policy in general, should be kept away from sharp objects and banned from operating heavy machinery.
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Why Trump Blinked on Tariffs Just Hours After They Went Into Effect — Treasury secretary helped persuade president to take time to negotiate with trading partners in face of pressure from business leaders — President Trump finally blinked. — It took a week for the plunge in the stock …
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Examiner, National Review, ABC News, USA Today, Foreign Policy, Reuters, HotAir, Mediaite, Axios, The Wrap, Associated Press, Washington Times and CBS News


We Just Saw the Cracks in Trump's Wall of Power — The past week undermined the narrative that has surrounded the president — that he is a political juggernaut able to run roughshod over his party and beyond. — The opening months of President Donald Trump's second term have been studded …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Trump Says He Will Consider Exempting Some U.S. Companies From Tariffs — President Trump said Wednesday that he's considering granting some U.S. companies an exemption from his tariff program. “There are some that have been hard,” Trump told reporters when asked about companies requesting exemptions.
Discussion:
Need to Know, Axios, CBS News, Reuters, Business Insider, The Hill, Rolling Stone, RealClearPolitics, Vox, 9to5Mac and Foreign Policy


The Art of the Blink — “The Golden Age is coming,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick proclaimed this morning.
Discussion:
Raw Story, NPR, Asia Times, 19FortyFive and ABC News

Forget Trade. Here's the Real Reason Trump Wants Tariffs
Discussion:
New Republic, The Contrarian and Washington Post

U.S. and China Headed for ‘Monumental’ Split, Putting World Economy on Edge
Discussion:
Daily Mail, EE Times, The National Interest, Al Jazeera, The Hill, CNN, Foreign Affairs and Associated Press

The Guardian view on Trump's trade war: no one will win, but China is taking the long view
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Bloomberg, Semafor and Fox Business

Where do tariffs stand? A look at what's in place and what's on pause
Discussion:
CNN, Tangle, CNBC, NBC News, The Daily Wire, Associated Press, Ars Technica, South China Morning Post, Fox Business, Roll Call, The Guardian, Quartz, IJR and BioPharma Dive

Trump's Tariffs Whiplash Is Open Corruption. He Admitted It Himself.
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Time, Blaze Media, Truthout, Raw Story, HotAir, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Twitchy, The Guardian, @amuse, Business Insider, CNBC, Politico, Mother Jones, The Independent and Washington Examiner

From ‘Be Cool!’ to ‘Getting Yippy’: Inside Trump's Reversal on Tariffs
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill, The Guardian, The Message Box, Politico, Vanity Fair, Washington Examiner, New York Daily News, The Status Kuo, CNN, El País, NOTUS, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Breitbart, USA Today, NBC News, HuffPost, PBS NewsHour, The Independent, Fox Business, Axios, RedState and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

Trump's Encouragement of Stock Investors Draws Scrutiny
Discussion:
Business Insider, CBS News, The Hill, The Nation, The Daily Wire, Fox News, New Republic, HuffPost, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, PBS NewsHour and Raw Story

Live Updates: U.S. Market Rally Fades as China Trade Tensions Intensify
Discussion:
Scripps News, ABC News, New Republic, Ars Technica, The National Pulse, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Fortune, Reuters, The Daily Wire, Fox Business, Semafor, CBS News, Euractiv and USA Today

Judge in Signal group chat case wants more info from government
Discussion:
Townhall and Al Jazeera

The Damage From Trump's Tariff Pause Is Already Done
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The New European, New Yorker and Reuters

House Republicans Just Passed a Voter Suppression Bill That Would Disenfranchise Millions — Two weeks after Donald Trump issued a sweeping anti-voting executive order, the House of Representatives on Thursday passed a measure, the SAVE Act, that is described by voting rights advocates …
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House Republicans pass bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote — House Republicans for a second time passed a stand-alone bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and impose voter roll purge requirements on states. — The legislation …


SAVE Act: House Passes GOP Voting Bill That Could Disenfranchise Millions — The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a major voter suppression measure that, if it became law, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and badly undermine U.S. democracy.
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState, Roll Call, The Daily Wire, The Federalist and The Gateway Pundit


BREAKING: House Hands Trump a Yuuge Win On Budget Plan, Tax Cuts; UPDATE: Chuck-y's Not In Love — Have you grown tired of the winning yet? Especially after the past week? — Yesterday, the media narrative on the House was “Republicans in disarray!” Today, Speaker Mike Johnson …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Punchbowl News, Wall Street Journal, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Ace of Spades HQ, CNN, Washington Post, Deseret News and Axios
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Two Texas Republicans throw support behind Paxton in brewing Senate fight
Discussion:
Fox News, Axios, Off the Kuff, Breitbart and NBC News

House GOP adopts Trump budget blueprint after last-minute scramble
Discussion:
NPR, Fox News, RedState, NOTUS, E&E News, Raw Story, Associated Press and The Independent

How every House member voted on the ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill


Trump Signs Orders Punishing Those Who Opposed His 2020 Election Lies — The president targeted two officials from his first administration and an elite law firm as part of his campaign for retribution. — President Trump on Wednesday signed executive orders punishing two officials …
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Defense One, The Guardian, Daily Kos, New Jersey Online, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, TechCrunch, Blaze Media, Shore News Network, USA Today, UPI, Scripps News, Raw Story, Reuters, New York Post and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »
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Top Pro Bono Leader Resigns from Paul Weiss, a Firm Hit in Trump's Crackdown on Big Law — Steven Banks, who once ran New York's social services department, said he wanted to return to helping the homeless. He leaves within weeks of the elite firm striking a deal with President Trump.

Trump suggests using law firms that pledged pro bono services to help U.S. in tariff talks
Discussion:
The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, Washington Times, Business Insider, Above the Law and Daily Kos


White House axes land bureau pick after past Jan. 6 criticism — The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Kathleen Sgamma to be director of the Bureau of Land Management, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee said Thursday. — Why it matters …
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Trump's pick to oversee public lands withdraws after Jan. 6 criticism surfaces
Discussion:
Bloomberg Law, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Deseret News, E&E News, Townhall, Mother Jones and The Colorado Sun


Social Security backtracks on in-person identification policy after outcry. Here's what it means. — The Social Security Administration said it's backtracking from a requirement that would have forced some elderly and disabled people to visit agency offices in person to verify …
Discussion:
HuffPost and The Daily Caller
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Dow falls 1,000 points as tariff sell-off resumes after historic rally: Live updates — Stocks fell Thursday, giving back some of the historic rally seen in the previous session after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day reprieve on some of his “reciprocal” tariffs.
Discussion:
New Republic, The Independent, UPI, Forbes and USA Today, more at Techmeme »


Feds move to drop criminal case against man they previously called a major gang leader — Pam Bondi, Kash Patel and President Donald Trump celebrated his arrest. — Federal prosecutors have abruptly abandoned the criminal case against a Virginia man portrayed by the Justice Department …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, FOX 11 Los Angeles and The Independent


U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to resign her post early — U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink intends to resign from her post early, three sources told CBS News. — The State Department confirmed her intent to step down Thursday afternoon. — “Ambassador Brink is stepping down.
Discussion:
Reuters


This Is Why Dictatorships Fail — This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. — He blinked. But we don't really know why. — Whether it was the stock market cascading downward, investors fleeing from U.S. Treasury bonds …
Discussion:
Open Letters …


Egg prices increase to record high despite Trump's predictions and bird flu outbreak slowing — U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump's predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, The Hill, Rolling Stone, New York Daily News, Plain Dealer, Mercury News, New Republic, Quartz, Fortune and Breitbart


Inside Elon Musk's Gleeful Destruction of the Government — The world's richest man has blazed a staggering trail of destruction as Trump's DOGE chief, firing tens of thousands of workers while cashing in — B — en Vizzachero had his dream job, working as a wildlife biologist with the Los Padres National Forest in California.


John Roberts will save the judiciary if he has to burn it down — ✍️ ⚖️ ✍️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
Discussion:
Default and Law & Crime


The Free Press' Passage Into the Dark Side — When Bari Weiss resigned from The New York Times in 2020, she wrote an open letter to her boss, A.G. Sulzberger, explaining why she felt compelled to quit. Citing bullying from liberal colleagues for her “wrongthink,” and depicting the culture …


Judge finds Newsmax aired false and defamatory claims about voting-tech company — A Delaware judge, once again, has found that a conservative news outlet broadcast false and defamatory claims about the role a voting technology company played in the 2020 presidential election.
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Barrett Media, New York Times, CNN, The Independent, Los Angeles Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »


Trump Administration Wants to Install Federal Oversight of Columbia University — Government is aiming to legally bind the school to changes as they negotiate over federal funding — The Trump administration is planning to pursue a legal arrangement that would put Columbia University …


Torrance cops strike plea deal in swastika graffiti case that uncovered racist texts — Two former Torrance police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to charges they spray-painted a swastika inside a car in 2020, a vandalism incident that revealed the officers were part of a larger text thread …


Small business angst is rising amid Trump's tariffs and spending cuts — Uncertainty is growing on Main Street as tariffs roil the economy and the Trump administration moves to cut small business programs. — President Donald Trump's tariffs could have a pandemic-sized shock on U.S. small businesses …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Young people won't, or can't, read a book. Now democracy is dying. Coincidence? — The notion of Donald Trump — who lived most of his adult life in a gilded penthouse above Fifth Avenue and thinks that he invented the word “groceries” — as the voice for everyday “forgotten Americans” has always felt strained.