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6:45 PM ET, April 16, 2025

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 Top Items: 
CNN:
IRS making plans to rescind Harvard's tax-exempt status  —  The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, according to two sources familiar with the matter, which would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump administration asks IRS to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status  —  The directive to the IRS is a significant escalation of President Trump's feud with Harvard University and other Ivy League institutions and other nonprofit groups his administration views as “woke.”
Discussion: Axios and E&E News
Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say  —  The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS' Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision.
David Sirota / The Lever:
Trump IRS Pick Was Just Enriched By Tax Schemers
Discussion: CBS News
RELATED:
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
El Salvador denies senator visit with mistakenly deported man: Van Hollen  —  The government of El Salvador denied a request from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to see or speak to his Maryland constituent who was mistakenly deported there, the senator said during a visit to the country on Wednesday.
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Bondi says mistakenly deported man ‘not coming back to our country’
Reuters:
Trump administration likely acted in contempt of court by not turning around deportation flights, judge says
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:
Judge finds “probable cause” the Trump admin is in contempt over March 15 flights
Discussion: Twitchy
Associated Press:
Maryland Sen. Van Hollen meets with El Salvador's vice president in push for prisoner's release
New York Times:
Law Firms Made Deals With Trump.  Now He Wants More From Them.  —  To avoid retribution, big firms agreed to provide free legal services for uncontroversial causes.  To the White House, that could mean negotiating trade deals — or even defending the president and his allies.
NBC News:
Federal judge calls Trump's order targeting prominent law firm a ‘shocking abuse of power’  —  Trump, three months into his term, has moved swiftly to use the powers of the presidency in unprecedented ways to punish, weaken and silence his enemies, experts say.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Former Trump Official Targeted With Government Probe Vows to Fight  —  Chris Krebs, the top cybersecurity official in Trump's first term, resigned from his private-sector job  —  WASHINGTON—A former top Trump administration official targeted with a federal investigation by President Trump …
Discussion: Axios, more at Techmeme »
Paul Krugman:
Why Trump Will Lose His Trade War  —  Scenes from the trade war:  — In response to Donald Trump's huge tariffs on Chinese exports, China's government has suspended exports of rare earth minerals and magnets, both critical to many modern industries and the military
RELATED:
Vox:
China has a plan to win Trump's trade war
Discussion: Axios, The Hill, CNN and The Independent
Eileen Guo / MIT Technology Review:
US office that counters foreign disinformation is being eliminated  —  The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is to be eliminated, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirming reporting by MIT Technology Review.
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Trump dashed Musk's secret Pentagon briefing on China  —  Beyond tariffs and court battles over Trump policies, two pieces of White House palace intrigue emerged Tuesday:  — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended two top Pentagon officials, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump's D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times  —  Trump nominee Ed Martin's 100-plus appearances on Russian state-directed media RT and Sputnik from 2016 to 2024 alarm some former national security officials.
Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg and Raw Story
Senator Chris Van Hollen / YouTube:
Just landed in El Salvador to discuss release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia  —  I just landed in San Salvador a little while ago, and I look forward to meeting with the team at the U.S. embassy to discuss the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia...
RELATED:
Nick Miroff / The Atlantic:
We're About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like  —  This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter.  Sign up for it here.  —  The Trump administration is working hard to convince the public that its mass-deportation campaign is fully under way.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Truth Social launches scheme to profit from Trump's tariff policies  —  The signature economic policy of President Trump's second term has been tariffs, which Trump has imposed, frozen, and revised haphazardly.  On April 2, which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump imposed “reciprocal” …
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Inside the Mind of an ICE Agent  —  Is this what she signed up for?  —  ∙ Paid  —  Quick update: Yesterday it was reported Cory Booker is joining Chris Van Hollen in going to El Salvador.  John Lewis would be proud.  This is good trouble; necessary trouble.  —  1. Choices
Courtenay Brown / Axios:
1 big thing: Trump tariffs are on trial  —  U.S. courts have the potential to be the biggest threat yet to the central tenet of President Trump's economic agenda.  —  Why it matters: Legal groups representing Main Street businesses want judges to block some tariffs as lawsuits against the levies …
RELATED:
Ari Hawkins / Politico:
The Chamber decides against a lawsuit on Trump tariffs20 minutes ago
Discussion: Deadline, Forbes, UPI and Townhall
Tina Reed / Axios:
RFK Jr. contradicts CDC on causes of autism  —  HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the unusual step of publicly contradicting one of his own agencies' autism studies on Tuesday, suggesting at a press conference that “environmental factors” including drugs, not improved screening, were causing a spike in confirmed cases.
RELATED:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Schumer Moves to Block Trump Picks for Two Key Prosecutor Positions  —  An arcane Senate tradition effectively gives senators veto power over nominees for U.S. attorney in their home states, providing Democrats a potential opening to stop President Trump's picks.
RELATED:
Politico:
Schumer moves to block Trump's top prosecutors
Discussion: Alternet.org and Blaze Media
Juliette Rihl / PennLive:
Pa. Gov. Shapiro was targeted for ‘what he wants to do to Palestinian people’: warrant  —  The suspect in the arson attack at the Governor's Residence targeted Josh Shapiro due to his perceived stance on Palestine, according to a search warrant obtained by PennLive.
Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
Powell Warns of ‘Challenging Scenario’ for Fed as Trade War Rages  —  Sees strong likelihood that consumers face higher prices while unemployment rises because of tariff increases  —  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the central bank could have less flexibility to quickly cushion …
Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump Tries to Run Harvard  —  Many of his demands on the school exceed his power under the Constitution.  —  Click for Sound  —  The Trump Administration on Monday froze $2.2 billion in funds to Harvard after the university refused to surrender to its sweeping demands.
Washington Post:
Internal budget document reveals extent of Trump's proposed health cuts  —  HHS would be asked to absorb a $40 billion cut, about one third of its discretionary budget.  —  Just now  —  The Trump administration is seeking to deeply slash budgets for federal health programs …
Discussion: Politico
Severin Carrell / The Guardian:
Legal definition of woman is based on biological sex, UK supreme court rules  —  Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women, after gender-critical campaigners' challenge  —  The UK supreme court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer …
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Inside Democrats' scramble to travel to El Salvador  —  Democrats are rushing to organize trips to El Salvador as President Trump refuses to comply with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of a Maryland resident who was erroneously deported to the country.
Molly Taft / Wired:
DOGE Cuts Pull AmeriCorps Volunteers Off of Disaster Relief Jobs  —  Workers for the National Civilian Community Corps were sent home due to “new operational parameters.”  The program's long-term fate is unclear.  —  AmeriCorps, the US federal agency that oversees volunteerism and service work …
Discussion: Associated Press
Bryan Anderson / Anderson Alerts:
Riggs on track to win NC Supreme Court race  —  Based on a court filing from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Democratic Supreme Court Justice will defeat Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs …
Discussion: The Guardian
Dylan Matthews / Vox:
Manufacturing jobs are never coming back  —  “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country,” President Donald Trump promised on “Liberation Day,” as he announced tariffs that have shocked global markets and set the country on course for a recession.  “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.
NPR:
Judge: ‘Probable cause’ to hold U.S. in contempt over Alien Enemies Act deportations  —  Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that there is “probable cause” to find the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court after he said it violated …
 
 
 New Item Finder: 
20 minutes ago
Ari Hawkins / Politico:
The Chamber decides against a lawsuit on Trump tariffs   Find
45 minutes ago
Norman Ornstein / The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali:
The Contempt of a Fascist Regime   Find
 
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 More Items: 
Carolyn Y. Johnson / Washington Post:
Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards
Chiara Eisner / NPR:
In the middle of a hepatitis outbreak, U.S. shutters the one CDC lab that could help
Bloomberg:
GOP Senator McCormick Says Millionaire Tax Hike Won't Fly
New York Times:
Musk's Team Is Building a System to Sell ‘Gold Card’ Immigrant Visas
Discussion: Raw Story
Cass Sunstein / Cass's Substack:
Universities and Federal Funding
 Earlier Items: 
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
America's Shameful ‘No’ to the World
Discussion: Lucid
Maya C. Miller / New York Times:
2 Protesters at Marjorie Taylor Greene Town Hall Are Subdued With Stun Guns
New York Post:
Trump administration refers NY AG Letitia James for potential prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud
 

 
From Mediagazer:

James Oliphant / Reuters:
The White House's decision to remove a spot for newswires from the press pool will affect local news organizations who rely on the wire services for reporting

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Google says it suspended 39.2M US advertiser accounts on its platform in 2024, up over 3x from 12.7M in 2023, and took down 1.8B ads, aided by new AI tools

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Henry Blodget launches Regenerator on Substack, to provide a “rolling analysis” of broad, timely subjects, with plans to add staff and debut a freemium model

 
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