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Opinion by Rex Huppke, USA TODAY

While Americans reeled from watching the economy tank and their retirement accounts get slap-chopped, President Donald Trump – lover of tariffs, destroyer of economies, liar above all – spent the weekend golfing in Florida and hobnobbing with wealthy pals.

He was gracious enough to take a break from the links Saturday to tell Americans, via social media, to “HANG TOUGH.”

Thanks, buddy. As we await whatever fresh hell Monday’s stock market brings and brace for the global response to the ludicrous tariffs you slapped on pretty much everyone, including some random penguins, we’ll do our best to hang tough, comforted by the fact that you and your assorted weirdo billionaires had a lovely weekend.

I hope the sound of the market crashing didn't hurt Trump's golf game
Look, the let-them-eat-cake vibe of Trump golfing while our economy burns – he even posted a video of himself playing on one of his own stupid golf courses – is enough to put satirists out of work.

And I’d almost be able to swallow the maddening absurdity of it all if Trump and his Republican barnacles would just straight up admit their galactic-level hypocrisy.
Story by Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline

A sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump would overhaul the administration of U.S. elections and upend how they’re run in Colorado, but election experts in the state say the measure is unconstitutional, and it already faces several legal challenges.

The order, issued late last month, requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and vote, requires all ballots be counted on Election Day, and threatens federal funding for states that don’t comply, among other changes. On Thursday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit alongside other Democratic states challenging the order, saying it will cause imminent and irreparable harm to states and voters.

“This elections executive order is an overreach by the White House and it threatens to undermine Colorado’s well-established gold standard for free and fair elections,” Weiser said in a statement. “That’s why we are challenging this illegal action and protecting our freedom to vote.”

Voting rights advocates and the Democratic National Committee have filed separate lawsuits challenging the legality of Trump’s order too. Doug Spencer, a professor at the University of Colorado who specializes in election law, said legal challenges to the order “will prevail.” He said the executive order is similar to others Trump has issued in that it attempts to take actions that are beyond the president’s authority.

“Some of the executive orders I think raise some interesting questions or novel questions, and some of them are just blatantly wrong, like if you’re born here, you’re not a citizen. That’s just blatantly wrong,” Spencer said, referring to Trump’s attempt to end the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. “That the president can dictate how states run their elections, even for federal offices, is just wrong. The Constitution has clear language: Congress has authority to do this, and Donald Trump is not Congress, so those lawsuits will be successful.”
Ben Berkowitz

President Trump on Sunday denied engineering a stock market sell-off, and likened the pain of re-ordering the global economy to taking medicine for an illness.

Why it matters: After plunging Thursday and Friday, global markets sank even further Sunday night, threatening one of the worst three-day routs in history.
Investors who spent all weekend hoping for some kind of policy reversal on tariffs realized that none was coming, and sold off across asset classes in earnest.

What they're saying: "I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump told reporters on Air Force One, heading back to Washington, D.C.
He denied crashing markets on purpose, saying "no, that's not so," after he shared a video on his social media accounts that suggested he was intentionally bringing markets down.
Story by Brandi Buchman

The Pentagon’s inspector general, Steven Stebbins, said late last week that he will open an investigation into “Signalgate,” the portmanteau for the scandal created last month when a team of high-ranking Trump officials used the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss real-time war plans, in what amounted to a massive breach of security.

The investigation will focus on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s use of the app, rather than secure government channels, to discuss detailed information about a military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen and whether doing so was in line with Department of Defense policy.

“Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” the announcement reads.

It’s the first indication of any kind of potential administration repercussions for the dozen or so Cabinet officials and surrogates who were involved in the chat. In fact, the messaging so far has been largely the opposite: The White House has attempted to paper over the severity of the bombshell revelation, even though President Donald Trump and his administration have long claimed to have no tolerance for anything that could jeopardize national security.

The scandal was revealed when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published a March 24 article in which he said he had been added to a chat on the messaging app Signal that involved 18 high-ranking administration officials, including Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz. The group chat included details about an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen that has since been carried out, including times, types of aircraft, and targets. The Atlantic reported that the National Security Council authenticated the text chain.

Some of the messages were set to automatically delete one to four weeks after they were sent, a function that must be manually turned on by the creator of the chat, even though the Federal Records Act requires officials to preserve their communications.   

It was an objectively stunning leak. But the White House raced to downplay the report.
Opinion by William C. Wertz, The Oklahoman

A dear friend called me in a frenzy.

My friend, we'll call her Sarah, is 99 years old and lives with her 75-year-old special needs son, John. She has no other family to help her but, thankfully, she has a network of neighbors, friends and former students who pitch in as best they can.

Sarah was in tears when she called, and I could barely understand her. I thought at first that she had hurt herself or that something had happened to her son. Instead, it was what she had heard on TV – that Social Security was going to be eliminated.

"What are we going to do?" she sobbed. "What will John and I do?"

I tried to reassure her that Social Security isn't going to be eliminated, that the government is only talking about making some changes – to make it more efficient.

"No one is going to eliminate Social Security. Too many people depend on it, like you," I said. Sarah and her son are among an estimated 800,000 Oklahomans who rely on Social Security. The AARP estimates that for 22% of Oklahomans, Social Security is their primary retirement income.
By Jeremy Herb, Fredreka Schouten, Annie Grayer and Steve Contorno, CNN

CNN — President Donald Trump is using the power of the federal government to intimidate or neuter potential sources of opposition to him: The legal establishment, academia and prominent cultural institutions, the media, the judiciary, the Democratic Party, Congress and independent government oversight.

The unprecedented breadth of the actions Trump and his allies inside the government have taken against his perceived political and ideological opponents in his first two months back in office is stunning – both in the president’s willingness to test the limits of his powers and the extent to which his foes have struggled to respond or even bent to his will.

Through executive orders, his bully pulpit and lieutenants in charge of the Justice Department and other Cabinet agencies, Trump’s actions are paralyzing institutions that stand as pillars of America’s independent civic society.

Inside his administration, Trump has fired the inspectors general at more than a dozen federal agencies, as well as the head of the Office of Government Ethics.

The one source of sustained pushback to Trump’s actions is the federal judiciary, where judges have repeatedly halted or reversed Trump’s actions that they have ruled go beyond the legal limit. The judges who have stopped Trump have faced attacks from the president and his allies – with threats of impeachment or the elimination of courts that oppose him – and many of the injunctions being levied at the district court level may ultimately not survive a Supreme Court where Trump appointed one third of the justices in his first term.

Trump has boasted about his effectiveness so far. At the White House on Wednesday, he gleefully said that he’s been able to pressure law firms and colleges because the Biden administration’s failures after he lost in 2020 allowed him to return to power and “do things that we could have never done if it were traditional.”

“You see what we’re doing with the colleges, and they’re all bending and saying, ‘Sir thank you very much we appreciate it,’” Trump said.

“And nobody can believe it – including law firms that have been so horrible, law firms that nobody would believe and they’re just saying, “Where do I sign where do I sign?” he continued. “Nobody can believe it. And there’s more coming.”
Story by Wes Davis

Last month, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat about a military strike in Yemen planned for later that day. Now, sources inside the White House have apparently told The Guardian that an internal investigation revealed the roundabout way that happened: Siri was being helpful.

When national security adviser Mike Waltz invited Goldberg to the chat, he was actually trying to add a Trump spokesperson whose contact information contained Goldberg’s number, according to The Guardian. The outlet says that’s because he approved a Siri suggestion to update the contact at some point previously.

Here’s The Guardian’s description of how that happened:

According to three people briefed on the internal investigation, Goldberg had emailed the campaign about a story that criticized Trump for his attitude towards wounded service members. To push back against the story, the campaign enlisted the help of Waltz, their national security surrogate.

Goldberg’s email was forwarded to then Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes, who then copied and pasted the content of the email – including the signature block with Goldberg’s phone number – into a text message that he sent to Waltz, so that he could be briefed on the forthcoming story.

And later:

According to the White House, the number was erroneously saved during a “contact suggestion update” by Waltz’s iPhone, which one person described as the function where an iPhone algorithm adds a previously unknown number to an existing contact that it detects may be related.

It’s true that Siri can make suggestions based on info like phone numbers that it finds in your text messages — something you can disable in the iOS Settings app.
Story by Krystina Alarcon Carroll

Democrats are investigating if Elon Musk' SpaceX is benefiting from his position at DOGE.

Axios exclusively reported Monday that Reps Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) wrote to NASA's Chief Legal Officer, Iris Lan, about how NASA is ensuring Musk isn't exploiting the agency to enrich himself.

Democrats are investigating if Elon Musk' SpaceX is benefiting from his position at DOGE.
Sarah K. Burris

Former Justice Department prosecutor Liz Oyer appeared before a House and Senate "spotlight hearing" on Monday and spoke about the ways in which the department has operated under President Donald Trump's presidency.

The hearing isn't an official one, as the Republicans are in power in the House and Senate, and only they can call an official congressional hearing.

The lawmakers announced that they intended to focus on the attacks by President Trump and his allies against lawyers, law firms and the court, which includes bringing in some of the fired DOJ staffers.

In her opening statement, Oyer told the Democrats, "Perhaps the most personally upsetting part of the story is the lengths to which the leadership of the department has gone to prevent me from testifying here today."
The court said nonprofits, labor unions challenging the move lacked standing.
By Devin Dwyer

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Trump administration can move forward with the termination of 16,000 probationary federal workers across six agencies and departments, rescinding a lower court order that they be reinstated as litigation challenging the layoffs continues.

In a brief, unsigned order, the court said the nine labor unions and nonprofit groups that had challenged the firings lacked standing in the matter. The groups' "allegations [of harm] are presently insufficient to support the organizations' standing," the order read.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated that they would have denied Trump's request.
Story by Matthew Chapman

The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis diverted $10 million in settlement money with the state Agency for Health Care Administration into the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity run by his wife Casey DeSantis to reshape welfare assistance, reported the Miami Herald on Tuesday.

Hope Florida, created in 2022, has a mission to reduce lower-income people's reliance on government aid by connecting people who would otherwise need food assistance or subsidized health care with faith-based organizations and related NGOs.

"The unusual injection of cash was part of an undisclosed settlement agreement involving Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration," reported Lawrence Mower and Alexandra Glorioso. "Under Florida law, money from certain settlement agreements must be deposited into a state trust fund or the general revenue fund, where lawmakers can decide how to spend it. It’s not clear whether the law applies because the state is refusing to release the settlement’s details, including the circumstances or parties involved."
Story by Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who led a widely derided review of the 2020 presidential election, searching for evidence for baseless accusations of fraud, will have his law license suspended for three years, according to a stipulated agreement between him and the state Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR).

Law Forward, the progressive voting rights focused firm, filed a grievance against Gableman with the OLR in 2023. The OLR filed a complaint against Gableman in November that alleged, among other counts, that he had failed to “provide competent representation” and to “abstain from all offensive personality” and of violating attorney-client privilege.

The allegations against Gableman stemmed from his treatment of the mayors of Green Bay and Madison, whom he threatened with jail time during his review, false statements he made during testimony to legislative committees, violating the state’s open records laws, breaching his contract with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and, when OLR began investigating him, “making false statements” to the investigators in an affidavit.

As part of the stipulated agreement, Gableman admitted that “he cannot successfully defend against the allegations of misconduct … and agrees that the allegations of the complaint provide an adequate factual basis in the record.”
Story by Mike Lillis

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday accused President Trump of intentionally crashing the economy to benefit the GOP’s wealthy donors and other well-heeled interests.

The Democratic leader said Trump’s tariffs, which prompted a stock market sell-off and fears of a global recession, have been applied so haphazardly — and done such immediate harm — that no other plausible explanation fits.

“The Trump tariffs, which are a tax on the American people, are so reckless, so un-strategic, so lacking in any sophistication that the only conclusion that one can draw is that Donald Trump and the Republicans are intentionally tanking the economy,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol.

“Is it because, as Donald Trump has indicated, that during tough economic times the rich get richer, and it’s a buying opportunity?” he added. “Those are Trump’s words.”

Trump has long accused America’s trading partners of cheating U.S. businesses with lopsided trading arrangements, and he has long viewed tariffs as the most powerful tool for leveling those imbalances.

Tariffs run counter to decades of Republican support for free trade, and many in the party have tried to dissuade the president from applying them aggressively in his second term — to no avail.
Story by Caleb Larson

The Great Tomahawk Missile Crisis: In 1994, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of Cold War hostilities, the Nuclear Posture Review deemed the United States Navy's previous plan overkill: rather than 18 Guided Missile Submarines, or SSGNs, the Navy needed instead 14 in order to meet strategic needs.

The Navy decided, therefore, to reequip four Ohio-class submarines into conventional land attack submarines and equip them with a vast arsenal of Tomahawk missiles.

Each of the four reconfigured submarines boasted incredible offensive capabilities: 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Here's how the U.S. Navy explained what that afforded:

"Combined, the four SSGNs represent more than half of the Submarine Force's vertical launch payload capacity with each SSGN capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. The missiles are loaded in seven-shot Multiple-All-Up-Round Canisters (MACs) in up to 22 missile tubes."

"These missile tubes can also accommodate additional stowage canisters for SOF equipment, food, and other consumables to extend the submarines' ability to remain forward deployed in support of combatant commanders' tasking. The missile tubes are also able to accommodate future payloads such as new types of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and unmanned undersea vehicles.”
By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN

CNN — President Donald Trump is set to impose an astounding 104% in levies across all Chinese imports on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday. This comes on top of Chinese tariffs that were in place prior to Trump’s second term.

China was already set to see tariffs increase by 34% on Wednesday as part of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs package. But the president tacked on another 50% after Beijing didn’t back off its promise to impose 34% retaliatory tariffs on US goods by noon Tuesday, adding an additional 84% in duties.

Earlier Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it “firmly opposes” the additional 50% tariffs on Chinese imports, calling it “a mistake upon a mistake.” The ministry vowed to escalate its retaliation on US exports.

US stocks, which soared Tuesday morning, began moving lower off Leavitt’s comments. By 3 p.m. ET the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were all in negative territory.
Story by Sara Boboltz

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is exploring legal pathways to “deport” U.S. citizens to El Salvador, where the administration has already arranged to house deported immigrants in a prison known for its human rights abuses.

Leavitt suggested the effort would be limited to people who have committed major crimes, but Trump has also mentioned the possibility of sending people who commit lesser offenses abroad.

Any such move on the part of the Trump administration is certain to be challenged in court. It is also not clear what legal authority could be used to justify expelling U.S. citizens from their homeland.

“These would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nation’s laws repeatedly. These are violent, repeat offenders on American streets,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.

“The president has said if it’s legal, right, if there is a legal pathway to do that. He’s not sure, [and] we are not sure if there is,” Leavitt continued. “It’s an idea that he has simply floated and has discussed very publicly in the effort of transparency.”

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he “love[s]” the idea of removing U.S. citizens, adding that it would be an “honor” to send them to El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele — an eager partner in Trump’s schemes.
Story by Atlanta Black Star News

Soon after purchasing Twitter three years ago, Elon Musk declared he was taking the shackles off the social media platform, which some had accused of becoming too woke and humorless.

“Comedy is now legal on Twitter,” the tech billionaire tweeted in October 2022.

Well, not all of it, apparently. Parody, defined as a work that imitates the style of another artist or author for comic effect or ridicule, must abide by new rules that will be implemented by X starting Thursday.

“Accounts which impersonate another user or person must now use key words such as “fake” or “parody” at the start of their account handles,” X said in a statement, altogether removing any subtlety from parody, which, when done well, can be an effective critique on cultural and political trends and figures.
Forcing companies to place ads with you is as gangster as you can get.

Story by daniel.fersch@earlygame.com (Daniel Fersch)

Twitch apparently settled with Musk over the alleged ad boycott that led to the X CEO trying to sue companies that didn't placed ads on his platform.

Musk Claimed That Twitch Was Boycotting X
Back in November of last year, Elon Musk claimed that Amazon's streamer platform Twitch was boycotting X by not placing any ads on the social media website.

While anyone else was sure that the extreme decline of ad revenue on X was mostly Musk's own fault and the consequence of him taking over the company, laying off a huge amount of employees and changing guidelines to give people a free pass for hate speech, the X CEO himself was sure the reason for it was a boycott from Twitch and other companies.
Story by Holly Patrick

Donald Trump mocked world leaders claiming that they are begging him to negotiate on his wide-ranging global tariffs.

During a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner in Washington, DC, the president claimed countries are “calling us up, kissing my a**” to negotiate.
Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerard Baker writes that President Trump is trashing the country's reputation.
President Donald Trump repeated the names of members of Congress several times during a coal event at the White House yesterday before saying 'whoops' and quickly moving on.
President boasts at National Republican Congressional Committee dinner: ‘I know what I’m doing’
David Smith in Washington

Donald Trump has insisted “I know what the hell I’m doing” by imposing sweeping tariffs and bragged that world leaders are “kissing my ass” as they try to negotiate trade deals.

The US president was speaking to political donors at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising dinner in Washington on Tuesday night.

His rambling 90-minute address came just hours before his latest tariffs – including a 104% levy on China – went into effect. But he gave no hint of backing down from a policy that has sent markets into meltdown and triggered a global trade war.

“I know what the hell I’m doing,” the president said. “I know what I’m doing. And you know what I’m doing too. That’s why you vote for me.”

The administration has given conflicting signals over whether the tariffs are open to negotiation. Trump claimed: “I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”

Mocking the pleas of foreign leaders, he parodied: “Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!”
Richard Partington
Senior economics correspondent

US president may have used some hypothetical maths but chances are slim that such sums are being raised.

Donald Trump has defended his tariffs by arguing that they are already raking in almost $2bn (£1.6bn) a day for the US.

Speaking after more than $5tn of losses on the US stock market since his “liberation day” announcement last week, he made the claim on Tuesday, adding: “America is going to be very rich again, very soon.”

Trump did not give any evidence for his $2bn claim, which is tough to substantiate and raises big questions about how his tariff plans are supposed to fit with his broader economic and fiscal policy.

As seismic as his tariff plans are, it is highly unlikely that $2bn a day is being raised, or ever could be.

First, there is a timing point. Trump’s 10% baseline tariff came into effect on 5 April, while additional rates for some countries – including a 104% charge on Chinese imports – came in from 00.01 EST on Wednesday. Some extra revenues are therefore likely.
Why Is Russia Excluded From Tariffs?

Video player from Dailymotion
Privacy Policy
During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. John Larson (D-MA) questioned US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
Story by Alana Loftus

Trump signed an executive order this afternoon, directing the Department Of Justice to investigate two former White House employees, one of whom admitted to being part of the "resistance" inside Trump's first administration.

Miles Taylor, an intelligence expert, was an appointee who served in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, under the Trump administration. Taylor also served as chief of staff of the DHS. In 2018, he penned an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration." It comes after Trump suffered a mental collapse after a 'senile' moment on stage in the middle of a speech

Today, Trump revoked security clearance for Taylor, as well as ordering the DOJ to investigate him, saying: “It's time to find out whether or not somebody can do that. I think he's guilty of treason."
Story by Hafiz Rashid

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency fired car safety experts in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that directly regulated Tesla.

The Financial Times reports that DOGE fired 30 employees from the agency back in February, including several from the office of vehicle automation safety, which is in charge of regulating self-driving vehicles, a key part of Musk’s car company.

The layoffs made up 4 percent of the agency’s 800-person staff, including employees who were due for promotions and workers that had just been hired. The automation safety staff were disproportionately affected because the office had only been formed in 2023 and was predominately made up of probationary hires.
His directive to the Justice Department to investigate Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, whose only crimes were telling the truth, is a frontal assault on the rule of law.
Thom Hartmann

The highest form of freedom in a democracy isn’t just the right to vote or protest—it’s the right to speak truth to power. To call out corruption. To challenge lies. To stand firm when the powerful demand silence. This is the freedom that sustains all others.

And it’s the one Donald Trump tried to crush Wednesday with the stroke of a pen.

When he signed an Executive Order (EO) directing the Justice Department to investigate Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor—two public servants whose only crime was telling the truth—Trump didn’t just abuse his office. He weaponized the government against honesty itself.

This wasn’t law enforcement: It was political vengeance. This wasn’t democracy: It was a warning shot from the edge of autocracy. And if we let this slide—if we treat it as just another Trump headline—we are inviting the next strongman to do the same, only worse.

The freedom to speak truth to power is either sacred, or it’s gone.
FIRED GUN
He has been replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll after he reportedly did not show face in an ATF facility for weeks.
Josh Fiallo
Breaking News Reporter

FBI Director Kash Patel has been quietly removed as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives after he stopped showing up to facilities there, according to a report.

Patel, who remains in his FBI role, had not been “seen inside an ATF facility for weeks” and has been replaced by the U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, sources told NBC News. Driscoll will reportedly continue working in both roles.

Glenn Thrush, a New York Times reporter based in Washington, called the hush-hush swap of Patel for Driscoll “unusual.” He later reported the change was because Patel’s “plate was too full” at the FBI. A Department of Justice official confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that the change occurred.
Story by Tom Sanders

Elon Musk attacked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after the artificial intelligence mogul sued him for harassment and “using every tool available” to harm the company.

Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but left the company before it became a juggernaut in the tech world. The MAGA billionaire, who created his own AI firm, xAI, in 2023, has since tried to stop the nonprofit OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit model, which it must do before the end of the year in order to secure $40 billion in funding from investors.

“Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit,” the AI firm said in a statement. “Today, we counter-sued to stop him.”

While Musk’s legal team did not comment on Wednesday’s court filing, the billionaire responded to the news by posting “Scam Altman is at it again” underneath a post announcing the news on X.

In August, Musk sued both OpenAI and Altman, accusing the AI firm of straying from its founding mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of mankind rather than for corporate profit.

The MAGA billionaire alleged that he and the company’s original objective were “betrayed by Altman and his accomplices.”

“Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI,” the company said in Wednesday’s court filing, “through press attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk’s more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s assets.”
Zachary Basu

President Trump's epic tariff retreat shows there is no grand strategy for revolutionizing global trade, and that he's governing — as he always has — through gut instinct.

Why it matters: Trump's allies see a genius at work. His critics see a madman steering the economy toward crisis. And Wall Street sees, for the first time in weeks, a president who is receptive to external pain.

The big picture: Trump's stunning 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs — announced just one week after "Liberation Day" — caught virtually the entire world by surprise.

  In one fell swoop, Trump shelved his maximalist tariff ambitions, intensified his trade war with China, and unleashed one of the biggest stock market rallies since World War II.
  The tariff climbdown was vintage Trump: chaotic in execution, dramatic in tone, and instantly rebranded as a MAGA masterstroke.

What they're saying: "Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal. You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt scolded reporters.

  "You have been watching the greatest economic master strategy from an American President in history," tweeted White House adviser Stephen Miller.
By Stephen Fowler, Jude Joffe-Block

One of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency lieutenants working in the Social Security Administration has been pushing dubious claims about noncitizens voting, apparently using access to data that court records suggest DOGE isn't supposed to have.

The staffer, Antonio Gracias, made the claims as part of larger misleading statements about the SSA's enumeration-beyond-entry, or EBE program, which streamlines the process for granting Social Security cards to certain categories of eligible immigrants.

Gracias said in an April 2 appearance on Fox and Friends that "5-plus million" noncitizens who "came to the country as illegals" received Social Security numbers "through an automatic system" and proceeded to "get into our benefit systems."
Story by Owen Chase

Trump’s business record isn’t just real estate towers and licensing deals—it’s also littered with abandoned ventures that didn’t deliver on their promises. While some collapsed under market forces, others stumbled from mismanagement, bad timing, or branding that simply didn’t hold up. These failures are key to understanding how the Trump brand has operated over time.

Trump University
©Credit: Reddit
It was marketed as an insider education in real estate, but Trump University operated without accreditation and was staffed by instructors with little to no industry success. Legal scrutiny followed quickly, with lawsuits alleging fraud and deceptive practices. By 2017, the enterprise ended in a $25 million settlement and closed the chapter on a venture that left thousands disillusioned.

Trump Casinos
©Credit: flickr
From the Trump Taj Mahal to Trump Plaza, the current president’s casinos promised extravagance but hemorrhaged money. The Taj Mahal alone filed for bankruptcy multiple times before closing in 2016. Trump Castle and Trump World’s Fair didn’t fare much better. These ventures highlight a pattern: high-profile launches, overwhelming debt, and eventual fire-sale exits under new names.

Trump Mortgage
©Credit: X
Launched in 2006 as the housing market teetered on collapse, Trump Mortgage failed to secure credibility or sustainable revenue. Its CEO exaggerated his resume, and the company was derailed by the 2008 mortgage crisis. Less than 18 months after its debut, it folded—another example of bold branding colliding with an unforgiving market.
Story by Spencer Soper and Lily Meier

(Bloomberg) -- Companies are slapping “Trump tariff” surcharges on customers’ bills in a bid to signal where price hikes are coming from, a marketing gimmick that could help some niche brands cash in on the politically charged moment.

Such finger-pointing fees would inevitably alienate some customers, which is why the surcharges aren’t expected to be prominent features of post-tariff shopping. Still, some business owners say it’s better to tell shoppers directly why the cost of their goods are rising.

“We think transparency is the way to go here and I am giving Trump full credit for his decision to add this Tariff to all US consumers,” Ryan Babenzien said when he announced his plan for Jolie Skin Co., which makes filtered-water showerheads.

Jolie will impose a “Trump Liberation Tariff” surcharge starting next week, Babenzien said. His company is still calculating what the fee will be on top of the cost of a $150 showerhead. His team is building software in-house to add the fee to products purchased on its website, which runs on Shopify Inc.’s platform.

Online forums are already teeming with advice on how business owners logistically can add tariff fees to their websites, and even suggesting that Shopify, a platform that hosts more than 5 million online storefronts, should include such a tool in its basic package. Shopify doesn’t currently offer such a line-item tool, but its clients can still customize their websites by hiring programmers or purchasing separate applications.
Story by Jake Johnson

A video clip of U.S. President Donald Trump openly boasting about enriching his billionaire friends is drawing outrage as the administration faces growing scrutiny for possible market manipulation and insider trading in the aftermath of his partial tariff pause.

"He made two-and-a-half billion today," Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, just hours after announcing the pause, "and he made $900 million."

"That's not bad," the president added.

Trump was referring to wealth gains that investor Charles Schwab and businessman Roger Penske—both billionaires—notched during a historic stock market rally sparked by the president's decision to pump the brakes on massive tariffs he imposed on most countries across the globe. (Trump left in place a 10% universal tariff on imports.)

The market surge added over $300 billion to the collective wealth of the world's top billionaires in a matter of hours, according to Bloomberg. Shortly before announcing the tariff pause, Trump posted to his social media platform that it is a "great time to buy" stocks, prompting accusations of market manipulation.

Watch the Oval Office video:
A Wall Street Journal analysis of daily financial statements issued by the Treasury Department found that government spending since the inauguration in January is $154 billion more than in the same period in 2024 during the Biden administration.
Story by Suhauna Hussain, Andrea Chang

On Tuesday, a trickle of visitors traversed the sidewalks of star-studded Hollywood Boulevard, which is usually bustling this time of year with families and students on spring break trips. Parked open-air tour buses and vans were largely empty.

But Jose Ayon, manager at La La Land, a souvenir and gift shop, was not surprised. Foot traffic has struggled to rebound after the pandemic shutdowns and now global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could make matters worse.

That morning, Ayon said, several vendors that supply mugs, chocolates, plates, magnets and other knickknacks to the store told him that they would hike prices as much as 30%.

"It's pretty concerning," said Ayon, who has worked at the store for 10 years. "Everyone in the back is panicking."

In the face of market turmoil, Trump on Wednesday paused  some of the tariffs he had imposed on most countries, while escalating duties on China.

But the twists and turns in the trade war have shaken Wall Street and deepened anxieties among business owners in Los Angeles and nationwide who fear a rise in prices and a disruption in their supply chains.

The fallout for tourism to L.A.
Among the casualties in the ongoing trade hostilities is tourism. Amid news of visa cancellations and deportations, state and local tourism officials are increasingly worried about the potential adverse effects on travel to Los Angeles and California.

“California’s message to all visitors remains the same: You’re welcomed and respected," Caroline Beteta, president of Visit California, the state's marketing agency, said in a statement.
Story by Tom Boggioni

According to a new report from the Washington Post, a senior official in the Social Security Administration was marched out of his office after he confronted one of Elon Musk's outside hires over a change in policy that he deemed illegal.

The report states that "well-regarded" official Greg Pearre raised objections when Scott Coulter, the newly installed chief information officer, detailed his plans to transfer the migrants’ names into a Social Security death database, thereby halting their ability to make a living by working.

According to the report, Pearre told Coulter, "the plan was illegal, cruel and risked declaring the wrong people dead, according to three people familiar with the event," which led to his being escorted out of his office and placed on leave.
Story by Patricia Battle

Tesla (TSLA) has been embroiled in controversy over the past few months.

Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined the Trump administration in January, heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), many consumers have turned against the automaker due to Musk’s recent efforts to shrink the government.

This controversy may have affected Tesla’s sales over the past few months. According to a recent report from Cox Automotive, Tesla’s U.S. sales declined by almost 9% year-over-year during the first quarter of 2025.

Amid the shrinkage in sales, Tesla faces another significant problem. The electric vehicle company is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly using a sneaky tactic to avoid fulfilling obligations in warranty agreements attached to its customers’ vehicles.

Tesla accused of manipulating tech in vehicles
The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 7, highlights that Tesla’s warranties on vehicles are capped by mileage and are supposed to “cover repairs and replacements necessary to correct defects” in parts that it manufactures or supplies.

However, Tesla allegedly ”knowingly overstates the distances traveled in Tesla vehicles” by manipulating odometers, allowing the company to dodge repair responsibilities tied to warranties.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently launched an infantile attack on his own legislator, blaming them for problems that his own Administration has caused.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently bemoaned the condo crisis that he himself created in Miami during a press conference, blaming others for what has occurred.
Story by Arek Sarkissian and Gary Fineout

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crusade to defeat a Florida recreational pot ballot measure received $10 million from two groups that got money from a nonprofit associated with first lady Casey DeSantis’ community-based assistance program.

Hope Florida has received heightened scrutiny over whether it improperly received money intended for the state. Two organizations said to Hope Florida in letters that they did not use the money for political activity. But the groups wound up giving money to the effort to defeat the pot amendment within days of receiving it from the Hope Florida Foundation.

The program, launched by the first lady, discussed a partnership with a Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative that helped Gov. DeSantis defeat Amendment 3. A review of state election records shows the same Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative also provided the campaign led by Gov. DeSantis close to $5 million in the two weeks before the November election.

Despite the timing, letters provided by the foundation that oversees Hope Florida show $5 million was given to the chamber’s Secure Florida’s Future initiative in response to a proposal that would promote the first lady’s program and help recruit business partners in the future.

A proposal letter sent to Hope Florida promised that the chamber-led initiative, which also took part in efforts to defeat Amendment 3 in last year’s election, would not use the $5 million grant for political or election purposes.
By Alex Marquardt, Abbas Al Lawati and Kylie Atwood, CNN

CNN — Delegations from Iran and the United States will meet again next week after wrapping up “constructive” nuclear talks that included the first direct contact between a Trump administration and an Iranian official, according to Iran’s state news agency.

The talks, held in the Gulf Arab nation of Oman and mediated by its Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, were largely indirect, with the Omani minister relaying messages between the two delegations that were seated in separate rooms, Iranian media reported. The American side was represented by the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Iranian and Omani officials said.

The meetings were held “in a constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect.” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said.

“After more than two and a half hours of indirect negotiations, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks,” the agency reported.

Speaking to state media after the meeting, Araghchi said the next round of talks will be held in Oman on April 19, adding that Saturday’s meeting “got very close” to reaching a framework for negotiations. Both sides said they are seeking an agreement in the shortest time possible, he said.
Discover the shocking truth about the Mormon Church's $100 billion Ensign Peak fund. Allegations from whistleblowers, including former insider David Nelson, reveal how mandatory tithes from members are reportedly funneled into investments like tech stocks, land, and shopping malls instead of societal good. While the church claims nonprofit tax-exempt status, recent SEC investigations uncovered 13 shell companies used to obscure $32 billion in holdings over two decades. This investigative video uncovers the ethical and legal controversies surrounding the fund, from claims of hoarding money for the "Second Coming" to the lack of transparency with donors.
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