News of the Week for May 11th, 2025
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Woman accused of illegal abortion found not guilty
A woman accused of having an illegal abortion has been cleared by a jury. Nicola Packer, 45, cried as she was acquitted of “unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing” with the “intent to procure a miscarriage”.
Gun Rights
SCOTUS Will Not Hear Minnesota Appeal On Carry Age Restriction
The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear Minnesota’s appeal of the state’s carry age restrictions on 18 to 20-year-old adults, which were previously determined to violate Constitutional protections.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Net Zero: Polls and Reality
One of the supposed mysteries in contemporary politics, especially in Europe, is the mismatch between what polls show about the “race” to net zero (enthusiasm, the planet must be saved and so on) and the dissatisfaction increasingly evident with its effects (and, yes, voters are beginning to connect the dots) at the ballot box.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
Estonia’s Supreme Court Declares a Right to Suicide
Five years ago, the highest court in Germany declared that committing suicide is a fundamental right — for everybody and for any reason — and that being assisted or assisting others in the act are ancillary rights associated with that liberty. In other words, death on demand. Now the Supreme Court of Estonia appears to have followed the same course.
Estonian Supreme Court acquits assisted suicide purveyor
The Supreme Court acquitted Paul Tammert, who had offered a device he had made himself for people to use to end their own lives. According to the Supreme Court, he was not providing a healthcare service and therefore could not be accused of conducting economic activity without a license.
FDA names oncologist Vinay Prasad as its new vaccine chief
Prasad was an outspoken critic of the FDA’s response to the pandemic, including the former vaccine chief, Dr. Peter Marks.
War & Terror
Israel plans to seize Gaza under a new plan, officials say
Israel approved plans Monday to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel’s operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition.
Trump Is Repeating Obama’s Mistakes in Pursuit of a Nuclear Deal with Iran
The United States had “significantly improved its intelligence capabilities over the past six weeks of airstrikes in Yemen,” Y Net’s Ron Ben-Yishai observed in a recent analysis. In addition, U.S. disruptions of Iranian efforts to smuggle missiles and drones into the Arabian Peninsula had led to a “sharp decline in the Houthis’ stockpiles.” Thus, an uptick in the number of rockets the Houthis were firing on, for example, Israel, was actually good news. The terrorist outfit was “rushing to launch missiles and drones before they can be destroyed.”
U.S. Orders Intelligence Agencies to Step Up Spying on Greenland
Effort underscores seriousness of Trump’s intent to acquire the island from Denmark
India launches air strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Loud explosions heard and flare seen in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
JD Vance Gets Mugged by Russian Reality
We’ve seen presidents and vice presidents come into office before with pie-in-the-sky ideas about how easy it is to bring about world peace if only the mean old United States would stop being such a warmonger. At some point, however, reality tends to intrude. In no case has this been truer than in our Russia policy. Woodrow Wilson, as late as in January 1918, in his “Fourteen Points,” declared that “the treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.” By July, Wilson was dispatching American troops to Russia to stop the Bolsheviks and revive the Eastern Front.
Nuclear-Armed India and Pakistan Come to Blows
One wonders if those who envision mushroom clouds as a likely result of U.S. policy toward Ukraine spent much time worrying about India and Pakistan. Because right now, we’ve got the military forces of two nuclear-armed rival neighboring countries in a state of war.
Brazil rejects US request to classify local gangs as terrorist organisations
The Brazilian government rejected a request by the US State Department to designate two major criminal gangs that officials believe to have members in the United States as terrorist organisations, Mr Mario Sarrubo, Brazil’s national secretary of public security, told Reuters on May 7.
Indian forces kill terrorist who beheaded Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal’s South Asia bureau chief, was beheaded on camera by al-Qaeda affiliated Pakistani terrorists in 2002.
Trump envoy’s embrace of Russian demands worries Republicans, U.S. allies
Less than 48 hours after dining with a negotiator sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington last week, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy leading talks with Moscow, sat down with President Donald Trump in the White House and delivered a clear message.
National
Former Vice President Pence will receive the Profile in Courage Award for his actions on Jan. 6
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his refusal to go along with President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp passes on running for Senate
First-term Democratic Sen. Jon Osoff was considered the most endangered incumbent next cycle.
Ruben Gallego travels to Pennsylvania amid 2028 shadow primary
The Arizona senator is heading to the swing state to talk about “the struggles of working-class Americans.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene Rails Against Direction of Trump Administration on Steve Bannon’s War Room: ‘You Can’t Manipulate the Base’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) railed against the direction of the Trump administration on Steve Bannon’s War Room program Monday, warning that there are people “in the president’s ear” who are “lying to him.”
Are all Nevada judges legally required to have law degrees?
Nevada does not require all judges in the state to have law degrees.
MTG Is Confused About the Anti-Boycott Act
Greene again positioned herself far over her skis in her attempt to accuse her colleagues in Congress of subordinating core American values to Israel’s whims.
Washington State Democrats’ Appalling Assault on a Catholic Sacrament
Forcing priests to divulge confessions, while exempting all manner of secular confessors, is rank religious discrimination.
Midwest city’s downtown is now Mad Max-style hellhole where locals are scared to go out after 8pm
Surging crime and a diminishing police presence has turned a Missouri city into a hellhole, leaving locals afraid to step outside after dark.
Community Colleges and Trump II
Four-year universities’ losses may be two-year colleges’ gains.
Happy REAL ID Day!
One of the silliest laws Congress has passed this century is finally coming into force today: the REAL ID Act, which standardizes state ID cards for commercial air travel and other purposes. One indication of its silliness is that the capitalized “REAL” in the act’s name looks like an acronym, but it doesn’t stand for anything.
Trump expected to pull surgeon general pick following Laura Loomer complaints: Sources
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat was slated to appear for a confirmation hearing Thursday.
Salt Lake City and Boise make pride flags official city emblems, skirting flag ban laws
The Democratic controlled cities of Salt Lake City and Boise adopted new city flags this week showing support for LGBTQ+ people in defiance of their states’ Republican-controlled Legislatures, which have banned traditional rainbow pride flags at schools and government buildings.
Colorado Federal District Court Issues Additional Alien Enemies Act Ruling Against Trump
The court instituted a preliminary injunction against the Administration’s use of the Act to deport Venezuelans.
‘You Have No Timeline?!’ Senator Gobsmacked by FBI Director Kash Patel Showing Up at Budget Hearing Without a Budget
During a Senate hearing to review the FBI’s FY2026 budget request, Director Kash Patel was forced to admit that, despite the law requiring it, he had no such request ready to review.
Web archivists scrambling to save US public data from deletion
As President Donald Trump’s administration purges public records since storming back to power, experts and volunteers are preserving thousands of web pages and government sites devoted to climate change, health or LGBTQ rights and other issues.
Ken Burns’s ‘The American Revolution’ seeks to unite Americans during 250th anniversary of brutal conflict for independence
In a large ballroom in Williamsburg, Virginia, representatives from around the nation gathered to talk about revolution.
Kari Lake says OAN’s far-right coverage will fuel Voice of America
Senior presidential adviser Kari Lake appears to have resolved any doubts about what she wants to do with the Voice of America.
Democrats block bill to ban Goblin Slayer and other anime in Texas
We first reported on Texas S.B. No. 20, a Republican-backed bill which would criminalize owning or watching several popular anime. Now, that bill has been stalled due to Democrat opposition in the Texas house.
Pope Leo XIV: Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes first-ever American pontiff
Jesus Christ has a new vicar, Rome has a new bishop, and the Universal Church has a new supreme pontiff. Cardinal Robert Prevost became the first-ever American pope, and he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Trump Pulls Martin Nomination After Tillis Tanks It
Credit my friend and colleague Katie Pavlich for this disappointing scoop. Rather than continue to fight down to the wire and risk a judicial appointment for US Attorney in Washington DC, Donald Trump has decided to throw in the towel. Ed Martin, a favorite among Trump’s MAGA followers, will instead land in another role at the Department of Justice.
Air traffic controllers for Newark airport briefly lose radar access again
The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks.
Group of WA citizens push for Democratic primary challenge against Gluesenkamp Perez
A group of citizens in Pacific County is mobilizing to challenge U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the 2026 midterm election.
President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
President Donald Trump abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.
White House May Try to Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus in Order to Facilitate Deportation of Migrants
I have long warned of this dangerous implication of the argument that illegal migration qualifies as “invasion.”
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Non-citizen soldiers, habeas runarounds, and all federal law.
Hate Crime Hoax Could Be Constitutionally Unprotected True Threat
Defendants were charged with conspiracy and with “using instrumentalities of interstate commerce to maliciously convey false information to intimidate someone by means of fire,” and the court rejected defendants’ motion to dismiss the charge
Newark mayor arrested at ICE detention facility in New Jersey for alleged trespassing
Ras Baraka, who was released from custody Friday night, is one of six major Democratic candidates competing in the gubernatorial primary on June 10.
Trump administration to revive National Space Council
Elon Musk reportedly had been opposed to bringing the group back.
Inside MAGA’s fight for “Western civilization”
The MAGA movement is no longer just fighting for President Trump. His most fervent loyalists are now engaged in what they see as a battle for “Western civilization” — a rallying cry for the modern right.
Trump Wants a New Air Force One So Badly He’s Refurbishing a Qatari Plane
The luxury plane is being outfitted in Texas for Trump’s use as his frustration mounts with Boeing
Trump administration poised to accept ‘palace in the sky’ as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources
The luxury jumbo jet is to be used as Air Force One, sources told ABC News.
Economy & Taxes
Trump announces 100% tariff on all foreign-produced movies: ‘WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!’
Trump said that Hollywood ‘is DYING a very fast death’
IRS Lost 31% of Tax Auditors in DOGE Downsizing, Watchdog Finds
DOGE layoff effort could end up expanding US budget deficit. Tax evasion could spike next year as news of layoffs spreads.
Paul Tudor Jones says stock market will hit new lows even if Trump cuts China tariffs to 50%
“We’ll probably go down to new lows, even when Trump dials back China to 50%,” Jones told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” The widely followed investor’s bearish comments came after Trump’s rollout of the highest levies on imports in generations shocked the world last month, triggering extreme volatility on Wall Street.
Mattel CEO says toy manufacturing won’t come to America, but price hikes will
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz told CNBC he does not foresee toy manufacturing coming to America. Instead, the company expects to raise prices in the U.S. to offset President Donald Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese imports. By the end of the year, less than 40% of Mattel’s product will be sourced from China, with a goal of reducing that to below 25% in the next two years.
Republicans Feud over SALT Deduction Cap in Tax Bill
After months of bickering publicly and privately about how to address the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in this year’s tax bill, House Republicans are still at an impasse.
Wisconsin Ginseng Farmers Losing Buyers due to 147% Tariffs
Wisconsin produces more than 90% of the country’s ginseng. About 85% of it is exported to China and Hong Kong.
Trump Doesn’t Believe What His Defenders Say He Believes About Tariffs
One of Donald Trump’s more humorous qualities is his ability to undercut his defenders who rationalize grand plans behind his actions. There is no shortage of sophisticated explanations about Trump’s supposedly real goals of promoting U.S. exports or negotiating more free trade deals. But speaking today in the Oval Office during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the U.S., Trump said it isn’t primarily about any of that.
Wynn postponing Las Vegas remodeling project due to higher tariff expenses
Wynn Resorts Ltd. is postponing a remodeling project at its Encore Las Vegas property because of potentially costly impacts of tariffs, the company’s top executive said Tuesday.
58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump’s meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows
58 wallets have made over $10 million each from President Donald Trump’s meme coin, totaling $1.1 billion in profits, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said. 764,000 wallets of mostly small holders have lost money on $TRUMP, according to the firm. The $TRUMP event, set for May 22 at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., includes a reception for the 25 wallets with the largest balance, along with a White House tour.
Tax Cuts Can’t Save Us from Tariffs
I repeatedly hear a dangerous idea in some corners of the right: the notion that extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will somehow offset the economic damage of President Trump’s protectionist tariffs. As the theory goes, “as long as Republicans hurry to pass the president’s one big, beautiful bill, all will be okay.”
The Trouble With Donald Trump’s ‘Department Store’ Analogy
America is not a department store. And no successful department store would be following Trump’s antitrade strategy.
How Will Trump’s Current Tariffs Compare with Extending His 2017 Individual Tax Cuts?
President Trump has asked Congress to pass “one big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars, but on the other hand, Trump has imposed significantly higher taxes by placing tariffs on more than 70 percent of US imports. Even without further escalation of tariffs, the policies already in effect threaten to offset the benefits of the promised tax cuts.
There’s a Trade Surplus of Poorly Reasoned Protectionist Think Pieces
Joe Nocera has written for the Free Press what feels like the thousandth think piece about how the cold, heartless “neoliberals” took over all of American economic policy in the 1990s and have been proven wrong thanks to Donald Trump. Nocera writes from the perspective of someone who, as a journalist in the ’90s, “covered free trade . . . as if we had been handed Holy Scripture.” Given that journalists’ coverage of religion is reliably awful, it should come as no surprise that their coverage of the economics of trade has been, too.
Layoffs coming to Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill in Conshohocken, as it closes indefinitely
“The indefinite idling of these facilities is not due to steel tariffs,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
Empty shelves, for-lease signs and job layoffs point to recession by summer
Stop the trade flow, and you stop the economy — as Americans are about to learn
Trump Aims at Economic Growth and Misses
Scott Bessent makes a valiant attempt to suggest otherwise.
At Least She’s Honest
The public figures who know they’re supposed to support Donald Trump’s tariff regime have struggled to promulgate a rationale for the president’s global trade war that resonates with voters outside their ideologically homogenous social circles. Trump himself isn’t helping matters. To hear him tell it, the impetus for Trump’s tariff regime changes from day to day, as does what they’re designed to achieve.
Carrots and Sticks to Bring Manufacturing Jobs Back to the US
Both Democratic and Republican presidents have tried to revitalize US manufacturing, using the carrot of tax incentives and subsidies and the stick of tariffs to bring production back home.
China reports bumper April exports ahead of crucial trade talks with US
Data shows a rise in shipments to south-east Asia and Europe offsets drop to America
The U.S.-U.K. deal shows the trade war is here to stay
The first significant trade accord of this Trump term affirms that the president is in dealmaking mode and wants to steer around the kinds of economic risks generated by his original announcement of large-scale reciprocal tariffs.
U.S.-U.K. trade deal: From Ford to McLaren, steel to beef, impact to be limited, says freight CEO
European shipments to the U.S. surged in the immediate aftermath of a pause on reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump, but that frontloading has stopped. The U.S.-U.K. trade deal announced Thursday should help some British makers of luxury autos, as well as U.S. industrials and aerospace companies that use imported steel. But the 10% tariffs will still result in price increases on British imports, and at this point a rally on the deal is based on “smoke and mirrors,” Andy Abbott, CEO of Atlantic Container Line, which ships between Europe and the U.S., tells CNBC.
Hammack Says Fed Could Stay on Hold for a While
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said uncertainty over potential changes in trade and fiscal policy could extend the amount of time the central bank stays in its current wait-and-see stance on interest rates.
Trump says tax raises are ‘good politics,’ dismissing GOP critics
Trump dismisses comparisons to President George H.W. Bush’s broken ‘read my lips’ no-taxes pledge
How Tariffs Are Crushing Small Businesses: ‘Nobody in Power Seems to Care’
Owners are laying off staff and tapping personal savings, hoping to hold out until a trade deal with China; an $8,752 fee on a $5,649 order
International
Germany’s Merz elected chancellor in second parliamentary vote after unexpected setback
Friedrich Merz was elected as Germany’s chancellor in a second-round parliamentary vote on Tuesday, after failing to secure enough support earlier in the day. Merz needed at least 316 of the 630 members of parliament to vote in his favor. He received 325 votes. The German Dax stock market index pared losses after the result of the second vote. It was 0.4% lower by 3:22 p.m. London time.
Trump’s Threats Push Greenlanders Closer to Denmark
Prospect of American annexation reinvigorates ties to Copenhagen, though independence aspirations persist
Spain’s deputy PM targeted by man ‘with two knives’ in horror broad daylight attack as cops taser and arrest suspect
Officers stepped in at a crucial moment to stop the attack
Opinion
Christopher Rufo’s Pyrrhic Victory
Instead of building the broadest possible coalition for his cause, Rufo is busy making enemies of potential allies.
The Obamas Aren’t Going to Rescue the Democrats
The Democratic party is beset with problems and yearning for strong leadership, but no one seems all that interested in listening to the Obamas’ political guidance anymore. It’s also worth noting that the primary difference between Michelle Obama’s healthy eating advice and the modern MAHA movement is time, not thyme.
Shiloh Hendrix Is Not a Victim
Shiloh Hendrix, a Minnesota mother, acknowledged having called a black child the n-word at a park last week after the child allegedly stole something out of Hendrix’s son’s diaper bag. A bystander, Sharmake Omar, caught the aftermath on tape.
She Called a Kid the N-Word. The Far-Right Is Making Her Rich.
The excesses of the woke era created a backlash so intense that the right now celebrates racism.
Trump Is a Socialist
The president thinks the U.S. is one big Macy’s—with him in charge.
Forget for a moment the many hurdles around a deal with Reform and focus on the logic and the maths
The Cumaean Sibyl offered to sell them to the young city, but Tarquin, last of Rome’s seven kings, thought her price exorbitant, and refused. She went away, burned three of them, and came back offering the remaining six at the same price. The king refused again, so she burned three more and offered the last three, still at the original price.
Weak Men Create Hard Times
And weak men love a strongman.
This is what people mean when they talk about “woke right.”
The idea that the entire culture is a system of ideology operating at the subconscious level that brainwashes the masses comes directly from the radical-leftist counterculture of the 60’s.
Thom Tillis Says No to U.S. Attorney Ed Martin
This is a good exercise of the Senate’s advise and consent power.
Some Thoughts on Supreme Court Case on Birthright Citizenship
On January 20, President Trump issued an executive order concerning birthright citizenship—i.e., the matter of who becomes a United States citizen by right at birth.
With Brian Kemp Out for 2026, Georgia Is on My Mind
Instead of asking why Kemp wouldn’t want to run for Senate, it makes more sense to ask why he would.
Progressive Activists Won’t Let Democrats Fix Their Immigration Problem
Senate Democrats received a dose of bitter medicine this week at a special party retreat — not that they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
If You Want to Destroy Conservatism
If you wanted to destroy conservatism – not merely to shatter the Republican Party’s governing coalition, but to break up and discredit the conservative movement itself – how would you go about it?
Israeli Attacks on Syria Risk Destabilizing Jordan
King Abdullah II faces backlash against his country’s peace deal with Israel.
The Neat Trick That Made Javier Milei a Success
It’s almost quaint to recall the extent to which the ossified foreign policy establishment convinced itself that Javier Milei was destined to be a spectacular failure. Some of the more metacognitive members of this crowd have since recanted, albeit without examining the faulty assumptions that fueled their confident pessimism. Their haughtiness, while not excusable, is understandable. After all, even the architects of the successful anti-inflation policies Milei promised to pursue in office have turned against their own records.
President Biden’s and the Democrats’ Assault on the Supreme Court and the Rule of Law
Democrats tried to alter unconstitutionally the membership of the Supreme Court; they extorted Facebook into censoring free speech; they issued presidential executive orders unsupported by statute; and they pushed unprecedented prosecutions of Biden’s predecessor in office, and his 2024 opponent, in the presidential race.
Only Congress May Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus
Lessons from Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
The ‘Neoliberalism’ Shibboleth
A stupid term is still stupid even if someone else uses it stupidly.
Teaching to Transgress: Rage and Entitlement at Evergreen College
What happened just under two years ago at Evergreen State College needs to be seen to be believed. It also needs to be made sense of because, without an understanding of the ideology underlying them, the actions of Evergreen staff and students are extremely difficult to understand. To address this problem, documentary filmmaker Mike Nayna is unraveling the layers of the Evergreen story in a series of three short films on the bizarre and frightening events that rocked the small Washington College.
My Prediction For The Birthright Citizenship Cases: The Court Will Rule Against Trump On The Merits And Bypass All Other Procedural Issues
There are certainly five votes on the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, but there are not five votes about nationwide injunctions.
