Today was a very long day, and there is likely more to come. I am not stopping. I am providing you with just the facts. Just the news. Subscribe today to support my work and let’s continue redefining media:
With that, here’s the news:
According to sources from the Associated Press, Trump has raised $600 million in political contributions so far and is aiming to reach a total of $1 billion in time for the midterm elections.
In a seismic policy move sending shockwaves through higher education, the Trump administration has effectively revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students by stripping the institution of its capacity to sponsor student visas. The decision puts thousands of students’ futures in jeopardy and threatens the global reputation of one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
Bitcoin soared to an all-time high of nearly $112,000 on Thursday, driven by investor enthusiasm, pro-crypto moves in Congress, and news that Coinbase will join the S&P 500. The rally comes just ahead of a private Trump dinner with top holders of his memecoin, an event critics call a pay-to-play scheme.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced that Republicans will draft their own bill to advance President Trump’s agenda, amid growing divisions within the party. He’s balancing competing demands from conservatives pushing for deeper spending cuts and moderates opposing the House’s strict Medicaid reductions.
The White House said President Trump believes the two House Republicans who opposed his major budget bill should be challenged in primaries, signaling a warning to any GOP senators considering doing the same. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Trump "doesn’t like to see grandstanders in Congress."
Following the House's progress on Trump’s budget plan, the cost of U.S. credit default swaps has surged—now exceeding levels seen during the 2008 financial crisis and reaching the same high-risk pricing as Greece’s.
In a 4-4 split decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court blocked Oklahoma from establishing the country’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not participate in the ruling.
The Supreme Court has approved Trump’s request to dismiss independent federal officials without needing a specific reason, even while legal cases involving them are ongoing—breaking with 90 years of legal precedent. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, cautioned that this move essentially overturns the landmark Humphrey’s Executor decision.
A federal judge has issued a nationwide order preventing immigration officials from stripping international students of their legal status.
According to the ACLU, ICE officials and a private prison contractor have denied Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil a contact visit with his family, preventing him from holding his newborn son. Khalil has been held in ICE custody in Louisiana since before his son was born last month.
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into Media Matters to determine whether the liberal watchdog group illegally coordinated with advertisers. This follows earlier accusations from Elon Musk—owner of the social media platform X—who sued the group in 2023, claiming it tried to harm X’s relationships with advertisers. As part of the probe, regulators have requested Media Matters’ budget records, communications with other watchdog groups, and materials related to the lawsuit, including any documents involving X.
The newly appointed head of the Social Security Administration told staff this week that when he was initially offered the role under the Trump administration, he had to look it up online because he wasn’t familiar with the position.
A U.S. federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges a Russian man with running a global cybercrime operation that caused hundreds of millions in damages worldwide. The group targeted a range of victims across the U.S., including a dental office in Los Angeles and a music company in Tennessee. The Justice Department also announced it is working to return over $24 million in cryptocurrency allegedly stolen by the man and seized by authorities.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
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