Source: Associated Press
“President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, effectively ending the partial government shutdown that began in February. The U.S. House had approved the measure hours earlier following White House warnings that emergency funding for DHS would run out as soon as Friday. The funding bill’s passage comes after more than a month of House Republican opposition to the plan, which advanced unanimously out of the Senate in late March.” (04/30/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/30/congress-dhs-tsa-funding.html
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution provides that ‘the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.’ The right to vote does not imply any guarantee of Pantone Matching System [TM] closeness in skin tone between the candidates elected and the voting majorities in districts. Nor should it. If you’re voting on the basis of skin color, You. Are. A. Racist.” (04/30/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20560
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Minecraft, censorship, and threats to press freedom with Clayton Weimers.” (04/30/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/minecraft-censorship-and-threats-press-freedom-clayton
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Ukrainian drones have again hit oil infrastructure in the city of Perm in central Russia, more than 1,500km from the front line. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said the target in Perm was an Lukoil-owned oil refinery — one of the largest in Russia. Dramatic images shared on social media showed huge columns of black smoke and flames rising into the air, and a chemical emergency alert was issued for some parts of Perm. City authorities later claimed the alert was merely a test. … Moscow continues to target Ukrainian cities with aerial attacks on a regular basis and on Wednesday night killed at least three people and injured 79, including a child. Earlier this week, the SBU said it had hit a strategic hub for Russia’s sprawling oil pipeline system, also in Perm.” (04/30/26)
https://archive.is/hnEga
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“For years, the guardians of ‘consumer welfare’ in Washington postured as vigilant sentinels against consolidation in the airline industry, so that when JetBlue sought to acquire Spirit Airlines, the Department of Justice intervened immediately and with all earnest. The argument, we were told, was simple: Spirit, the plucky ultra-low-cost carrier, provided downward pressure on fares. To allow its absorption into a larger competitor would be to deprive consumers, especially cost-conscious ones, of a vital check on airline pricing power. … And so the merger was blocked. Fast forward but a few years, and the narrative collapses under its own weight. Spirit, long operating on razor-thin margins and a business model acutely vulnerable to cost shocks, finds itself in dire financial straits. Suddenly, the same political apparatus that insisted on preserving Spirit as an independent competitor now contemplates, or outright endorses, a $500 million taxpayer-funded rescue.” (04/30/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/whither-spirit
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“The Labor Department said Thursday that U.S. initial unemployment claims totaled 189,000 for the week ending April 25, down 26,000 from a revised prior-week figure of 215,000. That is the lowest reading in more than 50 years, according to The Associated Press, citing research firm High Frequency Economics, which said the figure was the fewest new applications since September 1969. Analysts had projected 212,000 applications for the week, according to Bloomberg. … historically low filing numbers have persisted even though a string of prominent employers — among them Meta Platforms, Nike, Morgan Stanley, and Amazon — have publicly announced workforce reductions, according to Bloomberg and The Associated Press.” (04/30/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/u-jobless-claims-hit-lowest-142254322.html
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Leaders of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have cleverly exploited U.S. policy blunders throughout the international system for at least the past three decades to enhance Beijing’s influence and erode Washington’s. The Trump administration’s mishandling of relations with Iran affords China a new opportunity, and it may prove to be the most significant one yet. Indeed, the question arises whether Xi Jinping’s government is moving beyond passively taking advantage of chronic U.S. ineptitude in the Muslim world and is now actively using Iran and its Shia allies as proxies to create major strategic and economic headaches for the United States. There are indications that the answer is yes.” (04/30/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/is-china-using-iran-as-a-proxy-against-the-u-s/
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The Republican-led Senate on Thursday again blocked a Democratic attempt to stop Trump’s war in Iran, rejecting a war powers resolution that would have limited the conflict until Congress authorities further military action. The vote was 47-50, with two Republicans – senator Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky – voting in favor and one Democrat – senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – opposing it. It was the sixth time this year that Democrats have forced a vote on a war powers resolution related to the US’s assault on Iran. All have failed, mostly along party lines.” (04/30/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/apr/30/donald-trump-pete-hegseth-iran-war-oil-king-charles-latest-news-updates
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome
“[T]he law requires the government to return illegally exacted taxes; the Trump administration promised the courts that it would quickly refund any tariffs ultimately invalidated; and the ideal tariff refund system would be fast and automatic, with the government proactively returning collected duties to all importers that paid them. Sure, there would be some edge cases that required additional paperwork and bickering, but most refunds could be handled this way. In fact, CBP has issued big, automatic tariff refunds on multiple occasions and does smaller ones every day. CAPE is far from this ideal and will inevitably allow the government to keep billions in illegally collected tariffs.” (04/30/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/tariff-refunds-importers-consumers-taxpayers/
Source: New York Times
“A suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein in a Manhattan jail has been kept secret for nearly seven years, locked up in a New York courthouse. A cellmate said he discovered the note in July 2019, after Mr. Epstein was found unresponsive with a strip of cloth around his neck. Mr. Epstein survived that incident but weeks later was found dead in the jail. The note was eventually sealed by a federal judge as part of the cellmate’s own criminal case, according to documents and interviews. That means investigators scrutinizing Mr. Epstein’s high-profile death lacked what could have been a key piece of evidence. On Thursday, The New York Times petitioned the judge to unseal the note, which said it was ‘time to say goodbye,’ the cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, recalled.” (04/30/26)
https://archive.is/y0z8V
