Source: New York Post
by staff

“Not only are TSA agents getting paid, the whole absurd Homeland Security shutdown will soon end … with a whimper, wouldn’t you say? It leaves all sides in Washington a bit disgruntled and the public (especially those about to fly!) simply relieved. Senate and House GOP leaders John Thune and Mike Johnson announced Wednesday that they’d pass the bill to fund everything except some immigration-enforcement functions, then cover ICE and so on (which are fine for now thanks to special funding passed last year) in a reconciliation bill (which dodges the Senate filibuster) in a few weeks. Of course President Donald Trump took the key steps in ending the standoff, first by sending ICE agents to airports to help out and then by issuing an executive order to get TSA agents paid and so remove whatever cudgel Democrats thought they had to force ‘reforms’ to gut immigration enforcement.” (04/02/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/opinion/shutdown-ends-with-america-doubting-there-was-ever-any-point-to-it-in-the-first-place/

Source: Persuasion
by Luke Hallam

“I’m not saying that everyone has to find space cool and interesting. Plenty of people don’t. But it’s surely a shame that the culture as a whole finds itself unable, most of the time, to be awed and inspired by those parts of the universe that exist beyond the thin shell of our atmosphere. Exploration requires curiosity, and curiosity is deeply human. Unlike other animals, we aren’t driven to new environments simply because of resource scarcity or the threat of predators. We have a surplus of wonder that causes us to pursue knowledge and beauty wherever we find it, without quite knowing why. Artemis II is just one small example of that spirit in action.” (04/01/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/were-going-back-to-the-moon

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Adam Goldstein

“The encrypted messaging app Signal is back in the news — and this time, people are asking: Will using it get me arrested? The short answer is probably not. If your speech would be protected if you were talking to a friend at a park or over the phone, your speech will still be protected when you have that conversation on Signal. And if not, you’re not any more likely to get arrested by using Signal than you were before you started using it. In other words, if you’re doing something unlawful, adding Signal to the mix probably doesn’t appreciably increase the already existing risk of getting arrested for breaking the law.” (04/01/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/it-safe-use-signal

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“After more than four years of war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin might be discovering that adherence to truth and open communications can be essential to ensuring a motivated military. A Kremlin attempt to steadily shut down Russia’s most popular and effective messaging platform, Telegram, has stirred dissent among civilian volunteers who assist the war online. They are the patriotic digital influencers who arrange money and supplies – the resources the military does not reliably provide – for soldiers on the front lines. Without free access to an independent app like Telegram, which has already been slowly throttled for months, this civil society of auxiliary supporters could turn on the government. Morale in the army ranks might fall fast. Spotty access to Telegram has also begun to reduce the ability of soldiers to message their families.” (04/01/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0401/Truth-seeking-Russians-try-to-save-Telegram

Source: Niskanen Center
by Jia-Shen Tsai

“On February 12, the EPA finalized the rescission of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding that had allowed the federal government to regulate emissions as threats to public health, and repealed all vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards based on it. President Trump called it ‘the single largest deregulatory action in American history.’ This ostensible deregulatory act does not free the market, though. It removes the legal infrastructure that has shielded businesses from litigation and could expand states’ ability to regulate and sue independently, creating exactly the kind of regulatory chaos that industries have spent decades trying to prevent.” (04/01/26)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/epas-deregulatory-claim-doesnt-survive-its-own-cost-benefit-analysis