Trump Nominations and Mashinsky Sentencing – 5/8/2025

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years for cryptocurrency fraud, while President Trump’s nomination of Jeanine Pirro for U.S. Attorney for D.C. and his call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy signal active policy shifts. Other notable developments include the Senate’s rejection of the pro-crypto GENIUS Act and significant regional events like San Francisco’s homelessness funding and an Arizona cannabis union contract.

United States

  • President Trump eyes Fox host Jeanine Pirro for U.S. Attorney for D.C. after withdrawing Ed Martin’s nomination, per ABC
  • Senate rejects pro-crypto GENIUS Act backed by Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in 48-49 vote, with Bessent warning “digital asset innovation” may move offshore
  • Democrat lawyer Marc Elias’ firm seeks Wisconsin congressional map redraw after Susan Crawford’s win, per Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
  • President Trump unveils plans to modernize air traffic control, replacing tech at over 4,600 sites and building six new coordination centers
  • Rasmussen Poll reveals 71% of Democrats favor imprisoning Elon Musk
  • States revive efforts to impose work requirements on Medicaid, previously blocked by courts, as Trump returns to office, per NPR
  • FEMA acting administrator sacked after opposing Trump’s plan to dismantle agency, per CNN
  • State’s largest school district bans over 400 uncertified teachers from returning for 2025-26, per Newsweek
  • Trump’s deal to save Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft backfires, sparking lawyer exodus and threatening firm’s future, per The Wall Street Journal
  • Trump to replace interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin as D.C.’s top prosecutor after 15 turbulent weeks, per The Washington Post
  • Trump administration slashes $1.81 billion in NIH medical research funding over five weeks, per Reuters
  • FEMA head fired after defending agency’s necessity to Congress, leaving it leaderless before hurricane season, per More Perfect Union
  • Analysis shows 25 of America’s 28 largest cities are sinking, impacting places like Houston and Seattle, per The New York Times
  • A FOIA lawsuit reveals ICE contracts over 22,000 detention beds with GEO Group across 20 facilities, exposing the scale of private immigration detention, per ACLU Nationwide
  • Anti-Israel protesters reportedly storm Columbia University’s library, pushing past security as students study for finals, per Fox News
  • House passes bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, following Trump’s lead, per FOX5 Las Vegas
  • Acting FEMA head fired a day after opposing agency elimination in a congressional hearing, per KUTV2News
  • OpenAI appoints Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to lead its applications division in a major restructuring, per The Information
  • Google introduces AI-powered tools to enhance Chrome’s protection against online scams, per TechCrunch
  • A weakening dollar and falling U.S. stocks and bonds raise investor fears about market risks after tariff news, per The Information
  • Spotify launches a Snooze feature allowing users to temporarily mute overplayed songs, per Digital Trends
  • The 1986 song “Hot Together” by The Pointer Sisters saw a 182,000% streaming surge on Spotify after its use in the latest GTA 6 trailer, per TechRadar
  • Apple seeks to block App Store changes banning commissions on external links, citing potential billions in losses, as Fortnite returns to iOS, per PCMag
  • Generative AI’s coding capabilities are gaining prominence as a key innovation driver, per Fast Company
  • Nakamoto, led by Bailey, aims to raise $300M to acquire bitcoin through a merger with a Nasdaq-listed firm, per The Information
  • A Michigan jury fails to reach a verdict in the trial of a police officer charged with fatally shooting Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya in 2022, per AP News

Western States

  • Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano off Oregon, shows increased seismic activity, potentially erupting soon, per NBC News
  • San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie secures $37.5 million in private donations to tackle homelessness and behavioral health crises, per San Francisco Chronicle
  • An 8-year-old girl seriously injured in a May 8 crash on Loop 202 at Kyrene Road in Chandler, per FOX 10 Phoenix
  • Two Angelenos, Sonny Ruiz and Drygani Gonzalez, arrested for a January murder in West Covina, per KTLA 5
  • Trulieve workers secure Arizona’s first union contract for cannabis growers, a milestone for the industry, per Phoenix New Times
  • Former NICU nurse Erin Strotman faces 20 child abuse charges for allegedly harming neonatal babies, per FOX5 Las Vegas
  • Family finds a submerged pickup truck in the Russian River, a devastating clue in the search for missing 74-year-old Clifford Souza, per San Francisco Chronicle
  • DNA testing identifies a John Doe found murdered behind a northern Arizona cafe in 1986, solving a decades-long mystery, per Arizona’s Family

International

  • Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky receives 12-year prison sentence for cryptocurrency fraud
  • President Trump holds “very good call” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, per Ukrainian official
  • Pope Leo XIV, first American-born pope, opposes “promotion of gender ideology” as it “seeks to create genders that don’t exist,” per Advocate
  • President Trump confirms meeting with newly elected Pope Leo XIV, stating “they’ve already called”
  • Bill Gates reveals Gates Foundation to close in 2045, earlier than previously planned
  • President Trump caps China tariffs at 145 percent, signaling a reduction
  • Cardinal Robert Prevost, a missionary from Peru, becomes the first American pope, taking the name Leo XIV, per San Francisco Chronicle
  • Bill Gates plans to donate 99% of his tech fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will now close in 2045, earlier than expected, per AP News
  • Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri questions Pakistan’s claims, noting it is odd that “funerals of civilians are being carried out by coffins wrapped in their national flag” with state honors, per NDTV
  • Ukraine aims to secure long-term U.S. support by offering access to critical minerals and resources to counter Russia’s invasion, per Euronews
  • The New York Times reportedly shifts its editorial tone following India’s Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror camps in Pakistan and PoK, per NDTV
  • India imposes temporary airspace restrictions impacting flights after Operation Sindoor, with multiple airports affected, per NDTV
  • NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi condemns alleged tribal rhetoric by Uganda’s CDF, warning it risks genocide, and has contacted Ankole elders, per NTV News
  • The U.S., once the architect of globalization, now pushes tariffs and decoupling, urged to address its own role rather than blame others, per CGTN
  • Geely, a Chinese automaker, plans to privatize its EV startup Zeekr amid escalating U.S. trade tensions, per TechCrunch
  • Starlink’s entry into India is increasingly likely, with timing now the main question, per TechCrunch