Trump’s Trade War Concerns and India-Pakistan Tensions – 5/7/2025

The Federal Reserve warns that President Trump’s trade policies could drive inflation and unemployment, maintaining steady borrowing rates, while federal judges challenge deportation plans, prioritizing migrant rights. Internationally, India’s airstrikes on Pakistan escalate tensions, and the Vatican’s papal conclave draws global attention with no pope selected yet.

United States

• Federal judge rules Trump administration must allow migrants to challenge deportation to Libya in court before removal
• White House withdraws Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination for U.S. surgeon general, marking the second Trump health nominee pulled from Senate review
• Kash Patel sharply rebuffs Rep. Dean’s accusation of FBI weaponization, stating, “You want to know who was targeted by a weaponized FBI? Me”
• President Trump touts massive tax cut bill, warning, “the alternative is, you’ll have a 68% jump if the Democrats get their way”
• President Trump intends to reverse Biden’s strict regulations on American AI chip exports, per Bloomberg
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns that unreduced tariffs could cause “a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment”
• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduces American Privacy Restoration Act to fully repeal Patriot Act, aiming to “strip rogue intelligence officers of their extraordinary mass surveillance powers”
• Federal Reserve maintains benchmark lending rate at 4.25% to 4.5%, opting against a rate cut
• New U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue praises Trump, saying, “I want the world to know I know this man personally. He loves this country”
• House leadership reportedly cancels votes on DOGE-identified spending cuts, including USAID, PBS, and NPR, per Rep. Thomas Massie
• Apple explores integrating AI into Safari after a drop in browser searches, impacting Google’s stock, which fell 8%
• IRS loses nearly one-third of tax auditors due to DOGE-led budget cuts, per CNBC
• The Federal Reserve warns that Trump’s trade war could spike unemployment and inflation, opting to keep borrowing rates steady, per The Washington Post
• Three former Memphis police officers were acquitted of second-degree murder in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols, a case that fueled police reform efforts, per The Washington Post
• Whistleblower records reveal the Trump administration is not complying with a court order to maintain transgender research funding, despite claims otherwise, per ProPublica
• A preliminary NTSB report states the sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River, killing six, “suddenly separated into three sections,” per CNN
• House Republicans propose selling thousands of acres of federal land to fund Trump’s tax cuts, a plan facing pushback from some within their party, per Bloomberg News
• Trump is set to sign an executive order next week to lower drug costs by linking U.S. government payments to cheaper prices abroad, per Reuters
• President Trump designates May 8 as ‘Victory Day’ to commemorate America’s WWII triumph, per Fox News
• Exposed passwords of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, found online from cyberattacks, spark concerns over his use of personal devices for military communications, per New York Times
• A woman alleges former Lakers player Byron Scott s*xually assaulted her at a 1987 team event when she was 15, per ABC7 Eyewitness News
• A suspect reportedly ran over his father after waiting outside a restaurant, rapidly accelerating his car, per FOX5 Las Vegas
• A Utah death row inmate’s competency hearing could decide his fate for a 1986 murder conviction, per KUTV2News
• Actor Michael Pitt allegedly s*xually assaulted and choked his ex-girlfriend, attacking her with a cinder block, per KOIN 6 News

Western States

• A federal judge will decide by May 14 on halting the Trump administration’s plan to transfer Arizona land to Rio Tinto and BHP for a copper mine, facing opposition from Native Americans, per Reuters
• California, joined by other Democratic-led states, sues the Trump administration over withheld funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, per Financial Times
• Sepsis rates in Houston jumped 63% after Texas banned abortion, compared to a 29% rise in Dallas-Fort Worth, where hospitals allowed earlier interventions, per ProPublica
• A massive drug bust across five states, including Arizona, resulted in 17 arrests and 400+ kg of fentanyl seized, per ABC15 Arizona
• Arizona’s House Bill 2112, requiring age verification for p*rn websites, awaits the governor’s signature, per Arizona’s Family 3TV & CBS 5
• Pilot error caused the 2024 Marine Corps helicopter crash that killed five, including a Chandler Marine, per Arizona’s Family 3TV & CBS 5
• California authorities believe they’ve cracked a nearly 50-year-old cold case, per FOX5 Las Vegas
• California gas prices could surge 75% by 2026 due to the closure of oil refineries, per KTLA 5
• Forensic genealogy identified a partial human skull found 32 years ago on a Northern California beach, per KOIN 6 News
• Environmental groups warn that sand at Los Angeles beaches may be unsafe due to Palisades Fire residue, per KTLA 5
• Dariusz Modrzejewski, 48, was arrested after allegedly threatening to harm his family in a 9-1-1 call, per ABC15 Arizona
• A deadly DUI crash involving a high school student spurs calls for change in the north valley, per FOX5 Las Vegas

International

• President Trump firmly rejects removing U.S. tariffs on China to facilitate trade negotiations
• President Trump comments on China trade talks in Switzerland, noting, “We were losing a trillion dollars a year, now we’re not losing anything”
• The U.S. announced plans to push for U.N. sanctions on vessels involved in evading U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, per Reuters
• Rwanda is in talks with the Trump administration to accept Britain’s rejected asylum-seekers, reviving a controversial plan that failed last year, per PBS News
• A U.S. judge will rule on whether Trump’s administration must allow Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador to return to the U.S., challenging aggressive deportation policies, per Reuters
• Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel signals no pope was chosen in the first ballot of the conclave to select a new Catholic Church leader, per PBS News
• Families of October 7 hostages in Gaza press Israel for updates after Trump announced three more captives had died, per CNN
• Video shows a bright flash from an Islamic seminary near Bahawalpur, Pakistan, as India attacked in retaliation for the killing of Indian tourists in Kashmir, per Reuters
• Pakistan labels India’s airstrikes as an “act of war,” claiming it downed five Indian jets, per Fox News
• A senior Garda admits at Richard Satchwell’s trial that no “invasive search” occurred at the couple’s home when Tina Satchwell vanished in 2017, per Virgin Media News Ireland
• The EU prepares backup plans as talks falter on extending Ukraine’s tariff-free trade deal, set to expire soon, per Euronews
• Women’s ordination advocates release pink smoke near the Vatican, protesting the all-male papal conclave, per RTÉ News
• Ukrainian drone attacks disrupt Moscow airports, delaying or canceling 350 flights and affecting 60,000 travelers ahead of Russia’s Victory Day, per Euronews
• Taoiseach Micheál Martin calls Israel’s food aid blockade in Gaza a “war crime,” highlighting the dire starvation crisis, per RTÉ News
• Pilgrims from around the world, waving national flags, await the first papal conclave vote outcome in Vatican Square, per GMA News
• Brussels and Beijing edge toward reconciliation, navigating tensions amid Trump’s policy shifts, per Euronews
• Debate erupts over Ireland’s €1bn water crisis funding in Budget 2025, with claims it’s not new money, per Virgin Media News Ireland
• India issues a letter of intent to Starlink, advancing approval for Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, per NDTV
• A €4 billion joint project between two governments aims to be operational in five years, per Euronews
• India’s opposition leaders respond to Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, per NDTV
• Irish motor insurance premiums surge above EU averages due to rising repair costs and legal fees, despite fewer uninsured drivers, per Virgin Media News Ireland
• Cameron Parrish faces kidnapping and assault charges after attempting to abduct a Vancouver teen, per KOIN 6 News