ACTUAL NEWS: Tuesday, April 15th 2025 Daily Briefing
- Olga Nesterova
- Apr 15
- 9 min read
QUICK HITS
President Donald Trump has not made a determination on raising the corporate tax rate to pay for other tax cuts, the White House said on Tuesday.
"I don't believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“President Trump is open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, citing a statement from the president earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, top Chinese officials say “Trump's tariffs will backfire and Americans will be 'wailing'.'”
“Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.”
Trump’s special envoy Witkoff spoke about his latest meeting with Putin and said “USA finally knows what Putin’s request for peace looks like:
"The peace agreement involves 5 territories—but it’s about much more than that (…) security protocols, NATO, Article 5—there are many details'”
Also this:
Peace is impossible without Ukraine recognizing Russia's "current territorial borders," Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian foreign intelligence service, said.
"The terms of the peace agreement certainly include the non-nuclear and neutral status of Ukraine, the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state, and thus, the abolition of all discriminatory laws that were adopted after the coup d'état in 2014. And, of course, the recognition of the sovereignty and current territorial borders of the Russian Federation," he said.
This is further proof that Putin is not interested in peace. And Russia's demands just keep growing.
Poland, Czechia reportedly push to restrict Russian diplomats' movement in Schengen.
The proposal calls for limiting Russian diplomats to their consular districts, a restriction already implemented in Poland.
Delivering his first public speech after leaving office, former President Biden said: “Fewer than 100 days into this new administration, they have done so much damage and destruction. It is kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon.”
He continued: “Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Regardless of economics, regardless of who they are.”
With all due respect, it is quite remarkable hearing about such surprise given that both Biden and Harris have openly warned us about what was about to come, given the openly published Project 2025. It was not unexpected—the inaction, rather, was. And yet, arguably, people did vote for this. Or decided to stay home and not vote against it. Same outcome. Time will show; perhaps this could’ve been the last time the voters could exercise their democratic right of choice. Hopefully not. As President Biden would always say, “keep the faith.” This is, in fact, ours to keep. For now.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, aka Moscow Marje, held a town hall with her constituents, where after being asked a number of questions she did not like, the authorities began forcibly removing attendees.
Here are some examples:
Protester forcibly removed from Marjorie Taylor Greene's town hall
Another protester was tased; several others were removed from MTG's town hall.
ANNOUNCEMENT
TODAY IN HISTORY
1912: The British luxury liner Titanic sank en route to New York City from Southampton after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage; approximately 1,500 people perished.
1924: Rand McNally released the Auto Chum, the company's first road atlas and a precursor to modern highway maps.
1926: Robertson Aircraft, one of the precursors to American Airlines, launched its first mail route between Chicago and St. Louis, piloted by Charles A. Lindbergh.
1947: Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier by playing his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
1955: Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, laying the foundation for what would become the world’s largest fast-food chain.
1989: A human crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, resulted in 96 deaths and hundreds of injuries; subsequent investigations blamed police mismanagement for the tragedy.
2000: U.S. President Bill Clinton established the Giant Sequoia National Monument in California’s Sierra Nevada, protecting over 500 square miles (1,300 square km) of forestland.
2003: U.S. President George W. Bush announced the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq and the next day urged the United Nations to lift sanctions against the country.
2013: Two homemade bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring more than 260 in a terrorist attack that shocked the nation.
2019: A devastating fire broke out at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris during restoration work, destroying most of the roof, the 19th-century spire, and parts of the rib vaulting.
QUICK ACTUAL NEWS
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the Health Department to work with Congress on changing Medicare’s drug price negotiation rules.
The proposal, backed by the pharmaceutical industry, seeks to delay Medicare negotiations for small molecule drugs (mainly pills) from 9 years to 13 years—matching the current timeline for more complex biotech drugs.
While Trump cannot make the change unilaterally, the order tasks Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with pursuing legislative action.
The move follows a national security probe into the pharmaceutical industry, signaling potential sector-specific tariffs.
Trump's broader healthcare plan includes:
Expanding Medicare's drug price negotiations, targeting a new list of 15 drugs including Ozempic and Pfizer’s cancer treatments.
Aligning Medicare drug payments with lower hospital rates.
Standardizing patient costs regardless of care location (site-neutral payments).
Accelerating approval for generics and biosimilars.
Encouraging more state-level drug importation, building on Florida’s FDA-approved Canadian import program.
The Biden administration had previously negotiated up to 79% price cuts for an initial batch of 10 costly drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump officials claim their changes could yield even greater savings.
NATIONAL
President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Tuesday that he plans to launch a new program offering financial incentives for undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the country.
President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Ensuring National Security and Economic Resilience Through Section 232 Actions on Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Products.” The order directs an investigation into the impact of these imports on national security. Recommendations may include tariffs, import restrictions, incentives for domestic production, and other measures to mitigate security risks.
The Trump administration announced an emergency transfer of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the Army, aimed at preventing illegal immigration, the Interior Department said Tuesday.
A whistleblower complaint alleges that billionaire Elon Musk’s team of technologists may have been responsible for a “significant cybersecurity breach,” likely involving sensitive case files at the federal labor watchdog.
A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a gun charge against a man Attorney General Pam Bondi described as a leader of the MS-13 street gang, after prosecutors said the Trump administration preferred to deport him rather than pursue prosecution.
Mark Zuckerberg admitted at a U.S. antitrust trial that Meta acquired Instagram because its camera was superior to Facebook’s. The FTC argues this supports its case that Meta employed “buy or bury” tactics to eliminate rivals. The trial could lead to the unwinding of the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions.
U.S. consumer spending has so far been buoyed by strong wage growth and low unemployment, but bank executives warn that it faces major risks if disruptions sparked by President Trump’s trade policies persist.
New tariffs announced by President Trump could cost U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturers more than $1 billion annually, according to industry estimates shared with officials and lawmakers in Washington last week, sources said.
Lawyers representing two Democrats dismissed from federal labor boards by President Trump argued in a Supreme Court filing that allowing the removals to stand would endanger the independence of institutions like the Federal Reserve.
Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday after being identified in an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The Trump administration has appointed a key member of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as the acting head of foreign assistance at the State Department, according to a senior official and an internal email reviewed by Reuters.
The Trump administration has ordered U.S. Justice Department employees not to post on social media about their government work, following a surge of political appointees using platforms to praise Trump and criticize his opponents.
A federal judge said Tuesday she will consider her next steps regarding what she called the Trump administration’s failure to update the court on efforts to return a man who was illegally deported to El
Salvador—raising concerns that the administration may defy unfavorable court rulings.
In a separate ruling, a federal judge in Vermont on Monday blocked the deportation of a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who had been arrested while arriving for a U.S. citizenship interview.
On Tuesday, Arkansas became the first state to request permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ban soda and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
Apple’s key suppliers in India—Foxconn and Tata—shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the United States in March, an all-time high, as the company airlifted devices to beat President Trump’s impending tariffs, according to customs data.
A U.S. House committee on Tuesday requested testimony from 23andMe’s co-founder next month as it investigates potential risks of genetic data being transferred to buyers amid the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent expert panel began a two-day meeting Tuesday—delayed nearly two months—to review vaccine guidelines and consider narrowing recommendations for COVID-19 booster shots.
A group of former U.S. Department of Labor officials has urged federal contractors to maintain their corporate diversity policies despite legal pressure from the Trump administration, according to a letter obtained by Reuters.
On Tuesday, a judge in Washington blocked most of President Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey, delivering a legal setback to the White House in its efforts against firms disfavored by Trump.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to internal communications at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including emails, but has faced pushback from the regulator, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The White House said Tuesday it is considering relief for farmers who are dealing with low prices and rising inventories as the U.S.-China trade war drags on.
GLOBAL
Mexico’s federal government is negotiating an agreement with northern states to determine how much water they can send to the United States to help cover a shortfall under a bilateral treaty that has strained relations, President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a Tuesday morning press conference.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on leaders of the Mexican cartel La Nueva Familia Michoacana, while the State Department announced rewards of up to $8 million for information leading to their arrests.
In retaliation for President Trump’s tariffs, China has canceled all jet orders from U.S. manufacturer Boeing and announced it will no longer purchase aircraft-related equipment from American companies.
China’s embassy in Argentina issued a strong rebuke of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, accusing him of “maliciously slandering” China’s international partnerships and expressing firm opposition to his remarks.
Taiwan will conduct simulations to assess the impact of potential U.S. tariffs on its semiconductor industry and plans to seek talks with Washington, Taiwan’s economy minister said Tuesday. The Trump administration is investigating semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports, citing national security risks tied to foreign dependency.
Popular Western medicines used to treat diseases like cancer and diabetes are being drawn into the deepening U.S.-China trade conflict, according to a Reuters review of Chinese regulatory data, potentially increasing costs for drugmakers.
VP JD Vance said Tuesday that a major U.S.-UK trade agreement is likely, citing President Donald Trump’s affection for Britain and its royal family, in an interview with UnHerd.
The United States will lift sanctions on a close aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the State Department announced Tuesday, stating the punitive measures were inconsistent with broader U.S. foreign policy interests.
European credit ratings agency Scope has warned that the U.S. credit rating could be downgraded if an extended trade war undermines long-term confidence in the dollar—or if President Trump introduces more extreme measures such as capital controls.
Despite relaxed U.S. defense export controls for AUKUS partner Australia, restrictions still apply to submarine technology—posing challenges for collaboration on the production of U.S. Virginia-class subs, officials and industry leaders said.
U.S. policies on stablecoins may present a more immediate concern for European citizens than tariffs, according to Italy’s economy minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. Speaking Tuesday in Milan, he urged EU authorities to take further steps to strengthen the euro’s global role and criticized fragmentation in the
region’s payment infrastructure.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
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NEWS CLIPS - NO COMMENTARY
Canadian reporter asks the WH on their stance on Canada
LIVE: China releases GDP data for first quarter of 2025
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That's all from me for now. Thank you for reading.
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