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Thursday, March 20, 2025

Donald Trump Pressures Iran to Cut Support to Houthis

Daily Wire: President Donald Trump warned the Islamic Republic of Iran on Wednesday to immediately cut off its support for the Houthis, an Islamic terrorist group in Yemen (Daily Wire). Donald Trump: Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY. Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly. Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated (Truth)!

Ukraine Accepts Partial Ceasefire Deal with Russia

Daily Wire: Ukraine has accepted a partial ceasefire with Russia on Wednesday after a “very good phone call” between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The call came one day after a similar conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and centered on many of the issues previously discussed in that call. Putin rejected an unconditional ceasefire offered by American and Ukrainian negotiators earlier this month, but did accept an offer to restrict attacks on energy infrastructure in both countries. Further negotiations will be conducted in Saudi Arabia, and will include discussions on potentially expanding the partial ceasefire to include the Black Sea as an intermediate step to a full ceasefire (Daily Wire). Department of State: Tammy Bruce provides an update on the Russia-Ukraine war. As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no military solution to this war. All sides need to move to a ceasefire (X).

Israel Begins Ground Invasion in Gaza

New York Post: Israel launched its first ground operation Wednesday since ending the cease-fire with Hamas, with troops retaking part of a key Gaza corridor. The Israel Defense Forces has taken the southern Netzarim corridor, with the troops set to expand the current buffer zone and begin “ground activities in the central and southern Gaza Strip,” military officials said. The operation came as Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Palestinians to begin evacuating combat zones in Gaza as the IDF renewed its goal to wipe out Hamas… The Israeli Air Force ended the cease-fire on Tuesday with a series of airstrikes that killed more than 400 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel accused Hamas of refusing to accept a US-backed truce deal to release more hostages in exchange for an extension of the first phase (New York Post). Just the News: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz put out a video Wednesday addressed to Gaza residents that reads: “Return the hostages and remove Hamas – the alternative is total devastation” (Just the News).

Federal Judge Blocks EPA from Ending Biden-Era “Gold Bars” Fraud Worth $20 Billion

Associated Press: A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration, saying the government’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.” The order by U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan prevents — for now — the Environmental Protection Agency from ending the grant program, which totaled $20 billion. The judge also blocked Citibank, which holds the money on behalf of EPA, from transferring it to the government or anyone else. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused the grant recipients of mismanagement, fraud and self-dealing and froze the grants. But after reviewing arguments in the case, Chutkan said Zeldin’s allegations fell short (Associated Press). Townhall: Zeldin said he wouldn’t “rest” until the taxpayer money is returned to the Treasury. “Every penny EPA spends will go towards our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, and Powering the Great American Comeback,” he added (Townhall). Lee Zeldin: My statement on the latest court ruling on the Biden EPA “gold bars” scheme (X).

Judge Halts Trump Order Removing Trans Individuals from the Military

Fox News: A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s order, which asserted “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.” The order, issued Jan. 27, instructed the Department of Defense (DOD) to update its medical standards for military service and pronoun policies, stating that “beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” Reyes said that the executive order likely poses constitutional rights violations (Fox News). National Review: The Trump administration says gender dysphoria is “incompatible” with the mental and physical rigor that military service demands because the illness comes with certain “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints,” according to the Pentagon memo dated February 26 (National Review).

Trump Strips $175 Million in Taxpayer Funding to University of Pennsylvania for Forcing Women to Compete Against Men in Sports

National Review: The Trump administration has paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the university’s insistence on allowing men to compete in women’s sports. The action follows President Donald Trump’s executive order issued last month that bars federally funded institutions from allowing male athletes to compete against women and threatens to rescind funding from any institution that refuses to comply. The funding pause is a “proactive punishment” from President Trump that pulls back discretionary funding from the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services… The $175 million sum is a fraction of the Ivy League school’s total federal funding (National Review). Billboard Chris: Do they really need or use all of these tax dollars? UPenn has an endowment fund valued at more than $22 billion, which grew $1.4 billion in the last fiscal year (X).

NYC Mayoral Candidate Looks to Institute Government-Owned Grocery Stores

The government is not our friend. No matter how much they pretend to be. New York Post: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is “more radical than the radical left,” according to one veteran of local and national political campaigns. “He is in a category all by himself,” the campaigner, who asked to withhold his name, told The Post. “I’ve never seen someone so far to the left. He’s anti Israel, he’s all up in the protests and violence. This is not how a mayoral candidate behaves.” He may be a dyed-in-the-wool member of the hard-left Democratic Socialists of America — but Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim son of filmmaker Mira Nair, knows how to raise money… Mamdani — who was raised in New York and believes in free buses, free childcare, a rent freeze and city-run grocery stores —- raised almost a million dollars over the last two months and has more than 16,000 donors (New York Post). End Wokeness: Zohran Mamdani: As mayor, I will lower prices by making stores owned by the government (X). Eyal Yakoby: He is literally trying to implement communism in New York. What is wrong with him (X)?

Tim Walz (D) Claims Conservative Men Are Scared of Him Because He Could Beat Them Up

Townhall: This week, failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (D) told California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that he could “kick Trump supporters’ asses” and that conservative men are scared of him. Walz made the bizarre comments on Newsom’s podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” which premiered this month (Townhall). RNC Research: Tampon Tim Walz on his masculinity: “I think I scare them a little bit” (X). Charlie Kirk: Apparently Tim Walz just called me a “bad guy” because of my conservative beliefs. Personally I think it’s a lot worse to lie about a DUI, ditch your fellow soldiers before a deployment, and abandon your state’s largest city during the worst riots in its history… But Gov. Walz is entitled to his opinion (X).

Federal Reserve Votes to Maintain Current Interest Rates

NBC: The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was leaving interest rates unchanged, signaling it wanted further clarity on the direction of the economy before changing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. The Fed’s key federal funds rate, which serves as a benchmark for interest rates throughout the economy, will remain at approximately 4.5% (NBC). CBS: This pause in rate cuts will significantly impact borrowers, as a higher federal funds rate leads to higher rates on products ranging from mortgages to personal loans to credit cards. Two products, however, have seen rates fall in recent months, despite the inaction on rates. Both home equity loan and home equity line of credit (HELOC) interest rates have steadily declined over the last year, making either a smart way to borrow a large amount of money right now. A pause, however, offers homeowners an opportunity to more closely evaluate their home equity borrowing options (CBS).

10.

Dennis Prager to Make Return to Radio in June

Ed Morrissey: After a terrible accident at home in November, Salem Radio has missed Dennis’ wisdom, perspective, and grounded analysis — and I think America has missed it as well. We have had fine replacements work in his stead in the meantime, but I and we have felt Dennis’ absence keenly. Today, however, we have two great pieces of news from our parent company, Salem Media Group. First, Charlie Kirk will permanently move into the noon-2 pm ET slot that he has admirably filled for Dennis, and the current arrangement with Jack Posobiec for the third hour will continue until the beginning of June. And then Dennis will return for an hour each day, starting on June 3^rd (HotAir). Financial Times: Dennis suffered a debilitating injury last November when he fell in his home and suffered a spinal cord injury. Dennis is going through extensive rehabilitation because of the injury, and Salem wishes him a complete and full recovery (Financial Times).

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