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Friday, April 11, 2025

Six People Killed After Helicopter Tour Crashes Into Hudson River

Townhall: At least six people were killed after a helicopter carrying five passengers crashed into the Hudson River in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon. The crash was reported around 3:30 p.m. The aircraft contained children and adults (Townhall). Collin Rugg: The chopper’s propeller was seen detached from the helicopter, spinning into the water. According to a witness who spoke with NBC, the chopper blade just “flew off.” The passengers were on vacation with their children taking a tour of Manhattan (X).

EU Temporarily Halts Retaliatory Tariffs, Looks to Let Negotiations Resume

Townhall: The European Union said it would temporarily halt the retaliatory tariffs it approved earlier this week after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on global tariffs. The EU on Wednesday voted in favor of a slew of duties to be imposed on US goods in response to the president’s announcement that he would levy hefty tariffs on European imports. Europe’s first round of tariffs was set to take effect on April 15 with another round on May 15. Now, it appears the EU is ready to come to the negotiating table (Townhall). Washington Post: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that Brussels was delaying the adoption of new countermeasures to “give negotiations a chance” (Washington Post).

House Passes SAVE Act, Which Requires Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Townhall: The House on Thursday passed the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” (SAVE Act), which aims to make federal elections more secure. The bill would require states to gain documentary proof of citizenship before they can register to vote in federal elections (Townhall). Charlie Kirk: 208 Democrats voted against this common sense bill. Wonder why (X).

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Claims Groceries, Mortgages Are Expensive Because Trump is Deporting Illegals

End Wokeness: Rep. Jasmine Crockett: “Connect the dots. You cannot afford your home, groceries thanks to deportations” (X). Paul Szypula: DEI Jasmine Crockett says prices are high for food and the hospitality industry because of deportations. Speaking of high prices, will Rep. Jasmine Crockett explain why she’s been making US taxpayers cover her $1K a month luxury car lease? She’s a millionaire (X).

House Passes Trump’s Tax Cuts

Ed Morrissey: Yesterday, the media narrative on the House was “Republicans in disarray!” Today, Speaker Mike Johnson and Donald Trump corralled their caucus to pass a renegotiated budget plan that will allow Trump’s tax cuts and spending reductions to pass through reconciliation… Trump and Johnson conferred with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and hammered out an agreement to get at least $1.5 trillion in reductions, although it’s not clear what time scale that uses (HotAir). Townhall: CHUCK SCHUMER: The Republican budget is AWFUL (X)!

Jimmy Lai is Recipient of the Bradley Prize for Courageously Fighting Against the CCP’s Oppression

Lai, the Hong Kong champion of freedom who is currently a political prisoner, has become the global face of those repressed in China. As announced today, he will be this year’s “honorary recipient” of the prestigious Bradley Prize for being a “courageous advocate for democracy and freedom of the press…” It is a sign that Jimmy Lai, like Andrei Sakharov and Nelson Mandela before him, is becoming a household name. He is the only prisoner among China’s many thousands to be gaining name recognition among the broader American public. Xi Jinping has turned Lai into a living legend by subjecting the 77-year-old to a high-stakes national security trial, one likely to result in a life sentence. It now drags into its 17th month and may not conclude until fall. In the meantime, Lai is being held incommunicado in Hong Kong’s Stanley Prison. He has been there since December 2021. He makes no secret that his Catholic faith gives him courage; the government’s arbitrary prohibition against Lai receiving Holy Communion makes his ordeal even harder. After China’s consolidation of control over Hong Kong in mid-2020, Lai was charged with and then convicted of lesser offenses involving his pro-democracy activism. In one case decided in December 2021, he was sentenced to 13 months in prison for lighting a candle at a vigil commemorating Tiananmen massacre victims. This used to be an annual event in Hong Kong when it was free of the CCP (National Review). Bradley Foundation: Jimmy Lai, a standard-bearer for freedom, has been named an Honorary 2025 Bradley Prize winner. From a prison cell in Hong Kong, he continues to stand for truth and liberty (X).

Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) Introduces Bill Denying Chinese Students Visas After China Instructs Them to Report Back Intelligence

Florida Politics: Florida’s newest Senator isn’t upset by the Chinese government warning its citizens not to go to the United States. U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody believes it’s more evidence that the tough approach of the Donald Trump administration is working, and said it’s just as well, since she’s concerned that Chinese tourists are spies for Beijing… Moody believes the Chinese travelers pose a risk to the U.S. “They’re not hiding the fact that they are enlisting students to come over here and be espionage agents. In fact, they passed laws requiring Chinese nationals to participate in intelligence gathering, and since then we have seen an explosion in those students here on visas sneaking onto military bases, stealing information,” Moody said… More than 1.6 million Chinese nationals came to the United States last year. The high point was in 2017, when more than 3.1 million made the trip. (Florida Politics). Libs of TikTok: U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R) introduced a bill to deny student visas to Chinese nationals after China passed a law requiring EVERY Chinese national to report back on intelligence they’ve gathered (X).

The DOGE Experiment is Proving Fruitful

Townhall: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is indeed working, and it continues to be very much necessary. During the Trump administration’s Cabinet meeting on Thursday, a wealth of evidence was presented, and not merely from Elon Musk, though he did too speak to it. The waste, fraud, and abuse is being uncovered from all sorts of departments of agencies, and this time, something is actually being done about it (Townhall). Townhall: PROOF DOGE IS WORKING “We’ve now canceled $22 billion worth of grants, and we have launched what is the largest deregulatory action in the history of the country,” says Lee Zeldin (X).

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Allows ICE to Resume Use of Rikers Island Jail

Daily Wire: New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Tuesday reversed a decade-long sanctuary policy by allowing ICE to resume operations at Rikers Island jail to target criminal gangs and drug trafficking. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) previously had a presence on the detention island along with other federal law enforcement agencies, with Rikers frequently transferring illegal immigrants into federal custody for deportation. However, ICE was evicted from the notorious island in 2014 by the city’s sanctuary city law, effectively prohibiting any cooperation between the prison and federal law enforcement in deporting criminal aliens. The executive order, issued Tuesday, authorizes ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division to establish an office at Rikers to collaborate on targeting violent criminals, gangs, and drug trafficking (Daily Wire).

10.

San Francisco Builds Massive Statue of Naked Female, Clams It Symbolizes Female Empowerment

To think of how many people had to approve of this… how did it ever get through. News18: A 45-foot statue of a naked woman will be officially unveiled in San Francisco. The work- called “R-Evolution”- symbolizes female empowerment and strength. The sculpture will stand for six months in front of the city’s Ferry Building and “is about being seen”, artist Marco Cochrane said (News18). Collin Rugg: San Francisco has erected a statue of a woman with no clothes on which will be greeting visitors in front of the Ferry Building. The 45-foot-tall statue was installed to “jazz up downtown.” The sculpture and base weigh 30,000 pounds (X).

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