Posts on Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Inflation was slightly lower than expected in April as President Donald Trump’s tariffs just began hitting the slowing U.S. economy, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures the costs for a broad range of goods and services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.3%, its lowest since February 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The monthly reading was in line with the Dow Jones consensus estimate while the 12-month was a bit below the forecast for 2.4%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI

Back in March, unnamed “senior tax officials” told the Washington Post that the “rapid demolition of parts of the IRS” was going to result in a 10% plunge in revenues this spring. Actual result: Revenues are up 9% compared with the first four months of last year. We heard repeated horror stories about DOGE’s devastating spending cuts, too. Actual result: Spending is up 7% over last year. Are you noticing a trend here? According to the Washington Post, “Senior tax officials are bracing for a sharp drop in revenue collected this spring, as an increasing number of individuals and businesses spurn filing their taxes

Donald Trump just made it harder to go to federal prison. On Friday, President Trump issued a new executive order with a remarkably broad scope and deep implications, under the title “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.” It starts with plain, clear, direct language: The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages — far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand. Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations. The situation has become so dire that no one — likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice — knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – U.S. House Homeland Security chairman Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee) is calling on authorities to be more transparent about a 2022 Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. On May 2, the THP released a redacted video of a traffic stop dated Nov. 30, 2022, involving Abrego Garcia in Cookeville. The 29-year-old was pulled over for speeding in a vehicle with eight passengers and told state troopers they’d been working in Missouri.

Restaurants on Lower Broadway have shut down due to fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s presence in Nashville. Fox 17 reported that at least two restaurants closed last weekend due to the rumored presence of law enforcement. “It’s just creating this general sense of fear all the time,” said a manager to Fox 17. “There were rumors flying around about ICE being on Lower Broadway. It was credible enough that we had to close the restaurant because back-of-house staff had to leave. Everyone split.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has taken steps towards removing gun control activist and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg as vice chairman. On Monday, the credentials committee of the DNC voted 13-2 to void the election results from February in which Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D) were elected to serve as co-vice chairmen of the DNC, according to the New York Times. The vote comes as Hogg is reportedly planning to “spend up to $20 million” to fund “primary campaigns against incumbent Democrats.” Per the outlet, the decision from the credentials committee came after “three hours of internal debate and one tie vote,”