Two NASA astronauts left stranded in space for nine months after a Boeing spacecraft malfunction finally made their journey home Tuesday in a SpaceX capsule, with President Trump saying that they had been &#8220;virtually abandoned&#8221; by the Biden administration.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/18/nx-s1-5331907/nasa-astronauts-return-long-space-station-suni-williams-butch-wilmore">departed</a> from the International Space Station at 1:05 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, and splashed down off Florida&#8217;s coast at around 6 p.m.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
SEE IT! Moment stranded astronauts brought back to Earth after they were abandoned by President Biden <a href="https://t.co/2X7DqcKqqU">pic.twitter.com/2X7DqcKqqU</a>
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1902118488204046422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
What was initially planned as an eight-day mission aboard Boeing&#8217;s Starliner spacecraft launched on June 5 turned into a nine-month ordeal when the capsule experienced multiple helium leaks and thruster malfunctions.
NASA ultimately deemed the troubled Starliner too risky for a crewed return journey, sending the spacecraft back to Earth empty while leaving Williams and Wilmore to be incorporated into the space station&#8217;s regular crew.
In January, Trump said he asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to &#8220;go get&#8221; the astronauts whom he characterized as having been &#8220;virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.&#8221;
Musk claimed in February that he had offered to bring the astronauts home early &#8220;months ago,&#8221; but that the Biden administration &#8220;refused,&#8221; delaying the pair’s return for &#8220;political reasons,&#8221; which NASA officials have denied.
During their extended stay, Williams and Wilmore completed several critical spacewalks and conducted over 200 scientific experiments. The pair, both experienced astronauts with previous space missions, adapted to their unexpected long-term assignment while maintaining a rigorous work schedule aboard the station.
Boeing&#8217;s Starliner program has been plagued by delays and technical issues, with Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/boeings-starliner-return-earth-delayed-indefinitely-2024-06-22/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reporting</a> “$1.5 billion in cost overruns beyond its $4.5-billion NASA development contract” for little results compared to SpaceX, which received $2.6 billion in comparison and has dominated the industry for years.
President Trump celebrated the news on Truth Social, writing on Monday, “[A]fter eight long months for a mission that was supposed to be eight days, IT IS TIME. I look forward to seeing Butch and Suni, and thank you again to NASA and Janet Petro!”

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WATCH: Astronauts Stranded During Biden Admin Finally Land Back On Earth

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Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro&#8217;s campaign to secure a presidential pardon for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues this week with the premiere of his new series, &#8220;The Case for Derek Chauvin.&#8221;
&#8220;This is going to be a comprehensive, multi-episode breakdown of the case — all the facts, all the evidence, all the political context,&#8221; Shapiro says in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2160">first episode</a> of the five-part series, which premiered today.
&#8220;We’re going to tear this case apart piece by piece, and by the end, I think you’ll agree with me that President Trump should immediately pardon Derek Chauvin for his federal convictions. This is The Case for Derek Chauvin.&#8221;
On March 4, Shapiro launched a petition to pardon Chauvin. The website, <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/">PardonDerek.com</a>, has already attracted more than 50,000 signatures. The petition has gained momentum in Trump&#8217;s circle, with Elon Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1896975871904505884">calling</a> the idea of a Chauvin pardon “something to think about.” Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dduWmpo7ioY">hosted</a> Shapiro on his podcast in support of the effort to pardon Chauvin last week.
The first episode, titled “The Background,” features Shapiro delving into how his own position on Chauvin has evolved after reviewing evidence beyond the viral video that sparked nationwide protests.
“Like everyone else in America, I first saw the tape of Derek Chauvin and George Floyd on May 25th — what appeared at the time to be nine minutes of a police officer’s knee on George Floyd’s neck. And given the tape alone, I drew the same conclusions most Americans drew.”
“And then, over time, new evidence emerged. A lot of it. And I realized that I had done something absolutely wrong: I rushed to judgment,” Shapiro explains in the first episode. “As new information was released—the full body camera footage, the complete autopsy findings, the Minneapolis Police Department training materials—my viewpoint changed. Dramatically.
Shapiro argues that complete body camera footage, autopsy findings, and Minneapolis Police Department training materials tell a different story than what the mainstream media initially reported.
Trump, who has signed nearly 100 executive orders targeting what he calls &#8220;woke&#8221; ideology since returning to office, cannot consider his “war on wokeness complete unless he addresses the fundamental injustice that started it all,” Shapiro said.
“Pardoning Chauvin is about making a definitive statement that the rule of law matters more than mob justice and that America is finally ready to correct the catastrophic error that sent our country spiraling into years of racial division and leftist cultural supremacy.”
Although a presidential pardon wouldn’t directly affect Chauvin’s state conviction, due to harsher federal rules for minimum sentencing, Shapiro explains, “On a 21-year federal sentence like Chauvin’s, the maximum reduction would be only about 3.1 years, resulting in approximately 17.9 years of actual incarceration — three years longer than what he’d serve under Minnesota’s more lenient system.”
The episode then delves into every one of  the “18 complaints” lodged against Chauvin as an officer, which reveal not a racist monster, but what Shapiro deems “the normal course of what happens when you’re policing high-crime areas for nearly two decades.”
Chauvin, in the course of dealing with “non-compliant suspects, domestic violence situations, armed suspects, and intoxicated individuals” was only reprimanded by the MPD once for being too aggressive in a traffic stop in 2007.
“The Left wants you to believe that these complaints prove Chauvin was a ticking time bomb who should have been removed from the force years ago. But when you actually examine the details, what emerges is a portrait of an officer doing a difficult job in challenging circumstances, operating within department guidelines.&#8221;
“They don&#8217;t want you to know these details because they contradict the narrative that Chauvin was a racist monster who deliberately murdered George Floyd out of racial animus. But facts don’t care about their feelings, and the facts show that Chauvin’s record was typical for a veteran officer working in a high-crime urban environment.”
Next, Shapiro unpacks George Floyd’s background, noting his rough upbringing in Houston’s Third Ward, eventually starting a troubling turn into crime and drugs, with his first felony cocaine conviction in 1997.
“The police officers who encountered him on his last day weren’t dealing with an upstanding citizen who had simply made a minor mistake; they were dealing with someone who had a long history of criminal behavior, including violence and resistance to police.”
The first episode of &#8216;The Case for Derek Chauvin&#8217; is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2160">now streaming</a> on DailyWire+. Episode 2, “The Incident,” will reveal &#8220;what really happened&#8221; on the day Floyd died.

Ben Shapiro

WATCH: Ben Shapiro Gives The Facts On Derek Chauvin And George Floyd

Derek Chauvin

George Floyd

Top Senate Democrat Jeanne Shaheen announced on Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, creating a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans in New Hampshire&#8217;s historically swing-state Senate race.
Shaheen, 78, previously served three terms as governor of New Hampshire until being elected to the Senate in 2008. The senator serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
&#8220;It&#8217;s important for New Hampshire and the country to have a new generation of leadership,&#8221; said Shaheen.
She will have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/politics/jeanne-shaheen-new-hampshire-senate-2026.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare&amp;sgrp=p&amp;pvid=08E71C55-51B1-483B-B732-EC5068702A73">served</a> 30 years in elected office and spent 50 years in politics by the end of her term, per the New York Times.
New Hampshire voters have shown increasing Republican leanings in recent elections. While supporting Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, they simultaneously elected former Senator Kelly Ayotte as governor and expanded GOP majorities in the state legislature.
Her departure sets up what will likely be one of the most competitive Senate races in 2026, in a map that experts say already favors Republicans.
Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman of the Center for Politics <a href="https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/our-initial-senate-ratings-republicans-start-as-strong-favorites-to-hold-majority/">wrote</a> in February, “Even if 2026 is an overall &#8216;blue wave&#8217; environment, expecting Democrats to win back the Senate sets the bar too high—the seats just are not there,” writing before Shaheen’s announcement.
Several prominent Republicans were already considering running for her seat before Shaheen&#8217;s announcement. Former GOP Governor Chris Sununu <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5189899-sununu-possible-senate-bid/">said</a> on Tuesday about a possible bid, &#8220;I have not ruled it out completely, but folks in Washington have asked me to think about it and to consider it, and that is just kind of where I am,&#8221; after previously dismissing speculations of a run.
Sununu <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/new-hampshire/statewide-offices/">won</a> his 2022 gubernatorial race by more than 15 points in a Democratic wave year, leading many GOP strategists to point to him as the top candidate for 2026. Governor Ayotte and former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown are also reportedly considering entering the race.

Senate Democrats’ Medicare drug pricing presser

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Won’t Run In 2026, Opening Up Key Seat

2026 Midterms

Congress

New Hampshire

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Stocks plummeted on Monday after President Donald Trump warned of a “period of transition” for the United States economy as a result of his tariff policies aimed at bringing manufacturing back to America.
All major indices tumbled on Monday, with the S&amp;P 500 dropping 2.8%, the Dow Jones falling 2%, and the Nasdaq plunging more than 4%, per the AP.
The whiplash of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-economy-tariffs-trump-rates-174603e75feb9d5cca96c08817e0c7c2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news</a> in recent weeks regarding tariffs has had the stock market in a state of confusion, as “the main measure of the U.S. stock market is on track for a seventh swing of more than 1%, up or down, in the last eight days,” per the AP.
Last week, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, only to instantly exempt the vast majority of imported goods just two days later following a call with the Mexican president. He also doubled a blanket tariff on goods from China to 20%.
China retaliated with new tariffs of 10% to 15% targeting United States farm products such as chicken and soybeans, per the BBC.
In response to Trump&#8217;s actions, Ontario Premier Doug Ford implemented a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the United States, a move expected to impact 1.5 million homes and businesses across Minnesota, Michigan, and New York.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz61nn99eg1o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the BBC that markets likely underestimated how far Trump was willing to go with tariffs and are now facing that reality.
&#8220;There is a period of transition because what we&#8217;re doing is very big. We&#8217;re bringing wealth back to America,&#8221; Trump told Fox News over the weekend when asked about recession concerns, adding, &#8220;It takes a little time.&#8221;
Former United States Commerce Department official Frank Lavin echoed this sentiment, telling the BBC that while he believes the trade war is unlikely to escalate out of control, tariffs will still create an &#8220;extra burden on the U.S. economy.&#8221;
Despite market turbulence, economists at Goldman Sachs still predict 1.7% economic growth by year&#8217;s end, though this represents a downward revision from earlier 2.2% forecasts.
The market decline has hit previous Wall Street favorites particularly hard, with Nvidia falling 5.4% today to bring its year-to-date loss to 20% and Elon Musk&#8217;s Tesla tumbling 14.2%, deepening its 2025 losses to more than 40%.

NYSE Opens After Days Of Losses Due To Tariffs On Mexico And Canada

U.S. Stocks Plunge As Trump Warns Of Economic ‘Transition’ Period

Donald Trump

Economy

Recession

Stock Market

Tariffs

Trade War

The Trump administration has canceled roughly $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University following the school&#8217;s &#8220;continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.&#8221;
The decision followed an investigation by the administration&#8217;s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, focusing on whether the institution took “prompt and effective steps” to address harassment.
&#8220;Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,&#8221; Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-administration-cancels-400-million-grants-columbia-university-rcna195373">said</a> in a statement, according to NBC News.
Columbia immediately scrambled to work with federal officials to restore the funding. &#8220;We take Columbia&#8217;s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff,&#8221; a university spokesperson said.
McMahon later posted on X that she had a &#8220;productive meeting&#8221; with Columbia&#8217;s interim president Katrina Armstrong.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Had a productive meeting with Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong today. Look forward to working together to protect all students on their campus.
The Trump Administration will not allow the continued harassment and threats of violence against students. <a href="https://t.co/FL3YqiQWcD">https://t.co/FL3YqiQWcD</a>
&mdash; Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) <a href="https://twitter.com/EDSecMcMahon/status/1898085962330038755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights and head of the Justice Department Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, called the funding cancellation &#8220;only the beginning&#8221; of the administration&#8217;s response to campus anti-Semitism.
Brian Cohen, executive director of the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia and Barnard, welcomed the move as a potential catalyst for change.
&#8220;Columbia has an antisemitism crisis, and for months, I have worked with faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni to urge the administration to act quickly to address this crisis,&#8221; Cohen said. &#8220;I hope this federal action is a wake-up call to Columbia&#8217;s administration and trustees.&#8221;
Columbia has been at the center of campus controversies since anti-Israel protests began after the October 7 attack. Last spring, the university made headlines when administrators called police to clear an encampment of protesters, resulting in numerous arrests. The handling of these protests contributed to leadership changes at the university, with former president Minouche Shafik stepping down amid bipartisan criticism.
The Columbia decision represents one of the most significant financial penalties imposed on a university over the handling of campus protests, potentially setting a precedent for how the federal government addresses similar situations at other institutions.
$5 billion in grants similar to Columbia’s are under <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/07/us-news/trump-admin-yanks-400m-from-columbia-university-over-antisemitism/">review</a> by Terrell’s committee, per the New York Post.

Pro-Palestinian-Student-Protests-at-Columbia-University

Trump Admin Slashes Columbia Funding, Citing Inaction On Anti-Semitic Harassment On Campus

Anti-Semitism

Columbia University

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris has set an end-of-summer deadline to decide on a California gubernatorial bid, sources revealed today.
Harris has been telling supporters at private gatherings and through phone calls, &#8220;I am staying in this fight,&#8221; as she weighs her political future after her unsuccessful bid for president, according to Politico.
The revelation about her timeline came during a pre-Oscars party last weekend when Harris definitively told another attendee she would make her gubernatorial decision by summer&#8217;s end, two sources <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/07/kamala-harris-california-governor-decision-deadline-00216737">told</a> Politico.
The sources also said that a Harris victory in the California governor’s race would most likely take a 2028 presidential run off the table, despite early polls indicating a strong lead for Harris in the primary field.
Harris maintains significant leads in early national polls of potential candidates for California governor and has kept her political operation intact through her newly formed organization Pioneer49, with several top aides remaining on board.
The commitment of top aides is seen as a strong sign for Harris, as the VP had previously had a revolving door of staff due to a reportedly harsh management style.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/06/harris-veep-boss-management/">reported</a> in September 2024, “More than 90 percent of Harris’s vice-presidential staff who started working for her in early 2021 have since left the office.”
The mere prospect of Harris entering the race has already reshaped the Democratic field, with nearly every other top Dem prospect considering bowing out if Harris announces her run.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta didn’t even see the need to wait for Harris’s announcement, dropping any exploration of a governor’s bid, and announced he will seek reelection instead.
Asked about whether Harris should run, Bonta said, &#8220;I hope she does. I have already raised my hand to endorse her, if she does,&#8221; adding, &#8220;Her name recognition, her favorables, her ability to run a successful campaign would have the impact of clearing the field on the Democratic side.&#8221;
Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis would likely avoid challenging Harris in the state&#8217;s primary, while former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has suggested he might stay in the race despite doubts from people close to him, Politico reports.
While the Democratic field adjusts to Harris&#8217; potential candidacy, the field of Republican candidates is somewhat sparse, with the frontrunner appearing to be Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a veteran of law enforcement who has been praised for his handling of crime in the county of 2.5 million despite policing restrictions from Newsom’s government and staffing shortages.
Harris has been increasing her public profile in recent weeks, accepting the Chairman&#8217;s Prize at the NAACP Image Awards last month and planning a trip to Las Vegas this weekend for a moderated conversation about artificial intelligence, signaling she intends to maintain her presence in national political discussions.

56th NAACP Image Awards – Press Room

Harris Reportedly Gives Summer Deadline For Cali Gov Bid Announcement, Shaking Up Primary Field

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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, called on the Department of Justice to investigate whether President Joe Biden’s alleged cognitive decline enabled unelected staff to enact far-left policies without his informed approval.
According to a letter from Bailey, “Biden’s mental decline is famous,” and staffers “may have exploited Biden’s incapacity so they could issue orders without an accountable President of sound mind approving them.”
He contends that such orders, including mass commutations and pardons for convicted criminals, would be “null and void” if Biden never knowingly approved them.
Bailey cites House Speaker Mike Johnson’s account of Biden’s mental decline heavily impacting his effectiveness as an executive: “Biden did not know what orders he was signing.”
“In January 2024, when Johnson asked Biden about a moratorium on energy exports to Europe, Biden informed Johnson that he thought he had merely signed an order authorizing a study on exports,” Bailey said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨BREAKING: I am demanding the DOJ investigated whether President Biden’s cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval.
If true, these executive orders, pardons, and all other actions are unconstitutional and legally void. <a href="https://t.co/pOhATRfw2j">pic.twitter.com/pOhATRfw2j</a>
&mdash; Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1897388657557885403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Special Counsel Robert K. Hur released a 345-page report in February on Biden’s handling of classified documents, where Hur detailed early indications of the decline that would eventually lead Biden to drop out of the race just a few months later, as Bailey notes in the letter.
In what was described as &#8220;[t]he loudest public alarm about Joe Biden&#8217;s mental acuity,&#8221; Special Counsel Hur described Biden as an &#8220;elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; who could not even remember when he was Vice President or, even within several years, when his son passed away,” Bailey said about Hur’s report.
In the end, Hur declined to charge Biden, not necessarily for a lack of evidence, but for a seeming lack of competence as a &#8220;well-meaning, elderly man&#8221; with a &#8220;poor memory.”
Bailey points out, “If Biden could not even form a mens rea [criminal intent] for allegedly criminal activity (a low bar), how can anyone have confidence he had the capacity to make decisions as the chief executive of the United States?”
According to high-profile DNC fundraiser Lindy Li, quoted in the letter, “the people who ran our country for the last four years” were his staff, his wife, and his son, Hunter Biden.
Bailey further claims that prominent Democrats and senior staffers, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, heavily restricted Biden’s interactions, creating conditions under which unelected aides could assume disproportionate influence over policy.
Whether the president was fully aware when authorizing key decisions can pose significant constitutional questions and impact the balance of power among the executive branch, Congress, and individual states, with Bailey in particular pointing to Biden vacating the death sentences of several inmates who committed their offenses in Missouri.
And, if it is found that Biden was not competent, “As the Supreme Court recently held, States like Missouri can criminally try individuals under state law even if they already were prosecuted under federal law. States like Missouri need to know whether to pursue that path or similar paths.”
Likewise, the letter references a series of clemencies for roughly 2,500 people described as “non-violent.” Among them, it says, was an individual convicted in the killing of a mother and her 8-year-old child, heightening questions about whether authorities might revisit similar cases if the president himself was not competently directing those actions.
Bailey concludes, “I fear that Mr. Biden, while he held the office of President, did so in name only and was a mere puppet for far-left, unelected staffers. The people deserve to know the truth.”

President Biden Holds News Conference Day After Midterm Elections

Missouri AG Bailey Questions Constitutionality Of Biden Orders, Citing Mental Decline

Biden Campaign

Biden-Harris administration

Constitution

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Disney axed Nate Silver&#8217;s once-influential FiveThirtyEight on Wednesday as part of sweeping job cuts at ABC News, ending the data-driven political site&#8217;s seven-year run at the network.
FiveThirtyEight gained national prominence for its statistical approach to political forecasting but drew criticism for misses in key elections, most notably giving Hillary Clinton a 71.4% chance of winning the 2016 presidential election.
FiveThirtyEight&#8217;s editorial director of data analytics, G. Elliott Morris, confirmed the layoffs on Bluesky on Wednesday, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gelliottmorris.com/post/3ljnfl3pvuc2v">writing</a>, “As reported, the entire staff of 538 was laid off this morning. This is a severe blow to political data journalism, and I feel for my colleagues.”
The cuts are part of a broader restructuring at Disney, the parent company of ABC, which is slashing approximately 200 positions (about 6% of its workforce) across ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks, continuing the trend of media company layoffs and restructuring across the industry, Mediaite <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/fivethirtyeight-gets-the-ax-as-abc-news-slashes-jobs-in-major-shakeup/">reported</a>. Many journalists lamented FiveThirtyEight’s demise on social media.
Silver, who founded the site in 2008 and left ABC in May 2023, wrote on X, &#8220;Oh geez, I just saw the news about 538. My heart goes out to the people there. They were tremendously hard-working and produced a lot of extremely valuable data and insight for everyone who wants to understand politics better. They deserved much better.&#8221;
Silver left ABC amid reports of tension with network executives over resource allocation and editorial direction.
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Oh geez, I just saw the news about 538. My heart goes out to the people there. They were tremendously hard-working and produced a lot of extremely valuable data and insight for everyone who wants to understand politics better. They deserved much better.
&mdash; Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1897141188664418476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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FiveThirtyEight began as an independent polling aggregation platform before being licensed to The New York Times, then acquired by ESPN in 2013, and later transferred to ABC News.
Despite shuttering the project, ABC News said it would &#8220;continue to provide the best-in-class polling and political data analysis that it has offered for decades.&#8221;
The decision to close FiveThirtyEight comes as legacy media organizations face declining audiences and increasing competition from independent content creators and alternative news sources.
The shutdown also impacts several ABC News programs, with investigative shows “20/20” and “Nightline” merging into a single unit, while all three hours of &#8220;Good Morning America&#8221; will now fall under one production team instead of separate management, Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/disney-200-layoffs-tv-abc-news-1236328122/">reported</a>.
The move reflects Disney&#8217;s ongoing financial challenges under CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the company in 2022 and has implemented multiple cost-cutting measures. Disney shares have fallen more than 3% over the past year as the entertainment giant navigates streaming losses and declining cable television viewership, according to financial <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS/">data</a> from Yahoo Finance.

New York Stock Exchange Opens Trading Day, After Dow Closes Prior Day At Highest Level For Year

Disney Pulls Plug On FiveThirtyEight Amid Broader ABC News Cuts

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On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a free speech challenge to university &#8220;bias response teams&#8221; that conservatives argue silence their viewpoints on campus.
Two of the nine justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, indicated they would have granted a hearing on the free speech lawsuit brought by the Indiana University students, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/colleges-free-speech-supreme-court-879a12f6e7aaf9d678009e56a8ab6ed0">reported</a> The Associated Press.
“I would grant the petition. It raises an important question affecting universities nationwide; Speech First estimates that over 450 universities have similar bias-reporting schemes.” Justice Thomas wrote in his dissent. Justice Alito agreed with Thomas, arguing that the case should be on the court’s docket.
The Indiana University students, represented by the free speech advocacy group Speech First, argue that the bias-response team targets right-leaning political speech by enabling anonymous reports of what are deemed “offensive” remarks.
Speech First specifically points to threats of discipline against conservatives who held contrary viewpoints on “gender identity, immigration, affirmative action, and the Israel-Palestine conflict,” suing Indiana University for forcing students to self-censor out of fear of retribution by these bias response teams.
University administrators maintain that the program is meant to provide education and support, not punishment.
In his dissent, Justice Thomas continues: &#8220;Given the number of schools with bias response teams, this Court eventually will need to resolve the split over a student&#8217;s right to challenge such programs.&#8221;
&#8220;I have serious concerns that bias response policies, such as Virginia Tech’s, objectively chill students’ speech,&#8221; Thomas further <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/thomas-alito-dissent-as-scotus-refuses-to-review-free-speech-concerns-over-university-bias-response-teams/">expressed</a>, per Courthouse News.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to grant a hearing does not imply agreement or disagreement with the lower courts, only indicating that fewer than four justices were interested in taking up the case for whatever reason, as the Court declined to provide an explanation for declining Speech First’s case on Monday.
Although the Court’s action leaves Indiana University’s program intact, the public statements from two justices suggest the matter of bias-response teams could reappear on the Court’s docket in a future case, given the right circumstances.

Justice Thomas Attends Forum On His 30 Year Supreme Court Legacy

Justices Thomas And Alito Dissent As SCOTUS Passes On Campus Free Speech Case

American Universities

Censorship

Clarence Thomas

Courts

Free Speech

SCOTUS

Bitcoin surged past $93,000 over the weekend after President Trump announced plans to create a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that will include Bitcoin, Ether, and several other digital currencies.
“A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration,” President Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114093526901586124">wrote</a> in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The strategic reserve will <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/03/crypto-market-today.html">involve</a> several digital currencies beyond Bitcoin, including Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, according to CNBC.
The announcement triggered a significant rally in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin climbing as high as $95,000, and the smaller coins seeing double-digit percentage increases.
This positive momentum comes after a period of consolidation in which Bitcoin had fallen below the key $90,000 level for the first time in three months, dropping as much as 25% from its January all-time high.
&#8220;The weekend news is exactly the type of catalyst investors have been looking for to feel reassured about follow through from the U.S. administration with respect to its crypto friendly policies,&#8221; Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, told CNBC. &#8220;Now that we&#8217;ve already seen a healthy correction in February, this sets the stage for the start to the next leg higher for crypto assets.&#8221;
Investors will be watching for additional details at the first White House Crypto Summit, scheduled for this Friday. White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks indicated there would be &#8220;more to come&#8221; at the summit, suggesting further policy announcements that could impact the cryptocurrency market.
The move represents a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward digital assets, positioning America as a leader in cryptocurrency adoption while many other nations have imposed restrictive regulations.
China, for instance, has banned cryptocurrency mining and trading, while the European Union has established strict regulatory frameworks that many in the industry view as stifling innovation.
Trump&#8217;s strategic reserve announcement signals a clear intent to establish U.S. dominance in the digital asset space, potentially giving America a competitive edge in future global financial systems. In other sectors, such as with gold, a strategic reserve serves as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation while reducing reliance on traditional financial infrastructure.
While details remain limited, expectations are high that the White House Crypto Summit will provide clarity on the reserve&#8217;s implementation timeline, acquisition strategy, and governance structure. Industry players will be watching closely for potential regulatory reforms that might accompany the reserve announcement, particularly regarding cryptocurrency taxation and securities classification issues that have created uncertainty in the market.

Bitcoin Photo Illustrations

Trump’s Announcement Of First-Ever Crypto Strategic Reserve Sparks Rally

Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency

Pope Francis was placed on a breathing machine after suffering a sudden episode of respiratory difficulty, prompting heightened concern from doctors as they monitor his ongoing lung-related medical struggles.
Friday’s respiratory crisis was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/europe/pope-francis-breathing-difficulty-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complicated</a> by vomiting that led to aspiration, prompting doctors to place the pontiff on a breathing device, according to CNN.
The Vatican indicated that Pope Francis wore a mask rather than being intubated and “remained alert and oriented at all times.”
Medical officials expect better insight into his recovery over the next 24-48 hours, but a Vatican representative cautioned that Francis remains at risk. This marks his fourth and now longest hospital stay since assuming the papacy in 2013.
In light of his condition, he is stepping back from next week’s Ash Wednesday service for only the second time in his 12-year tenure.
Francis originally sought medical attention at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital roughly two weeks ago, owing to a series of respiratory setbacks. His previous bout of pneumonia, which reportedly followed a case of bronchitis, underscored preexisting lung complications from his youth, when he battled severe pneumonia that led to the partial removal of one lung.
Twice-daily bulletins from Vatican officials indicate that, while doctors perceived modest progress as recently as Thursday, the pontiff’s overall prognosis remains guarded.
Vatican statements describe how caregivers have cleared Francis’ schedule to concentrate on his recovery, marking an unusual disruption to his normally active routine. He has experienced intermittent symptoms over the past year, which some medical observers believe may stem from his earlier procedures and susceptibility to infections.
Meanwhile, as the pope continues to recuperate, other senior Catholic figures have publicly called for prayers.
Argentinian Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández remarked, “Certainly it is close to the Holy Father’s heart that our prayers be not only for him, but also for all those who, in this particular dramatic and suffering moment of the world, bear the heavy burden of war, sickness, and poverty.”

Pope Francis leads his traditional Wednesday General

Pope Francis Suffers Sudden Respiratory Episode, Put On Breathing Machine

Catholic Church

Christianity

Pope Francis

Religion

World

Microsoft confirmed it would shut down Skype in May, directing users to its Teams platform and ending a chapter for the once-popular internet calling service.
Microsoft <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/tech/skype-microsoft-shutdown/index.html">purchased</a> Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, marking the company’s largest acquisition at the time, according to CNN.
Launched in 2003, the service once dominated internet calling by offering free global connectivity, but struggled to keep pace with rivals such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, and, most recently, Discord and Zoom.
“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” said president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms Jeff Teper in a <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/02/28/the-next-chapter-moving-from-skype-to-microsoft-teams/">statement</a>.
Skype’s ownership changed hands multiple times before Microsoft’s acquisition. In 2005, eBay purchased the voice-over-internet tool for $2.6 billion, but parted ways four years later by selling its majority stake to a separate investment group for $1.9 billion. That transaction set the stage for Microsoft to take over in 2011.
After the purchase, Microsoft integrated Skype with other services such as its Office suite and the now-discontinued Windows Phone platform. Despite that, the platform lagged behind in a landscape increasingly dominated by Apple’s FaceTime and Meta’s WhatsApp as users gravitated toward apps centered on mobile messaging and video calls.
Many organizations turned instead to tools that packaged conferencing, chat, and collaboration in one place. This broader shift contributed to Microsoft’s aggressive focus on Teams, which now offers what the company describes as “seamless file sharing” and expanded functionality that extends beyond basic voice or video calls.

Nathan Gay