⚖️Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs in Major Rebuff of Executive Power

In a 6–3 ruling, the high court rejects President Donald Trump’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, wiping out broad import duties and signaling limits on unilateral trade authority.

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down former President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, delivering a significant setback to a core pillar of his economic and geopolitical strategy.

In a 6–3 decision, the conservative-led court ruled that Trump lacked clear congressional authorization to impose across-the-board import duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the 1977 statute he cited as the legal basis for the tariffs.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority and joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch as well as the court’s three liberal justices, concluded that the president’s asserted authority to impose tariffs of “unlimited amount, duration, and scope” required explicit congressional approval.

“The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote. “He must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”

The court found that IEEPA “falls short” of granting such sweeping trade authority.

💰 💵A Pre-SOTU Guide to Trump’s Economic Claims

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has made a series of claims about the economy, a topic that should feature prominently in his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.

“We have the hottest country anywhere in the world,” Trump said at a White House press briefing on Jan. 20, adding later that “America is booming.” He made similar comments the following day, asserting that “we were a dead country” a year ago.

But his economic boasts include false or misleading claims, and he sometimes pushes an incorrect narrative of an abrupt change in some economic indicators since he came back to the White House.

As preparation for what we might hear in Tuesday night’s speech, we offer a guide to a dozen of Trump’s recent claims about the economy, most of which we’ve written about before. They touch on inflation, economic growth, manufacturing, wages, jobs, the deficit, stock market and more.

🎖️VA Halts Enforcement of Controversial Disability Ratings Rule as Lawmakers Demand Full Rescission

Doug Collins says interim rule tying VA disability ratings to medicated symptom levels “will not be enforced,” but members of Congress—including Mark Takano—insist the policy must be formally withdrawn.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has paused enforcement of a controversial interim final rule that would have altered how disability ratings are calculated—triggering bipartisan calls on Capitol Hill for the regulation to be permanently rescinded.

In a Feb. 19 statement posted on X, VA Secretary Doug Collins announced that the department “is halting the enforcement of the interim final rule,” which had taken effect Feb. 17, the same day it was published in the Federal Register.

The rule—filed under docket RIN 2900-AS49—directed VA medical examiners to base disability ratings on the reduced level of impairment if medication improves a veteran’s condition. Disability ratings directly determine monthly compensation levels for millions of former service members.

Collins pledged that the policy “will not be enforced at any time in the future,” though the rule technically remains in place pending the close of the public comment period on April 20.

Lawmakers: ‘Halting Enforcement Is Not Enough’

The announcement followed swift backlash from lawmakers and veterans service organizations, who warned the rule could penalize veterans for complying with prescribed medical treatment.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) argued the change would place veterans “in a position of deciding between managing their health and receiving their full benefits.”

🏢📽️Exclusive: Montel Williams on Serving Veterans, Leading Military Makeover and Why His Naval Academy Roots Still Drive His Mission

From the United States Marine Corps to the United States Naval Academy and national television, Montel Williams says service remains the throughline of his life—now focused on restoring homes and hope for combat veterans across America.

Before he became a household name through The Montel Williams Show, Montel Williams wore the uniform. A veteran of both the Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, Williams graduated from the United States Naval Academy after becoming the first Black Marine selected to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School. He later earned a commission and served nearly 22 years in uniform.

In an exclusive interview with 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Defense News, Williams described his military experience as “the most important foundation” of his life.

“I’ve had three almost 20-year careers,” Williams said. “The Marine Corps and Navy first, then the Montel show, and now medical initiatives and veteran support. The military gave me the discipline and mission focus for everything that followed.”

Today, that mission focus is channeled into one of television’s longest-running veteran-support programs: Military Makeover.

🎬Eric Dane, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Euphoria’ Star, Dies at 53 After Battle With ALS

The actor behind Dr. Mark Sloan and Cal Jacobs leaves behind a legacy of complex performances and tireless ALS advocacy.

Eric Dane, the charismatic actor who became a primetime icon as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey's Anatomy and later delivered a haunting turn as Cal Jacobs on HBO’s Euphoria, has died at 53 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

His family confirmed that Dane passed away on February 19, surrounded by loved ones, after publicly revealing his ALS diagnosis in 2025.

“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” his family said in a statement. “He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered always.”

‘TELL IT LIKE IT IS’ Black History Series: The 1969 UCLA Shootout That Shook a Movement

Rivalry, Radical Politics and COINTELPRO: How a Deadly Campus Clash Between the Black Panther Party and the US Organization Altered the Trajectory of Black Power in Los Angeles

On January 17, 1969, a meeting inside Campbell Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles turned into one of the most consequential—and tragic—episodes of the Black Power era. What began as a debate over leadership of UCLA’s newly formed African American Studies Center ended in gunfire, leaving two prominent members of the Black Panther Party dead and exposing deep fractures within the movement for Black liberation.

The victims—Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter and John Huggins—were rising leaders in Southern California’s chapter of the Panthers. Their deaths followed escalating tensions with a rival Black nationalist group, the US Organization, founded in 1965 in the aftermath of the Watts uprising by Maulana Karenga and Hakim Abdullah Jamal.

The clash at UCLA did not occur in isolation. It unfolded amid fierce ideological competition, federal surveillance, and a broader struggle for influence within Black communities across Los Angeles and beyond.

UK Police Arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Amid Expanding Epstein Fallout

Thames Valley Police detain former British royal on suspicion of misconduct in public office; King Charles III voices support for investigation as political and legal scrutiny intensifies.

LONDON | British authorities have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, escalating a long-simmering scandal linked to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement released Wednesday, Thames Valley Police confirmed that “a man in his sixties from Norfolk” had been arrested and that searches were underway at properties in Berkshire and Norfolk. British police typically do not identify suspects before formal charges. Mountbatten-Windsor has not been charged with a criminal offense.

The arrest centers on allegations of misconduct during his tenure as a British trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, a period that overlapped with his association with Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing, including past civil allegations brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, which were settled without admission of liability.

Royal Response Signals Institutional Distance

In a rare and carefully worded statement, King Charles III expressed “deepest concern” and emphasized that “the law must take its course.” The monarch affirmed the royal household’s full cooperation with law enforcement authorities, underscoring a shift toward institutional detachment amid intensifying legal scrutiny.

The arrest follows years of reputational strain for the British monarchy, including the removal of Mountbatten-Windsor’s military titles and patronages. Analysts say the latest development marks the most serious legal jeopardy he has faced to date.

📰DOT Moves to Restrict Transit Funds Over Migrant Transport, Setting Up Clash With States

Trump administration seeks to tie federal transit dollars to immigration enforcement in upcoming highway bill, raising constitutional and funding questions for cities nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is preparing to insert language into the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill that could block states and cities from using federal transit money to provide certain transportation services to unauthorized migrants — the latest flashpoint in the national battle over immigration and federal funding.

According to draft legislative text obtained by media outlets, the proposal would prohibit recipients of federal transit funds from using those dollars to transport individuals “unlawfully present in the United States for the purpose of avoiding detection, apprehension, or removal by Federal immigration authorities.”

If enacted, the measure would give Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy the authority to withhold funding from agencies deemed to be in violation. The language would apply broadly across programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration, including buses, subways, ferries, and light rail systems.

The proposal is expected to be considered as part of the highway bill reauthorization, which Congress must pass before the current law expires on September 30.

Trump Misleads on Drug Pricing Deals

President Donald Trump has said that Americans are now paying or will pay “the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs,” thanks to the administration’s negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. The administration has announced discounted cash prices for a small number of brand-name drugs. There is no evidence that Trump’s deals so far have led to broad decreases in drug prices, nor is it certain they will in the future.

Despite these caveats and ambiguities, Trump has often presented lower drug prices as a fait accompli. “We now are paying the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs,” he said in a Jan. 27 speech in Iowa. “Every other president tried for it. They didn’t try very hard. They didn’t get anything. I got it done.” 

The Disagreement over Judicial and Administrative Warrants for ICE

One of the sticking points in the standoff between Democrats and Republicans over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been the Trump administration’s expanded use of administrative warrants to forcibly enter people’s homes to make immigration arrests. Democrats argue the new DHS policy runs afoul of the Constitution and have demanded immigration officers obtain judicial warrants — a higher legal bar that requires a judge’s approval — to forcibly enter a home.

The Trump administration contends that immigrants in the country illegally who have received a final order of removal from immigration judges are not entitled to Fourth Amendment protections — a position many immigration law experts dispute. And several lawmakers have argued that the additional requirement for judicial warrants would significantly curtail immigration enforcement efforts.

📰“You’re Going to See More Defections”: Rep. Thomas Massie Warns GOP Fractures Are Just Beginning

In an exclusive interview with 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Magazine, the libertarian Republican details his clash with Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Attorney General Pam Bondi — and predicts growing Republican breakaways over Epstein files, tariffs, and party leadership.

WASHINGTON | Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), long viewed as a libertarian outlier inside the Republican conference, is predicting deeper fractures within the GOP as internal tensions escalate over transparency demands tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump-era tariffs, and congressional oversight.

In an exclusive interview with 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Magazine inside his Capitol Hill office, Massie described what he views as a quiet but expanding bloc of Republicans increasingly willing to defy President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson.

“On any given day, I would just need one or two of my own co-conspirators to get something done,” Massie said. “I think you’re going to see more defections.”

The warning comes at a time when the Republican majority in the House remains razor-thin, amplifying the influence of even a handful of dissenters.

Epstein Files Transparency Fight Intensifies

Massie has become one of the most visible Republican voices pressing the Department of Justice to release and unredact documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

He claims roughly 3 million files have already been released, and credits sustained public pressure and congressional oversight for incremental disclosures.

The Kentucky lawmaker clashed sharply with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, criticizing what he described as inconsistent redactions and DOJ missteps.