7. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman urged President Donald Trump to delay his reciprocal tariffs by 90 days, warning of an “economic nuclear winter” if the policy proceeds unchecked. However, a “fake news” tweet, that became a CNBC chyron suggesting Trump was considering it, had a real impact on the day. Wall Street saw wild swings as stocks dropped over 3% due to Trump’s tariff plans, then surged 8% on the false rumor of a delay, only to fall back when the truth emerged. The media thinks the episode highlighted a potential escape for Trump to calm markets, though his administration’s mixed signals left investors wary and some analysts urging a crash to force a policy rethink.
6. Gov. Kay Ivey’s team appeared to quietly revise a press release to remove Dr. Will Ferniany from the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences Board appointees after he wrote an absurd column for aldotcom comparing Trump’s administration to Nazi Germany. The original document showing Ferniany among eight individuals appointed to set up the school was unchanged for 231 days until the controversy prompted an unacknowledged edit. This is a really bad look for the administration when it comes to transparency and competency.
5. ALGOP Chairman John Wahl, who serves as the chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service, defended the APLS Board’s pause on library funding in Fairhope Public Library as a necessary step to align with state codes protecting children from sexually explicit content in youth sections. Wahl detailed ongoing talks with library leadership, proposing measures like relocating mature books, establishing a book review process, and implementing a parental-choice library card system to ensure compliance without limiting access, which they could have done at any time. Wahl also rightly rejected accusations of radicalism, and stressed that the real issue is the sexualization of children.
4. While the sponsor of the Alabama’s potential gambling bill says gambling legislation may be dead for 20 years, Alabama Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) says the issue may be dead for 2025 and 2026 and will inevitably return after the 2026 elections. The talk of a dead debate was generally unchallenged but understates how volatile the debates have become to keep the issue from passing both the Senate and House in the same year, especially when the sponsor felt the vote count showed insufficient support for comprehensive gambling.
3. President Donald Trump is apparently both the president of the United States AND in charge of the United States’ immigration concerns, not U.S. District Judge James Boasberg who holds neither of those positions. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to lift a nationwide injunction, enabling President Trump’s administration to deport Venezuelan nationals under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act – a move celebrated as a triumph by his supporters after a contentious legal fight, but hardly the last word on the matter. Those chanting in the streets for the return of illegal immigrant gangbangers are hardest hit, except those in El Salvador’s prisons.
2. Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) championed President Donald Trump’s new tariffs policy, arguing it aligns perfectly with his campaign commitment to reverse decades of trade imbalances that have hurt American companies, manufacturing, and workers, even though it has tossed markets around the world into turmoil. Britt highlighted Trump’s strategy as a master negotiator setting the stage for better trade deals, noting that foreign leaders are already responding, while she criticized the mainstream media’s negative coverage as overshadowing the policy’s potential to create opportunities and Britt remained optimistic that effort will work.
1. President Donald Trump continues to publicly battle some in his government, foreign governments, fake news, his own party, the media, and their Democrats on social media as the entire world has been thrown off-kilter by his massive tariff gambit. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that nearly 70 countries have approached the Trump administration to negotiate new trade deals. Trump also said he is not done using tariffs as a weapon and warned of slapping a 50% tariff hike on China on Wednesday unless Beijing withdraws its 34% retaliatory tariffs by the next day. He also terminated talks with China while opening negotiations with other nations. China condemned the Trump administration’s tariffs as unilateral “economic bullying,” which it clearly is, and vowed to resist.
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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.
