"President Trump can prove his hefty, across-the-board tariffs are working -- and calm the markets -- by beginning to secure trade deals with nations soon. He'd best hop to it.

"Indeed, the clock is ticking: On Monday, the markets headed down steeply again, as fears of recession and inflation continue to loom. Clearly, the tariffs are driving the turmoil -- not just on Wall Street but throughout the economy.

"Meanwhile, China is becoming increasingly aggressive. Its latest threat: It'll retaliate against countries that work with Trump to limit or scrap tariffs on goods they ship to America. ...

"But the longer the chaos lasts, the more damage it will do.

"Again, much is riding on the outcome of these deals. So Trump needs to move fast and show some success.

"There's no better way to prove his gamble right and get the nation back on a stable economic course."

Read the entire article here.

"Action in state legislative sessions are proving that ranked-choice voting is as unpopular as ever.

After last year's string of losses on state ballot measures, some progressive activists claimed they would fare better with lawmakers than they had with voters. Yet legislatures are not enacting ranked-choice this year -- instead, they are banning the convoluted scheme.

The idea behind ranked-choice voting is to get voters to express 'preferences' about multiple candidates, rather than just voting for one. This raises questions about one-person, one-vote, but that's only the beginning of the problem. The system makes elections more difficult from start to finish, slowing the process and introducing new possibilities for errors and irregularities.

It starts with the ballot. In a normal election, a voter can vote once for each office. If there are six offices up for election, that means voting for six candidates -- one for each office. With a ranked-choice ballot, however, if there are five candidates running for each of those offices, then a voter is supposed to 'vote' 30 times, ranking all five candidates for each of the six offices."

Read the entire article here.

"New York Attorney General Letitia James -- who infamously declared that 'no one is above the law' when she was targeting Donald Trump -- was hit with a federal criminal referral for instances of alleged mortgage fraud on Tuesday, according to a letter obtained by The Post.

"Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent the missive to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche, alleging that James had 'falsified records' to get home loans for a property in Virginia that she claimed was her 'principle residence' in 2023 -- while still serving as a New York state prosecutor.

"That occurred in late August 2023, weeks before James began her civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization for overinflating the values of many of its properties, which ended in a $454 million judgment.

"'Ms. James was the sitting Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York -- even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA, property as her primary home,' the letter stated."

Read the entire article here.

"Tuesday is tax day, the deadline for millions of U.S. wage earners to settle up with the federal government. It's rarely a pleasurable experience.

"The National Taxpayers Union reports that Americans in 2024 spent the equivalent of about $464 billion in time and treasure complying with the U.S. tax code. That alone should be an impetus for Congress to tackle tax simplification above and beyond the modest steps forward achieved through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

"As billions roll into Washington, this would also be an opportune time to consider perhaps the most persistent myth about the nation's hemorrhaging balance sheet: That soaring annual budget deficits and a national debt that fast approaches $37 trillion are the result of an inadequate tax system that fails to separate enough Americans from more of their own money."

Read the entire article here.

"All the cut-a-nuke-deal-with-Iran enthusiasts are marveling that Tehran's negotiator deigned to meet face-to-face with President Donald Trump's envoy on Saturday, and agreed to meet again a week later.

"Huh: Sure looks the Iranians still mean to drag the talks out until they've already gone nuclear; Trump needs to ensure Steve Witkoff doesn't get sucked into the illusion of progress.

"Tehran has already enriched enough uranium to weapons-grade to build multiple nuclear weapons; it only needs to play for time."

Read the entire article here.

"Americans are growing increasingly uneasy about the state of the U.S. economy and their own personal financial situation in the face of stubborn inflation and tariff wars.

"To that point, 73% of respondents said they are 'financially stressed,' with 66% of that group pointing to the tariff wars as a main source, according to a new CNBC/Survey Monkey online poll.

"The survey of 4,200 U.S. adults was conducted April 3 to 7."

Read the entire article here.

"On Wednesday night, following numerous rulings from district court judges against the Trump administration, the House voted 219-213 on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) that will do something about the problem. That bill, the No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (NORRA), aims to amend the United States code and 'to limit the authority of district courts to provide injunctive relief...'"

Read the entire article here.

"Members of Trump's inner circle have begun to openly feud as the reciprocal tariffs prompt mixed reactions on the world stage. At the core of the division is messaging, namely whether to present the tariffs as a long-term revenue raiser or as part of a negotiating tactic to secure more favorable trade deals with other nations.

"On the one hand, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears to be the leader of the 'making deals' camp while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and economic advisor Peter Navarro are more bullish on the tariffs for their own merits.

"What may have been largely behind-the-scenes disagreements spilled into the open on Tuesday when Navarro addressed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk's control of Tesla and his vested interest in barrier-free foreign trade."

Read the entire article here.

"Mr. President, take 'yes' for an answer.

"On Monday, as the fallout from Liberation Day continued to rile markets, the European Union surrendered.

"'We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"That would lower the price of pharmaceuticals, cars and other products that American companies export to the EU.

"It's exactly the sort of agreement that would make President Trump's tariff wars a success -- forcing nations to make better deals for our workers. And if the agreement isn't perfect, it's at least a starting point."

Read the entire aricle here.

"Maybe all that winning was becoming boring.

"Whatever the reasons that led President Trump to rock the globe with his 'Liberation Day' tariff regime, the immediate result has been a world of hurt for millions upon millions of Americans.

"The stock market meltdown that wiped out some $6.4 trillion of value last Thursday and Friday means many households saw 10% or more of their nest eggs suddenly erased.

"Their pain is matched only by their confusion about why the president triggered the sell-off."

Read the entire article here.