Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
‪@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social‬

The most recent retweet from the new pope is 👀.

The new Pope didn't tweet once in 2024. In 2025, he's posted 5 times, in which he:

- Criticized JD Vance's views on Catholicism and Jesus
- Posted an article opposing Trump's immigration policies
- Retweeted twice about the Pope's health
- Retweeted a criticism of Trump & Bukele's laughter at KAG.

Adding another notable retweet, this one from 2018 and the height of family separation under Trump 1.0.

Former President Joe Biden said he takes “responsibility” for Donald Trump’s return to the White House and accused his successor of failing to protect the interests of the country.

Sitting for his first live television interview since leaving office, Biden was asked on “The View” if he felt responsible for Trump’s victory.

“Yes, I do, because, look, I was in charge and he won, so I take responsibility,” Biden said.

Offering an assessment of Trump’s return to power, Biden said his successor “has done, quite frankly, a very poor job in the interest of the United States of America.”

“I think, you know, the greatest alliance in the history of the world is NATO, not a joke, and he’s blown it up,” he said. “He’s had the worst 100 days any president has ever had.”

Cleveland-Cliffs, the second-largest U.S. steelmaker, will idle two plants in Pennsylvania and one in Illinois this summer due to weak demand and low prices.

The “temporary, indefinite” closures at the end of June include its Conshohocken plate-finishing works, which employs around 80, the company said Tuesday. The plant is located just outside the borough in Plymouth Township.

Other closures include its rail mill in Steelton, near Harrisburg, which employs around 550, and a hot-rolling mill in Riverdale, Ill., near its East Chicago, Ind., steel complex, which employs around 400.

“The indefinite idling of these facilities is not due to steel tariffs,” Cleveland-Cliffs spokesperson Patricia Persico said in a statement.

2,000 steelworkers unemployed

The Conshohocken plant processes heavy steel plates produced for high-rise construction, ships and other customers at Cleveland-Cliffs’ larger plant and lab in Coatesville, the former Lukens steel company, which will not be affected.

Marc Elias
‪@marcelias.bsky.social‬

🚨NEW: @floridadecideshealthcare.org and voters are suing the state over a recent law that makes it harder to participate in the ballot initiative process. https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/florida-direct-democracy-restrictions-challenge/

President Donald Trump plans to revive an effort to dramatically slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

Trump early next week is expected to sign an executive order directing aides to pursue the initiative, called “most favored nation,” for a selection of drugs within the Medicare program. The idea would use the administration’s authorities to force prices down.

The proposal has not been finalized and could still change as aides work through the specifics, said the people involved in the plan, who were granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations. Trump has not yet personally approved the plan.

The president on Tuesday teased a “very big announcement” within the next week that one of the people familiar characterized as a reference to the drug pricing proposal. The other two did not know whether it was the big announcement but confirmed the drug price plan was likely to be announced in the next week.

“We’re going to have a very very big announcement to make - like as big as it gets,” Trump said. “It will be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject.”

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Russia is “asking for too much” to end its war with Ukraine, underscoring new frustrations in the Trump White House over its efforts to court Moscow on peace talks.

Speaking to the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, he said that the U.S. is focusing on a long-term settlement since Russia has rejected the U.S. call for a 30-day ceasefire. Moscow has said that sort of temporary pause is not in its strategic interest because it would allow Ukraine to regroup.

Vance stressed that Russia is likely to have to make concessions — the latest sign that the Trump administration is willing to get more aggressive with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November’s election on Wednesday to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally.

In a statement provided by his campaign to The Associated Press, Griffin said he would not appeal Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who also ordered that the State Board of Elections certify results that show Riggs is the winner by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast in the race.

Griffin’s decision sets the stage for Riggs to be officially elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice.

“While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”

Myers delayed carrying out his order for seven days in case Griffin wanted to ask the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision. Democrats, meanwhile, had called on Griffin to accept defeat.

On Tuesday, May 13, a three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade will hear a lawsuit asking it to strike down President Donald Trump’s recently imposed tariffs. The case is known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.

The trade court, a New York-based federal court that hears lawsuits related to US trade laws, will not be the last word on this high-stakes dispute, which is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court. The trade court, however, is poised to have the first word — meaning the May 13 hearing will offer the American public its earliest window into how federal courts view the tariffs.

The plaintiffs in V.O.S. Selections, small businesses that import goods and thus must pay the tariffs, have two significant advantages.

One is that their legal arguments are quite strong. Under the Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” courts are supposed to cast a skeptical eye on, and typically reject, executive actions “of vast ‘economic and political significance.’”

According to the Yale Budget Lab, Trump’s tariffs are expected to reduce the average US household’s income by the equivalent of $4,900. If that’s not a matter of vast economic and political significance, it’s hard to imagine what is.

Two, about a dozen former Republican officials and other GOP luminaries filed an amicus brief calling on the trade court to rule that the tariffs are illegal.