Donald Trump pulled out of another mainstream interview Thursday–this time nixing a sit-down with NBC News.
The interview, CNN reported, would be in Philadelphia with NBC News’ senior business correspondent, Christine Romans. CNN’s Brian Stelter said one source suggested that it had only been “postponed.”
It was the second time in a week that he had canceled a scheduled appearance outside the conservative news sphere, CNN’s Reliable Sources reported Thursday. He had canceled an in-studio appearance on the CNBC flagship show, Squawk Box, which was due on Friday.
Tesla’s testing and deployment of its Full Self-Driving technology in China has become a regulatory quagmire for the company. While China’s vast market and apparent government cooperation may appear tempting, Tesla’s entanglement with the bureaucratic machinery of state capitalism has only reinforced what should be obvious: the more transparent, stable and innovation-friendly regulatory environment at home in the United States continues to set America apart from its authoritarian competition.
No state does it better than Arizona. As a new report
from the Goldwater Institute — where I serve as president — makes clear, Phoenix has become the national proving ground for autonomous vehicle deployment, thanks to its clarity of rules and forward-leaning infrastructure.
Tesla’s initial greenlight to test full self-driving in China appeared to be a breakthrough — an entry into a massive, data-rich EV market. But the illusion of regulatory alignment with Beijing quickly ran into the wall of authoritarian oversight. In March, Chinese authorities halted Tesla’s trials under a sweeping new mandate requiring automakers to submit detailed technical
information before issuing over-the-air software updates.
The effect was swift. Tesla and domestic rival Xpeng were both forced to delay rollouts. It was a stark reminder that in China, the pace of innovation is ultimately subject to the whims of government bureaucrats or strategic priorities of the Chinese Communist Party.
Worse still, Tesla’s reliance on Chinese infrastructure threatened its proprietary edge. Data collected on Chinese roads — assuming it can leave the country at all — would be subject to government scrutiny or appropriation. In contrast, Phoenix offers a framework anchored in stability and transparency, enabling autonomous vehicle companies to test and tinker without the looming risk of regulatory sabotage.
Arizona has emerged as a leader by embracing a freedom-oriented approach to regulation. Since 2015, the state has provided a regulatory framework that promotes experimentation while ensuring safety for the public. Former Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive orders and subsequent legislation created a regulatory environment where technology continues to flourish. Companies such as Waymo and Aurora have already made Phoenix a hub for driverless innovation, logging millions of miles in real-world conditions.
Unlike other areas burdened by excessive bureaucratic drag, Arizona champions permissionless innovation — allowing companies to develop, test and refine their technologies without unnecessary bureaucratic interference. This regulatory certainty should be essential for companies like Tesla, which typically needs flexibility and minimal red tape to iterate rapidly and improve its neural network.
Beyond regulation, Arizona provides ideal physical and logistical conditions for autonomous vehicle testing. Phoenix’s dry, predictable climate minimizes environmental variables, allowing for consistent data collection. Its sprawling suburban layout and infrastructure mirror the conditions where full self-driving is likely most effective in early iterations. The region’s extensive highways, diverse road types, and mixture of urban and suburban environments offer Tesla a comprehensive testing ground that better reflects the driving conditions of its core U.S. market.
Autonomous driving is not merely a convenience — it is a transformative, life-saving technology. By removing unpredictable human error, driverless vehicles could prevent tens of thousands of deaths each year. Data from Waymo’s operations in Phoenix reinforces this promise, demonstrating that driverless vehicles experience markedly fewer accidents than human drivers.
Engineering prowess alone won’t carry the industry forward, however. Long-term success depends on building public confidence through transparent, accountable testing. That trust is best cultivated in the United States, where states like Arizona enable companies to innovate without the looming threat of regulatory whiplash or local obstruction.
Tesla’s bet on China went bust, but the lessons run deeper: Innovation will not flourish when government prescribes methods and outcomes. In the geopolitical race for autonomous dominance, America’s advantage will never grow by mimicking state-run models. If the United States hopes to maintain its global leadership in autonomous vehicle technology, it must safeguard a freedom-first model of innovation — one rooted in private property, constitutional order and consistent safety standards. The Arizona model, which pairs clarity with space for experimentation, offers a smart place to start.
Victor Riches is the president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute.
In letters to multiple agencies, the focus is on how job reductions at E.P.A., Interior and other agencies would hurt President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda.
Naper Settlement’s 2025 Naper Nights concert series will include a July 19 performance by the band War, famous for such 1970s hits as “Spill the Wine,” “Low Rider” and “The Cisco Kid.”
Founded in 1969 in Long Beach, California, the R&B/funk band is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1975 multiplatinum-selling album, “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” Lead singer/keyboardist Lonnie Jordan is the only original member in the current lineup.
Tickets are $35 through May 12, increasing to $40 on May 13, a settlement news release said. Children’s tickets are $15.
“We’re thrilled to welcome War to Naper Settlement on July 19, one of music’s defining and most enduring soul and funk groups,” Adison Glick, a special events senior leader, said in a statement.
The Naper Nights concerts are held monthly throughout the summer and mostly feature tribute bands performing the music of well-known pop, rock and country acts, the release said.
This year shows are scheduled for 5 to 10 p.m. June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. The lineup is:
June 20: Sun Stereo, a Flaming Lips tribute band, and Nothing’s Shocking, a Jane’s Addiction tribute band.
June 21: Tennessee Whiskey, a Chris Stapleton tribute band, and WailOn, a Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings tribute band.
July 18: Morning View, an Incubus tribute band, and Android Paranoid, a Radiohead tribute band.
July 19: Rico!, a Santana tribute band, and War.
Aug. 15: Cream Cheese Accident, a String Cheese Incident tribute band, and Bears Gone Phishin’, a Widespread Panic tribute.
Aug. 16: Great American Taxi and Wilclone, a Wilco tribute.
In addition to the musical performances, Naper Nights features local food and beverages and a children’s activity area.
The latest Trump tirade is being directed at CBS’s “60 Minutes” after the show’s Sunday broadcast in which they ran stories on Ukraine and Greenland. In a Truth Social post
the president wrote that “Almost every week, 60 Minutes…mentions the name “TRUMP” in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this weekend’s “BROADCAST” tops them all.” He said the network was out of control and should “pay a big price” for their coverage. He went on to call for the Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr to fine or otherwise punish the show “for their unlawful and illegal behaviour.”
The Associated Press notes that Trump has an ongoing $20 billion lawsuit against “60 Minutes” for what he claims was an unfairly positive portrayal of candidate Kamala Harris in the fall. The network denies this but there are now apparently ongoing settlement talks between Trump’s lawyers and the CBS parent company. FCC Chair Carr has also begun an investigation of CBS about the Harris case as well as others involving ABC News, NPR, and the Walt Disney Company among others.
Complaints have been about things like
how ABC News moderated the pre-election TV debate between then president Joe Biden and Trump in 2020, on-air comments made by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos about the E. Jean Carroll case, NBC allowing candidate Harris to appear on Saturday Night Live, Meta’s suspension of Trump’s Facebook account over January 6th, and claims against ABC and the Walt Disney company about DEI hiring practices that the FCC suggest violate equal opportunity employment opportunity regulations.
As one would imagine, these suits have to be taken seriously. In addition to ongoing talks with CBS noted above, there has been a $15 million settlement by Disney/ABC in the Stephanopolous case. In January Facebook-parent Meta payed $22 million towards the future Trump presidential library, plus another $3 million in legal fees to settle their case.
It’s quite the mess and not likely to slow down if Trump’s most recent rant against “60 Minutes” is any indication. That some media outlets have already settled or are in negotiations is disturbing enough. What is more problematic is that Trump is always working the refs; he is always trying to control future behaviour by signalling to any person or institution the world of hurt that could be brought to bear by the government of the United States of America if he just says the word.
If the media start to obey in advance because they believe they can placate this wanna-be dictator in the Oval Office, we are not going to like where this leads.
The WNBA will finally be able to welcome Paige Bueckers
to the league.
The versatile UConn standout is the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings. She spent five years at Connecticut after being sidelined by injuries. Bueckers will have plenty of company Monday night, especially with the WNBA having its first expansion team in 17 years in the Golden State Valkyries
making their debut draft selection at No. 5 overall.
This is the 29th draft in league history. There will be 13 franchises making a combined 38 draft selections over three rounds. The first round will feature 12 picks with 13 in each of the final two rounds. After Dallas makes its pick, the Seattle Storm hold the No. 2 selection overall with the Washington Mystics having both the third and fourth picks.
How to watch the 2025 WNBA draft
ESPN
is televising the draft starting at 6:30 p.m. Central through 8:30 p.m. A countdown show will be available starting at 6 p.m. Central on the ESPN app
, and the WNBA has its own “Orange Carpet” for draft prospects showing off their own style and fashion before the big night. The league also will be providing updates on its social and digital sites, including the WNBA app
and WNBA.com
.
The orange carpet should be quite the fashion show, based on the show draftees put on last year. That’s when Caitlin Clark became the first athlete — female or male — dressed by Prada for the WNBA or NBA draft and helped set the tone for draft night in style.
When and where is the draft?
UConn guard Paige Bueckers holds up a piece of the net after the Huskies defeated South Carolina in the national championship game on April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Monday night in New York.
The draft is being held at The Shed, a cultural center at Hudson Yards in Manhattan. This will be the second straight draft fans will be able to attend. Tickets went on sale March 21 along with exclusive experiences available.
“We believe the 2025 draft class is deep and we’re excited about the flexibility we obtain by acquiring another first-round pick this year,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement. “The No. 11 pick represents another route to improve our roster.”
The Sky could be looking to flip two first-round selections into a lottery pick to recoup on the ground lost by trading the No. 3 pick to Washington for guard Ariel Atkins
. Or they could trade out of the first round entirely, swapping both late first-rounders for a veteran player from another team.
TCU guard Hailey Van Lith points during the second half against Idaho State on Nov. 24, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
With a new collective bargaining agreement expected for the 2026 season, this draft has seen some would-be top picks choose to stay in college or hit the transfer portal to tap name, image and likeness deals rather than take the WNBA base salary with the very real risk of not making a roster.
Instead, the WNBA will have a bit of an NBA-feel with a French player with Dominique Malonga being drafted early. The 6-foot-6 center played for France last summer in the Paris Olympics and will be a top selection after averaging a double-double playing for Lyon this season. She also became the first French female player to dunk in a EuroCup game last October.
Miles announced Tuesday night she is finishing her college career at TCU after four years at Notre Dame. Her Fighting Irish teammate Sonia Citron could be joining Malonga with the Mystics bringing her defense prowess and nearly automatic free throw shooting to Washington.
Hailey Van Lith is another likely top 10 pick after becoming the first player to play on three different teams in the Elite Eight. She’s coming off her best college season helping the Horned Frogs make program history, and Van Lith won bronze with the U.S. in 3-on-3 at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The Center Square—The Biden administration not only released a record number of known or suspected terrorists into the U.S. but also gave them Social Security
numbers and taxpayer-funded welfare benefits, according to a new analysis by the Department of Government Efficiency.
DOGE posted
its latest findings of alleged government waste, fraud and abuse, fully funded by Congress, in a post on X.
“Under the Biden administration, it was routine for Border Patrol
to admit aliens into the United States with no legal status and minimal screening,” DOGE said. It’s referring to the more than 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden administration, including more than two million who evaded detection, The Center Square first reported.
They include millions flown to the U.S. on international flights paid for by taxpayers through parole programs created by the administration that judges ruled were illegal in lawsuits filed by states. Among them are more than one million from Venezuela, including members of the violent terrorist organization Tren de Aragua
, who under the Biden administration had expanded into at least 22 states where crimes were reported, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Under the Biden administration, Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers released inadmissible illegal foreign nationals into the U.S. instead of processing them for removal. Among them were “a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center watchlist or with criminal records,” DOGE said.
It’s referring to the Terrorist Screening Dataset, the federal government’s database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. The database originated as a consolidated terrorist watchlist to hold information on known or suspected terrorists. Over the past decade, it evolved “to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection has explained.
Under the Trump administration, “These paroles have since been terminated with immediate effect,” DOGE said, referring to more than a dozen parole programs House Republicans identified as illegal.
“Despite having no other legal status, paroled aliens” under the Biden administration were given work authorization and received Social Security numbers. Of the 6,300 paroled illegal foreign nationals with criminal or terrorist records, all given Social Security numbers, many received federal welfare benefits, DOGE said.
Of them, 905 received a combined $276,000 in Medicaid funds, including four on the terrorist watchlist; 41 collected a combined $42,000 in Unemployment Insurance; 22 received a combined $280,000 in federal student loans; 409 received a net combined total of $751,000 in 2024 tax refunds; “several (final number TBD) received SNAP (food stamp) benefits,” DOGE said. More information is expected.
The Trump administration has terminated Biden policies and is actively working to arrest and remove the most violent illegal foreign nationals, including KSTs.
Under the Biden administration, the greatest number of known and suspected terrorists
were apprehended in U.S. history of 1,903, The Center Square exclusively reported. The majority, 64%, totaling 1,216, were apprehended at the northern border coming from Canada between fiscal years 2021-2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
A record 687 number were reported at the southwest border over the same time period, The Center Square reported.
For years, The Center Square has reported on national security threats at the northern border as record numbers of illegal border crossers were reported there under the Biden administration.
Because there historically have been far fewer Border Patrol agents in the field, less technological surveillance and a lack of operational control at the northern border for decades, combined with what Republicans say were national security threats posed by Canadian policies under the Trudeau administration, among other factors, the number of known and suspected terrorists who’ve illegally entered from Canada between ports of entry is unknown, border officials have told The Center Square. Unlike the southwest border, where agents in the field can track illegal entry and report gotaways, no comparable capability exists at the northern border, where one agent may be responsible for 500 miles.
Islamic terrorist incidents also increased under the Biden administration, according to several reports, as a majority of Americans polled say terrorism dangers increased under his watch, The Center Square reported.
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” dove straight into the economic chaos caused by Donald Trump’s disastrous tariffs
, with host John Oliver highlighting how the president tanked the economy
and followed that up with arrogant
, threatening
, and ultimately desperate attempts to calm panicked Americans
. Those attempts included Trump and his minions’ mysterious claims
that scores of unnamed countries are begging him to negotiate new trade deals.
“I’m sure some have been pretty nice to him,” Oliver said. “The same way you try to be nice if you suddenly found yourself in the same room as a monkey with a gun.”
Oliver ridiculed the haphazard exemptions Trump was forced to make—including for food products
the U.S. cannot produce in sufficient quantities like coffee, oats, and spices.
“Sometimes it feels like the best way to ensure Trump does something is to tell him not to do it,” Oliver said. “He’s like a toddler, both because his brain is unable to grasp negations, and also because he has a short torso, huge head, always looks like he is about to fall over, and won’t let anyone brush his hair.”
Draining the Kankakee Marsh came after decades of controversy and a spectacular failed attempt. Controversy over the effects continues today.
Michael Dobberstein, of Schererville, wrote the book on the history of the marsh that once drew sportsmen from around the world. His book, “Changing Landscapes in Indiana,” is set to come out in early 2026 from Purdue University Press.
“It might be definitive, but so far it’s the only one,” the retired Purdue University Northwest English professor said Tuesday, April 8, at a Kankakee Valley Historical Society event in Kouts.
The Kankakee Marsh was created after the last ice age, around 13,000 years ago. The receding glacier left sandy soil along a laconic Kankakee River. Between St. Joseph County and the Illinois state line, there were some 2,000 meanders, he said. Paddling the river to Illinois from South Bend would have been a 250-mile trip 150 years ago, but after the river was straightened, it’s now about 80 miles.
As long as the Kankakee Marsh existed, people have lived in the area. Artifacts found at archaeological digs back up that assertion.
But in the early 1800s, the push to drain the swamp took hold. Rather than remaining a hunter’s paradise, many people wanted to turn it into farmland.
“That muck soil was really great at growing corn,” Dobberstein said. “In fact, that muck soil was some of the best in the country.”
In 1850, the federal government added fertilizer to this debate by passing the Swamp Land Act, giving swamps to the states. “Indiana took possession of over a million acres of wetland, just like that,” Dobberstein said. The Kankakee Marsh alone was 400,000 acres.
In 1855, the Indiana General Assembly rejected a bill to drain the swamp, but it became a model for all future plans, Dobberstein said.
A new drainage law was adopted in 1869, with only one dissenting vote, but residents hated the idea of a private company, Kankakee Valley Draining Co., putting a lien on their property to pay for the dredging. “If you didn’t pay it, they seize your land,” Dobberstein said.
A large outcry ensued, with over 2,000 lawsuits filed to fight the law, jamming Northwest Indiana courts. The law was repealed in 1872.
An 1875 law put control of draining the marsh into the hands of landowners, county commissioners and county courts. No private company would be able to seize private property to pay for the work.
Author Michael Dobberstein tells members of the Kankakee Valley Historical Society on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, about efforts to drain the Kankakee Marsh and the outcome of the actions. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)
Then came the 1883 plan to have the state help pay for draining the swamp. It was ambitious, yet misguided. Understanding it requires a short geology lesson.
In Indiana, the river bed was sandy. But starting in Momence, Illinois, the river bed is bedrock. Limestone.
The thinking at the time was that removing some of that limestone along a four-mile stretch in Illinois would drain the swamp, much like removing a limestone logjam.
“Can I really talk about this with a straight face?” Dobberstein wondered. “What are you going to do? Invade Illinois and blow it all up?”
After legal disputes over whether Indiana could take action in Illinois, Indiana finally gained access to the land on the condition that it go seven feet deep in shaving that four-mile stretch of limestone.
In 1893, workmen laid dynamite charges and started blowing them up. “It took them from August to December to do that,” an effort that cost Indiana $65,000 – the equivalent of roughly $2.3 million today, Dobberstein said.
Estimates at the time said about 2 feet of that rock layer was blasted away. A 1931 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report doubted even that much was removed. The effort was a flop.
In 1897, the Indiana Legislature washed its hands of the whole affair. “They spent $65,000 for some boondoggle of a thing” in Illinois but didn’t cause any actual drainage of the marsh. Additional work to drain the swamp would drain the state’s treasury.
Then came the Kankakee Valley Improvement Co., which proposed to drain the marsh using a government assessment on property along the route. “People fought it bitterly,” Dobberstein said, but after four years of legal battles, the company finally began its work. It took one year to dredge 10 miles, beginning in the South Bend area and working its way southwest toward Illinois.
“That big old shovel could scoop up 1,000 cubic yards of soil a day,” he said, as the company used equipment invented to create the Suez Canal.
“They did a really terrible job. They didn’t know what they were doing,” Dobberstein said. Sand piled up downstream, restricting the flow of the Yellow River into the Kankakee. So with water upstream now rushing downstream, flooding was occurring. That prompted landowners downstream to acquiesce to dredging and further channelization of the river.
By the time it was all done, the total cost was $1.2 million. “In 1923, $1.2 million was real money,” Dobberstein said. Today, that would be about $22.4 million.
What they got for that $3 per acre was some really productive farmland.
But they also got flooding problems.
“You can take some of the water out of the marsh, but you can never take the marshiness out of the marsh,” he said.
In 1927, a major flood occurred, the same year as the Mississippi River overflowed its banks.
“Guess who they want to fix this monumental problem? The government,” Dobberstein said.
In 1976, the estimated cost to partially restore the marsh to address flooding and other concerns was $124 million. Indiana balked, and neither Illinois nor landowners wanted it.
The Kankakee River Basin Commission was created in 1977, but it had no budget and no clear mission, Dobberstein said.
“The flood of 2018 brought some changes,” he said. The Indiana Legislature created the Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission to address the bureaucratic logjam. That commission created a 40-year plan, funded with money from landowners in each of the member counties in the watershed, and began work on alleviating flooding.
“This is not only much more modest, it’s more affordable,” Dobberstein said.
“You’re not going to fix it ever,” he said, but it’s improving.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
