Trump takes tariff fight to SCOTUS, Portugal mourns fatal cable car crash: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 4, 2025
President Donald Trump has requested the Supreme Court to intervene in his global tariff dispute. At stake are billions of dollars and his authority to implement broad trade measures under emergency powers.
Plus, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring are warning that they’ll publish their own list of clients if Congress doesn’t take action.
Also, at least 16 people have died after Lisbon’s iconic funicular derailed and crashed into a building, marking the city’s worst accident in decades.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025.
Trump asks Supreme Court to fast-track tariffs case
President Donald Trump is taking his fight over sweeping global tariffs to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the president asked the justices to quickly decide whether he has the power to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Trump overstepped his authority with those tariffs. However, the court left them in place until at least Oct. 14, to give the Justice Department time to appeal.
“If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be a very poor nation, and we would be taking advantage of by every other nation in the world, friend and foe. We’re not going to let that happen. And we have a very, very big case in the Supreme Court,” Trump said. “I can only say this: our country has a chance to be unbelievably rich again, but it can also be unbelievably poor again. If we don’t win that case, our country is going to suffer so greatly.”
Late Wednesday night, the DOJ filed its appeal with the high court, along with a motion to expedite. This means the case could be heard as early as November.
The justices will have to decide next week whether to take it up.
A spokesperson for the Liberty Justice Center, representing businesses challenging the tariffs, says they’ve agreed to the expedited timeline.
Still unknown is what would happen if the United States is forced to back billions of dollars in tariff revenue that has already come-in from foreign countries, and how that would work.
Portugal in mourning after Lisbon cable car crash kills 17
Portugal is in mourning after a deadly cable car crash in Lisbon killed at least 17 people. The government declared a national day of mourning on Thursday, calling it the city’s worst accident in recent memory.
The Elevador Da Gloria, a popular tourist streetcar, or funicular, derailed Wednesday evening and slammed into a building, resulting in at least 17 deaths and more than 20 people injured.
Officials say of those injured, at least five are in critical condition.
The iconic yellow tram has been climbing the city’s hills since 1885, linking tourists to panoramic views in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto district. It can carry more than 40 passengers at a time and draws millions every year.
Authorities have not speculated on the cause, but investigators are looking at whether a snapped cable or faulty brakes played a role.
The city has halted operations of three other funiculars for inspection.
Epstein survivors press Congress for files, push back on ‘hoax’ claim
Jeffrey Epstein survivors stood together on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, demanding Congress release files the Justice Department has so far withheld.
They’re pushing for transparency on who enabled the financier’s sex trafficking network. They also called on lawmakers to back a bipartisan bill to force disclosure.
Many shared their stories and directly responded to Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed the issue as a “hoax.”
“Mr. President Donald J. Trump, I am a registered republican. Not that that matters because this is not political. However, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma,” said assault survivor Haley Robson.
When asked about the survivors’ press conference, Trump reiterated his position.
“This is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything over and over again, more and more and and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied,” Trump said. “From what I understand, I could check, but from what I understood, thousands of pages of documents have been given. But it’s really a Democrat hoax because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.”
Survivors say they plan to compile their own list of names tied to Epstein’s circle, independently of the government.
“Us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list. We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now, together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know,” said assault survivor Lisa Phillips.
At the same time, lawmakers are divided.
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are leading an effort to force a House vote to release the files. They need just a few more signatures to move it to the floor.
West Coast states break from CDC; form alliance to issue their own guidance
Three West Coast states are breaking away from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over vaccine guidelines. The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced a new West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate public health policy independently.
The governors said in a statement, “The new alliance represents a unified regional response to the Trump administration’s destruction of the CDC’s credibility and scientific integrity.”
The move follows last week’s shakeup at the CDC when the Trump administration pushed out Director Susan Monarez after clashing with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy. Four top officials resigned in solidarity with her.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the alliance will provide “guidance grounded in science, not ideology.”
Florida is taking a very different approach. On Wednesday, the state announced that it is ending all vaccine mandates for children, a move endorsed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services told The New York Times in a statement that it will “ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and gold standard science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
The new alliance out west will release its own guidance on childhood vaccines, flu, and COVID shots in the coming weeks.
Court rules funding freeze violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights
A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze more than two billion dollars in grants for Harvard University, calling the administration’s move a “targeted, ideologically-motivated assault.”
In April, the White House put the funding on hold after Harvard refused demands to scrap its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and to crack down on antisemitism following pro-Palestinian rallies on campus.
Judge Allison Burroughs ruled the move punished Harvard for not complying — a direct violation of the university’s First Amendment rights.
She noted that the funding freeze stalled key research projects and said the school’s antisemitism problems were not legally connected to federal funding.
The White House plans to appeal.
Powerball jackpot soars to $1.7B for Saturday’s drawing
The Powerball jackpot is looking less like a prize and more like a national budget. After 41 straight drawings without a grand prize winner, the jackpot has grown to the third-largest in history.
Saturday’s drawing now has an estimated value of $1.7 billion.
Beat the odds — which, by the way, are 1 in 292 million — and you would walk away with a lump sum of about $770 million.
No one hit the big jackpot Wednesday night, but four people are two million dollars richer, and eleven others have a cool million headed their way.
The next drawing is Saturday night, so if you’ve got a couple of bucks and a dream.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Trial at sea: A yacht powered by cooking oil tests biodiesel’s range
The hum of a diesel engine is a sweet sound to a fisherman’s ears. Recently, the owners of the 48-foot Mack Attack emptied the fuel tank of its petroleum diesel and filled it with RD99, a biodiesel refined from cooking oil and animal fats.
From idle to wide open throttle, the biodiesel performed on par with petroleum-based fuel.
“We were really excited to see that there was no fall off on power anywhere, acceleration, maneuverability with the boat,” Dennis Glynn, the Mack Attack’s captain, told Straight Arrow News.
The sea trial team from Viking Yachts and Mack Boring & Parts Co. purchased the RD99 for $5.57 a gallon. Petroleum diesel’s nationwide average is $3.74. The marine industry is exploring the use of biodiesel as its primary fuel and hopes the nearly $2-dollar gap will narrow to 20 cents. Read the full story now >
The post Trump takes tariff fight to SCOTUS, Portugal mourns fatal cable car crash: Unbiased Updates, Sept. 4, 2025 appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
