Trump’s election executive order faces first legal challenges

President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to impose changes to the election system faces its first challenges in court. And a new month means more Trump tariffs. What to expect as the president prepares Americans and other countries for what he’s calling “Liberation Day.” These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Trump’s executive order overhauling elections faces first legal challenges

President Donald Trump’s executive order, aimed at overhauling the nation’s elections, has encountered its first legal challenges.

Democrats and two nonprofits filed separate lawsuits on Monday, March 31, labeling it unconstitutional.

The nonprofits — the Campaign Legal Center and the State Democracy Defenders Fund — brought the first lawsuit. The Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Governors Association and congressional Democrats from both the House and Senate quickly filed a separate lawsuit.

Both lawsuits asked a federal judge to block the new order and declare it illegal.

After Trump signed the executive order Tuesday, March 25, election lawyers warned that some of the president’s demands, such as requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and new ballot deadline rules, may violate the Constitution.

The president asserted that his executive order would safeguard the vote from illegal participation by noncitizens.

The lawsuits arise as the GOP-led Congress considers codifying a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration into law.

Meanwhile, Trump promised more actions related to elections in the coming weeks.

Trump to impose more foreign goods tariffs on ‘Liberation Day’

It’s a new month, and many eyes are focused on Wednesday as Trump’s trade disputes with Canada, Mexico and Europe are expected to hit new levels and heights.

The president has touted a special term for the day. He vowed to impose tariffs on imports from other countries that he claims will reduce American reliance on foreign goods.

“But we, we have ‘Liberation Day,’ as you know, on April 2, because, and I’m not referring to Canada, but many countries have taken advantage of us, the likes of which nobody even thought was possible for many, many decades, for decades,” Trump said.

The president said he’d impose “reciprocal” tariffs to match the levies that other nations charge on American-made products

However, much remains unclear about how the Trump administration will implement these tariffs and whether they will cause further delays or confusion this week.

The president said tariffs, like those on imported cars, will create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S. He also noted Americans might experience short-term pain to achieve long-term gain.

He said his ultimate goal is for people to purchase more American products and achieve a fairer balance regarding tariffs.

ICE admits ‘administrative error’ sent Maryland man to El Salvador prison

A Maryland man with protected legal status is in prison in El Salvador due to an “administrative error,” as admitted by a U.S. Customs and Protection official in a sworn declaration on Monday, March 31.

Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, whose wife is an American citizen and who has a five-year-old child, is being held at the notorious Cecot prison in El Salvador.

Monday’s filing is part of a lawsuit by Abrego-Garcia’s lawyers, who are demanding that federal authorities return him to the U.S. after he was sent to prison due to “an administrative error.”

The U.S. government responded, stating it is aware of the error. However, because Abrego-Garcia is no longer in U.S. custody, a court can neither order him to be returned to the U.S. nor order El Salvador to return him.

While ICE acknowledges the error, they said his extradition was carried out in “good faith” regarding the allegations that Abrego-Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang — an accusation his attorneys deny.

China launches military show of force surrounding Taiwan

China began conducting massive military drills as it surrounded Taiwan in a show of force, warning the self-governing island against seeking independence from Beijing.

The Chinese used naval, aerial, ground, and rocket forces to intimidate Taiwan as part of a strategy to issue a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to the People’s Liberation Army.

China claims Taiwan as its own and has long threatened to bring the island nation under its control by military force if necessary.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported that it counted 19 Chinese navy ships in the waters surrounding the island during a 24-hour period from Monday to Tuesday.

The exercises come just weeks after a large-scale military drill by Beijing that involved a significant number of drones and ships near Taiwan.

China frequently dispatches fighter jets and military vessels to the region to remind Taiwan of its claim to sovereignty over the island nation, even though most people in Taiwan oppose Chinese rule.

SpaceX’s Fram2 mission sends four civilians into orbit over Earth’s poles

An entirely civilian crew is attempting something never accomplished before: orbiting the Earth from pole to pole.

The crew, which includes a Chinese-born Bitcoin entrepreneur, a Norwegian cinematographer, a German robotics expert and an Australian adventurer, is expected to fly over the North and South Poles 55 times before splashdown on Friday, April 4, in the Pacific Ocean.

While in space, the “Fram 2” crew will not only view and photograph Earth’s polar regions from low Earth orbit, but they will also conduct nearly two dozen experiments focused on “advancing human health and performance in space, particularly for future long-duration missions.”

These experiments will be the first mission to take X-rays of the human body in space, grow mushrooms in microgravity and study atmospheric phenomena.

Texas takes on South Carolina, UConn faces UCLA in women’s Final Four

The Final Four is now set for the women’s NCAA March Madness tournament. Much like the men’s tournament, the favorites continue to advance.

Number one-seeded Texas has made it to the Final Four for the first time in 22 years.

The Longhorns improved their overall record to 35- 3 after a strong third quarter helped them overcome TCU in the Elite Eight on Monday, March 31.

Texas has won 19 of its last 20 games and will face the only team that has beaten it in that stretch — the South Carolina Gamecocks — in the final four on Friday, April 4.

The Longhorns and Gamecocks split their regular-season series, but South Carolina won the SEC tournament final by 19 points.

The Gamecocks advanced to the Final Four this past Saturday by surviving a close game and defeating Duke 54 to 50.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, number one seed USC faced off against second-seeded UConn in a matchup of teams with only three losses each on Monday night.

Southern Cal was the underdog, playing its second game without top scorer and playmaker Juju Watkins. She suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Trojans Sweet 16 wins over Mississippi state.

USC played well during the game, but ultimately, UConn secured the victory as Paige Bueckers scored 31 points. Legendary coach Geno Auriemma will lead the Huskies to a record 24th appearance in the Final Four.

The Huskies will play UCLA, which defeated LSU on Saturday, March 29, 72 to 65.

The women’s Final Four is set for this Friday, with the title game expected on Sunday, April 6.